“Do you want to be alone?” Beck asks when he pulls me into his arms. I stand there for a second, and watch where Axel’s taillights just disappeared before shaking my head. “Come on, I’ve got you now.” He presses his lips to my temple, and I shiver. He growls low in his throat before lacing our fingers together and leading me to his truck. I steal a glance back at Greg where he’s still standing on the sidewalk. He waves me off before heading to his own vehicle. I should be mad at him for what he pulled tonight, but I know he did what he feels is best for Izzy.
Knowing that there isn’t anything I can do for her tonight, and hoping that she opens up to Axel, I get ready for the new turn in my night. The man I haven’t been able to get out of my head is taking the lead, and I have every intention of letting him.
And now, here I am, after a night that I still can’t really process, in his house, and by the heated look he is throwing at me from across the living room, there is no doubt in my mind that we both want the same thing here.
“Do you think she’s okay?” I finally break the silence. The way that Izzy ‘left’ the group earlier still isn’t sitting right with me.
“Sugar, I think we can both agree that enough is enough with those two. Axel isn’t the kind of man that will sit by and wait when there’s something he can do about it. I think a week is about as much patience as we will ever get out of him.” He starts to walk over to me, but I stop him with my hand.
“I don’t like the way I left her,” I stress, hoping he understands me.
“There really isn’t anything you can do about it now. Those two are adults, and they need to figure out their own mess without dragging everyone else into it as buffers. Let me take a guess here. You’ve been her shield for a while now? You and Greg?” At my nod, he continues. “Right, well, I would say it’s time to set her free, and let her stand on her own two feet. You aren’t doing her any favors by holding her hand.” He’s right in my space now, the heat from his chest warming my own.
“I don’t know if I can,” I whisper as his hands come up and take my face between his warm palms. His thumbs stroke my cheeks softly before he brings my face up to look into his, making sure that I see him and understand what he’s trying to tell me.
“Let go, Dee. I saw it the moment I met you. You hide it well, but while you work so hard to protect her, you forget about yourself.”
I gasp, and he just offers an understanding smile. It shouldn’t shock me since he’s right, but this man, who has known me all of a week, can see right through my walls. It’s unnerving.
“You don’t know me,” I throw at him, almost defiantly. I don’t want him to get in and worm his way past my walls. This is just supposed to be about letting loose and having something for me.
His eyes go warm for a second. “Not yet, but I will. It was my job, for too many years, to see what others didn’t want to be seen, so I’m sorry if I hit it on the head, but don’t get pissed because I’m right.”
I have no idea what I’m supposed to say to that. He’s right. I’m pissed because he figured me out in no time, and the two people that I love more than life itself still think I’m happy-go-lucky Dee. I break eye contact when it becomes more than I can stand. It’s like he really does see right inside me. It’s almost as if he can reach right in and pull out my secrets.
“Right. Are we going to do this?” Desperate to change the subject and steer him away from seeing too much, I bring my hands up and slip them under his shirt. I shake off the nagging feeling that getting into bed with this man might be more than I can handle. The warmth of his soft skin causes the butterflies to pick up speed, and chills to break out. He is completely scalding and hard all over. Every part of him that I touch makes my body get hotter and hotter. I lick my lips when I think about running my hands down his back, digging in as he pounds into me.
“We were going to do this before you even knew you would be coming home with me, Babe.” And before I can blink, his lips are on mine. He is consuming my mind, and completely branding me straight down to my soul.
Shit. I knew he would be more than I could handle, and if I feel this ‘owned’ after one not so simple kiss, I have no idea what I’ll feel like come morning.
When he pulls back from the sweet seduction his lips have been making against my own, the look in his eyes almost makes me lose my footing. His eyes are so dark now that they look like the richest, most expensive chocolate money can buy. Twinkling with lust and alight with desire, they rake over my face, taking in my swollen lips, and my hooded eyes. When he sees the state that he’s brought me to, his lips curl in to a heart-stopping smirk.