Microsoft Word - Starter Boyfriend.doc

by Lana Jovanovic

  She enjoyed the feel of his body against hers. She wanted to really wrap herself around him, but she practiced a bit of self control and kept her arms loose around his waist. He kissed her forehead and then brushed his mouth lightly against hers again. She stood on her toes and really pressed her lips to his aching to feel those jolts along her backside, legs and spine again. His fingers slowly slipped down lower touching the swell of her backside and shocking the nerves there. The jolts that she had wanted hit her sending pulses of electricity rushing up the center of her back—this time it was Zoe who moaned.

  Colton broke their kiss instantly and took a little step back from her. He looked as flustered and heated as she felt. He smiled and took her hand; kissing her fingers.

  “Well… one step at a time, okay? We’re making a scene,” Zoe glanced around and noticed that they did indeed have a bit of an audience. She noticed Claire and Nick staring at them and blushed so deeply she had to hide her face against Colton’s chest for a moment. He kissed along her jaw and pressed his mouth to her ear. “First… I want to dance with you—interested?”

  “Of course,” she smiled as he took her hand and placed it on her arm. As they walked back onto the dance floor, Zoe realized that her coworkers were watching her with curiosity and perhaps a bit of envy. Claire looked down right shocked. Maybe the other women were curious to how she could have ever landed a guy like Colton. Like Nick, he too was a bit out of her league. She didn’t care. For the first time ever Zoe was very happy that she had agreed to find a starter boyfriend.

  It was probably the best decision she’d ever made.

  Two hours passed and Colton hadn’t kissed her again. He kept his arm around her most of the night and occasionally she felt his fingers gently caressing the material of her dress. They danced several times and ate hors d’oeuvres and drank wine. He was engaging and networked a little, developing contacts for his landscaping business. He was charming and suave and every time he looked down at her, Zoe’s body flushed with heat. She stood beside him all night as an extremely happy woman. He was attentive and caring toward her and occasionally looked at her in a way that made her wonder if he might just tear her clothes off by the end of the night. He spoke with a lot of different people, but always managed to bring her to the forefront of the conversation. He was a natural crowd pleaser and the fact that he was insanely sexy helped immensely. Ladies wanted to be with him and men wanted to be like him—he was the whole, complete package. And he was all hers—not once did his eyes stray to other women.

  “So,” Colton murmured as he eased the glass of champagne out of Zoe’s hand and set it on the table where they had finally managed to sit privately, “can I finally tell you why I was late?”

  “Please,” she pressed her tingling lips together and realized that the heaviness in her head wasn’t her attraction to Colton, it was the countless flutes of champagne she’d had. She took his hand in hers, hoping that she wasn’t too tipsy. “I was concerned.”

  “I’m sorry,” he ran his knuckle along her cheek. “I… am a hero!” Zoe laughed at his excitement, “What do you mean?”

  “I was heading home for the night and witnessed a pretty bad accident—I pulled a guy out of his car just as it caught fire. My arm hairs are singed, I’d show you, but that means I’d have to undress and—”

  “Please do,” Zoe said brazenly. She shocked him and she shocked herself with such words and they both laughed. She reached for her champagne when Colton pushed it farther out of her reach. “Have I had too much?”

  “No,” he smiled. “I just want to make sure that we’re both level headed later—anyway, I had to leave a police report and then Channel 1 wanted to interview me. Things got a little crazy. I’m sorry I worried you and that I was late.”

  “It’s okay,” she said as she rubbed his fingers.

  “How’s Paige?” Colton asked.

  “She’s okay,” Zoe answered. “Child protective services will be monitoring her household—when they went a few days ago they found about twenty empty vodka bottles all over the house. Paige’s mother is doing out-patient treatment, but I’m not sure that any of it is going to matter in the long run. Minnie managed to give Paige a really cute pixie haircut, but Paige doesn’t really like it. I don’t blame her.”

  “I’m sorry that she has to deal with all of that—and that you do as Paige’s Big Sister.”

