Chapter 3
CHAPTER THREE
HAILEY
“What are you talking about?” Beau frowns, looking so completely baffled that it’s almost cute. “Date? What date?”
“The date I saw you on yesterday.” I turn around to face him fully, realizing half a second too late that I’ve just given him a glimpse of my boobs.
Not that it matters.
His frown deepens, and then understanding dawns across his stupidly perfect face.
The firelight flickers across the masculine planes of it, highlighting his square, bearded jaw and chiseled cheekbones.
It plays across the dips and valleys of his ridiculous muscles, making his tattoos look almost animated.
“You saw me having dinner with Kelly yesterday.”
My stomach churns, a sour taste rising up in my mouth. Kelly. I hate her.
I nod, forcing myself to meet his gaze. Not hiding under the weight of all of this, as much as I want to. Beau doesn’t say anything for a moment, and I can feel myself sulking. Pouting.
“She probably won’t be too happy that you’re huddled up naked with another woman.” I glance away. “Not that that’s how you see me.”
Beau slips a finger under my chin and raises my face, forcing me to meet his eyes. I suck in a breath at the heat shimmering there. I may be inexperienced, but I know lust when I see it.
Which makes absolutely no sense.
Beau’s gaze holds mine. Outside, another crack of thunder booms and rain starts to patter harder against the roof and windows. Tension stretches between us, thick and sweet like honey dripping from a spoon.
“Kelly’s an old colleague, sweet girl. She used to work for the Mountain Rescue Service before moving to Edmonton a few years ago to be closer to her family.” He leans in a bit closer. “And her wife might have a thing or two to say if she thought our dinner was a date.”
Relief floods through me, swift and dizzying in its intensity. “Her…wife?”
He nods, a small smile playing at the corners of his mouth.
His thumb brushes against my chin, and I shiver.
Not because I’m cold, but because of the thrill it sends sparking through me.
“Yes. Her wife. You know I haven’t had a girlfriend in years.
” There’s a gentle admonishment in his tone, and I blush, feeling silly.
“Although I can’t say I hate that you were jealous. ”
My stomach explodes with butterflies, my heart picking up speed.
“Oh?” I breathe, and for the first time, his gaze drops to my chest and the tops of my breasts. He exhales roughly.
“What did you mean when you said I’d never look at you the way you wish I would?”
My mouth goes dry, my heart slamming against my ribs. There’s another rumble of thunder, so loud and close that it feels like it’s shaking the cabin. What do I say? Do I lie?
Or is this my chance to tell the truth and let the chips fall where they may?
I look at Beau, at the heat in his eyes, and I decide that I’ll regret it if I’m not honest.
“I meant…” I lick my lips, gathering up my courage. “I meant that I wish you’d look at me like you want me. Like you see me as a woman you want to…to be with. Romantically, and…in bed,” I say, blushing furiously. “Like you see me as more than just your best friend’s daughter.”
Beau’s eyes darken. “And how am I looking at you now?”
I meet his eyes, my clit throbbing at the intense heat shining out at me. “I…I don’t know,” I admit. “I’m not exactly experienced with…anything, really.”
He swallows thickly. “Hailey,” he murmurs, his voice rough. His huge hand comes up to cup my face, and I press into his touch like an eager little kitten. “I do see you, sweet girl. More than you know.”
“You do?”
He nods. “You’re the only woman I’ve wanted for years, now.
Only you.” He leans in, his forehead pressed to mine.
His chest heaves, and I can practically feel him fighting against himself.
The knowledge that Beau wants me too, that he sees me as a woman, has me lit up.
It’s like fireworks are going off inside me.
This realization feels even better than graduating.
Even better than anything I’ve ever accomplished in my life.
“Beau,” I whisper, my heart pounding so hard I’m sure he can hear it. “Will you…” My courage falters, and he swipes his finger across my cheekbone.
“Anything,” he rasps, looking at me like he’s starving and I’m buffet.
“Will you give me my first kiss?”
His eyes widen, and his nostrils flare. “Your first…” He shakes his head. “Hailey, are you telling me that you’ve never been kissed before?”
I shake my head, a blush creeping across my cheeks. “I’ve never done anything with anyone. I was never interested. I’ve been…waiting for you. Saving everything for you.”
A groan rumbles deep in his chest, and it’s the sexiest sound I’ve ever heard in my life. He closes his eyes briefly, and he almost looks like he’s in pain. When he opens them again, the heat, the need, the pure want blazing out at me takes my breath away.
