by Maisey Yates
He could still do something that interested him, something for him.
Right now, he was busy with Bea’s sanctuary, but he wouldn’t always be. Eventually, she would be running most of that on her own, and while he might be able to support her, having something that he could do for himself would be good too. And anyway, he could choose how much of a workload he took on. Could choose how much traveling he wanted to do.
“What about Bea?” Wyatt asked.
Bennett and Grant looked at him, their heads snapping in his direction so hard they might have given themselves whiplash.
“I wouldn’t be gone all the time,” he said. “And anyway, I’ll talk to her.”
Wyatt blinked. “Are you... Are you in a relationship with her?”
“Yeah,” Dane said. “I mean, I figure.”
“I just figured you were messing around with her.”
“I wouldn’t do that,” Dane said. “Not to her.”
“Well, hell, man. Congratulations.”
“Thanks,” Dane said. “Can we quit talking about girls and get back to playing poker, please?”
Something felt settled inside of him now though. It all felt...good. Because he had a job, and he had a woman. And he had a place. Well, he and Beatrix would have to talk about all of it, but for the first time in a long time, Dane Parker felt like he wasn’t living for a future he might not be able to have, or a past that he was trying to fix.
For now, where he was at made him happy. And that felt pretty damn good.
* * *
BEATRIX HAD TO travel to Eugene in order to take her final, and when Dane offered to take her she couldn’t say no. It was strange, getting everything set up for the two of them to leave, like they were a couple. A real couple. They had been moving back and forth between her cabin and the house, though they had mostly been sleeping in her cabin because Beatrix was more comfortable there. And Dane didn’t complain, even though the bed was cramped and his feet hung off the end.
Lindy had agreed to help take care of the animals, splitting the job with Sabrina, since the two of them would be over at the winery for work, anyway. And Beatrix was grateful. Especially since both of them were now being supportive of her situation with Dane. Over the course of the past few weeks everything had been going so great. They had the property inspected, and had been approved to construct a couple of new buildings, and to dig the back-access driveway, which they had started on immediately. They had also gotten their nonprofit approval through the state. And if Beatrix passed her final, she would have her certificate and be fully trained to take care of the animals in the best way possible.
Of course, she didn’t need the certificate. Not really. It wasn’t about needing it. It was about proving to herself that she could do it. And now everyone knew that she was doing it, so that made her feel even more edgy about the whole thing.
“What are you going to do while I take the test?” she asked when they pulled up to the lab on campus.
“I’m going to wait for you,” he said. “It’s only a ninety-minute final.”
“You don’t have to do that,” she said. “You can go...see things. We’re in the city.”
He chuckled. “I guess so.”
“It might be fun.”
“I’m not really compelled to see anything here but you, Beatrix. You’re why I’m here.”
She wasn’t sure she knew what to do with that. With the overwhelming support that he had shown to her.
“Thank you,” she said, kissing him, which still kind of blew her mind. That she could kiss Dane Parker whenever she wanted. It was so strange, and wonderful. That he was a flesh and blood man beneath her fingertips rather than a fantasy in her mind.
All this time with him had been like a little dream. One she hadn’t even known to have. Because of course she could never have imagined all of the things that he did to her in bed. Could never have imagined how much more raw and real being with him would actually be. It was so hot and close and intimate in ways that she had never anticipated. But then, she hadn’t given a lot of thought to sex in a very specific way.
Sometimes it made her feel so good, so relaxed. And other times she felt a little bit broken when it was over. Like she just wanted to cry. But Dane would always smile. He’d always make a joke. And then that feeling would be over and she’d be back to feeling good again.
Right now, she felt a little broken, and she had no idea what to do with that. Because she had to go and take a final exam. She didn’t have time to go feeling broken over Dane Parker. She wished he’d make a joke. But she supposed there wasn’t time for that.
“I’ll see you soon,” she said.
“Good luck,” he said. “And whether it goes well or not I’m taking you out to dinner.”
“You don’t have to,” she said. “We can just drive back.”
“Sweetheart,” he said. “I have plans. And if you know what’s good for you, you’re not going to argue with me.”
Beatrix went into the exam room, her heart pounding, her hands beginning to shake, but she had studied for this. She just needed to believe she could do it.
There was a man sitting outside in his truck who sure seemed to believe that she could. And a whole lot of people at home. And she supposed that was the other good thing about letting people know what she wanted.
She had people cheering for her.
That might not help give her the right answers, but it definitely got her through the test with a more positive feeling. When she exited the exam room, Dane was standing outside of his truck, leaning against the front, his hand behind his back.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“I did end up going and exploring the big bad city,” he said. “But this was all I found.”
He produced a bouquet of roses from behind his back and Beatrix felt like someone had reached into her chest, grabbed hold of her heart and crumpled it.
“Dane...”
“Has anyone ever gotten you flowers before, Beatrix?”
