Chapter
Eight
Jayne
“We really need to stop meeting this way,” Bodi quips as we sit there for a moment, catching our collective breath.
“You scared the crap out of me,” I mutter.
“Sorry about that. Your foot was on the edge of the step so I wanted to warn you…I guess it backfired.”
“That it did.” She rubs her hip.
“Are you hurt?” I ask quickly.
“I’m good—I’m more worried about you.” She frowns slightly. “You took the brunt of my fall.”
“I’m fine.” He brushes a stray tendril of hair out of my face. “You sure you’re okay? We landed kind of hard.”
“I landed on you,” I say softly. “You broke my fall, which I really appreciate. You’re quite the gentleman.”
“Is that bad?” he asks curiously, eyes lasered in on mine.
“No. I like it. I don’t meet many these days.”
We’re still looking into each other’s eyes, and I have a feeling he’s going to…oh my gosh. He’s leaning forward. I don’t knowwhat to do except to close my eyes and let it happen. How long has it been since I kissed someone? Close to a year and?—
His lips brush mine ever-so-softly. A tiny caress that isn’t impatient or hurried. Like we’re not sitting on the floor of the library where I’m supposed to be working. He brings up a hand, putting it on the side of my face as he continues to lightly touch his lips to mine. No tongue, no urgency, just soft, sensual exploration.
And this is sexier than anything else I’ve ever done.
There’s an intimacy that has nothing to do with sex. It’s hard to explain what I’m feeling because my heart is pounding excitedly, my skin feels alive, and my body is on high alert. He’s barely touched me but I’m intrigued and aroused and maybe a little giddy.
My lips part of their own volition, but he doesn’t take it as an invitation. Instead, he gently brushes his knuckles across my cheek and whispers, “Not here. Not now. I’ll kiss you properly when we’re alone.”
“You really are a gentleman,” I say, focusing on his handsome face.
“Not always, but I try. Now come on, let’s get these books shelved.” He stands up and holds out his hands, helping me to my feet.
“Thank you.” My knees feel shaky, and I don’t know why.
I can’t ever remember a kiss having this effect on me. And it was barely a kiss. Completely chaste.
What is it about Bodi that has me feeling like an innocent virgin all over again? He’s the kind of guy who could make me break all my rules about not having any distractions until I graduate.
“So,” he says, leaning against the shelves as I climb back up on the ladder. “What’s new?”
“Since I last saw you?” I ask drolly. “Not a damn thing…how about you?”
“One of my roommates is Russian,” he says. “We’ve been making him watch trash reality TV to help him learn better English. What’s hilarious is that he’s more caught up in the drama than the language.”
I laugh. “That may be backfiring on you.”
“Pretty much, although I think he’s learning more than he wants to admit. His bigger struggle is reading and writing since the alphabets are completely different.”
“There might be some audiobooks here at the library that could help him with the language, if he’s interested in that kind of thing.”
“That might be good for him. I’ll mention it.”
