Chapter 40
“Man, talk about a blast from the past.”
Beckett pats the tailgate of his truck. “What are you waiting for? Get up there.”
I smile to myself as I kick off my shoes and climb onto the bed of his truck. There are a bunch of blankets stacked together for padding with an oversized sleeping bag and fluffy pillows on top. Beck even backed the truck up to our pond, and there’s a little cooler that I presume is filled with snacks. It’s the exact same setup we used as teenagers.
I tuck my legs into the sleeping bag, but I’m sitting against the cab. “What are you planning to do with me now that you’ve got me here?”
His white teeth gleam under the moonlight as he flashes a panty-dropping grin. “Mmm. We’ll get to that. But first, there’s this.” He holds up a small flask.
My lips quirk. “What’s in there?”
The truck bed bounces under Beckett’s weight as he climbs up. “See for yourself.”
I take the flask from his proffered hand and twist the cap off. My eyes burn when I get a little whiff of its contents. “Is this what I think it is?” I take an experimental sip and immediately start coughing. “Yep, it sure is.”
He laughs as he grabs the steel container from me and tips it back for a long swig. “You’re out of practice, Pres. It’s supposed to go down smooth.”
“Not many opportunities for drinkin’ rocket fuel in New York.”
“Where’s the fun in that?” The moon is full and reflecting off the pond, so I can clearly see his wink.
My eyes and nose are still burning, but when he offers it back to me, I take another small sip. “Did you have a reason for bringing me out here besides gettin’ me drunk?”
Beckett tilts his chin up to the sky. “It’s a warm, starry night, and I had a feelin’ it’s been a while since you’ve caught a good time.”
I chuckle under my breath. “Did you forget about the good time we had this morning? And last night?” I pass the moonshine back over.
“No, darlin’, I definitely haven’t forgotten about that.”
I incline my head toward the lunch cooler in the corner. “What’s in there?”
“Water, jerky, cheese, fruit. Quick sustenance if we need to refuel.”
“How long are you plannin’ on keepin’ me out here, Mr. Armstrong?”
Beck playfully nips at my neck, making me laugh. “As long as it takes to do all the dirty, dirty things.”
To my utter embarrassment, a full-body shiver courses through me, and of course, Beckett notices.
I reach my hand out. “Give me that.”
He laughs as he hands the flask over. “Don’t drink too much, Pres. I have plans for you.”
I give him a wry look. “Yes, I know. Dirty, dirty plans, apparently.”
“Are you complaining?” Beckett leans over and carves a line of kisses down my jaw.
I shake my head. “Nuh-uh.”
“Good.” I can feel his smile against my skin. “Because I plan on takin’ my time loving you tonight.”
I smile. “Before we get to that portion of the evening, I wanted to talk to you about some things.”
“What kind of things?”
“Well, for one, I heard from my divorce attorney today.”
“And?”
“And he’s not going to contest the divorce. I need to sign an agreement that I’ll keep quiet about his affair and other things, but if I do that, Sebastian will walk away.”
Beck’s brows draw together. “So, he’s essentially bribing you for his cooperation. That’s bullshit, Pres.”
I shake my head. “It doesn’t matter, Beckett. I’ll be free. That’s more important to me.”
“You can still be free,” he insists. “And he can rot in prison where he belongs.”
“I’ve explained this already. They’d never prosecute him. I just want him gone from my life, Beckett, and this is the fastest way to do that.” I sigh. “Can I please move on to the next thing? I don’t want Sebastian to ruin our night.”
Beck takes a swig of moonshine and passes it back to me. “What’s the next thing?”
“I was talking to my mom earlier about standing on my own for once. I can’t do that if I’m sleeping in my childhood bedroom every night.”
“You’re more than welcome to sleep in my bedroom every night where we can do some very grown-up things.” He winks.
“I will happily spend lots of time with you in that bed, but if I’m there every night, it kind of negates the whole independence thing I’m going for.” I roll my eyes playfully. “Anyway... my mom mentioned the Wilsons’ cottage is up for rent, so I’m going to call them in the morning.”
Beckett searches my eyes for a moment. “Is this something you really need, Pres?”
“It is, Beckett. I’m thirty years old, and I’ve never lived on my own before. I need to know what that feels like.” I weave our fingers together with my free hand. “But you’re welcome to come over and keep me warm at night, any night. Just... maybe not every night. Do you understand where I’m comin’ from?”
He nods. “I do. I won’t pretend I don’t want to share a bed with you every night, but I understand and respect your desire to do this.”
“Thank you.”
Beckett takes the alcohol from me and screws the top back on. The moment he drops it, his mouth is on mine. I moan as one of his hands sinks into the back of my hair to hold me in place. The only time our lips break apart is when we have to pull away to remove our shirts. One by one, our clothing is tossed aside. Each time more skin is exposed, Beckett makes due on his promise to take his time, kissing and caressing every inch of me that’s bared to him. At some point, we burrowed under the sleeping bag with me lying on my back and Beck on top of me, careful not to crush me with his weight.
