Page 82 of Sweet Surrender
The point was, she had never meant to hurt Beau. She was surprised that even though she had hurt him, and that he was angry with her, he hadn’t stormed out of the bar and left her. He was still here, like he had been the whole evening, supporting her.Notabandoning her like her brain had told her he would. Not abandoning her like Bobby and her deadbeat father had.
The bar eventually emptied and she closed off the register. Then she was locking up and walking back to the cabin with Beau. He was quiet and didn’t try to take her hand. When they were inside he went into the kitchen to start his food prep for the next day. She hovered, unsure what to say.
“Uh, thanks for spending your whole evening at the bar and keeping an eye on me.” She wrung her hands as he turned his back to her.
“No problem, all part of the service.” His tone was even but she could read him better than anyone, she could tell he was still hurt. He needed time to cool off. If she pressed him they would have a fight and that wasn’t what she wanted.
“Okay, well, I’m going to bed,” she said. He didn’t reply so she left him to it. Hopefully when she woke up in the morning she would be wrapped in his arms and everything would be fine. She was already smiling at the thought.
But when she woke up the next morning, he was already gone.You saw him last night, how do you miss him already?Her phone pinged and she saw his name, a smile spread across her lips.See? Maybe he misses me too,she thought smugly. She opened his message but was disappointed when all it said was that Blake would be stopping by the bar to check on her. She thanked him and then got up and jumped in the shower to get ready. She had a long day ahead of her today: she was conducting interviews all morning before she started her actual shift in the afternoon.
She thought about Beau all the way through her interviews, barely paying any attention to them. Did he have many clients today? Were the Thirsty Bitch Brigade molesting all his thigh-quivering muscles? Did he have enough food to keep his energy up? Should she bring him some food? No, she couldn’t leave. When she hired someone, she would be able to work shorter hours and head out for errands. Take him food if she wanted to. Take one of his classes. Pop out for some afternoon sex…maybe after she did his yoga class. He would get all hot and bothered helping her in and out of those poses, then they could steal off somewhere…
Finally, it was closing time and when she stepped outside and saw him standing there, her heart flipped in her chest. She felt icky since yesterday and hadn’t realized how much she needed to see him. She threw herself at him and hugged him tight. His hands clenched around her, pulling her into him.
“I missed you,” he murmured against her hair.
“I missed you too,” she said, her heart banging against her ribs. When she stepped inside the cabin a sweet scent filled her nostrils, making her stomach growl. She narrowed her eyes at him. “What have you been up to?”
He gave her a crooked smile and gestured to the couch. “Take a seat.”
By the time she shrugged off her jacket and sat down, tucking her feet under her, he was joining her.
“I’m an asshole,” he said, and held out a plate to her that had a slice of cookie dough cheesecake resting on the surface.
“What?”
“I shouldn’t have gotten upset yesterday. I understand why you thought that was the best thing to do, to kiss I mean. And I’m sorry my pride got in the way, I was forgetting what this was all about.”
Her cheeks warmed and she looked down at her plate. “Did you make this?”
“Yep, it’s my apology cheesecake. I know how much you like it, what it symbolizes for us and I also wanted to practice it before our next baking class.” He ducked his head and she laughed.
He took a seat next to her. “I’m sorry, Tay.”
She liked that he said the words, she hated when people saidI want to apologizebut didn’t actually say sorry, thinking the statement was enough. “I’m sorry too, I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings. Now shush, I need to try this.”
He laughed and she cut a sliver and forked it into her mouth, her eyes closing.
“Mmm my god,” she moaned, immediately shoving in another bite.
“Good?” he asked. She couldn’t speak, not wanting to stop eating dessert-heaven, so she nodded. He smiled then popped a bit into his mouth.
“Oh God, I’m good,” he groaned.
She snorted and watched him, smiling in amusement until he moaned again and licked his lips, his tongue swiping out. Then he closed his mouth around the fork, his lips pouting around the metal, his tongue sliding and her insides clenched, remembering what that tongue could do and what she was owed.
She watched Beau, completely oblivious to the havoc he was wreaking on her. She waited until he finished eating which really should have earned her a commendation for restraint from some kind of government body. Then she snatched his plate off him and dropped it onto the floor.
“What are you-”
She pulled him on top of her.
“Oh, I see.” He grinned down at her. “I guess cheesecake for the win?”
“Shut up being smug and make me moan already. You owe me, remember?”
His eyes darkened. “I haven’t forgotten, sweetheart.”
