“Just a normal day at work, right?” I said, and then I didn’t want to talk anymore. I kissed along his back, this time tracing the wings and head of the bird with my tongue and lips. His muscles bunched in response to my attention.
Bo maintained a constant level of activity, whether it was sparring with me verbally or working out or driving too fast. He had to be doing something. I didn’t really understand why he was so afraid of stillness or quiet, but I knew he said provocative things in hopes that I’d provide some tart response to distract him. Or, as I had been doing for the last few hours, that I’d distract him in many wordless ways.
With a growl, he swiveled in the chair and lifted me to sit on his lap, my legs hanging on the outside of his. With one hand placed on my bottom, he pulled on the dog tags’ chain until I was close enough to kiss. His wide mouth covered my own, his tongue rubbed along the top of mine, lapping at me like he was trying to capture my entire essence and swallow it. Other parts of his body brushed mine, and even though I felt sore from the overuse of parts that hadn’t seen this kind of workout, ever, I couldn’t stop myself from pressing down against Bo’s groin, stroking myself against the hard ridge of his erection as it pulsed with need between us.
I pulled away, panting. “Ellie said she broke up with her last boyfriend because their sex was too good.”
Bo’s response was to pull me closer and kiss me again. His hands swept my back, under the t-shirt and around the sides of my breasts, teasing me. This time he broke the kiss. “I always thought Ellie had a good head on her shoulders. I see now that I’m completely wrong.”
“Yeah, she’s pretty deceptive. I think it’s because of her small size.” My words ended in a moan as he mouthed his way up and down my neck, giving me small bites and soothing them with his tongue and lips. Just when I thought he would pick me up and carry me back to bed, Bo leaned back. He dropped the dog tags under the t-shirt.
Patting the tags, he said, “Regs require the tags to be under the shirt at all times.”
“All times?” I teased.
“Yes.” He turned the chair toward the laptop, and I saw that he was researching flights from here to Texas. I wondered if that was where he was going for break. Despite all our grand plans at the beginning of the year, Ellie was going home and Brian was taking Sasha skiing with his family. I’d actually been considering the invitation to Italy.
“I want you to come to Texas with me this weekend,” Bo said, tapping his finger on the screen. I swung my legs up and curled into his lap. I didn’t want the idea of meeting Bo’s family to thrill me so much, but I couldn’t suppress my internal shivers of delight. I tried to act unaffected.
“I’ll have to see what my mom says,” I told him.
He placed his jaw on the top of my head, and I could hear his jawbones crack as he kneaded the top of my head with his chin. “Tell her I’ve already bought you a ticket.”
I pushed against him. “You did not.”
Bo nodded.
BO
I KNEW AM HATED WHEN I acted like a presumptuous ass, but I couldn’t go home without her. She was like the living embodiment of my challenge coin. Every time I looked at her, I realized I wanted to be better, do better than I was. There was no way I could face my past without her. But that also meant telling her the whole truth, and I wasn’t prepared to do that either.
I just wanted to lie on the bed and pretend that nothing existed outside of the cocoon we’d made of the sheets. Although at this point the cocoon was mostly on the floor. Looking at the wreck we’d made of AM’s bed made me feel smug as fuck, but the feeling faded quickly when I thought about all the crap I’d have to tell her. I rested my head against her side as she peered at the laptop screen to see the evidence of my ticket purchase.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
BO
TRIP TO LITTLE OAK, TEXAS, was far shorter than I wanted, even though we’d traveled half the day. AM told me about her conversation with her father, Clay’s threats, and the whole lacrosse house’s shitscapades on the flight down. I felt even dirtier after hearing it all and wanted nothing more than to eat, shower, and spend the entire night screwing AM’s brains out. I did not want to see my old man or my mom. I didn’t even want to be here. My crappy attitude permeated every one of my actions the closer the rental car got to Little Oak, and this did not escape AM’s notice.
“You sound like the wolf from the ‘Three Little Pigs,’” AM told me. At my quizzical look, she blew up her cheeks and released a big stream of air.