  “Yes, I wish there was more that I could do, but there isn’t now,” Zoe sighed, “It leaves me feeling very helpless.”

  “I can imagine,” Colton rubbed her fingers and slowly stood. “One more dance?” Zoe nodded and rose to her feet. She stumbled into him and smiled as he put his arm around her waist and led her back to the dance floor. They were nearly there when someone called her name. She turned her head to see Lawrence Mallory approaching with his wife Enid. Lawrence was in his early fifties but looked ten years younger than he was. Unlike the wives and girlfriends of the other partners, Enid Mallory was similar in age, a striking beauty with long black hair and supple curves that she always flaunted with such pride. Pride that Zoe had been jealous of since she’d first met the woman.

  “Darling,” Enid hurried forward and grasped Zoe’s hand. “I’ve been admiring you all evening, you’re glowing—radiant!” She leaned closer and whispered, “I’m sure some of it has to do with this incredibly sexy man that you’ve been enamored with.” Zoe smiled and nodded, “Although, not enamored really—just swept away. This is Colton Philips.”

  “You must be the landscaper that I’ve heard so much about,” Lawrence said as he shook Colton’s hand, “Lawrence Mallory.”

  “Colton Philips, I own Cara’s Flowers and Design,” Colton said. “Great benefit here, sir, looks like a great turn out.”

  “It was,” Enid nodded as she hugged her husband’s arm. “We raised nearly four million dollars tonight—very good indeed. One of our better fundraisers, don’t you think, darling?”

  “For sure,” Lawrence smiled at his wife and then looked at Zoe. “Zoe, I heard that you were in charge of the design for this year’s invitations. Spectacular work as always—you sir, are in the company of a brilliant artist!”

  “Thank you, Mr. Mallory,” Zoe beamed at his praise and felt very special when she looked up and found Colton smiling down at her with pride in his eyes. “I’m glad that you liked them—it was quite a hassle! But it is well worth the effort—especially hearing that four million was donated. That is amazing!”

  “Zoe here does wonders when she’s put in charge of a project and given little difficulty from those around her,” Lawrence said as he smiled at Zoe. “She’s the hardest working and most genuine person I have employed here. I am constantly afraid that she’ll be stolen away.”

  “No one’s stealing me!” Zoe laughed. “I’m quite happy here at Mallory-Witt Advertising—you were very gracious to give me a chance right out of school. I feel a sense of loyalty here and I do enjoy my job—I have a fabulous office.” Enid and Lawrence laughed. “I hope it’s not just your office that keeps you with us, dear,” Enid smiled and waved to someone she knew. “Darling?”

  “Yes,” he nodded, “I just wanted to stop by and meet your new man, Zoe. No one is probably good enough for you, but you seem happy.”

  “That’s very sweet,” Zoe stammered. “Thank you.” She felt overwhelmed by his continuous kindness and wasn’t really sure what she’d done to deserve any of it. He was the best boss she’d ever had, good enough not to praise her so whole-heartedly in front of her other colleagues.

  “Zoe, I’m going to set up an appointment with you for Tuesday—Sarah will set it up. We need to talk about a few things… big things.” He winked and then leaned close so only she could hear. “Bigger office things.” He winked and shook Colton’s hand before walking away.

  “Bigger offices?” Colton asked. “Are you up for promotion?”

  “No,” Zoe answered. “I’ve been with the company for only four years; he couldn’t want t
o promote me yet.”

  “Is he ever inappropriate with you?” Colton asked his voice suddenly very serious. Zoe turned her attention to him and touched his firm jaw. He looked down at her and sighed.

  “He’s never been inappropriate with me, Colton, we’ve always had a professional relationship,” Zoe looked after the Mallorys and sighed. “I have no idea what it could be.

  Hopefully he’s not thinking of moving me to London.”

  “Why would he do that?” Colton demanded. His fingers tightened on her side as he led her to the dance floor. As the orchestra began to play a new ballad, Colton’s arms drew her close. “Would a promotion mean moving? London is really far away, Zoe.”