“No,” she said.
“You know, somehow I figured as much, considering that no other guy had ever kissed you before either. So, allow me to be another first.”
“I don’t even... I don’t know what to say,” she said, her throat getting tight, something in her stomach feeling weird and trembly.
“Thank you, Dane,” he said, “is a very appropriate response. Also appropriate, honey, if you can’t think of anything to say, would be finding other ways to occupy your mouth later.”
His foray into crassness was a relief. Because sex and all the dirty fun they had in bed she could handle—mostly—but flowers and him driving her to her test was proving to be a challenge.
It reached her emotions. Traitorous, hopeful things. It made it harder to think of this as temporary. It made her hope for more and...and more just wasn’t possible.
She’d put more out of her head a long time ago. And she’d never imagined they could even have this much, so she had to be happy with it.
“Well, I might be able to do that, if we don’t collapse at the end of the drive home.”
“I don’t think we will,” he said. “I have another surprise for you.”
They drove away from campus, until they were downtown, Bea feeling small among the tall, unfamiliar buildings. The traffic would have intimidated her, and she was glad that Dane was driving. When they pulled up, it was to the front of a hotel.
“I thought that you... I thought we were going to dinner.”
“Yeah, well, we kind of are. Though, mostly we’re going to have dinner come to us.”
Dane got out of the truck and rounded to the back, grabbing a duffel bag from it, before moving to her side and opening the door for her.
“What is this?”
“We’re spending the night, Beatrix. Since we made
all those arrangements to have the animals looked in on today, I figured they would be fine overnight.”
“Oh,” she said, sliding out of the truck and finding herself captured in his arms.
A man in a dark-colored uniform approach them, and Dane passed him a dollar as the man got in the truck and drove it away.
“Parking is handled,” Dane said. “Let’s go.”
She took his hand, feeling small and strange as they walked into the shiny lobby, with marble floors and gold fixtures. It didn’t really look anything like Dane. And it definitely didn’t look anything like her. She wasn’t sure if she was nervous or excited. If she was happy or...
Really, she didn’t know what she was.
She shifted nervously as she stood next to Dane while he checked in at the front desk. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d gone to a hotel, and she had certainly never gone to one with a handsome man with an overnight bag and the very clear intention of having sex in the room.
The room was ready for them, and they took the elevator right up to one of the higher floors, with Bea clinging to his hand the whole time. He took out a key card and let them into the room, grabbing hold of the sign that was hanging on the inside of the door and putting it on the outside handle. “Do not disturb,” he said.
“Well, we will need food,” Bea said.
“Eventually,” Dane said.
Bea looked around the room. The bed was covered in snow-white linens, all plush and soft-looking. And it was huge. They’d made love in a bed that size only once. Mostly, they’d been confined to the little twin bed in her cabin. And sometimes the floor. And once the bathtub, with promises issued to her that someday they would do it in the shower. When he wasn’t afraid he would fall and reinjure himself, and wound them both.
It was a beautiful little fantasy, and the minute she put it into that column she felt much more at ease. Everything had started to feel so very serious and real earlier. It was a relief to be in a fantasy again.
And this really was more like a fantasy. Soft and gauzy and pretty. Removed from their regular lives.
“I’m afraid that Lindy is going to assassinate Evan,” Bea said, walking into the room and sitting on the edge of the bed.
“Really?” he asked. “You think she’s going to assassinate your raccoon.”
“It’s a legitimate concern that I have,” Bea replied.
“Collateral damage,” Dane said, setting the duffel bag down on the floor and stripping his shirt off. He walked over to the bed, kneeling down in front of Beatrix and gripping her chin, drawing her down for a kiss. She felt giddy, drunk even though she was sober as could be, and it was only three in the afternoon.
“I want you,” he said. “And I want to have you quite a few times tonight. So, I guess we better start now.”
She set her red roses down on the white bedspread and kissed him, and he rose up, pushing them both back onto the mattress. It was so soft, the bed so luxurious. And Dane was so hard and hot above her.
So beautiful. He was touching her face, and he pushed his hands beneath her shirt and began to touch her body. But she felt like he was touching her deeper somehow. Felt like her chest might crack open.
He kissed her slow and sweet, and there was none of his usual humor. There wasn’t even the urgency that often colored their lovemaking.
There was a contentment to the way that he kissed her. Like he could do it forever. And it made her... It almost made her want to run away.
She wiggled beneath him, uncomfortable with the ache that was spreading through her chest. She was so much more comfortable with the ache between her legs. With wanting him.
She knew how to make that pain go away, but she had no idea what to do with the other.
He stripped her clothes from her body slowly, so very slowly, taking his time as he kissed the curve of her neck, her shoulder, her collarbone. He avoided the more obvious parts of her, instead moving straight through the centerline of her body, down to her stomach, stopping just above where she was wet and hungry for him. He kissed her inner thigh, her knee, down. Until she was shaking.
