Chapter Twenty-four – Be That For You #2
But I wanted it tonight, after I’d had the chance to wear a beautiful dress with my hair done and makeup on. I wanted to be the princess I’d once thought I could never be, with the charming prince claiming me as his in front of the entire town.
I wanted to beat that bitch Hope into submission when she realized I’d won.
I ripped my mouth from his, slipped off his lap and onto the floor.
His eyes were so dark it was like looking into the night sky from the top of a mountain. No streetlights. Nothing but stars across a satiny expanse.
He reached for me, and I danced back out of reach with a sly smile.
“You want to finish that, Fireball?”
His lips twitched, and his hand went to the hard-on straining beneath the sheets. “You can clearly see I do.”
He stroked himself. Once, twice. My nipples pebbled, and my core clenched.
“Come back to bed, darlin’. I’ll prove my actions are far better than my words.”
Maybe tonight could be a follow-up to this morning. Maybe I could have both.
He saw his lure was working, and he smugly patted the mattress next to him.
I shook my head, and the pain spiked.
No. I wanted the day to feel better. Wanted more hours placed between what had happened and our moment together, so I could concentrate on just Beckett and me and the way we made each other feel in the dark of the night.
“Nope. I have shopping to do,” I said, turning toward the door so I could head to my bedroom and the bathroom I'd been sharing with Dad. “Are you wearing your Class A uniform tonight, or did you rent a tuxedo?”
“Class A’s.”
My hand was on the doorknob, and then, suddenly, it wasn’t.
Beckett dragged me away from the door and back against him, his hard-on pressed into me, and his bare chest warm against my back.
When his mouth landed on my shoulder exposed by his oversized T-shirt, and the tease of teeth and tongue danced over my skin, I nearly moaned.
“Where do you think you’re going, Maisey?” he asked, voice husky and low.
“To shower.”
“I promised your father I wasn’t letting you out of my sight. I meant it.”
“I’m not showering with you.”
He didn’t respond. He simply swept me off my feet, bridal style, and carried me toward his bathroom.
“Beckett, put me down.”
He ignored me, holding me pressed up against him while he reached into the shower and turned on the water.
“Takes a minute to warm up,” he said.
I struggled, and he finally let me slide out of his arms. Every inch of me shivered with delight as our bodies rubbed against each other.
His gaze worked its way down me, the smirk on his face letting me know he understood exactly what he was doing to me.
It was pure retaliation for how I’d straddled him and then left him in the bed.
My heart was pounding furiously, longing and lust making it almost impossible to talk. But I was eventually able to croak out, “I don’t think Dad meant I couldn’t shower on my own.”
“Doesn’t matter what he meant. Only matters what I promised.”
I huffed out a laugh. “I need my shampoo and conditioner. It’s the only kind that works on my hair, so it doesn’t look like a wet dog.”
“Maybe I should help. Your hands are pretty banged up. Wouldn’t want the shampoo to sting them.”
“I’ll manage. You don’t get to shower with me until you’ve delivered on all your promises.”
“I will be delivering,” he said, stepping closer, heat sparking, and grin widening. “I can provide the first installment right now. I promise this isn’t a limited-quantity deal. In fact, once I’ve touched you, tasted you, and watched you climax, I’m never going to want to stop.”
His words flared hope of the forever I knew he wasn’t necessarily promising. I put my hand out, pushing against his chest to keep the distance between us.
“No can do, Beckett. I want the fairy-tale moment. The gorgeous dress and the handsome prince and the sinful night you said you’d give me.”
He grabbed my hand, placing a soft kiss atop the gauze wrapping my palm.
“You’re right. You absolutely should have all of that, my Maisey-girl.” At the door of the bathroom, he turned back and said, “Better get in before I change my mind.”
My heart hammered against my chest. I took a fortifying breath. “Bring me my shampoo!”
He waved a hand and left.
But I hadn’t really thought this through, because once I was in the shower, naked as a blue jay, he returned with the bottles in hand.
He stopped outside the glass door, slowly taking in every inch of my nakedness, eyes stroking me as if they were his hands.
My thighs quivered, my core ached, and I had to put a hand out on the shower wall to steady myself.
“I deserve a goddamn medal,” he said, voice husky and raw.
