The Rock Star And The Girl From The Coffee Shop (6 page)

"Does that answer your question?" He whispered, brushing his lips across hers.

She nodded. It answered her original question, and spawned a slew more.

"Okay, in that case, I'd better get the elevator moving before they," he nodded towards the security camera in the upper corner of the elevator, pointed directly at them, "start to enjoy the show."

"We turned our eyes, didn't see a thing Bo," a male voice matter-of-factly stated out of nowhere.

Hanna's face grew warm and she was sure her cheeks were crimson, as Bo laughed, reached behind her and pressed the start button on the control panel. "Good to hear it, Jerome."

The elevator jerked and began to continue its ascent. Bo leaned into her and his mouth brushed across her earlobe and sent a shiver through her. "Don't worry about Jerome. He's seen more than you can imagine in his ten years working in the control room."

"My embarrassment that evident huh?" she whispered back.

He pulled back and grinned, the humour reflecting in his smoke grey eyes. "Very."

"So there's cameras everywhere?"

He shrugged. "Well, not in my penthouse. But the building from the basement to the roof top is all under video surveillance. Nothing goes on without security knowing. But the people living here are the types that require that kind of security and are willing to pay a premium for it."

The elevator dinged and the doors slid open to reveal a short hallway, with a metal door at the end, which had a keypad to the side. As they made their way to his door, she was dying to ask how much a penthouse in the building would cost. She imagined it would scare her.

"It must be hard..."

Sliding the card in the reader, he punched in his security code and the door beeped as it unlocked. "What? Living like this?"

She nodded as he opened the door and gestured for her to enter before him. "Yeah."

"It's the price we pay. In some areas I can go about freely. It's just in a city like New York, just before a concert... Going out was a recipe for disaster. I apologize. I could have put you in danger taking you out. It was stupid and impulsive of me, and it'll never happen again."

*****

Bo glanced up at the clock in the foyer and was shocked to see it was midnight. Disappointment rushed through him. He needed to get some sleep soon, even though he wasn't tired in the least. The Madison Square Gardens concert was a televised concert, so he needed to be on top his game for it so getting a full night’s sleep was critical.

"I'm going to have to turn in soon, so I'll show you your room and perhaps we can relax for a short bit before heading to bed."

Bo also felt bad about the reporters. If they happened to get a picture of Hanna someone could easily recognize her -considering the fact that she worked in a public place and knew many people. Bo frowned, upset at himself and the reporter. He knew that if Hanna’s identity was revealed she’d be hounded by reporters and tabloid vultures. That's the last thing he wanted for her. It was painfully evident how introverted and reserved she was, that was one of the qualities he adored about her. Being hounded by strangers would be hard for someone like her to deal with.

Which brought him to another concern...

If something developed between them, could she handle being his woman? He didn't know, and the last thing he wanted was for either of them to get attached to the other and then deal with the hurt that would come along with a public break-up.

"What's wrong?" She frowned, looking up at him, as they climbed the staircase to the second floor.

He forced a smile on his lips as they reached the landing to the second floor. "Nothing. I was just thinking." He led her to his room, and ushered her in. "Okay, I'll grab you something you can wear and then take those flowers and put them in water." He looked down at the bouquet which had become a crumbled mess. He'd be lucky to salvage half of the flowers. "What's left of them anyhow."

"Thank you." A faint blush coloured her cheeks as she shifted from foot to foot, her eyes scanning his massive, yet humbly furnished bedroom.

He grabbed the first t-shirt and pair of boxers he came to and set them on the bed. "Why don't you change here and then meet me in the kitchen for a snack before bed."

A wide grin spread across her lips and she raised a brow at him. "Milk and cookies?"

Bo laughed. The milk and cookies idea didn't sound halfway bad. "Chocolate chip as a matter of fact."

Crossing the room, he took the roses from her and exited the room, closing the door behind him. As he made his way to the kitchen, his mind quickly flashed back to a memory of him and Jeremy as kids sharing a bag of chocolate chip cookies and dunking them into their milk as their mother busied herself with housework.

He grew up poor, but the shortage of money was made up by an abundance of love and affection. It taught him a valuable lesson. He may have everything money could buy, but he knew he wouldn't be truly happy until he found someone to share his life with. Over the past several years he realized that he'd forgotten that very important detail, but spending the evening with Hanna made him realize just what he'd been missing in his life. And dammit, he wanted it.

Chapter 6

Pulling the t-shirt over head, Hanna was amused to see the hem of the shirt fell to her mid-thigh area. She was about to pull on the boxers, but on impulse and with a sudden burst of brazenness, decided against it. Placing her clothing in a neat pile on the floor by the bed she made her way downstairs and found Bo in the kitchen.

Hanna giggled as she spotted Bo, sitting on a kitchen stool at the breakfast bar, with a bag of chocolate chip cookies, a couple glass and a jug of milk in front of him.

Bo looked up, was about to speak and paused. His eyes scanned her from head to toe, the look in his eyes turning from amused to heated. He lowered his eyes and when they returned to meet hers, the friendly amusement was back in them.

"You look extremely sexy in that t-shirt Hanna."

She was tempted to give into her shyness and look away, but forced herself to keep his gaze. "Thank you."

He pushed the bag of cookies across the counter. "Care to join me?"

"Don't mind if I do." She perched herself on the stool across from him and pulled a couple of cookies from the bag and then poured herself a tall glass of milk. "I really should send a text to Jackie."

Bo cringed.

"What?"

"I doubt you'll get a response. Jeremy sent me a text while you were getting changed."

"And?"

"And, they're-" Bo cleared his throat, looking slightly uncomfortable "-they're busy."

