19. Josie
NINETEEN
JOSIE
Can he hear my heartbeat?
I’m sure he can hear it with the way my heart thumps so erratically in my chest.
I blink, wondering if I heard him correctly. I could’ve been so lost in how close he is to me and how good he looks under the moonlight filtering in through the windows that I misheard him. “What?” I ask, my gaze flicking to his lips for a moment.
One side of his mouth curls up. “I want to help inspire you,” he declares, his voice thick with confidence.
“Inspire me how?” I try to ignore how breathy my question comes out. I can’t help it. He’s just so close, and he’s staring at me so intensely that it’s hard to get any kind of words out.
Tyson lifts his hand. It hovers between us for a moment as we both stare at it. After a few heated moments, he focuses on me once again. He doesn’t say anything, but he doesn’t have to. I know he’s silently asking if he can touch me or not.
I nod, and he wastes no time placing his hand against my cheek.
“Like this,” he rasps. His fingertips press into my skin as his gaze rakes over my face.
My eyelids flutter shut as his thumb traces over my cheekbone. Heat spreads throughout my entire body just because of this slight touch.
“I don’t understand,” I manage to get out, despite the way my pulse spikes and my head feels dizzy from how much I want the man who’s barely touching me.
Tyson gives me a cocky smirk as he moves his hand from my cheek to my neck. He leans closer, using his other hand to slide my hair to the side, exposing more of my neck to him. With no hair in the way, his fingertips dance against my bare skin.
“Tell me what you’re feeling,” he says.
I tilt my head back, trying to get a better look at him to understand what’s going on. “You want to know what I’m feeling?”
He nods as his thumb dances over my collarbone. “Yes. Tell me.”
I close my eyes, wondering how we went from talking about how he was going to help me get inspired to him wanting to know what I’m feeling.
“Right now, I’m wondering how this is going to help me write,” I confess, my words barely above a whisper as he distracts me with the way his fingertips dance across my skin in a way that makes my entire body light up with desire.
He laughs, the sound of it deep and throaty. “Do you feel like we have a connection?”
I stare into his blue eyes, wondering where he’s going with this. Of course we have a connection. If we didn’t, my entire body wouldn’t feel like it’s on fire just by the soft caress of his fingertips.
“Yes,” I whisper, my eyelids fluttering shut for a moment when he slides the fabric of my shirt down my shoulder.
“Good. Now, think about how I’m making you feel right now,” he continues, his voice thick. He traces the tender spot where my neck meets my shoulders, leaving goosebumps in his wake.
When I open my eyes, I find him even closer. His lips can’t be more than an inch or two away from mine.
He wants me to think about how I feel right now, but I can’t. The only thing I can think about is how desperately I want him to kiss me.
“Are you thinking about how you’re feeling? Focus on the connection between us. You’ll need to remember those things.”
I stare at his lips, my tongue peeking out to wet mine absentmindedly. “Why?” I whisper, unable to talk any louder because of how swept up I am in him and this moment between us.
His hand travels up the back of my neck before he tangles his fingers in my hair and cradles the back of my head. “Because I’m inspiring you. Remember how you feel right now, and write that into your book.”
Tyson fixes his grip on my hair, holding the strands even tighter than he was before. It doesn’t hurt, but there is pressure as he keeps my focus solely on him.
I swallow, not knowing what to even say back to him.
I had no idea what he meant when he announced he was going to help me get inspired, but I didn’t think it’d be this.
I thought he’d offer to go for a walk and discuss plot points, not send my pulse into overdrive as he points out the connection between us and how I can use it to fuel my writing as well.
“How do you feel about their first kiss?” he asks. He doesn’t bother to hide the way his gaze moves from my eyes to my lips. He stares hungrily at my mouth like there’s nothing he needs more than to press his mouth against mine.
I feel the same. All I want is for him to lean in and kiss me. I’ve never wanted to be kissed so much in my life, but he doesn’t move. All he does is keep a tight grip on my hair as he continues to devour my mouth with his gaze alone.
“Josie,” he prompts, his grip tightening ever so slightly. “Tell me how you feel about your characters’ first kiss.”
