Nashville Flirt (4 page)

“
Yes,” Sarah said. “I need
some air.”

The party climbed out of the limo and
walked the short distance to the building. She could still feel
Bo’s gaze on her and it was starting to make her a little crazy.
Since when had she let a guy scramble her brains so
thoroughly?

“
Sarah, would you like to
see the pond?” Sean asked.

Sarah could have kissed Sean in that
instant. “I would love to see the pond, Sean,” Sarah said. “Thank
you.”

Emily grabbed onto Bo’s arm, beaming.
“What’s on the other side of the building?” she asked
Bo.

Bo shrugged. “Not sure.”

“
Well, let’s explore
then.”

Bo really had no choice but to go
along with Emily, though he didn’t look happy about it. His gaze
flicked to Sarah for just a second before he turned to escort Emily
out of sight.

“
Are you okay?” Sean
asked, once they’d reached the edge of the pond. “Aren't you having
a good time?”

“
It's not what I
expected,” Sarah said carefully. “Bo is not what I
expected.”

“
Sometimes the fantasy
doesn’t live up to the reality,” Sean said.

“
I know. I have a sister
who can't seem to tell the difference. She’s built up Bo Branson to
be one thing in her imagination—the ultimate fantasy man, the
perfect specimen of mankind everywhere. She’s determined to fulfill
all those crazy romantic fantasies her fevered brain has come up
with.”

“
Is he how
you
thought he’d
be?”

Sarah turned away to look out over the
dark water, not wanting Sean to be able to read the expression on
her face. He sort of was. He was handsome and cocky, for sure, But
Sarah sensed something else, just below the surface. Something Bo
was hiding. “No. Not at all.”

“
A lot of women have
celebrity crushes,” Sean said with a sigh. “Makes it hard for
normal guys to compete.”

He sounded so dejected. He definitely
had a thing for Emily. He was in for disappointment. As long as she
was obsessed with Bo, Sean didn’t stand a chance.

“
It's a thing with Emily,
but I think for her it's more than that. I mean she's not a
teenager. She's crushing on these fantasy men so that she can avoid
a real relationship with a real guy.” And now Sarah was not only
crushing on Emily’s date, she was spilling all her sister’s secrets
to a total stranger. Still, Sean deserved to know if he had any
intention of starting something real with her.

“
I’ve said too much. You
don't want to hear about this,” Sarah said, examining Sean’s
features.

“
Actually, I don't mind.”
He wet his lips. “Your sister is really…interesting to
me.”

“
You like her.”

“
Well,” Sean said,
obviously trying to play it cool. “I just met her. But I think
she's really nice.”

“
She’s a terror,” Sarah
said. “But she’s kind and loyal and passionate, too. She’s just
afraid. Our parents’ divorce wasn’t pretty. Emily doesn’t want to
end up that way. Celebrity crushes and one-nighters are
safe.”

Sean glanced toward the Parthenon and
frowned. “Good to know. Actual men don’t stand a
chance.”

“
You never know,” Sarah
said. Even though she had just met Sean, she thought he might be
the perfect guy for Emily. A real guy, not some face on a poster.
If only Emily could see that. “Stranger things have
happened.”

“
You and Emily are leaving
town in less than 24 hours.”

“
A lot can happen in a
day.” Sarah’s smile fell away. “That being said, Emily is my little
sister and if you do anything to hurt her, I will make sure you’re
singing falsetto for the rest of your life.”

“
Point taken. Maybe we
should go see what Bo and Emily are up to.”

*****

“
I hate to rush this.”
Sean said once their party of four reached the limo. “But the park
closes at eleven. We need to get going soon.”

Bo was actually more than ready to get
out of there. Emily had come on strong, but Bo tried to keep things
casual and platonic, making small talk and asking her questions he
was pretty sure he’d already covered. All he could think about was
whether Sean and Sarah were getting cozy at the pond. He really
hoped the night didn’t end with Bo losing his temper and punching
the radio station guy.

Emily, Bo, Sarah, and Sean piled into
the back of the limo, but as soon as they got settled, Emily
noticed Sarah was minus one earring.

“
Crap. It must have fallen
off by the pond,” Sarah said, touching her bare ear.

How had that happened? Sarah didn’t
look like she’d been making out with Sean, but how else would her
earring have become dislodged? He needed to get out of there before
he did something rash. “I'm on it. Where were you
standing?”

“
Over by the walkway,” she
said. “Near the…oh, it's easier to show you.”

As soon as they’d walked away from the
limo, Bo turned to Sarah and grinned. “Couldn’t wait to get me
alone, huh?”

“
More like I wanted to
give Sean and Emily some time alone.”

Bo blinked. “Sean and
Emily?”

“
He seems to like her and
he’s a good guy. I thought he deserved a shot.” She arched a brow.
“Jealous he’s commandeering your date?”

“
Absolutely not.” He
caught her elbow, stopping her march to the pond, and moved them
behind some small trees, out of sight of the limo. “It’s time to
pay up.”

“
Pay up?”

Bo moved in close, so that they were
nearly chest to chest. Or chest to belly, since she was a tiny
little thing and he wasn’t.

“
We had a deal. I spent
some time alone with Emily. Now I finally get some time alone with
you. Believe me, I’ve earned it.”

“
How many times do I have
to tell you I’m not interested?”

“
I don’t know.” He tucked
a tendril of her hair behind her ear and focused on her lips, his
pulse pounding through his veins. “How many times do I have to tell
you you’re lying.”

“
I’m not,” she said. But
her voice was a breathy sigh and her eyelids fluttered
shut.

“
You are,” he said,
leaning in. “And there’s nothing wrong with admitting you want
me.”

