Page 43 of Boarded Hearts

Don’t get carried away, Jon. She wants you to stay and comfort her. I mentally will my dick to stand down and my brain to get a grip.

But fuck me is she beautiful. And cute, so cute. Her coconut shampoo, the scent that’s been driving me crazy since late September, sits at the side of the tub along with a matching conditioner. I make a mental note of the brand. Would it be weird if I bought a bottle just to keep at my place, for times when I don’t get to see her? Christ, who are you and what have you done with Jon Morgan?

With one final pep talk, I pull the door open and step out into her bedroom. The room is glowing in soft light courtesy of a single lamp on her nightstand. The sage-green comforter on the queen-size bed is pulled back, but it’s missing a particular someone. I wiped down the kitchen and plates after our pizza, so I doubt there’s much to do in there.

So where is she?

Just then, the door to her closet opens, and out steps Felicity, sporting tiny pink silk sleep shorts and a matching cami top that scoops low at the front. She’s no longer wearing a bra, and I catch my first glimpse at the shape of her perfectly perky tits and nipples, which are slightly peaked. Shit, is she turned on or just cold? I can’t tell because the heating in this place is crap at best. No wonder she has a thick comforter piled with blankets. The thought of my girl living and sleeping in a cold apartment pisses me off, and I make a mental note that it’s something I need to address and fast.

“Hey.” She pauses as she closes the tiny closet door which stays ajar due to the number of bags and scarves hanging over the edge.

“Hi,” I squeak out. Shit, I’m so nervous. Looking at my dream girl dressed in barely anything and standing before me in her bedroom. I’m still in my dress pants and button-down shirt, having only removed my jacket and shoes much earlier in the night.

“You look, um, nice.” I’m so smooth.

She smiles sweetly, with an edge of uncertainty to her still slightly puffy eyes.

“Do you have a favorite side?” she asks, looking over at the bed.

As long as it’s next to you, then no.

“No. I.” I pause. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I want her to know me, the good, the bad, and everything in between. “I’ve only ever slept alone, so I’ve always just taken the middle.”

“You’ve never shared a bed with another woman?”

My skin itches, flushing hot. “No, well, yes. Not all night.”

She looks confused, her lips twisting to the side as she considers my response. “So, just one-night stands?” She asks the question but there’s no judgment in her eyes, just a hint of intrigue.

“Yeah.” I start unbuttoning my shirt, desperate for something to do with my hands. “I sort of had rules when it came to women.”

She starts climbing into bed before moving over to the far side closest to the window. Once settled, she leans her back against the wooden headboard pulling the comforter up and over her chest, clearly aware of her peaked nipples as her face flushes with a touch of embarrassment. I don’t like it. I never want her to be embarrassed around me.

Tipping her head slightly to the side, her eyes cast down over my chest to my abs. My shirt is undone but not removed, hanging open at the front. I start undoing my belt, unlooping it slowly. Returning her eyes to mine, I swear there’s a heat in them that wasn’t there before. I can’t deny I’m a good-looking guy with a thick muscular body, and taking my clothes off in front of a woman has never been anything other than routine in the buildup to sex. But this, tonight, here with the girl of my dreams as she watches me strip to my dark-gray boxer briefs, every cell in my body is ignited with hyper-arousal and awareness. If the apartment is still cold, I can’t feel it. I’ve never experienced anything this hot, yet sex isn’t even in the cards.

I climb into bed, my weight shifting her ever so slightly closer as I feel our thighs brush together, a fleeting touch that jolts through me going straight to my dick.

Shit, not now.

Keep it together.

Think of anything. Anything else.

“I don’t know if I want to ask about your rules.” She breaks the short silence.

I too shift back against the headboard, close enough so our shoulders touch, sending a similar physical reaction through me. The way Felicity responds, I know she feels it too.“I don’t want to keep secrets from you, Angel. You can ask me anything and I’ll always be honest. Even if it isn’t what you want to hear.” I can’t say I’m proud of some of my past, but I’m serious about this woman, and I’ll show her all of me.

She doesn’t say anything more. So, I offer up the information I think she wants. “I never stayed overnight with any hookup. Once we were done, I’d either get dressed and leave her place or call her a taxi from the hotel to make sure she got home safe.”I turn to look at her, analyzing for any trace of judgment in her eyes. Still none.

“So, it was a one-and-done type of arrangement?”

“Not quite, my rules meant I couldn’t hook up with the same woman more than twice. That was designed to stop them from catching feelings, in case they got the wrong idea of what it was. Which to me was always sex. Meaningless, but with a purpose of release and a connection with someone on the shallowest of levels.”

“Oh.” Felicity brings her knees up and under her chin. “And they were okay with that.”

“Yeah, for the most part, I never had any issues. They knew what they were getting with me. It suited both parties. I got what I wanted and needed, and they got what they wanted too. Some wanted to brag about being with me, and others were more tight-lipped, just in it for the great sex.”

She smirks at that, and there’s a twinkle returning to her eyes. “Great, huh? Don’t mind Mr. Modest Morgan over here.”

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