Until she felt like every kiss was a gunshot. Piercing her skin and going deep. Adding to that endless pain in her chest.
He stood, stripped the rest of his clothes off slowly.
Her mouth went dry.
She watched every shift and bunch of his muscles as he moved, the grace and strength in his body.
She could recognize now when he was in pain. When his leg was failing him, when his back hurt. He never said anything. But the way he held himself changed. There was always a tenseness in his jaw, strain in his eyes. And she could see it there now, but he was standing tall. Looking down at her like she was more important than the pain.
She sat up, pressed her fingertips against the angry scar on his thigh and traced the line down to his knee, carefully avoiding that hard, insistent erection in front of her face, as he had ignored those parts of her. She explored the rest of him. Acres of smooth gorgeous skin, covered in hair, marred by scars. She kissed him. Kissed that dip right next to his hip bone, the ridges of his abs, his chest. The hollow of his muscular butt, down to his thigh and back up again. Until he was shaking. Until he was growling her name.
She wondered if he felt it in his chest too. Or if it was just her.
The thought made her eyes sting.
She didn’t know why this felt different. Why it felt so deep.
Why they were teasing each other when they both knew what the other wanted.
They weren’t talking.
The air between them was too thick for words.
He growled, hauling her up off the floor, his teeth set on edge, the tendons in his neck standing out. He made a rough sound as he brought her down onto the bed, her wrists contained in the firm grip of one of his large hands.
“You drive me absolutely crazy,” he said.
He kissed her, as deep and animal as the sound that had just echoed inside of him. She arched up underneath him, begging him for more. For his possession. But he didn’t give it. He teased her. Dragging that hard length through her slick folds until she was panting, gasping for more. Until she was all but sobbing with the desire to have him inside of her.
“Say it,” he commanded.
“What?” she whimpered.
“Tell me where you want me.”
Her eyes went wide, her stomach twisting. He wasn’t teasing.
“Inside me,” she begged. “Please.”
There was no humor in his eyes, and there was no teasing in her answer. She was on the verge of tears. This was somehow them, the same as the rest of the sex had been. The same as the rest of their relationship had been. But there was something new to it, and it terrified her. She also didn’t know how to stop it. Didn’t think she could. Didn’t think she wanted to.
Finally, he reached down and produced a condom from the duffel bag and rolled it onto himself slowly. He positioned himself between her legs, and when he entered her, it was not slow. It wasn’t gentle. He slammed himself home in one easy thrust and she cried out with need for him. She clung to him, tears streaming down her face as he took her. As he took them both. Buried so deep she couldn’t tell anymore where he ended and she began.
“Beatrix,” he groaned as he shook and came. “Bea.”
And then the wave broke over her, devastating, leaving her storm tossed in its wake. She clung to him so hard her fingernails bit into his skin, and she knew she should let go, but she couldn’t.
When it was over, she sobbed out his name. And when she fell apart, he held her in his arms.
Then he pulled her against him, his hands moving over her curves. He kissed her, slow and tender, and it made her ache. Everywhere. But there was nowhere to run to. No animals to feed. No work to be done.
Dane wasn’t in pain. There was
nothing for her to do. No way for her to break the tension.
He moved his hands down, both large and firm and on her butt, and she waited for him to make a joke or something. But he didn’t. He just looked at her. And breathed in deep, letting it out slow and long.
She lifted her hand and cupped his chin, the whiskers there bristly beneath her fingers. She intended to say something to ease the feelings that seemed to be growing, wrapping themselves around her like a creeping vine.
It was so weird to be with him like this. Out of the comfort of her cabin. Or even the discomfort of the house she’d grown up in. It made it more real somehow. That they’d stepped out of that life and were still with each other.
She wiggled and started to pull free of him, but he pressed a kiss to her shoulder and she stilled. The brush of his lips against her skin made her feel like she was home.
But that realization didn’t take away the ache in her chest.
If anything, it made it worse.
CHAPTER TWENTY
WHEN DANE WOKE up the next morning his resolve was strengthened. Last night he’d spent all night in bed with Bea. They’d gotten up to eat, and she’d dressed because Bea had been insistent that it not look like they’d just finished ravishing each other at four in the afternoon. He hadn’t seen the problem, but he’d deferred to her.
They’d eaten, and then he’d gone straight into dessert. Which was not something on the room service menu.
He smiled just thinking about it.
Bea was still sleeping, buried underneath a pile of plush white blankets. He wanted to give her everything. The life she deserved.
She sure deserved a hell of a lot more than shacking up with a guy who lived at his sister’s place. But he had a plan for that.
He called downstairs and ordered breakfast, then climbed back beneath the covers with her, nuzzling her neck and running his hands over her curves. “I ordered bacon.”
She stirred, rolling onto her back and looking at him with cloudy eyes. “What?”