  “No,” she murmured touching the worry wrinkles on his brow, “I’m not moving anywhere—it’s probably not a promotion, just another big project. Colton?”

  “Hmm?” He dropped his forehead to hers and held her hand against his chest.

  “Aren’t you going to kiss me again?”

  He laughed and shook his head no.

  She tilted her head back and stared directly at his smiling mouth. “But… I thought I was Pringles.”

  He laughed again and tucked her head to his shoulder, “Right now, babe, you’re like poison.”

  Zoe frowned and closed her eyes. Poison? Was that a good thing? She lifted her head and looked back up at him. The question she was going to ask died on her lips as he bent his head and gently kissed her. It was chaste and simple kiss, but sizzling enough to rock her world. She felt him withdrawing and leaned into him, standing on her toes to keep the connection. It worked; he sighed and locked his mouth to hers in a more intimate kiss.

  She wrapped her arms around his neck and set off to a gentle exploration of his mouth.

  The moment she touched her tongue to his, he ran his hands up the sides of her body, intimately close to her breasts, and set her back from him.

  “Let’s get out of here,” he said hoarsely. His hands moved down to her hips and then broke from her body completely. After a moment, he reached for her again, his palms cupping her cheeks. His mouth moved down ready to claim hers again, but he stopped at the last moment and shook his head as if clearing his thoughts. “Let’s go. Can you get away now?”

  “Yes, any time,” she answered as he took her hand in his and led her off the dance floor.

  They took a taxi from Trump Towers. Zoe wasn’t sure where they were going—she didn’t care. She sat beside Colton, holding his hand between both of hers. He didn’t try to kiss her again, but she just assumed it was because the cabbie kept looking back at them in his rearview mirror. Before too long the cab pulled up in front of Zoe’s apartment.

  Colton told him to wait and then climbed out of the car, helping her out as well.

  “I had a good time,” he said as he walked her up to the door and watched her pull her keys out from her small little evening clutch. “I don’t get to dress up nearly enough—it’s fun. I’ve been dragged to a lot of those functions, Zoe. This is the first one I haven’t minded in the slightest.”

  “I’m glad,” she smiled and held her keys tightly. “Colton, do you want….”

  “No,” he interrupted. “No, I can’t,” he cupped the side of her face with his warm hand and kissed her forehead; his lips lingered but didn’t drop down to hers, which is where she really wanted them. He kissed her forehead again and then moved his mouth to her jaw where he trailed kisses all the way to her chin. She moved her mouth to angle it over his, but he drew back at the last moment. “No… I’ve got to go.” She kissed his chin softly and then turned and slipped her key into the door. “I had a good time too—a great time, actually.”

  He didn’t say anything. She felt his fingers move along her side to her back, lingering only a moment before he pulled away.

  She twisted the key and the knob and pushed the door open with her hip, she stopped when he stepped up toward her, his mouth hot on her ear. She turned her head and his mouth covered hers suddenly; his arm locked around her waist and pulled her to him. She held him around the neck and returned the pressure of his tongue and lips. The deep vibrations of his moan tickled her ears and ignited a desire to continue to pleasure him, to continue to make him moan like that. She dropped one arm from his neck and slipped it inside his jacket. He pressed her suddenly against the door. His hand swept down past the small of her back and gently cupped her backside. The touch was startlingly erotic and new to her; Zoe gasped and clutched him close. He held her just as tightly, his face buried against her neck, and just as she bent her head to kiss his neck, the door behind her swung open and he was setting her inside the apartment. His hand on her hip kept her at bay when she tried to pull him in with her.

  He thrust her keys into hand and then stepped back and pulled the apartment door closed locking himself out. She leaned against the wall and watched as he headed back down to the cab and disappeared inside. She wanted to call after him, to beg him to come back, but things were a little too intense and it was completely unlike her to invite a man back up to her apartment in such circumstances. Still, she wanted him there. Desperately.

  Soon the cab was gone and Zoe was left to climb the stairs on incredibly shaky legs.

  Halfway up to her floor, her cell phone jingled with a text message notice. Pulling her phone from her bag she flipped it open and accessed the message.

