Two Hot Kisses
Page 5
She instantly reached inside her purse and did as he asked. She watched as he punched digits into her already-unlocked screen and then handed it back. “I’ve put my number in there. You can call me anytime.”
“Thank you.” She accepted the phone but felt as if this wasn’t just a “see you later” but a “goodbye.”
He leaned forward, and the whiskers of his beard tickled her skin. Sasha breathed him in close, holding on tight, but just as quickly the hug ended.
She watched as Brandon turned to leave. He walked several steps and then spun around.
“Brandon?” She rushed to him.
“It’s nothing.” He shook his head and began to leave, but she stopped him, tugging on his arm.
“Don’t do that,” she said. “Tell me what you were going to say.”
“I was going to say that if you change your mind, my full tour schedule is on my website. I’ll be in DC for two days before heading to my next stop.”
She nodded. “Okay.”
He cupped her face in his hands and then kissed her. It was restrained, not the passionate kisses he’d given her last night. Sasha longed to go backward, back to when she’d been in his arms and everything felt right.
“Talk soon.”
Then he disappeared through the doors of the hotel as if he’d never been there. But he had been, and Sasha knew she would never be the same.
Later that evening, after coming home and restlessly attempting to paint in her study, Sasha gave up and went to Casey’s to commiserate over a bottle of wine, but her friend was no help. She thought Sasha was stupid not to take Brandon up on his offer to accompany him on his book tour.
“What do you have to lose, Sasha? You aren’t working right now. Why not go and have some fun with that sexy author?”
“What if it ends horribly?” Like every one of her previous relationships.
“Or what if it’s the best thing that’s ever happened to you?” Casey asked. “You’ll never know unless you try.”
And so, Sasha arrived home close to midnight somewhat inebriated in the hopes she’d fall hopelessly asleep, but she didn’t. Couldn’t.
Turning on the lamp, she sat upright.
She felt alone.
Bereft.
The depth of her rootlessness struck her. For years, she’d been moving from one place to the next. Visits home to see her family were rare and short. But with Brandon, she’d felt more at home than she had in years. He made her feel beautiful. Talented. Special. So special, it scared her.
She’d never felt this kind of closeness with any of the other men she’d ever dated, except Brandon. He truly cared for her.
If she was honest, she wanted to see that gleam in his eyes as they made small talk walking the streets of Greenwich Village. She wanted to debate politics with him. She wanted to bump and grind with him to old school R & B. Or introduce him to more Indian cuisine and watch him enjoy the heat of the food. It scared her to think that she wanted his arms around her tonight and to make love to him into the wee hours of the morning.
She’d made a horrible mistake.
She should have accepted Brandon’s offer and gone with him to DC to find out if what they had was truly what she thought, what she hoped it could be, or if she was deluding herself.
Her heart told her to take the leap.
Pulling out her phone, she found the first flight to DC and prayed she wasn’t too late.
Chapter 6
Brandon was trying to get excited about the day’s book stops at stores in DC, but he was having a hard time focusing.
Yesterday had been brutal. He’d woken up with Sasha in his arms after having spent a passionate night of lovemaking together only to end the day in his DC hotel room alone. He’d hoped that their incredible day together might have shown Sasha the possibilities of what they could have.
A lifetime together.
But she’d been too afraid to reach for the brass ring. He didn’t know what she feared so much. Love wasn’t guaranteed. If it were, it would be easy, but relationships weren’t. They took time and effort. And work. Perhaps he’d been fantasizing thinking he and Sasha had what it took, but he didn’t think he’d gotten it that wrong.
They had common interests, the same belief system. They could laugh at each other’s jokes. They loved to talk about anything and nothing. They were perfectly suited in and out of bed. As for the bedroom, Sasha more than matched his intensity. Maybe he should have never opened Pandora’s box and known the sweet taste of her?
He doubted if he’d ever be able to get it out of his mouth, much less his head.
“Mr. Cobb, are you ready?”
Brandon put on a smile and walked onto the small stage as he waved at the crowd that had come to his book signing and reading.
“Thank you all for coming,” he said and was just about to sit down when his eyes caught sight of a familiar leather jacket.
His heart stopped.
It can’t be.
But as the bookstore owner walked closer toward the light, Brandon found himself staring into the most beautiful set of brown eyes he’d ever seen.
Sasha.
She’d come. She’d taken a risk on them, and it was all he could ever ask for.
“I’m sorry,” Sasha said once everyone had cleared out of the store and only Brandon and she remained. She’d taken the first flight out that morning in the hopes of arriving in enough time to catch him. It had cost her a small fortune for a no-advance plane ticket on her credit card, but it was worth every penny to see Brandon’s smile.
“It’s okay. You’re here now, though I have to admit I’m surprised. After our conversation—”
“I was scared,” Sasha interrupted him. “I always seem to make the worst decisions, so I was afraid of ruining us. You’ve been the best thing to happen to me in a long time.”
“Don’t you see, Sasha? I feel the same way. When I saw you again, I knew it was fate or kismet or whatever, but I knew I didn’t want to waste another opportunity with you. So, the only way you could ruin us,” Brandon said, “was to give up on us, but I’m so glad you didn’t.”
With a flourish, he lifted her into his arms. As she slid back to the floor, Sasha came into contact with Brandon’s rock-hard chest and the crush of his lips against her mouth. He kissed her full and hard with no restraint in the middle of the bookstore, and it felt like home. Inevitably, the world outside slipped away and it was nothing but the two of them in this perfect moment with what had begun with two hot kisses.
THE END