“I’m precise. It’s hard for me to remember others aren’t the same way.”
“I suspect even you are at the mercy of traffic and red lights.”
I bowed my head, willing my pulse to get under control. “Unfortunately, I am. It drives me mad.”
“I don’t particularly like running behind either.” She put her phone away, then gave me a little shove. “Now that you know I did my best to be here on time, go back inside so you can greet me properly. I didn't put this dress on for it not to be acknowledged.”
I was being a supreme jackass. Three or four minutes wasn’t the end of the world, and it most certainly wasn’t her fault. I’d worked myself into a lather over something inconsequential and had snapped at the woman I was trying to win over.
She was here because I’d asked her to be. I was the only one who hadn’t shown up when I’d been supposed to. I was the one who had to prove myself reliable, not Bea.
I went back into my house, paused a beat, then reopened the door. Bea was still in the same spot, allowing me another chance to admire her the way she deserved.
Her hair was in perfect blue rolls. Shiny and neat, I wondered if she’d let me touch it. I wanted to know what it would feel like to sink my fingers into it.
Her dress was black and molded to her rounded figure like a glove, ending at her knees. Her legs were bare, and I followed them down to her signature neck-breaking heels.
I trailed my gaze back up, pausing where her dress ended in a low, square neckline, revealing the creamy globes of her breasts. She looked soft all over, but there, she was so mouth-wateringly round and lush, I imagined resting my head and having the best sleep of my life.
“You’re not saying anything.”
Tearing myself from my trance, I strode to her, slipped my arm around the curve of her waist, and pulled her into me. I took herchin in my other hand, stroking my knuckle against the indent of her dimple.
I had rehearsed what I would say. Suave compliments that would make her feel good. But I couldn’t grasp any of those words now that I was facing her. Besides, I wanted to give her a lot more than smooth, practiced lines.
“I can’t come up with words to express how devastatingly beautiful you are, Beatrice. You make me start dreaming of all the ways I want to touch you, but only after I spend several hours drinking you in from every angle.”
Her lips parted on a sharp inhale. Before I could process one more thought, she surged forward, curled her fingers around the back of my neck, and pressed her mouth to mine.
I returned her kiss on instinct, my body having gone offline the moment her body met mine, then hauled her flush with my chest, groaning as her tongue teased my lips, sweet and tempting. I opened, meeting her stroke for stroke, gliding past the seam of her mouth to taste her fully.
She tilted her head, letting me in deeper, and that was all it took. I lost myself in her. Time, which had been tantamount moments ago, fell away. Seconds, or maybe minutes, passed, but it became unimportant.
Bea’s fingers threaded into my hair, dragging lines along my scalp with her nails before anchoring at my crown. Her feet interlocked with mine, and I bent my knee to fit between her plush thighs. She gasped, and I swallowed the sound whole.
I slid my hand at her waist to the base of her spine, splaying it there, tempted by the wide spread of her hips and backside. Inchinglower, cresting the slope over her ass, I pressed my fingers into the give of her flesh.
She pulled her mouth from mine, breathless. “I guess you like my dress.”
Grinning, I forced myself to straighten. “Yes. I really do. But it was you who kissed me.”
She tugged on my collar. “What can I say? You look really good in black.”
“As soon as I moved into my house, I went straight to the shelter. One look at his big brown eyes, and I knew I had to bring him home.”
I studied the photo—her dog with a daisy perched on his head—carefully masking my expression. I’d seen him more times than I could count. Many of those in person.
“How did you choose this one?”
We were sitting at the kitchen island, eating the takeout I’d ordered. We hadn’t stopped talking since I’d brought her inside. I’d asked question after question—things I already knew—things I’d dug up myself, but wanted to hear from her lips. Her voice, smoky and warm, seeped beneath my skin like something addictive. But beyond that, I wanted her togiveme the pieces I’d taken, towantme to know her the way I already did.
She smiled at the picture. “He looks like a baby hippo, and he’s a total goofball. But I thought his muscle mass might intimidate anybody who wants to mess with me.”
“Does that work?”
“Most of the time. Benjamin’s a lover, not a fighter. I don’t think it’s ever occurred to him he’s capable of biting someone’s hand off. But he gives good growl when he needs to. He has the opposite effect on children, though. They are drawn to him like moths to a flame.”
I knew that all too well. Tally and Lacey were enamored with him, and even Scarlet was a fan. I’d made our yard available to him via theCome on Roverapp, giving Bea and Benjamin a safe, contained place to go and the kids a chance to play with him. Watching them on the security feed was one of my most frequent distractions while at work.
