No-Kiss Blogfest Palooza

Friends and Followers, I give you Young Thairon. You may now swoon.

Once you're finished reading and swooning, be sure to head back over to Frankie's blog and follow the Mr. Linky to the other participants!

Gwen ran her fingers across her lips, staring at her reflection in the mirror. She sighed and dropped her hand from her mouth. She had spent half the night tossing and turning thinking about that kiss. About how she wanted to repeat it. 

Why was she doing this to herself? It was stupid. He was just going to dump her when he realized she didn’t have money, and she wasn’t willing to put out immediately. The thought made her close her eyes and she bit her lip. God. She hoped he was as good in bed as he was at kissing. Her cheeks burned. That was not something she should be thinking about before she met him for breakfast.

And why was she meeting him for breakfast, anyway? She grabbed her backpack and locked the door on her way out. In the hall, she stood for another moment, chewing on her lip. It wasn’t too late. She could just skip breakfast.

Her feet had other ideas. In spite of herself, she left the building, heading for the dining center. Really, that kiss had not been her idea. If he thought he was going to get any further, he was in for a surprise. She smiled. Yes. That was what she would say.

“Good morning,” he said, and she nearly jumped out of her skin. He was smirking. 

She glared, pressing her hand to her chest to keep her heart from leaping out of her ribcage. She hoped it was just because he had startled her and not because she couldn’t stop thinking what else his lips could do. 

“You scared me half to death.”

His smirk turned into a kinder smile. “Sorry about that.”

“You aren’t really sorry at all, are you?”

He shrugged. “I didn’t mean to scare you, but I can’t say that it wasn’t entertaining.”

“Ugh! Why do you have to be so--”

“Charming?” He caught her by the arm, pulling her off the sidewalk. 

She almost tripped, but he steadied her and all of a sudden she was in his arms with no understanding of how she had gotten there. His hand cupped her cheek and then moved into her hair. 

“You’re all I’ve been able to think about since that kiss,” he said.

She thought her heart stopped, and she swallowed against the lump in her throat. She couldn’t even breathe. “Oh.”

He chuckled, soft and low, and his thumb traced over her bottom lip. “Oh, she says. Can’t a guy get a little bit of encouragement?”

If she didn’t look away, he was going to kiss her again. She was sure of it. But she just kept staring at his face, watching the way his lips moved around the words. Thinking of how they had moved around hers. 

“I didn’t think you really needed it. After yesterday.”

“I couldn’t—” He stopped and pressed his lips together. “I’m sorry about that. Well, no I’m not sorry. I enjoyed the hell out of it. But if it wasn’t what you wanted—” He sighed. “God, Gwen. Tell me you at least aren’t mad about it. I can’t ever tell with you.”

She laughed, and her heart started beating again, but much too quickly. She touched his face, her fingers tracing the line of his jaw without her permission. She could reject him now, she realized, and he’d leave her alone. She’d be free of him. But she met his eyes and all she wanted to do was kiss him again. 

“I’m not mad.”

The tension around his eyes eased. Funny, she hadn’t noticed it was there until it was gone. He pressed his forehead against hers and brought her hand to his chest, holding it there. Holding her there, as if they were absolutely alone in the world. She closed her eyes and let him. But she shouldn’t have. She should’ve told him she was angry. That he’d had no right to impose himself on her this way. She should’ve shoved him away and gone back to her room.

His hand tightened around hers, as if he read her thoughts, and then she was free. She blinked, looking at him, and he smiled. 

Thairon raised her hand to his lips and kissed it. “I’m starving. And I’m afraid that if I make you late to class you’ll refuse to have breakfast with me ever again. Shall we?”

She bit her lip and repressed her frustration. God, he was so impossible. If it turned out after all of this that he lost interest the minute she gave in, she was going to wring his neck! She pulled her hand free and started walking again. Maybe she would wring his neck anyway. It wasn’t like he didn’t deserve it.

“Gwen?”

“What?” She could tell by the sound of his voice that he was smiling, and it made her even more irritated.

“If you’d rather be late...” His hand found hers again, and he gave it a gentle tug. Not enough to stop her, just a suggestion. And damn it all, but her fingers closed around his like they were meant to be there. When he slowed, she did too. “I’d be more than happy to give you a reason.”

She stopped and stared at the sidewalk, trying to decide if she was capable of letting go of his hand right then. She didn’t think so. And she wasn’t going to be able to focus in class either, thinking about what she had given up by attending. But no matter what happened in the next five minutes, she promised herself, she was not going to get in bed with him. 

“I guess I can get the notes from Kristen.” 

He pulled her toward him, and there was no smile on his face. No arrogant smirk. There was nothing smug at all in his expression. When he kissed her, he was serious. 

Maybe that was why she liked it so much.