by Devney Perry
Over the last month, I’d developed a theory about sex with Beau. When he was inside me, he could read my mind. I rarely had to beg and even then, my pleas were more automatic responses to whatever he was already doing.
Unleashed, Beau started pounding into me hard and fast, giving me exactly what I needed. His cock thrust deep and with every slap of his skin to my ass, he hit a spot inside my body that made me gasp and tremble.
“Sabrina,” he groaned. “You feel so good.” His hands came to my hips, digging into my soft curves as he lifted me up just an inch to find that angle that sent me from needy to desperate.
Thrust after thrust, he pulled me back onto his cock as his hips powered forward. I opened my mouth to say harder but I couldn’t speak. My orgasm was right there, building and building until all I could do was feel it explode. “Beau,” I cried out as it hit and rushed over me in waves so intense my arms gave out and I had to rest my elbows on the floor.
“Fuck,” Beau hissed as my inner walls clenched around him, pulsing as I came longer and harder than ever before.
He didn’t give me a chance to recover from my first orgasm. Just as I was starting to breathe again, one of his hands slipped around my stomach and found my clit. With the perfect combination of speed and pressure, his middle finger sent another orgasm ripping through my body. This one was shorter but even harder than the last.
Completely limp and wrung out, I rested my head on my hands as Beau continued to pound with force, reaching for his own release. Just in time to see him come, I opened my eyes and looked over my shoulder. His beautiful chest was covered in a sheen of glistening sweat and his eyes squeezed shut as he moaned my name.
That sexy man was all mine. For today, tomorrow and however long we had, he was mine.
Beau’s eyes opened and we locked gazes. With those dark ocean blues, he silently claimed me too.
Without breaking our connection, he reached down and lifted me up against his chest, wrapping one arm around my breasts as the other kept my hips pinned so I was resting on his softening cock.
I tipped up my chin to give him my mouth for a kiss entirely gentle and sweet. His beard tickled my chin as our lips worshipped one another. When he broke away, his arms hugged me tight for a moment before letting go and helping me stand. I instantly missed him as we slid apart.
Brushing the hair away from my face, I caught my breath while Beau went to take care of the condom. When he rejoined me in the living room, I fell into his arms, giving him most of my weight.
“Hmm. I could sleep here.”
He chuckled. “Don’t go passing out on me yet.”
“Did you have plans?” I grinned.
“I’ve always wanted to know if we could both fit in the shower.”
I laughed and shook my head. “No way. It’s too small.”
“There’s only one way to find out.”
An hour later, the bathroom floor was covered with water that had escaped the curtain, all my toiletries had been knocked down off their shelf and I was sated from another amazing orgasm.
As long as Beau had me pinned against the wall with my legs wrapped around his waist, we could both fit in the shower.
“I’m glad you forgot your bag, Goliath.”
His fingers were tracing circles on my lower back. “Me too.”
After our shower, he had set up our bed on the floor and we’d curled in for an early bedtime so Beau could get up before five and make the trip back to Prescott in the morning.
Normally, we both slept on our sides facing one another, but tonight, Beau was on his back and I was draped across his chest. I wasn’t sure why he liked the other position better but this was my new favorite. My toes were running up and down his muscled calves and my ear was pressed right against his heartbeat.
“Let’s play our question game,” I said.
He hummed his agreement.
“You’re falling for me?” I asked his chest. Even though he’d said it during our argument, I hadn’t missed it.
“I think you know the answer to that one, Shortcake.” His lips pressed into the top of my hair.
I was falling for him too.
“My turn,” he said. “Would you ever consider moving away from Seattle?”
I had asked myself that same question for the last month. The idea of being with Beau in Prescott was so tempting, but on the other hand, I knew myself well enough to know that I would suffocate in a place so small. The last thing I wanted was to resent him for trapping me in Montana.
“I don’t know,” I said. “There might be some things to change so I’m happier but I miss Seattle. Would you ever live in the city?”
He sighed. “I can’t leave Prescott. I need to be here for family. Especially Coby. And I can’t see myself being happy in a place like Seattle. No space. So many people. I think it would slowly choke me to death.”
I hated his answer but at least it was honest.
Our argument from the kitchen earlier now made sense. When he’d asked if not going back to Seattle would be so bad, he’d been asking if I’d consider a life in Prescott.
“Where does that leave us?” I asked.
“The same place we’ve always been. Here together for as long as we have.”
“Okay.” My throat started to close but I held off tears. If I didn’t get to keep Beau for a lifetime, I wanted to fill the time we did have with only happy moments.
When my emotions were under control, I propped my chin up on his chest so I could memorize the way Beau’s face looked tonight. His eyes were light in the darkening room. The crease between his eyebrows was relaxed and disappearing. His hair needed a trim but his beard was shorter than it had been when we’d first met.
“What do you look like without your beard?” I asked.
He grinned. “Younger. More like Michael.”
“When was the last time you shaved?”
“I shave my neck every day for work but I haven’t been without the beard in ages. Eight years, I think. Why?”
“Just curious, I guess. I doubt I’ll ever get the chance to meet your mom so she can show me your baby book and high-school yearbook pictures.”
Why did that realization hurt? I was infatuated with Beau’s beard, but right now, I wanted nothing more than to see him without it. To have that glimpse of him as a younger man. To run my hands across his smooth skin and learn every angle of his strong jaw.
