Chapter 64 Beatrice
BEATRICE
Disappointment floods through me when Everett doesn’t immediately slam me back against the wall like he did earlier the moment we’re inside his apartment. Instead, he lowers his hand, leaving me cold, and marches toward the kitchen for a bottle of water.
“You didn’t drink tonight,” I blurt.
He shakes his head. “I told you that I—”
“I know, but it was your sister’s engagement party. You could have.”
“It doesn’t matter. I don’t need alcohol to have a good time.”
“What?” I ask when laughter follows his statement.
“Nothing,” he says, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. “Just…not something I thought I’d hear myself say six months ago.”
“A lot can change in six months,” I point out.
“Tell me about it. In six months, we’ll be parents, and there will be an extra person living here.”
As much as the thought makes my chest expand with hope, I can’t help but cling to reality.
“You know, if at any point you want us to leave, all you have to do is—”
“I don’t,” he interrupts fiercely. “I want you here, Bea.” His eyes drop. “Both of you.”
I nod, my heart threatening to beat out of my chest at the thought of us really being a family. But despite today’s revelations, all of this is new and serious; I’d understand if at any point, he wanted to take a step back and slow things down.
“I mean it, sweetheart,” he insists, stalking toward me.
His hands bracket my face, his eyes boring into mine.
“I’m serious about this, Bea. About us. Six months ago, I never saw this coming.
” A lopsided smirk appears, and I can’t help but lean into him.
He draws me in like no one I’ve ever met before.
“But now it has, I can’t imagine my life being any other way.
I know it’s not going to be easy. I’m going to be a nightmare to live with, especially once the season starts.
I’m going to be away most of the time, and then I’ll reappear in the middle of the night before disappearing again.
But when I am here, I want you here. I want to come home to my little family. ”
That final word wraps around me like a warm hug, and a sob erupts.
Only a few months ago, I thought the little family I’d created for myself at the salon was enough for me. But little did I know, there was another waiting for me just around the corner.
“I want you to as well,” I confess quietly.
He leans forward, resting his forehead against mine.
His jaw tics as if he’s holding himself back from either doing or saying something. I want to force it out of him, but before I can do anything, he squeezes his eyes closed and rasps, “Go and get ready for bed, sweetheart.”
His lips find mine in the sweetest kiss before he taps me on the butt and sends me on my way.
I want to stomp my foot like a toddler and demand we go back to making out, but I don’t. Instead, I do as I’m told and disappear into my bedroom.
A heavy sigh leaves me as I step into the bathroom and my eyes land on the incredible tub. If I can’t have Everett tonight, then a soak would be a great second option. But…it’s late, and really, I just want the man in the living room.
With a sigh, I set about removing my makeup and twisting my hair up, ready for bed.
As I walk back into the bedroom, I hear Everett crashing about somewhere beyond the door.
My need for him returns, and my eyes drift to my nightstand.
A steady pulsation starts up between my thighs.
But it’s not my vibrating toy that I really want.
It hasn’t done the job for months now; it’s not going to come anywhere close tonight.
So instead, I pull my cell from my clutch and send a message that I hope might finally get me what I need.
Bea: Can you please come and help me with something?
The second it shows as delivered, I curl my fingers around the tie holding my dress together and pull it as tight as I can.
It’s a pathetic damsel-in-distress attempt, but I’m beyond caring.
When I glance back at my cell, I see the message has been read, and my heart skips a beat.
I lock it and stand at the end of my bed nervously. I focus on my nails, picking at my gel polish that needs to be redone. I swear, time stands still, but eventually, the thud of Everett’s heavy footsteps gets louder.
By the time he approaches my door, my heart is beating right along with his steps.
He knocks gently, and I practically jump out of my skin.
“Bea?”
“C-come in,” I call, nerves rocking through me.
I close my eyes as the door opens, aware that he’s going to be able to read every single one of my thoughts the moment he looks into them.
What are you doing, Beatrice?
“What’s up, sweetheart?” he asks, closer than I was expecting.
My eyes fly open, and he’s right there. My breath catches, and the pulse between my thighs only gets more insistent.
“I-I…I can’t—” I tug at the tie around my wrap dress. “Could you …”
His eyes bounce between mine, his lips twitching. Just as I predicted, he reads my intentions loud and clear.
Without hesitation, he reaches for the tie.
With very little effort, it comes undone, and then the fabric parts, revealing one of the lingerie sets he bought me during our shopping trip.
It’s far from the sexiest lingerie I’ve ever worn, but that doesn’t seem to matter; the second Everett’s eyes drop to my lace-covered breasts, they darken, and his throat ripples with a thick swallow.
