Chapter 19 – BEAU
BEAU
The barn looks good, I'll give Natalie that. Fairy lights are strung across the rafters, wildflowers fill mason jars on every table, and the summer evening is spilling in through the open doors while music and people drift between here and the bar.
Bodhi and Emma are still on the dance floor, wrapped around each other like they're the only two people in the world, and everyone's pretending not to watch them.
I'm nursing my third whiskey at the edge of the crowd, trying to look like I'm enjoying myself.
"You know, you scowling in the background of every photo is going to ruin their wedding pictures." Mason appears at my elbow, two beers in hand, and he offers me one.
I just shake my head, lifting my whiskey. After the day I've had, I need something a bit stronger. "I'm fine."
Mason scoffs, eyeing me as he takes a long swig from one of the beers.
"You're sulking." He turns around to watch the happy couple and rests his back against the wall beside me. "It's a wedding, Beau. You can at least try to have fun and forget about work."
I wish work was the problem. That, I could handle.
"I am having fun," I insist, forcing my face into a fake as fuck grin.
Mason downs the rest of the bottle and sets it down before starting on the next.
"Fine. Be miserable, but you're killing the vibe." He studies me for a moment then shrugs. "At least do it somewhere the bride can't see you. You're making Emma sad."
I force my shoulders to relax. "Go bother Maddox."
Mason snorts but wanders off, probably to do exactly that.
Maybe he's right. Everywhere I look, there are families mingling, kids running between tables, and the band is doing a great job of keeping the dancefloor packed.
This is a good night for the clan. It's a celebration of love, and also, the return of the rightful alpha to the head of the clan. I should be happy.
Then why can't I enjoy it?
Not wanting to examine the answer to that question too deeply, I drain the rest of my whiskey and head for the bar.
That's when I see her.
She's standing in the entrance to the barn, silhouetted against the fading evening light, her red hair cascading loosely around her shoulders.
And she looks absolutely incredible in a dress that hugs every curve I've been trying not to think about, with sexy high heels that make her legs look like they go on forever.
Lisa Harris. Here. On clan territory.
My brain stops working, some wild and primitive instinct gripping me as I stare from the shadows.
She hasn't seen me yet. She's scanning the crowd, and when her gaze lands on Bodhi and Emma, her delicate features soften. Even though she looks perfect, she smooths her dress, squaring her shoulders, and walks toward them.
The crowd parts for her, everyone wondering who this beautiful human is. Every male in the room has turned to look, and a growl builds in my chest that I have to physically swallow down.
My bear snarls, hating all eyes being on her, and I tell him to shut the hell up.
She's not ours.
Staying where I am, I track her progress across the dance floor, how her hips sway, how her face lights up with genuine warmth when Emma notices her and smiles.
The song ends just as she reaches them, and Bodhi releases his bride so the girls can embrace. Lisa leans in to say something, her hand on Emma's arm. An apology, from the looks of it, for not making the service, but Emma shakes her head, waving it off.
Bodhi gives Lisa a measured look, but when she speaks to him, offering what looks like a heartfelt congratulations, he nods and accepts her handshake, even managing a small smile once he's assured that she's not here on business.
And when Bodhi and Emma get dragged into another photo, Lisa says her goodbyes and turns away, scanning the crowd again, looking for someone.
When her gaze connects with mine, she freezes.
The warmth she showed Emma vanishes, replaced by naked animosity, but my bear is just thrilled she's here at all.
She walks toward me, and the crowd parts again, but this time, they're not just admiring her.
They're sensing the anger rolling off her, and the tension from me.
Lisa doesn't stop until she's right in front of me, close enough that I breathe her in.
"We need to have a little chat." Her voice is low, but there's steel underneath it. "Now."
"You realise this is a wedding? A social occasion. We can talk shop tomorrow." Dragging my eyes away from her glistening, pillowy lips, I stare out at the mingling crowd, hoping she'll take the hint and leave me alone.
But she doesn't. She's way too stubborn for that.