  It was from Colton.

  Poisoned Pringles… that’s what you are.

  Zoe smiled and texted him back: :) night Colton.

  A moment later her phone jingled again with his reply: Nite Z.

  Zoe slipped into her apartment and closed her door. She went to bed with a smile on her face and slightly worried that she was falling head-over-heals for a man who was never meant to be her permanent boyfriend. A man who really knew how to kiss.

  --

  Lesson Ten: “It is hard to determine when to sleep with someone—when in doubt go

  without.”

  “Delivery for you Colton,” Jamie called as she stepped into his office, a small area set off with cubicle walls in the back corner of his workroom. “There’s no card.” He turned away from the papers on his desk and stared at the large basket she was holing out to him. The moment his eyes landed on the contents he burst into laughter. Jamie’s eyebrow rose in confusion. She set the gift basket of Pringles down on the corner of his cluttered desk and put her hand on her hips. She waited for him to stop laughing and tell her who they were from, but all he did was lean back in his chair and chuckled with a dopey smile spread across his handsome face. Grinning he reached forward, untied a fancy blue ribbon, and pushed down the cellophane wrapping on the basket. Plucking a barbeque Pringle canister from the assortment, he popped off the lid and pulled back the seal.

  “Who delivered them?”

  “A bike messenger—I said there isn’t a card,” as Jamie spoke the bells chimed overhead, perking Colton’s ears, “so who are they from anyway?” Jamie asked.

  The bells chimed again, pulling Jamie’s attention away from Colton. If she paused momentarily to wait for his answer, Colton didn’t see. He put a few chips in his mouth and grabbed his cell phone. He dialed Zoe’s work number and shook his head as he stared at the different assortments of Pringles. Zoe was creative, he’d give her that. He knew that she’d sent the basket so he wouldn’t “forget about her.” She shouldn’t have been concerned about that in the slightest. Although he hadn’t seen her in three days, Colton called her every night and they talked for hours and hours. So he wasn’t in danger of forgetting anything about her; in fact, the lengthy phone conversations were helping him to know her better. For example, she was deathly afraid of rabbits for some reason.

  Had nightmares about them and everything—Easter had always been particularly hard.

  But there were drawbacks to avoiding her physically. It was hard turning down her lunch and dinner invitations time and time again, but it was necessary. Thursday night’s benefit had gotten a little out o
f hand—he hadn’t expected her kisses to be so intense. He thought, considering her lack of a dating history, that she wouldn’t have too much kissing experience either; he didn’t think he would feel anything but clumsy kisses. Well, Zoe had natural kissing abilities and he’d felt a gauntlet of emotions the moment her lips touched and tormented his. Lost in the feel of her touch and the taste of her mouth, he had ended up taking quite a few liberties with her—and had done so in public. He felt embarrassed to behave so juvenilely. He completely lost control a few times too and probably caused quiet the headache for her at work, although she ensured him that people weren’t talking about it. He was sure that they were—they must have looked like horny teenagers making out on the dance floor. During a children’s charity event too. What was he thinking?

  Colton just needed to slow things down a bit and he was positive that these past few days away from her would do wonders for his self control. He hoped anyway.

  “Zoe Rayne,” she answered after three rings. The sound of her voice warmed him right to the core and turned him on a little.

  “Zoe,” Colton laughed.

  She gasped with delight, “Did you get it?”

  “I did,” he said. “It’s great, really—you’re too cute.”

  “Thank you, I didn’t want you to forget about me,” she said dramatically. He grinned and closed his eyes as she continued, “It’s been forever since I’ve seen you—Thursday was a long time ago.”

  “It’s just Monday—and I’m not going to forget about you—we talk daily,” he put the lid back on the Pringles container and settled back in his chair. “But the chips were a nice reminder of a great night. Thank you Zoe.”

  “You’re welcome, Colton,” she said softly. There was a breath of silence between them and her next question didn’t surprise him because it was predictable to their last few conversations. “Why don’t you have dinner with me tonight?”