Page 75 of Naughty November

PROLOGUE

DEVIN - 6 YEARS LATER

After an enlightening panel on bondage, I leave the conference room and go to the hotel bar. I need a drink to unwind. I sit on a stool, order a beer, and then fiddle with a beer mat as I glance around. The bar is filling up. I recognise a lot of people from the conference I’m attending, but there are other hotel guests here, too.

My stare snags on a man with strawberry blond hair and bright blue eyes. He’s about the same age as me but slimmer. Familiarity tugs at my gut. As if sensing someone is staring at him, he turns his head, and looks right at me. His skin is tanned, which makes the freckles across his cheeks and nose more pronounced than I remember.

“Jools?” I move two stools closer to him.

He widens his eyes. “Devin?”

We lost touch, as people do. At first, we sent a flurry of letters, emails, and cards. Our communications were full of longing and loss but also of making the most of being apart. But gradually, the time between messages increased until they stopped altogether.

He flicks his gaze over me. “You look good.”

“So do you.”

The boy who stole my heart still takes my breath away.

“What are you doing here?”

“I could ask you the same thing. Amsterdam is a long way from Australia.”

“I’m on my way back to Oz. I’ve flown through Amsterdam tons but have never seen anything beyond the airport, so I decided to make a weekend of it and take a look around. You?”

“I’m here for a conference.”

He tilts his head. “Is it a work thing? That seems a bit off on the weekend.”

I chuckle. “No. Not work. More… play.”

He frowns. “I’m confused.”

I move one stool closer so I’m sitting beside him. “It’s a kink conference.”

“A—? You’re into—?” He blinks. “Wow. A lot’s changed in…” He falters.

“Six years.”

He rubs his finger over the polished bar rail. “I meant to keep in touch.”

The guilt on his face is mirrored in my heart. It’s as much my fault as his that we stopped communicating. “Me too.”

He shifts so his weight is on the edge of the barstool, closer to me. “I missed you.”

“Same.”

“How have you been?” His breath warms my face.

“Good. You?”

He smiles. “Yeah. Good. Are you seeing anyone?”

“Not at the moment. You?”

He shakes his head. “I can’t believe we ran into each other after all this time.”

“I told you we’d see each other again.” I rub the heel of my hand over my thigh. I’m itching to hug him.