Total pages in book: 133
Estimated words: 128069 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 640(@200wpm)___ 512(@250wpm)___ 427(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 128069 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 640(@200wpm)___ 512(@250wpm)___ 427(@300wpm)
Except…
I can’t believe I’m about to do this. I can’t believe I’m using my pornithography as my lubricant. But what do I have to lose?
I take a deep breath…
But he goes first, speaking in a quieter, bedroom voice. “You’re blushing again, Josie. You did that in the store.”
I know what moment he means. I know what I was thinking about then too—item number one. I was weighing if I was going to do it or not. “I did?”
“Yeah. It’s pretty when you blush. Just like your blue eyes.”
That’s why he said blue’s his favorite color.
No time like the present. No night like tonight. Get out of your comfort zone. I already did that when I walked half-naked around the city. This next step should be easy. I take one more bite of my ice cream for courage, then set it down.
But Wesley is faster once again, asking, “Can I try your ice cream a second time?”
He really does like the dessert. I hand him the cup, and he takes it with a quick thanks, but then sets it down on the counter.
I frown, confused. “You didn’t taste…”
He rises from his stool, closes the short distance between us then leans in, dipping his face close to mine.
The air whooshes from my chest. A shiver runs down my spine. For a long, delicious second—or several—he waits. Like he’s letting the moment ripen. His gaze drops to my mouth, then he lifts his hand. I expect him to cup my cheek or thread it through my hair.
Instead, he presses his palm against my collarbone, under the scarf, spreading his fingers wide against the exposed flesh. I go hot everywhere. It’s possible my panties are on fire.
He drops his mouth to mine, our lips connecting at last. His kiss is soft, heady, a little on the sweet side. Then it’s tart, from his ice cream.
He kisses the corner of my mouth, then slides his hand up the side of my neck. His thumb glides over the hinge of my jaw as he deepens the kiss. I part my lips for him, my mind popping, my skin tingling. As he kisses me, his scruff rubs lightly against my skin, the sandpaper scratch of it making my knees weak. I feel like my bones are melting right along with the ice cream as he kisses me more—the kind of kiss that’s so much more than a taste.
I part my legs slightly.
I’m keenly aware we’re in an ice cream shop. But I’m pretty sure I’ve stopped caring since I invite him a little closer. He moves in, nudging my knees a little wider so he can stand between my thighs. Good thing I’m sitting because the move turns my legs to jelly.
Our tongues skate together. He presses more firmly on my jaw, tipping my head back the slightest bit. The move makes me shudder.
And that seems to turn him on more, judging from the passion in the kiss, the wrap of his arm around my back.
He murmurs as he kisses me, a desperate kind of growl that sends me spinning. I lift a hand and grab at the open neckline of his dress shirt. He kicks up the kiss a few notches. Then, like it costs him every ounce of control, he ends it and yanks himself away. His eyes are dark. His breathing is staggered.
“How did it taste?” I ask.
“I might need to try it again…and again…and again.”
Same here. This is it. This is absolutely it. He’s item number one. “There’s something I’ve always wanted to do but never have,” I say, and nothing is going to stop me now.
His irises say go the fuck on. “Yeah?”
I pause, then find my courage as I tackle the first item on my list. “Have a one-night stand with a sexy stranger.”
6
THE FIRST CHECKMARK
Josie
It’s a weird thought—my aunt would be so proud of me. But it lodges in my brain as we take off, Wesley grabbing my hand and threading those long fingers through mine.
He holds it tight, possessively. I like it.
On the street, Wesley says, “Your place, mine, or a hotel? And the hotel’s on me.”
From the clothes to the ice cream to the room, I’m sensing a pattern with this man. He’s…giving. Part of me wants to do the polite thing and decline, but I’m mixing it up tonight big time. “Since I’d rather not get stabbed in the ass with a couch spring, let’s do the hotel.”
He gives me a what the hell look.
“My friend has a couch with a bad spring,” I quickly explain. “But do you have condoms and are you…safe?”
I’ve read plenty of articles, including “Top Twenty Tips for Having a Great One-Night Stand” on The Dating Pool website. Being safe in all the ways is one of them.
“Yes. Negative. And I have condoms.”