He moved slowly, savoring the moment
he’d waited for all night. He slid one arm around her waist and
drew her against his length. Bo used the other hand to tip her chin
up. Her eyes were still closed, her lips trembling just a
fraction.

“
Open your
eyes.”

Sarah blinked and her gaze met
his.

“
I want you to know who’s
kissing you. And I want you to admit you like it. That you’ve been
thinking about it all night.”

Her mouth tightened. “I
haven’t.”

“
Yes, you have. And so
have I. I’ve wondered if your lips are as soft as they look.
Whether you’re a timid kisser, or whether you give as good as you
get. If you make noises or are perfectly silent. I’ve been
wondering how many kisses it’ll take until you’re ready to admit
there’s something between us. Something we need to
explore.”

He swooped in then, taking her lips in
a kiss guaranteed to take her breath away. What he didn’t count on
was his own reaction.

Electricity jumped between them at the
first touch. Her lips were soft and pliable and she tasted like
sweet tea and summer. Perfect. Without much urging on his part, her
lips parted and he swept inside. Some part of his brain decided he
could go on kissing her forever. She kissed him back with a passion
Bo had only glimpsed, proving that Bo had been right. She wanted
his as much as he wanted her.

Her hands roamed over his back and
shoulders, pulling him closer. Her breasts pressed into his chest.
If only they were doing this somewhere private and with fewer
clothes between them. He could only imagine what her hot skin would
feel like pressed against his.

She shifted slightly, brushing his
fly. He felt like a virgin getting his first grope; ready to go off
any second.

“
Come back to my place,”
he whispered in her ear. “Spend the night with me.”

His words broke the sensual spell that
bound them. She pushed back a little, but he wouldn’t let her go.
Not until she agreed.

“
No.”

“
I want to see you. All of
you. Touch and taste every inch.” He ran his fingers down her
sides, barely able to resist stripping her panties off right
here.

“
Not
happening.”

He thought he detected a note of panic
in her voice.

“
Why not?” He stroked her
back, trying to make her relax. “You’re too uptight. Just let go.
You want this. And I think it’s obvious I do, too.” She could not
possibly be unaware of the monster erection pressing into her
belly, even through several layers of clothing.

“
Uptight?”

“
You won’t feel that way
beyond the front foyer.” He grinned at her, certain she was seconds
away from giving in. They’d skip dessert and head straight to his
house.

She shoved hard against
his chest and he took a step back. “I am
not
uptight,” she said, a
knife-point edge to her words.

Bo reached for her, but she jerked
away. “Hey, it’s ok. You don’t do this much, I get it.”

“
What exactly do you think
‘this’ is?”

“
Sex. One night of
no-strings, no guilt sex. The best you’ve ever had.”

“
How do you know I don’t
have sex with strangers all the time?”

“
Seriously? You have
‘sweater set’ written all over you.”

She stiffened. “I’m wearing a very
sexy dress.”

“
Believe me, I know.”
Maybe all was not lost. “The only way it could look any better is
in a ball on my bedroom floor.”

She gave a little grunt of disgust and
marched back towards the car.

“
What about your
earring?”

“
Screw the earring. I just
want to get the rest of this night over with.”

Well, hell.

He hurried after her, catching up to
her just as she reached the car.

“
Hey,” he said. “I didn’t
mean to piss you off. Whatever I said, just forget it, OK? Don’t
let your pride get in the way of what could be one of the best
nights of your life.”

She turned on him then and he could
see the flash of fire in her eyes. “Let me tell you something,
buddy. I don’t care who you are, how much money you have or how
irresistible to women you think you are. You are cocky,
self-centered, and delusional. Contrary to what you might believe,
you are not God’s gift to women.” She poked him in the chest to
punctuate her words. “You are not the kind of man any decent woman
would want in her life. Stay away from me. Stay away from my
sister. Got it?”

Bo felt like he’d been sucker-punched.
Not the kind of man anyone would want around? Yeah, those words
were familiar. He’d heard them often as a kid.

“
I am not delusional,” he
said, forcing the pain out of his voice. “And I’m rarely
self-centered. Cocky, I’ll give you.”

She let out a frustrated grunt and
jerked the limo door open.

Chapter
Four

Sarah stared out the window of the
limo, seething at Bo’s words. Uptight? Sweater set? Ok, so she did
have a lot of sweater sets in her closet at home. But not tonight.
Bo had made a judgement call without even knowing her. Just because
she wasn’t going to jump into bed with him the second he crooked
his little finger didn’t mean she was uptight.

What had happened to getting to know
someone before you jumped in the sack with them? Conversation?
Mutual interests and goals in life? They weren’t animals, even
though Bo’s kiss had made her doubt that fact for a moment or two.
She’d been as close as she’d ever been to tossing all her good
sense out the window and taking Bo up on his very tempting
one-night-only offer. So close. And then he’d gone and called her
uptight, the exact words Charles had used when they had broken
up.

Charles’ betrayal was hard enough, but
what his words and actions had done to her self-esteem had been
even more damaging. Though she was perfectly confident in the
academic arena, she felt like a bumbling idiot when it came to men.
She’d thought Charles was the one for her and she’d been wrong. How
was she supposed to trust herself to pick out a guy who wouldn’t
hurt her in the future? Maybe Bo had been right. Maybe she was
uptight.

At least Bo had given up trying to
talk to her. The last thing she needed was Emily finding out about
what had happened between them. They just had dessert to get
through, then Sarah could go back to the hotel, dislodge the thong
that felt like it was wedged somewhere between her left kidney and
her colon, and forget all about Bo Branson, his amazing kiss and
his unfortunate turn of phrase. Or try to.