My mouth feels so dry I have to swallow in an attempt to bring moisture back. Right now, I don’t want to think about my characters; I want to think about him ending this tease and finally fully leaning in and kissing me. Butterflies take flight in my stomach in anticipation.
Just when I think he might close the distance between us, he swipes his finger along my cheekbone at the same moment he tilts my head up to look even deeper into his eyes. “If this is becoming too much of a distraction, I can stop.”
I shake my head before I can even think twice about it. I’ve spent days telling myself that Tyson is only a distraction from my work, and the moment he offers the same idea, I want to assure him he’s the furthest thing from that. Or at least tell him that he’s a distraction I don’t mind.
“Then let me help you. Think about your character’s first kiss. Does her pulse race with the anticipation of a kiss the way yours does right now?”
His blue eyes scan my face as he watches me carefully. If it were anyone else, I might want to shy away from the intense way he stares at me. But with him, I meet his gaze, allowing him to see his effect on me.
“No,” I mutter, trying to think of where their first kiss is even at in the book, but it’s hard to think of anything but him right now.
A corner of his mouth turns up in a satisfied smirk. “Might want to remember this for that part, then.”
If I weren’t so lost in the way he leans in and traces his nose against my jawline, I might call him out for how incredibly cocky he sounds.
“What else are you feeling?” he asks, his breath hot against my cheek.
“Hot,” I respond before I can even think through my words.
This makes him laugh. His warm breath tickles my cheek as he replaces the thumb against my cheek with his lips.
“Even in the dark, I can see your blush,” he announces, his lips moving against my skin. His lips have finally pressed against me, but not where I want them. I place my hands against his chest, needing to steady myself as I get lightheaded from his proximity.
“You can put blushing in your book too. He makes her blush…a lot.”
“I don’t blush a lot,” I argue, even though it’s no use. We both know I’m lying. I can’t hide the constant flush to my cheeks when I’m around him.
“Yes, you do. And I love it.” His lips still move against my skin, but he’s teasing me. He won’t press his mouth to mine, no matter how badly I want him to. Instead, he trails his lips along my jaw.
There’s an ache deep in my belly. I squeeze my thighs tighter, trying to ignore the desire building deep in my core.
“Make sure you drag out the connection between the two of them,” Tyson instructs. “He shouldn’t kiss her right away. Have him take his time. That way, her desire is almost palpable on the page.”
“And what about his desire?” My words come out hurried and barely above a whisper, while he’s so calm and collected. If he’s using characters to discuss what’s happening between us, I will use it to my advantage to find out if he’s feeling what I’m feeling.
Tyson’s breath is hot against my neck as he pulls on my hair, forcing my spine to curve as he exposes more of my throat to him.
He presses his lips to my racing pulse, his tongue peeking out for just a fraction of a second.
“From the moment he laid eyes on her, he’s felt it,” he declares, his breath warm as he speaks against my skin.
“He’s wanted to act on it, but hasn’t known how she feels and hasn’t wanted to rush things. ”
I let out a moan when he places his hand that isn’t in my hair against my bare thigh. His fingertips against my skin feel like a brand. He isn’t anywhere near where I want him most, but it doesn’t matter. Having him touch me at all has wetness pooling between my thighs.
“He’s thought about kissing her a lot, imagining what it’d be like…
what she’d taste like.” He presses another kiss to my throat.
A small whimper of protest escapes me, because no matter how good it feels to have him trailing kisses against my throat, I’d still prefer he stop dragging it out and kiss me on the lips instead.
“He could easily find out if he just kissed her already,” I respond, my words coming out more like a plea.
“Oh, but the anticipation is so fun. Nothing strengthens a connection more than the longing and desperation that comes before the first kiss.”
I’m happy he’s busy with my throat, because if he were to look at my face right now, he’d see it pinched together in frustration. I’ve gone from not knowing if I should kiss him to not wanting anything else but to feel his mouth against mine.
“Hasn’t there been enough anticipation?” I breathe, my heart slamming against my chest when his hand on my thigh snakes a little higher.
“I think there could be more,” he mutters against my throat. “You said you wanted there to be an intensity to the connection. Dragging it out does that.”
This time, I can’t hide my frustration. A small moan of protest leaves my lips when it occurs to me that he might not actually kiss me tonight.
