Page 43 of Sweet Surrender
“I’ll see you tonight, let me know if you need anything.” He came over to her, brushing a very quick kiss on her cheek. So quick that the tingles barely had time to form before he was leaving.
“Lock the door behind me,” he said over his shoulder and then he was gone. She did and then quickly showered and dressed, trying to make sure she left things as neat as possible, knowing she couldn’t be a slob now they were living together.Wow, me and Beau living together, who would’ve thought?
Work was crazy busy, and she decided at ten to close up. She needed food, then bed, in that order. When she stepped outside The Rusty Bucket Inn, Beau was waiting for her.
“Hey sweetheart, don’t you look beautiful?” He pulled her into a hug, his warm body enveloping hers and she surprised herself by snuggling in. He was still just like hugging a bear. She used to call him herTeddy Beaulike teddy bear, because he was so good to hug, he always made her feel safe. Did he really think she was beautiful?No moron, he’s pretending, remember?
“You hungry?” he asked, his voice tight. He pulled back but took her hand in his, entwining their fingers.Why is this affecting you so much today?Her brain quizzed but didn’t reply.
“Starving,” she sighed.
“Dinner’s on the table,” he chuckled as he let them into their cabin.
This was how things went for the next week. Barely seeing each other in the day, only seeing each other when he came to take her home, then every night he made her dinner. He liked to food prep she noticed, she enjoyed seeing all the little containers in the fridge with different, colorful foods in them. He probably needed to do it when he lost weight and the habit has stuck with him. She was too tired to quiz him on it.
It was her own fault she was so tired. She had done such a good job driving customers into the bar that she hadn’t spent time thinking about how to handle all the extra business. She was too tired to even be proud of how much her hard work and grind had paid off. She had accomplished something amazing as a businesswoman; now she ought to enjoy it.
She hadn’t hired anyone since Kayleigh last year and business had tripled since then. When she had gone in early this morning to do some paperwork before the crowds started pouring in, she placed a job ad. Fingers crossed she had some decent applicants. Last time the only one good enough was Kayleigh, and although she loved the girl now, training her had beenhard.
Hopefully Kayleigh would be back in action by the time Taylor’s day off came around this week. That was when she had her first self-defense session with Beau, and she was really looking forward to kicking his sexy ass.
Chapter 12
Beau didn’t think he’d ever been more sexually frustrated in his life. All because of one woman. That woman was currently strutting into his gym in barely-there workout gear that displayed her long legs and all that creamy, flawless skin with the skull and butterfly tattoo he’d glimpsed before. His eyes devoured the intricate design, traveling up until it disappeared beneath her shorts, desperate to know how high it went. A muscle ticked in his jaw.
She had spent so long cock-blocking him that he honestly couldn’t remember the last time he had gotten laid. Now he had to spend his nights listening to her heavy breathing and sultry moans while she slept. When he managed to ignore those unforgettable moans, he finally entered his own dreamland where he and Taylor did all sorts of deliciously dirty things together. He got the added bonus of waking up achingly hard each morning.
His self-restraint had reached new levels. Nuns would be proud of him. Fuck, he was proud. Proud that each damn night, the second she let out one of those moans, he didn’t demolish that fucking pillow fort and pull her on top of him and pour all that frustration into her. That goddamn pillow fort was his new best friend, because like a true best friend, it kept him from making all kinds of stupid mistakes.
Taylor came towards him and dazzled him with a bright smile. She shocked him by bouncing onto her tiptoes and kissing him on the cheek. He felt his cheeks heating, he had to clear his throat, suddenly feeling flustered.She had always been able to do that; get under his skin and drive him insane like no one else could.
Something had occurred to him last night while he’d lain awake, picturing all the ways he could make her moan for real. When she had kissed him all those years ago, when she had made the first move, it had been because shewantedto. She had wantedhim.She wanted to dump that shit-stain Bobby for him. There was a time when she could have been his and that thought had tortured him all night long.
Did she still want him? No, not with the way that she’d been behaving towards him for the entirety of their adult lives. Did he want her to want him? So much had happened between them and while they had laid their ghosts to rest, it was all still too fresh.
He wanted to try and get back some form of friendship with her, but more than that? Was it even on the table and did he want it to be? Part of him wanted to find out how she felt but the other, more sensible part of him was terrified of another rejection from her. He honestly didn’t think he could take it.
“Morning!” she trilled, pulling him from his thoughts.
“Wow, someone’s in a good mood,” he said, folding his arms over his chest. She flashed him another one of those dazzling smiles that he hadn’t been the recipient of since he was a teenager. She ran her hands up to her hair, smoothing the strands down and pulling her ponytail tighter. His eyes lingered on the elegant slope of her neck. He’d spent last night imagining trailing kisses there.
“Hell yeah, I’m in a good mood today. I get to learn how to kick some ass!” Her enthusiasm was contagious, especially when she poorly executed a few karate moves then shouted, “Hi-yah!”
He snorted. “Okay, calm down Bruce Lee, and come with me.” He took her hand, tingles skating down his arm at their touch. He brushed it off. He needed to keep himself under control today, there was about to be a whole lot of touching. It wasn’t appropriate or professional to get a boner and he was nothing if not professional.
He led her over to a stack of mats, past the two teenage boys he’d just been talkingGame of Thronesfan theories with, who now stopped to gawk at this goddess walking among them. He couldn’t blame them, she was electric. He gestured for her to take a seat on the mat then he sat opposite her. She folded her legs, her bare knee pressing against his and even that set off sparks inside him. He scooted back a fraction.
“Why are we sitting? This doesn’t help me kick ass,” she moaned, crossing her arms over her chest and pouting. The action, sticking that plump bottom lip out and pushing her breasts together, had him struggling to tear his eyes away.Get a grip and stop ogling her tits.
“I thought we could talk about your self-defense goals,” he said, when his voice was working again.
“My goals? To kick ass, duh.”
He fought the smile trying to work its way onto his lips. “I get that, but I was thinking something more specific?”
“Right, I get ya.” She pondered for a moment. “Have you seenAvengers?”
“You’re asking if the geek has seen a Marvel movie?” he asked, sarcasm his new best friend.
