Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 79039 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 395(@200wpm)___ 316(@250wpm)___ 263(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79039 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 395(@200wpm)___ 316(@250wpm)___ 263(@300wpm)
The boys are talking excitedly to one another and basically ignoring me and Beau now, so I lean down and whisper into her ear. “Do I finally get another kiss?”
She pulls away shaking her head. “I think I’ve had enough of guys hitting on me today. I told you, the two of us are friends.”
“Who else is hitting on you?” I ask immediately.
I see her body jerk with my question. Then, there is a look of panic that flashes over her face. I don’t think she realized what she was telling me. It pisses me off because in the next few seconds, Beau shuts down. I can’t tell what she’s thinking, and she looks away as if she’s dismissing me. “Hey guys, open that supply cabinet over there. I think you’ll be surprised.”
I watch the kids go to the cabinet and pull out two new mitts and baseballs. Apparently, she thought of everything. If the woman thinks for one minute that I’m going to lose her to another man, she needs to have her head examined.
“Hey, Ty?”
“Yeah, Dad?”
“You and Slider go out where Eli and Billy are. Me and Beau will follow you out in a bit. I want to check on a project she’s doing for the club first.”
“Sure thing. See you soon, Beau.”
“Okay, Ty,” she says after shooting me a dirty look. As soon as the door closes, she turns her furious face to me. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” she hisses.
“I want to know who the fuck is trying to move in on my property,” I snap back. If she thinks she’s the only one angry right now, she’s wrong.
“Your property?” she gasps.
“It’s time we stop this carousel you have us on, Harper,” I growl.
“I don’t have us on anything. I told you straight out we could be friends but that’s all we will ever be.”
“Babe, you’re full of shit. You want me as much as I want you.”
“You’re dreaming.”
“Don’t make me prove you wrong, baby. We both know I can.”
“You’re so full of yourself. I told you I’m not one of your club girls. You’ve made that mistake before. We shared one night of drunken sex. You told me yourself that’s all you thought it was and you were right. It’s over and now, we move on.”
“So, you’re saying it wouldn’t bother you if I went out with another woman tonight and fucked her brains out?”
I watch her face closely as she digests my words. Beau physically blanches. The color leaches from her face and she looks like I’ve mortally wounded her. It was only visible for a minute before she covered it up—but it was there. I saw it. I just have to figure out how in the fuck to get her to admit it.
“Not in the least,” she says. I know she’s trying to act like this isn’t killing her. It doesn’t come off like that. Her words are stilted. You can hear the pain in them. I know I hurt her. Beau’s afraid I’m going to hurt her again. I don’t know how to guide her past the pain, but I realize that I need to do it soon.
“You don’t think I should be pissed some other guy has been making moves on you?”
“You need to accept it. I’m meeting him tonight with the boys for dinner. It’s just a casual date between friends. That’s all. That’s all we’ve had and all we’ll ever have.”
Anger courses through me at her words—even if I suspect Beau doesn’t believe what she’s saying. Before I can talk myself out of it, I grab her at the back of her neck and pull her into me. Her hands come up and press against my chest, but I ignore it. I take her mouth with a violence that I wouldn’t normally use on her. I plunder her mouth, forcefully drinking from her, demanding with my body that she acknowledge what is between us. Beau holds her body tight, and I don’t like that at all. I bite into her lip. She cries out and I disengage to look into her eyes.
“You can deny it if you want to. The truth is I’m a fire in your blood just like you are in mine. I need you, Beau. I want to possess you, claim you and be the man who lays in bed with you every night, knowing I’ll be the first face you see the next morning.”
“That’s crazy,” she argues, almost looking panicked.
“Maybe it is. It’s still true. I want everything from you. I want you to curl around me every single fucking night and know that I’m one hundred percent yours. I’m not just looking to get you back into my bed, Beau. I want you to stay in it.”
“You don’t even know me.”
“That’s bullshit, too. It may have only been a week, but you can’t say we haven’t gotten close. This pull between us is strong and I don’t want to fight it.”