“Th-thank you,” I whisper, my chest heaving.
“Is there…anything else I can help you with?” he rasps, his eyes slowly rolling up until they find mine.
One second passes, and then another, and as the third approaches, the tension crackling between us explodes.
We collide.
His lips find mine and his warm, calloused hands land on my hips before sliding up.
A violent shiver rips through me as I copy his move and slip my hands under his shirt, desperate to feel his skin.
“Bea,” he breathes into our kiss as he steps closer, eradicating the space between us.
My soft belly presses against his hard planes as his fingers gently push the fabric from my shoulders, sending it cascading down my arms before pooling at my feet.
“You’re incredible,” he whispers as he kisses down my neck and turns me toward the bed. “Beautiful,” he adds as his lips move over my collarbone. “Sexy.” I whimper as he brushes over the swell of my breasts. “Mine,” he adds a beat before sucking my nipple into his mouth through the lace of my bra.
“Rett,” I cry, making his eyes shoot to mine.
My heart thumps against my ribs and my body burns red hot, so desperate for the release he could give me. I want to cry, scream, do anything to make him move faster, but at the same time, I want it all to slow down. I want to savor every moment in a way I didn’t that night.
Everett was a high, and I was his willing addict.
“You called me Rett,” he murmurs, his hands still on my waist.
“I…uh…” My chest heaves as I battle for words. “It’s what your friends call you.”
His lips twitch. “Are you finally confirming that we’re friends, sweetheart?” He nudges his nose against mine, and the innocent touch sends my heart into overdrive.
“Maybe,” I hedge.
“Nice to know you’re warming up to me.”
My lips part to respond, but I don’t manage to get any words out, because his lips are back on mine, his tongue in my mouth as he devours me.
My fingers find the loose tie still hanging around his neck, and I quickly pull it free, abandoning it on the floor. I start work on his buttons next. It’s easier said than done as his hips and hands distract me, but I’m determined to get him as naked as I am.
I’ve seen him walking around the apartment half-dressed, but it’s never close to being enough. I need my hands on him; I need to experience every single hard inch of him properly.
The second the fabric is undone, I impatiently shove it from his shoulders.
Because it fits him like a second skin, it gets stuck on his biceps, and I have to give it a bit of a tug to free it from his body, but I do.
And only seconds later, he’s standing before me with his incredibly toned torso for the taking.
“Oh my god,” I mutter into our kiss as I blindly run my hands from his pecs all the way down to his waistband. It’s like he’s been carved out of stone.
Ripping my lips from his, I gaze down his body, taking in all the defined lines and taut muscles. But it’s not until I get to the most obvious one tenting his pants, that my mouth runs dry.
God, I want it. I want it so bad.
“You’re—”
“Nothing compared to you,” he finishes for me before gently shoving me forward, giving me little chance but to go tumbling onto the bed behind me.
I’m still bouncing as he reaches for his belt. I watch in awe as his fingers work the leather, before starting on his waistband.
My fingers curl in the sheets as he rips his pants open and shoves them down his legs.
His boxers are small and tight and show every-fucking-thing.
I knew this man was packing. I remember feeling it stretching me open that night. But feeling it and seeing it are two very different things.
I reach forward, desperate to feel him beneath my fingers, to see how small my hand looks wrapped around him, but he stops me.
“Hey, what are you—”
“This isn’t about me, sweetheart,” he rasps as he threads our fingers together and drags my arm over my head, forcing me to lie back as he crawls on top of me. “You messaged me because you needed something, and I have every intention of delivering.”
With my legs on either side of his hips, he leans in close, ensuring that the steel rod I want so badly presses against my needy core.
I cry out, but it’s quickly stolen by his lips when he claims them once again.
His kiss is like fire licking into my mouth and scalding me right down to my toes.
I rock against him, trying to find the friction I need, but it’s not enough.
It will be, though. I have no doubt that this man is going to give me everything I need and then just maybe a little more that I didn’t even know was possible.
“Rett,” I cry again when his fingers find my nipple, pinching hard enough to send a shot of pain through me.
“Fucking love when you call me that,” he tells me before tucking his fingers beneath the lace of my bra and pulling the fabric free. “Fuck,” he murmurs, ducking low to suck my stiff peak into his mouth.
I knew they were more sensitive than before. I feel that every time I brush them against anything, but having his hot, wet mouth around me…it’s…it’s so much more than I expected.
My fingers twist in his hair as I try to decide if I want to pull him closer or drag him away.
It’s…it’s too much. It’s everything, and yet, it’s nowhere near enough, all at the same time.