“Tyson,” I whisper, his name coming out strained.
There’s a rush of cold air the moment he removes his mouth from my skin. I miss his lips against me immediately.
Tyson brings his head down until he’s eye level with me. His fingers trace circles against my skin as he meets my gaze. “I’m still waiting for you to call me Ty.”
I smile, my stare moving to his lips. “I’m still waiting for you to kiss me.”
He keeps a poker face. The only way I can tell my words have any kind of effect on him is the way his fingers still against my thigh.
Just as I pull my gaze from his lips, his falls to mine.
He leans in close, so close that I swear his lips softly brush against mine for a moment.
“Oh, Josie, I hope to do far more than kiss you, but not tonight.” He squeezes my thigh before he leans back.
Shock races through my veins as his words settle in.
I’m staring at him, my body hot with desire and my mouth hanging open as he pushes off the couch and stands to his full height.
I sit up straighter as I run my fingers through my hair in an attempt to fix the tangles he created with his hands. “Where are you going?”
“Home,” he answers simply. He loosens the tie around his neck, and why is that the hottest thing I’ve ever seen?
“Home,” I repeat, staring at him, dumbfounded, as I try to process if I’m hearing him correctly.
He gives me a knowing look as one side of his mouth curls upward. “Yes, home.”
“Why?”
“Because, Josie, you’re looking very inspired. Now it’s time for you to write.”
“Write?” I ask, not bothering to hide the disbelief.
Tyson nods before reaching to grab my laptop and handing it to me. “I know you’re inspired. Use it. I’ll see you in the morning.”
I shake my head. It feels like a bucket of cold water has been tossed on me. I was so desperate for him to kiss me. It seemed like he wanted it too. I definitely never expected him to just get up and leave. And I especially didn’t expect him to tell me to work.
I toss my laptop onto the couch cushion as I stand up. “You’ve been telling me I work too much, and now, when I’m on the couch basically begging you to kiss me, you’re leaving so I can write?”
He casually tucks his hands into his pocket as his cocky smirk only grows. “If that’s your version of begging, then I can’t wait to show you what actual begging looks like.”
My mouth snaps shut because I’m now incredibly interested in what he means by that.
We stand in the middle of my living room, both of us staring at each other while neither one of us says a thing.
The moonlight filters in through the windows, bringing a sliver of light to Tyson’s face.
It highlights his sharp cheekbones and pronounced jawline perfectly.
My fingers twitch at my side as I fight the urge to close the distance between us and trace the sharp lines with my fingertips.
Finally, Tyson clears his throat. “As much as I want to keep distracting you tonight, I know you need to work. Use what you’re feeling right now and put it into the book. You’re going to finish this book in six weeks or less and hopefully I helped with that tonight.”
He takes a step closer to me, his hand reaching up to cradle the back of my head. He coaxes my face up to look at him. “I’ll see you in the morning,” he announces, his words coming out effortlessly.
“What’s happening tomorrow morning?”
He swipes his thumb along my bottom lip. “We’re having breakfast together so you can start the day out with a proper meal.”
I open my mouth to argue, but he shakes his head and presses his thumb against my lips to stop me from speaking. “No arguments. I’ll see you in the morning, Josie.”
He leans in even more as his thumb finds the corner of my mouth. Just when I’m going to feel his lips against mine, he kisses his thumb instead.
A small gasp escapes when it hits me that he didn’t kiss me.
His hand drops to his side, and he walks toward the front door as if two minutes ago I wasn’t staring at his mouth, begging him to kiss me.
I don’t move. I can’t. I watch him open the door and leave without moving a muscle. My entire body is still flushed, making the loss of his touch and presence that much more obvious. The cold air hits my warm skin, making me shiver as I wrap my arms around myself.
I don’t know how long I stand there. I know it’s long enough for Mouse to get up from wherever he was and twist his body through my feet as I still stare at the door Tyson just left through.
My mind races as I try to figure out if I’m upset with him for leaving me like this or if I’m even more attracted because of his determination to help me finish this book.
Hours later, I’m still trying to figure out how I feel about Tyson leaving as I’m hunched over my laptop with my fingers flying over the keyboard, more inspired to write than I’ve ever felt before.