"Why? Are you nervous, Beau?" She smiles, but it doesn't reach her eyes. "I've worked out that the tip-off about where he held the girls came from you, and if anyone has information on where Dimitri has slunk off to with my missing person, it's you."
Oh shit.
I laugh, because it's the only thing I can think of to do. "I know you want to think you're on to something…"
Lisa's eyes blaze, not taking my dismissive attitude kindly.
"Because I am." She steps closer, and I catch the scent of cherry lip balm.
"This isn't the time or place, Lisa." From the dance floor, Bodhi's glaring at me. He looks at the door pointedly.
Take it outside.
"You have lied to me non-stop since I met you." Her cheeks flush as her temper gets the better of her.
"I–"
A growl ripples through the crowd as Bodhi decides he's had enough. Get out, he mouths at me.
"Let's go outside." I catch Lisa's elbow, attempting to steer her toward the doors, but she jerks away before realising she's getting what she wants and storms ahead of me, not bothering to check if I'm following.
I'm following. Of course, I'm following. What choice do I have? My stomach drops.
She knows more than I'm comfortable with.
Stopping between the barn and the saloon-style bar, hoping to get some privacy, we're barely out of sight when she whirls on me, her hair fanning out around her as she turns, gloriously furious.
"Kozlov is dead." Her voice is low. "And I’m not going to lose any sleep over that, but his second in command took someone with him whose description matches Amber.”
Despite knowing this was coming, and having adequate time to prepare a story, nothing good enough comes to mind, so I stand here, shove my hands in my pockets, and stare mutely back at her.
This only seems to rile her up.
“I need to find her, Beau.” Another step closer. “And your brother is twirling the other woman we know Kozlov was holding captive around this dancefloor. Don’t stand here and pretend you’re not smack in the middle of this."
She points one perfectly painted crimson red nail in my direction.
"Instead of bringing me in, you looked me in the eye at Ben's cabin and refused to help me."
Disappointment flashes across her features, and my bear pushes against my restraint, wanting to comfort her, to make it all better and explain we had to keep her away to protect her.
"Lisa—"
She blinks hard, and I stop, because the next lie that's about to fall from my mouth is choking me. She's furious, absolutely furious, but underneath that, there's more. She's hurt.
But she doesn’t get to be hurt. Not when she’s the one who rejected me.
"Don't stand there looking hurt because I didn't confide in you." The words come out harder than I intended. "We're not friends. I don’t owe you anything."
She flinches, the implication clear. We might have slept together, once, but we’re not a couple.
“That’s not what I mean…” The guilt twisting in my gut makes me feel like shit, so I do what I do best. I shove it down and let the anger take over, even as the look on her face makes my bear howl in pain. “I have other people to think of.”
My instinct might be to tell her everything, but then she’d find out what we are, my family’s secret. And when we’re not even together, it’s too big of a risk to take.
Lisa’s expression softens for a second but true to form, she doesn't stay wounded for long. Her spine straightens, her chin lifts, and when she speaks again, her voice is deathly serious. "I want in."
Absolutely not. Over my dead body. "No."
Did she not listen to anything I just said?
"This is my case, Beau. Amber is my responsibility,” she insists.
Shaking my head, I push down the violent reaction I get just imagining her anywhere near these men.
"Even if I was looking into this case privately in my capacity as a fully licensed investigator, which I’m not saying that I am, you cannot be involved."
Panic claws at my insides. They'd hurt her. Take her and put her in one of those disgusting auctions. No way.
"Can't?" She steps even closer, getting right in my face. "Or, you won't let me?"
I inch forward, closing the distance completely until I'm looming over her, using every inch of my height, our bodies touching.
"Both."
She glares at me but doesn't back down. Of course, she doesn't. This woman has never backed down from anything in her life.
"It's too dangerous," I whisper, needing her to understand.
I breathe her in without meaning to, and it's like a shot of adrenaline coursing through my veins. My fingers find her hip, then my palm is pressed against the curve of her waist, the thin fabric of her dress the only thing between my skin and hers.
