Chapter 8
Kayla
After we get back inside and shower, Beau gets the fire going again while I make us breakfast.
My whole body is deliciously sore, but I feel alive.
I didn’t realize how much of myself I’ve lost being a mom.
Every day has been about Theo and his needs, and while I thought I still made time to do small things for myself, the past day with Beau has made me realize how much I was kidding myself.
Or maybe I just desperately needed to get laid.
I’m just finishing up scrambling the eggs and pulling the bacon out of the oven when Beau walks in.
“If you’re still hungry, I can make some muffins after,” I tell him.
He moves to me, kissing me. “No need to dote on me. I’ve managed to be a well-rounded adult by my lonesome for a while now. How are you feeling?”
“A little sore.”
He moves to check my elbow, which was bleeding earlier, then kisses the small wound. “Maybe no more chasing through the woods for us.”
I give him a small grin. “It was kind of fun though.”
His eyebrows rise. “Yeah? And here I thought I might have traumatized you.”
With a shrug, I turn out of his arms to make a plate of food. “I think the fear, or I guess anticipation, because I’ve never been afraid of you, turned me on more than I ever thought it would.”
He chuckles under his breath. “It did make me a little feral. I didn’t mean to hurt you, though. Just got a little carried away.”
I nod, handing him the plate and then carrying mine to the stools under the island. “That was definitely a first. And here I thought we would never top fucking in the cabana. This time was just blatantly out in the open.”
Beau smirks. “I’m sure we weren’t as inconspicuous as we thought in the cabana. Hopefully, your neighbors were sleeping.”
Rolling my eyes, I point my fork at him. “Thankfully, we had the canopy of trees to block their sight from your wild ways.”
He leans toward me with heated eyes. “You’ve never come as hard on my cock as you did on that forest floor, baby.”
A blush builds on my cheeks as I turn back to my food. “Anyway… We have a few hours to ourselves. We can’t just spend it fucking—”
“I mean, we could, but something tells me I need to give your poor pussy a break.”
I glare at him playfully. “You’re so kind. I was thinking, do you want to see some more videos and photos of Theo?”
His face drops a bit, and a more somber feeling thickens the air. “Always, Kayla. I’ll probably feel like I’m catching up for the rest of his life.”
“I’m sorry you feel like that. I wish it weren’t that way.”
He shrugs. “We can’t change it now, but we can work toward a brighter future. I’m just glad I’m not missing another Christmas and New Year and get to spend it with you guys.”
I smile. “He’s not a fan of the fireworks, and I’m not sure he understands the point of the tree and presents just yet. So technically you haven’t missed much.”
Beau swallows harshly. “I feel like I’ve missed a lot. Just seeing the photos between when he was born and now. He’s a whole different child.”
My heart aches because I sometimes feel that way too, and I see Theo on a daily basis. Beau’s phone vibrates for the tenth time since we sat down, and he sighs, reaching over to turn it off completely.
It sours the mood a bit, but I’m determined not to let it spoil the day.
“How’d you meet Kendall?” I ask, trying to bury any jealousy I feel about them being together.
Beau frowns, picking through his food with his fork. “At a work conference. My firm was one of the panel organizers, and she was attending.”
“Oh. You work in the real estate field, too?”
He's quiet for a moment, then says, “More business operations. What about you?”
“Well, I got a communications degree, but journalism didn’t really pan out. So I got my pharmacy technician license, which allows me to work from home. Basically just typing out scripts and resolving insurance claims all day.”
An amused grin lifts on his mouth. “Data entry. That’d drive me insane.”
I shrug, smiling back. “It's not bad. Set hours, bills paid, overtime during the beginning of the year with all the plan changes.”
He nods. “But if you could, would you want to go into journalism again?”
I take a moment to think about it, shoving another bite of food in my mouth and chewing slowly. “No, I wouldn’t want to leave Theo. The type of journalism I wanted to do, it was a lot of traveling. But having a kid changed me, and I don’t mind my life.”
His eyebrows raise, and he looks at me, calculating. “You’d want to stay home, wouldn’t you? Have a husband take care of you?”
With a groan, I shake my head. “No, I mean yeah, who wouldn’t? But I wouldn’t want someone to have control over me like that. Not after I’ve done everything to provide for Theo and me. Handing it over just seems wrong.”
Beau shrugs. “What if you were your husband’s assistant, even if he didn’t need an assistant, but you got a paid salary from the company?” His eyes are intense as he stares at me.
