Page 61 of Leashed

Hard.

She couldn’t keep up with the sensations ricocheting through her as his teeth nibbled her lip, his tongue swiped over hers, his hands flexed against her skin. She wound her fingers into his hair as his lips traveled down her neck and up to her earlobe, his soft panting in her ear sending shivers down her back.

She wanted him, even as the ache in her chest became more insistent.

Her phone buzzed in her back pocket, yanking her from her haze. She shrunk back, ducking out of his loose hold and shaking her head as she pulled her vibrating cell out and held a hand up to him.

This was so, so wrong.

Bo eased the door closed quietly while she answered Nixon’s call. Her eyes were still locked on the man she had just kissed while the man who’d left her last text on read greeted her with a clipped hello.

“Hey,” she said, blinking as she took another step back. “I wasn’t expecting to hear from you.”

The sound of glasses clinking came through the speaker. “We can discuss things when you pick me up from the airport Friday.”

“Pick you—right. Okay. How’s the conference?” she asked by rote, the ache in her chest disappearing as she sunk back into place with Nixon and watched Bo run his thumb absently over his bottom lip, his attention on the closet. While Nix went off about the seating arrangements, she tilted her head and noticed Bo’s blue eye had darkened to a deep navy, his green one taking on a dark forest shade. “So the Friday pickup schedule you texted me last month is still good?”

Humming in acknowledgment while Nix laid out the details of his flight again, she stepped aside as Bo inched past her and pulled a book from his jacket pocket, setting it on the coffee table. “Yes, of course I remember,” she murmured when Nix reminded her of the New Year’s plans they’d been discussing before he decided they needed a break. A break she was assuming he no longer needed. She tracked Bo’s movements, her breath catching when he brushed past her and pulled his boots back on. “Okay. See you Friday.”

She looked down at her screen as it went black. “That was, um, Nixon.”

“I figured as much.”

He was still refusing to look at her.

“I…” She wrapped her arms around herself, the guilt of what she’d done settling in as Bo ran his fingers roughly through his hair. “I’m sorry.”

Shoving his hands in his back pockets, he finally glanced her way. “What does he do for you that no other guy can?”

She tightened her hold on herself. “I don’t want to talk about this.”

“Yeah, well I do,” he pressed, mimicking her position. “What does buddy-boy have that you couldn’t get from someone else? Someone who maybe isn’t a raging asshole? Someone who doesn’t decide exam week is the perfect time for a practice breakup?”

“I don’t know.”

“You’re settling.”

She pursed her lips and looked up at him. “Yeah, Bo. I’m settling. Most people do, don’t they? In some way or another, isn’t that essentially what compromise is?” Tossing her hands in the air, she leaned against the wall. “Isn’t that what you’ve been asking me over and over? There’s your answer. I’m settling, I’m settling, I’m settling.”

He nodded slowly, his eyes fixed behind her as his shoulders hunched a fraction. “If you’re gonna settle, then why not settle for me?”

Blinking in surprise, she lowered her hands. “I…what?”

He looked down to the doorknob, as though searching for an escape. “I know I look pretty bad on paper,” he muttered. “I mean, I can give a pretty detailed rundown on just how bad, but that’s not exactly gonna help my case here.”

“Case?” she echoed, a peculiar combination of fear and elation worming through her. “There’s no case, Bo. There’s…well, there’s Nixon.”

“No, there’s the leash of familiarity,” he countered, opening the door. “I’m tossing my name into the ring, Sage. Just think about it, okay? If you decide Nixon’s it, that he’s the guy, I’ll back off for good. But if you think maybe I’m not a terrible option…yeah. You know how to track me down.”

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