"Ohhhhhhhh." Hanna shifted her eyes downward and focused on dipping her cookie. It didn't surprise Hanna, but a part of her wished she were bolder.
But, then you'd just be another girl to him,
a voice in the back of her mind chided. She could already hear Jackie's gushing, telling her every single detail of her time with Jeremy. Every intimate detail.

When she looked back up, the heat had returned to Bo's eyes and there was tension in his body. "You know Hanna. I want you to know that I'm very attracted to you and I really want to..."

"Me too," she whispered. She wasn't even sure if she'd said it out load, but hearing his sharp intake of breath made her realize she'd indeed admitted it to him.

Bo reached across the counter and took her hand in his. "I don't want to rush this. I want you to get a feel for my life and what it's like to be with me before we jump too deep." He frowned. "If you were just 'some girl' then I wouldn't care. But, I see potential with you."

Hanna's heart skipped a beat. Bo Savage saw potential in
her
! Hanna had no idea how to respond to that; every response that came to mind would make her sound like a blubbering schoolgirl so she remained silent.

"So would this be what is considered an awkward silence?" Bo teased, giving her hand a squeeze.

Hanna nodded. "Little bit."

"Awkward because you don't want to spend more time together to explore what might be between us, or awkward because you feel embarrassed to agree with me." His smile widened, the humour reaching his eyes, but not overpowering the desire raging within them.

Instead of replying, Hanna pressed her palm against his chest and leaned forward. She brushed her lips against his and moaned softly against his lips. Releasing her hand, he slipped his hand to the back of her neck, and threaded his fingers into her hair, kissing her harder.

Her lips parted, under his probing tongue allowing him access. When his tongue touched hers, electricity shot through her, and the pulsing between her legs ignited.

Don't let yourself go. Don't let yourself go
. She urged herself silently, keeping a restraint on her passion, despite her rapidly increasing need for him. But it was hard - so hard. She'd never wanted a man more, and never a man she'd just met and barely knew.

Bo slid from the bar stool and stood before her, turning her and pressing her back against the breakfast bar. He pinned her body against the cool wood, and pressed himself against her, his cock rising against her.

Ending the kiss, Bo stepped away from her, leaving her breathless. Her knees felt weak and she was grateful to have this hard wood to cling to.

Bo brushed a lock of red curls back from her face - a motion both tender and erotic at the same time. "I want you Hanna," he whispered, his eyes confirming his words. "But we should go to bed now. Separately."

Her heart sunk, though she knew he was right. Sleeping with a man she just met wasn't the kind of girl she was. But damn, he was temptation personified.

*****

Hanna turned her head and looked at the clock mounted on the wall next to the bed. Forty minutes had passed and she still couldn't sleep. The room Bo had situated her in was beautiful, the bed large and so soft she felt like she was sleeping on a cloud. In normal circumstances she'd have fallen to sleep as soon as her head hit the down filled pillow - but not here - not tonight.

Instead she tossed and turned. Her lips remembering his lips on hers. The smell of his cologne still lingering with her. And the feel of his hands on her was still giving her goosebumps. She was filled with an abundance of emotions, none of them allowing her to drift into a peaceful sleep.

Once the hour mark hit, she couldn't take it any more. Pulling back the comforter, she slid from bed and wearing only Bo's t-shirt she padded her way barefoot across the bedroom and exited into the hallway. As she exited the bedroom, she could faintly hear the sound of a guitar.

She followed the sound, until she reached the door of Bo's bedroom. Standing outside Bo's bedroom door, she could hear Bo's voice, loud enough to know he was singing, but low enough not to be able to make out the words.

He's busy.
She turned and scurried back towards her bedroom. Halfway to her room, she noticed the music had stopped. Chewing at her lower lip she spun back around and slowly made her way back to Bo's bedroom door.

Standing at his door a second time, she once again fought with herself on whether she should knock or not. She wasn't even sure what she was going to say, or what she really wanted if she went into his room. She just couldn't sleep, and the reason for her restlessness was on the other side of the door.

No, I need to go to bed and not bother him
, she reasoned as she turned away from the door once more.

"I'm up, you can come in Hanna."

Hanna yelped and jumped back, not expecting to hear him call to her. She spun back to face the door. She thought she heard soft chuckling coming from the other side of the door, and rolled her eyes at herself.

"Come in Hanna. Or are you going to make me come out and get you?"

She reached for the door handle and opened it slowly, slipped in, and closed the door behind her. "Hey." Hanna's heart skipped a beat as she peered over at him sitting at the head of the bed, bare-chested with the exception of a black cross on a ball chain around his neck and a pair of black lounge pants. He had an acoustic guitar in his hands, and a yellow writing tablet and pen beside him on the bed.

"Couldn't sleep?" He asked, lifting his eyes from the yellow pad and catching her gaze.

"I could ask you the same thing," Hanna retorted, making her way across the room to stand at the foot of the bed.

He ran his hand through his dislevelled hair and gave her a sheepish grin. "Nope, so decided to work. Get a song out of my head that's been screaming to be written."

"Oh." Raising a brow, Hanna leaned forward, trying to catch a peek at the words on the tablet.

Bo patted the empty spot on the bed next to him. "Come on over, tell me what you think so far."

A giddy excitement rushed through her as she crawled onto the bed, and stretched out across the width of it. Rolling to her side, she braced her head up with her hand and gazed up at him as he poised himself, preparing to begin playing. Before he began to strum, his eyes lifted and his body tensed as he looked at her.

Her brow furrowed as she followed his eyes. "Oh!" She felt her cheeks heating up as she pulled down the hem of the t-shirt that had inched up high enough to give Bo a flash of her pink lace panties.