She doesn't pull away.
"I'm the one with the badge here, remember?" she says, breathless now, but her tone still hasn't lost its sharp edge.
I dip my head closer, looming over her, pressing her back against the side of the bar.
She lets me.
"You're so cocky," she whispers, eyes finding mine in the darkness as she builds steam.
Her dark lashes flutter as she looks up at me, lips parted.
"You're insufferable." Her body sways toward mine, the contact scrambling my brain and sending more blood straight to my already swelling cock. "You're overbearing."
She's getting more animated as she warms to her theme, placing her palms flat on my pecs but not pushing.
"You have some nerve trying to act like you're protecting me when this is literally my job. You're the newbie… I should be worried about you."
She pauses for breath. "But then again, you're quite something, aren't you? Not just your average man."
I freeze. The comment is casual enough to brush off, but the way she's looking at me when she says it isn't casual at all.
“You know I won’t stop. You may as well just let me…”
Done with all the pretense, I kiss her. I grab her hands and snatch them away, eliminating the barrier between us as I pin her to the wall, letting my body weight settle against her.
It's the only way to shut her up. That's what I tell myself as my mouth crashes into hers, my tongue sliding between her lips, silencing her, claiming her. Swallowing her stunned gasp, the sound goes straight to my cock.
She hesitates for barely half a second, then she's kissing me back like she's been missing me, craving me, as much as I’ve missed her.
Breaking free of my grip, she clings onto me, and suddenly, our hands are everywhere. My back, her waist, tangling in that red hair I've been dreaming about for months, and scraping across the back of my neck.
"Fuck," I groan when I press my thigh between hers, and she cries out, clutching my shoulders, riding my leg.
As I rock against her, she moans, low and broken, and so fucking hot that my bear roars in triumph.
I can scent her arousal now, rich and heady, and I know she's wet.
I know that if I slid my hand under that dress, I'd find her dripping.
I can't get enough of her.
My bear wants to taste her, begs me to drop to my knees right here, to push that dress up and taste her. And I'm seriously considering it when she pulls back just far enough to whisper against my lips.
"When you're going after Amber…" Her breaths are ragged, and her eyes are dark. "Let me come. You can trust me."
I raise an eyebrow, pulsing my thigh once more, giving her the friction she needs and enjoying how she whimpers while struggling to stay focused.
"Can I?" My words come out rough, my need for her making my breathing ragged. "How do I know you can keep a secret?"
We both know I'm not talking about Amber.
She stares up at me, eyes bright, and her full, rosy lips swollen from my kiss. Her anger drains away, and her expression is unguarded and vulnerable in a way I've never seen her.
She opens her mouth to answer when a deep voice rumbles through the dark.
"For fuck's sake."
We both spring apart like teenagers caught by their parents.
Bodhi is standing at the corner of the bar, arms crossed and staring into the gloom, looking like he's seriously reconsidering every life choice that led him back to lead his clan. My bear roars in frustration and seriously considers charging at him for interrupting what was about to happen.
"I thought I was coming out here to make sure you two hadn't killed each other..."
With a despairing shake of his head, he turns and walks back toward the party, muttering under his breath.
The silence he leaves behind is excruciating.
Lisa smooths her dress with shaking hands. Her lipstick is smeared, hair mussed and cheeks flushed. She looks thoroughly kissed, and some primitive part of me is deeply satisfied by that, even if the last thing I want is to send her back out there horny, smelling like lust, and pissed off at me.
With one last expectant look, which I return with a sad shake of my head, she turns away.
"This isn't over," she says over her shoulder, voice steadier than I expected, "You hear me, Beau? This isn't over."
She doesn't wait for my response. Just turns on those fucking hot as hell heels and struts away, mercifully heading straight for the parking lot.
I watch her go, knowing full well that's not the last I've heard of this. And a sick part of me relishes in the battle I know is coming my way.