“Yeah?”
“The sacrifice it’s taking to walk away from you right now…” He set the bottles down outside the shower, inhaled, and then shook his head with his eyes closed. “Yeah. A fucking medal isn’t even enough.”
He’d turned away and started for the door when I called his name. His focus returned to me, and I gave him my very best saucy smirk. “You deliver tonight, and we’ll see about getting you a medal.”
A smile broke over his face, the large one that always did things to my insides. He was whistling as he left the room.
I kept that happiness with me as I unwrapped the gauze and cleaned my wounds, vowing to myself I’d keep the joy and lose the fear.
I’d concentrate on what he’d promised me, even if it was only for a night or two…
or a dozen. Even if, eventually, I ended up with a broken heart as Beckett pulled away.
For now, I’d concentrate on the present.
Not the past or the future. And I’d forget completely whoever was gunning for me for a few hours.
After I got out with a towel wrapped around me, Beckett took his turn in the shower, and I stayed to admire the image he made, taking in every groove and the impressive length of him that I’d barely caught a glimpse of at the lake.
His smug look grew, brows raised in question as his hand trailed down his chest and lower.
When he got to the rising length, I turned tail and ran.
Not because I was embarrassed, although my cheeks were a healthy red, but because I was afraid I wouldn’t stick to what I’d said about wanting to wait until tonight, until we’d had a magical evening together.
I defied his orders to stay in sight and finished getting ready in the bathroom Dad and I had been sharing.
The scrapes on my hands were still sore and raw, but they’d be okay without bandages.
The cut on my chin, however, needed more ointment.
After I covered it with a Band-Aid, the sight in the mirror hit me hard.
I’d spent years fixing my jaw and teeth, and one simple bandage tried to throw me back to my girlhood.
To the insecure child who’d thought she was ugly.
I ground my teeth together. I wasn’t going to let some jerkwad attacking me in the dark undo all the hard work I’d done to feel better about myself.
I applied my makeup with a steady hand to draw attention to my eyes instead of my chin.
Then, I layered on the hair products so I’d have a base to work with later.
By the time I came out of the guest bedroom after packing a bag, I expected to find Fallon had already arrived. But when I walked into the kitchen, Beckett was alone at the island, with two to-go cups of coffee waiting and irritation on his face.
“What part of ‘not out of my sight’ did you not understand?” he groused.
“Seriously? I had all my stuff in the other bathroom. Don’t take the protective-hero stuff too far, Fireball. It’s attractive, but only to a point.”
He smirked. “Are you sure, because in that Brynne Asher book, Souls, I’m pretty sure the heroine was down for every command.”
My mouth fell open, shock hitting me dead center. “Wait. When did you read that book?”
He shrugged.
Disbelief had my voice squeaking as I asked, “Have you been reading romance books ever since you lost that prank? Have you been reading them for years?”
“What can I say? You should have made that bet way back when, about me liking them if I tried them.”
The surprise that whirled through me was almost enough to make my head spin. “I can’t believe you! So, when you promised not to touch me and said you’d read a romance book for every time you did, you weren’t offering up anything you weren’t already doing!”
His smile broke free, wide and unfettered. “It definitely wasn’t the deterrent it should have been.”
“You’re a cheater!”
He laughed.
“A no good, big fat—”
My words were lost in a kiss, a slow and sensual one, full of a promise that took my breath away.
When he lifted his head, I dragged his mouth back to mine and continued the kiss with new fervor. Maybe simply because I could. Maybe to prove to that fleeting feeling, Hope, he was mine and she couldn’t take him away. Maybe simply because it felt too good not to.
He was chuckling as he lifted his head the second time. “Come on, my Maisey-girl. We have a dress and a ring to buy.”
He shoved the coffee at me and picked up his key fob.
“A ring?” I all but gasped out.
“I told you I was buying you a ring. I figure, if you show up without one tonight, people are really going to question the truth of us.”
And just like that, I landed back in reality.
This time with Beckett had an expiration date. We were playing house. Playing at friends with benefits. Playing at something more. So he could get a job, and my dad and I had a place to live.
And just like that, Hope won, easily stabbing me in the gut as she wiped away every stupid dream I’d started to believe might come true.