Page 29 of Sweet Surrender
She tried to throw herself into the group’s conversation, but her heart wasn’t in it. She kept slipping forward on Beau’s thighs but every time she tried to resettle herself, he pushed her slightly further forward.
She scowled at him over her shoulder the third time she slipped forward. What the hell is he doing?He had been the one to pull her onto his lap in the first place, but then wouldn’t actually let her sit on it? He also wouldn’t meet her gaze. She slipped forward and resettled herself a few more times, trying to focus on the conversation but the last time her annoyance took over. She stood up and pushed his arms out of the way then dropped herself back down in his lap before he could maneuver her.
That was when she felt it.
His long, hard,thickerection against her ass. Her hands gripped her knees and she stilled. It took all her energy not to brush against it.
“You okay, Tay?” Christy asked.
But she couldn’t speak, just nodded, too enthusiastically, shaking her whole body. Beau hissed in her ear and his hands clenched her hips to stop her from moving. His breath tickled her neck as she turned to stare at him and the noise in the bar around them seemed to fade.
His lip was caught between his teeth, his eyes screaming an apology at her as he shifted her forward off his hard cock. At least now she knew why he wouldn’t let her sit properly.
Did I do that?
She couldn’t tear her eyes away from his, the arousal written all over his face drawing her in. Her breathing deepened as his eyes roved her features. He lifted his hand and tucked a stray curl behind her ear. She longed for him to touch her, to cup her cheek, to stroke her jaw.
His eyes dropped to her mouth. “Beau…” she began, not even sure what she was going to say.
“Hey guys, that looks great! Way to go on the acting,” Dean hissed, breaking the spell as he nudged them both.
What the hell was she doing? It was too much, it was all too much.
“Excuse me,” she muttered, getting up and heading back to the safety of the bar.
*
Not long after the incident that went around and around on a loop inside her head, Blake and Justine turned up. Taylor immediately pulled Blake aside and told him Dale was here, although she couldn’t actually see him right now.
“Has he done anything?” Blake asked, scanning the crowd with his laser focus.
“No, he’s actually stayed away.”
“That’s good, then I agree with the others, let him stay here. Let him see you and Beau together, you stay close to Beau, and I’ll keep an eye on Dale,” Blake said. Her stomach sank at the whole ‘stay close to Beau’ thing. She really didn’t know if she was strong enough to do this after all.
“I’m gonna set up Justine’s guitar and then she’s ready to start,” Blake said and ducked away, pausing to greet the others on his way to the stage. Her eyes landed on Beau and stayed there, that deep red sweater clinging to his biceps like a needy bitch. Accentuating his muscles too nicely for her comfort. The color was great against his tan skin, dark hair and eyes. Eyes that drifted to her now. She turned away before she could get lost in them.
“Get your shit together, remember who he is to you,” she whispered. She served a couple of customers then saw Blake signal to her that everything was set up for Justine. Taylor grabbed the microphone from under the bar, switching it on.
“Good evening gorgeous ladies and tasty menfolk. Welcome back to the best bar in the South!” Whoops and cheers abounded the room. “I know you’re all here to listen to our very own Justine so without further ado, please welcome her to the stage!”
Applause rocked the bar as Justine took her seat, glowing under the stage lights. The crowd surged forward to get the best positions, but Blake emerged and headed for the bar. Taylor didn’t usually serve drinks during Justine’s performance, but she poured a whiskey now and slid it down the end of the bar to him. It had become tradition that she and Blake stayed back at the bar to watch Justine together. He didn’t like crowds and Taylor loved to people watch.
As Justine began to sing, a smile split Taylor’s face. Her voice really was something else. She usually sang eighties classics with the occasional nineties tune making an appearance. Tonight was a bit of Sade. Halfway through the first set, Taylor started to feel antsy so began tidying up and restocking the fridges, cleaning glasses ready for the intermission, anything to ignore the feel of Dale’s eyes on her. She was drying some glasses off when she saw Beau approach the bar and head around. She felt his delicious heat first then his arms wrapped around her, and his head bent to whisper in her ear.
“I didn’t say anything to alert you to my presence as I figured you saw me so you can’t be mad this time,” he teased.
She snorted but didn’t say anything, just willed herself to relax.
“He’s by the jukebox.Come on sweetheart, we need to show the town that we’re in love.” That voice right in her ear had exactly the impact she feared it would, she didn’t know what was wrong with her tonight, but she didn’t fucking like it.
He pulled her back so she was flush with his chest then he swept her hair back over her shoulder. His head dipped and he placed a soft kiss on the space between her neck and shoulder. Tingles shot through her so forcefully she rocked forward slightly. God, she hated how he made her feel, hated that her brain took her to that night when he kissed her, how his lips had felt then, and she tensed.
“I told you, cheek kissing only,” she hissed.
“Which cheeks would that be?” he murmured against her hair. She tried to hold back the shiver that moved through her but failed miserably. This man oozed confidence, nothing like the boy she had known, and she struggled to marry the two parts of him in her brain.
“I swear to God, Beau,” she growled.