“We shouldn’t do this, but god, I want you. I’ve wanted you for so long.”
His hand slides into my damp hair, cupping the back of my head, and then his lips are on mine.
Holy shit. Beau Cameron is kissing me. This is actually happening.
His lips are soft, his movements slow as he kisses me with so much gentleness, so much tenderness that my eyes prick with tears.
He’s a massive beast of a man, and he’s kissing me like I’m the most precious, most breakable thing in the world.
Heat pools low in my belly as sparks dance against my skin.
He pulls back after a few all-too-short seconds, and our eyes meet. A beat passes between us, and it’s like a dam breaks. He kisses me again, this time claiming my mouth like he’s starving, his tongue sweeping in and tasting, stroking, consuming.
I thought being naked in this sleeping bag with Beau was going to be the highlight of my life, but I was wrong. This is, right here. His mouth on mine is better than I could’ve ever imagined.
I moan against his mouth, completely swept away by the sensations racing through my body. The lushness of his mouth on mine. The throb of my pulse in my clit. The swooping excitement and lust in my belly.
The way my heart wants to leap out of my chest and make a home in Beau’s body.
My hands clutch at his shoulders, nails digging into his skin. The small bite of pain I must be causing only seems to encourage him, because he kisses me deeper, tasting every inch of my mouth with his talented tongue.
God, if I’d known that this is what it feels like to kiss Beau—hot and intense and consuming and so damn good—I don’t think I could’ve held myself back.
His arms wrap tightly around me, holding me closer, my breasts pressed against his deliciously hard chest. His hands roam up and down my back as he kisses me and kisses me. He strokes over my sides, my hips, as if he can’t get enough. As if he needs to touch me everywhere all at once.
Our legs tangle, my pussy a constant throb between my thighs as our breaths mingle.
As his tongue slides against mine in a dirty, claiming rhythm that has me writhing against him.
He breaks the kiss and drops his mouth to my jaw and then my neck, his teeth nipping at the sensitive skin there.
I gasp, shuddering at the sensation. All of this is so new.
So much more intense than anything I’d ever imagined.
He sucks on a spot just below my jaw and I arch into him, moaning when I feel the hard outline of his cock pressing against me.
I drag my nails down his impossibly broad back and he growls against my throat, pressing his cock into me.
“Tell me to stop, Hailey,” he rasps against my throat, his chest heaving.
“Don’t you dare,” I breathe, my voice barely above a whisper. But he hears me, because he groans and kisses me again, his hands sliding down to cup my bare ass, pulling me even tighter against him.
His hands are massive and so, so warm that they feel like a brand on my skin, and I arch into him.
Beau breaks our kiss, his chest heaving as he presses his forehead to mine. The greens of his irises are almost entirely obscured by his pupils, the firelight dancing in their dark depths. “Hailey, sweet girl, we need to slow down.” His voice is a rough rumble, ragged and deep.
I blink up at him, my breath coming in sharp gasps.
“Why? I thought you wanted…” I trail off, not wanting to finish that thought.
Is he having second thoughts? Dread curdles in my stomach at the idea that he might push me away after this.
After telling me he wants me too, after taking my first kiss.
He cups my cheek, his thumb brushing gently against my skin.
“No, Hailey, shh. I want this more than you know. But you’re a virgin.
I need to take care of you. I need this to be good for you.
As desperate as I am to get inside you, we need to go slow.
” His eyes close briefly, as though he’s gathering up his strength.
“You’re sure about this? About me? About…
us?” He strokes his thumb over my cheek again.
A blush creeps across my face, and it’s hard to believe I was freezing cold not that long ago.
“I’ve been sure for years. It’s always been you, Beau.
You’re the only man I’ve ever wanted. I’ve been waiting for you.
Only you. I want this. I want you. I want us.
” The word us sends a thrill spiraling through me, better and more intense than any roller coaster I’ve ever ridden.
A low groan rumbles in his chest, and he captures my mouth in another drugging kiss. His hands roam over my body, gentle and reverent, as if he’s memorizing every inch of me. He breaks the kiss, his beard scratching softly against my skin as he kisses his way down my neck.
“I promise, sweet girl,” he murmurs against my throat, “I’ll make this so good for you. I’ll teach you everything. Take care of you.”