I swallow down a rough bite. “Hypothetically?”
His lips quirk. “Yeah, hypothetically.”
“That sounds amazing, even easier for insurance purposes.”
He laughs. “Right, insurance purposes.”
We clean up the food and settle back in the living room so I can show him more of the photos and videos I have of our son. And when Theo eventually wakes up, I keep my phone on speaker so he can hear his voice.
Theo has a tiny speech delay, so the conversation isn’t long, but he answers questions here and there. Beau doesn’t seem to mind, soaking in every second of our son.
Once we’re done, my mom takes over, letting us know that they won’t be making it back up the mountain today, and I can feel the sexual charge in the air as Beau realizes we have another night together.
Turning off the large lights overhead, I smile when we’re bathed in the soft shine of the Christmas lights hanging on the tree.
We’ve taken the day to ourselves, just to talk about life and what the future may hold.
Beau hasn’t tried anything since this morning, probably worried he hurt me more than he did.
I’m a little sore, but I’m actually craving him more than anything. The last piece of heaven before reality crashes into us tomorrow. I snuggle into his chest, and his hand flexes where he’s holding onto my waist.
“I wish we could stay like this forever,” he whispers.
My heart pangs. “Same, we’re only missing Theo.”
Beau sighs, his hand slipping down to my belly. “And the baby I must have succeeded in planting by now.”
I shake my head. “Don’t wish that on us. Plan B is still effective within seventy-two hours.”
He scoffs. “I’ll actually be telling Santa that’s all I want.” Then he rolls me onto my back, kissing me deeply. “Maybe I should try a few more times for good measure.”
Giggles escape me as he kisses down my neck, his growing beard tickling me. He pulls the large t-shirt I’d been lounging in over my head, baring me to the room, and I shiver at the cold.
Without a word, he picks me up and moves me closer to the fire and Christmas tree, our blankets from earlier still a mess on the floor.
“Trust me?” he asks, a sensuous smirk on his face.
My heart skips a beat. “Yeah,” I say, and it’s not a lie. Even that weekend together years ago, something drew me to him. Something inside me has always settled with him near, as if my soul knows I’ll be safe with him.
He leans down, kissing me harshly. Beau yanks his mouth away before dragging over a pile of leftover Christmas lights. Anticipation hums under my skin.
“What are you doing?”
“Gonna wrap you up like my own perfect gift.” He kneels between my legs.
His finger traces down the valley of my breasts before grabbing the string of lights, sliding them across my stomach and behind me to drag them down my leg.
It tickles, and I inhale sharply as he slowly works the lights around and back up my chest and across my arms.
When he seems satisfied with the placement, he reaches over and plugs in the end. I gasp when the tiny bulbs light up, flickering the multicolored twinkles on my skin.
“I need a photo of this. You’re so fucking beautiful,” Beau says before getting up and leaving me there. I can hear him moving around in the kitchen, and I listen with a frown.
He comes back carrying one of my oversized ceramic mugs that looks like a squished gingerbread house and a package of chocolate crosses in the other hand.
I raise an eyebrow. “Did you just leave me here naked so you could eat a snack?”
Beau snickers. “The only thing I’ll be eating is your pussy, dear.”
My eyes roam over the mug and chocolate, silently pleading with him. He takes a sip with a muffled hum.
“It’s just not sweet enough. I know what’s missing, though.”
He kneels before me again, setting the mug and chocolate on the floor before his hand roams over my thighs, yanking them farther apart.
His fingers trail up to my bare pussy, teasing up my folds and gathering up my wetness. With a smile, he leans to the side, stirring his hot cocoa with the smeared fingers before bringing them to his mouth and lapping it up.
“Hmm. Yeah, that’s what was missing.”
My eyes widen, stunned at what he’s just done. Beau grabs a pillow, stuffing it under my hips before settling on his stomach and dragging the mug closer.
“W-what are you doing?”
“Tapping it straight from the source,” he whispers, his tongue lashing out to lick up my core. I move to arch, and realize that the lights actually restrain my movement significantly.
Beau chuckles lightly, the breathy noise cooling over my heated flesh.
I stare down at him as his eyes light up with wicked pleasure.
After a few more minutes of teasing me with his mouth, he leans back to grab the mug and brings it closer to me.
My stomach contracts, goosebumps breaking out all over my skin.