When he fumbles to retrieve a condom from his wallet, I say, “Wait.”
He freezes immediately. “Are you okay?”
I nod reassuringly. “Yes. I want this, Beckett. I want you.” My eyes flick to the foil square in his hand. “But we don’t need that if you don’t want to use it. I’m on the shot... and when I went for my shoulder check-up, I had them test me, just in case. The last result came back today, and I’m good. I’m STI free. So, if everything’s good on your end, and you trust me, I?—”
Beck cuts off my incessant rambling with a hard kiss. “I trust you more than anyone else on this planet, Pres. And I’d love nothing more than to take you bare. I haven’t... you’re the only person I’ve been with like that. Ever.”
I don’t know why that statement makes me so weepy, but I have to choke back a sob when he says it. “Then love me, Beckett, with nothing between us.”
I give him one long stroke from root to tip before placing him at my entrance. I’m more than ready, so when he shifts a little and pushes forward, he slides right in.
His head drops to my shoulder. “Fuck, so good.”
I gasp when he deepens the angle. “Perfect.”
Sweat dots my skin as Beckett goes deep and long, toe-curling pleasure slowly building inside of me. When my body reaches the point of no return, I dig my nails into his back and cry out his name as I’m overtaken by bliss. A few seconds later, Beck’s muscles stiffen as he, too, finds release. He places soft kisses along the nape of my neck and my temple before pulling up just enough to look me in the eye.
Beckett leans into my palm as I rest it over his cheek. “I meant what I said earlier. I didn’t mean to just blurt it out in a text message, but I do love you, Beck. I never stopped. I just... I need you to be patient with me. If I seem hesitant sometimes, it’s not because I don’t want to be with you. I want that more than anything. But I’ve spent most of my adult life doubting my thoughts... my worth.” I laugh humorlessly. “I questioned pretty much everything. So, even though I’m sure that I’m right where I belong, sometimes, I might need a reminder.”
“I know, darlin’.” He turns his face into my hand and kisses my palm. “You know what I think we should do?”
I release a breathy sigh as he withdraws from my body. “What?”
He sits back on his knees. “Go skinny dipping.”
I release a shocked laugh. “Beckett! It’s October. And we’ve been drinking.”
“So?” he challenges. “It’s also eighty degrees. Just a quick dip; we’ll be fine. And if we get cold, I have ways of warming you up.”
I sit up with him. “Well, in that case, what are we waiting for?”
Beckett smacks a hard kiss on my lips. “There’s my girl.”
I’m laughing the entire time we’re running down the dock. As I watch Beckett cannonball into the pond, I smile to myself, thinking about how lucky I am, having this second chance with him. Maybe my mama was right. Perhaps there is a God after all.
“And now it’s time for the entertainment portion of the evening.”
I smile. “I don’t know... I think the last couple of hours have been pretty entertaining.”
When we got out of the water—which was way too cold, thank you very much—Beckett went straight to work warming me up again. Afterward, he told me to get dressed because he had another surprise for me in the gazebo. Beckett reaches for something in the corner, but it’s too dark for me to see until he switches on a small battery-powered lantern.
“Have a seat, Pres.” He takes the spot to my right, holding an acoustic guitar.
“You still play?”
Beckett nods. “Not as much as I used to, but I’m not too rusty.”
I sit up, excited to hear him play again. “Play something that makes you think of us.”
He thinks about it for a moment before taking the pick out of the strings and positioning the guitar on his lap just right. I smile when I hear the opening notes to one of my favorite Dierks Bentley songs. This tune was released years after I left, so there’s no way Beck could’ve known how much I love it. Sebastian hates everything country, so I could never listen to my favorite music around him. Thankfully, he wasn’t around a lot, so I didn’t have to give it up entirely while I was in New York.
When Beckett starts singing the first verse, the breath whooshes out of me. Beck’s voice sounds almost identical to the original artist. They have that same deep, raspy tone that makes all your girly parts take notice. Dierks is my absolute favorite country artist because of that sexy, gritty voice. Now I have to wonder if that’s no coincidence. Like maybe my subconscious recognized the similarities, even if it wasn’t obvious on the surface. Huh. Funny how that works, isn’t it? Beckett bumps his shoulder to mine when he gets to the verse about being mean enough to stare the girl’s demons down. He looks right at me as he sings about hard times putting the shine into diamonds. God, this song could have been written about us. I love it even more now.
When he strums the final note, I practically jump on top of him and press my lips against his. One kiss quickly escalates, and before I know it, Beckett is inside of me again, masterfully playing my body like he just played that guitar.
Damn swoony bastard.