Just once.
“I’ll make an agreement with you, Shortcake. I’ll shave my beard if you promise me you’ll never cut your hair short.”
“Really?”
“Really. I love your long hair.” His hand abandoned my skin to tug at the ends of my hair resting on our bed. It had grown two or three inches since I’d been at the outpost and now hung to my waist.
“But don’t men usually love their beards?”
He grinned. “Yeah, I love my beard, but I think I’m getting the better end of the bargain. Besides, give it two weeks, and I’ll have it grown back.”
I smiled. “I’m in.”
“Good. Now let me up and go find me your razor.”
“What? Tonight?” I asked, pushing off his chest.
“I like to lock in my agreements before people have a chance to change the terms.”
My smile got wider as I stood and went to my bag, pulling on some panties and pajamas. Beau wandered into the kitchen and I heard him rattling around while I went to the bathroom and found my razor and shaving cream.
“This will have to work since I don’t have my trimmer.” Beau held up a pocketknife and sharpening steel that he’d brought into the bathroom. He assumed his place at the sink and I sat on the toilet seat to watch in utter fascination.
“You’re really going to do this?” I knew how attached men got to their facial hair. At any moment, I expected him to back out.
He nodded. “I think you’re underestimating how much I love your hair.”
I smiled as my heart swelled.
After washing off the remnants of the shaving cream, he inspected himself in the mirror before patting his face dry with a towel and turning to me.
Standing stark naked in all his glory, Beau had gotten rid of something he’d had for eight years just to satisfy my curious nature and make me happy.
“Well?”
My eyes welled and I lost sight of him in the blur.
I was in love with him.
I knew I’d fallen before, but I hadn’t admitted it to myself. But sitting in this tiny bathroom, I couldn’t deny it any longer. I was hopelessly in love with Beau Holt.
“That bad?” he asked.
I shook my head and wiped my eyes dry. “Not bad at all.”
Beau was undeniably the sexiest man alive, with or without the beard. Clean-shaven, his jaw was just as strong and now I could see that his chin was perfect for the shape of his face. He did look younger but he was still my Beau.
“Which do you like better?” he asked, turning back to the mirror.
I stood from my seat and walked to him at the sink. “I need to do some research before I can answer.”
My hands found his jaw, gently rubbing the smooth skin before pulling his face down to mine. I kissed his mouth first but then trailed my lips across the lines of his jaw, up one side and down the other. The fresh scent of my shaving cream somehow blended with his rich woodsy smell into an intoxicating mixture, and by the time I made it back to his lips, I was dizzy.
After one last kiss, I leaned back and found his eyes. “I can’t decide. I like you with or without the beard.”
His sexy smirk set my pulse to racing. “That’s not good enough, Shortcake. I think you just haven’t done enough research.”
“Oh, yeah?” I breathed.
He nabbed my hand and pulled me through the door to our bed. Then he spent the next hour making sure I researched just exactly how his smooth skin felt against every inch of my body.
Just as we were drifting off to sleep, I whispered, “Goliath?”
“Hmm.”
“Grow back the beard.”
He pulled me closer and kissed the top of my hair. “Your wish, Shortcake.”
Beau
“Hey, Dad.”
“Hi, there,” he said, holding out his hand as the Monday Night Football pregame show blared in the background.
I took a seat in the recliner opposite his after we shook.
“Beau?” Mom called from the kitchen, shouting so she could be heard over the blaring TV. “Do you want a beer?”
“Me too!” Dad yelled before I could answer.
“I’ll go get them.” I stood and made my way to the beer fridge in the garage. Mom lived to wait on us, it was one of many things she did to show just how much she cared, but I tried to serve myself when I was here. Mom had enough to do in the kitchen on nights like this. Making a meal to feed her husband’s oversized belly and her two enormous sons was no small task.
“Here you go,” I said, handing Dad his Budweiser before opening my Bud Light.
“Michael called,” Mom said, coming into the living room. “He’s going to be late.” She bent down to kiss Dad’s cheek, then went back to the kitchen.
“What’s new?” Dad asked me, muting the commercials on the television.
“Nothing new. Just more of the same. Busy.” I’d been working as hard as I could during the week so I could take off as soon as possible Friday afternoons. For the first time in my life, I was living for my weekends. I was living for my time with Sabrina. Because of her, I was starting to live my own life.
“You sure have been spending a lot of time in the mountains this year.” Dad chuckled. “Reminds me of your grandpa. When I was a kid, he’d drag us all out camping as soon as the snow started to melt and keep taking us up until the first snow stuck.”
I smiled. “That was Grandpa.” Though, I was sure he hadn’t been disappearing into the mountains to meet up with the woman he’d stashed there.
“Well, now that the weather’s changing, it will be nice to have you around more on the weekends.”
“Yeah,” I muttered as he turned the volume back up.
The weather had been on my mind a lot this week. Seasons were changing and having Sabrina at the outpost alone during the winter just wasn’t an option. The snow in those mountain valleys came early and stayed deep. Since there was no way in hell I’d let her go into witness protection, I really only had one choice.
It was time to bring her into my home.
And once she was settled there, I was going to ask her to stay. For good.
Sabrina
August passed and with it the hot weather.
It was the middle of September and the mountain hills had already gotten a light snow. My new weekday routine now included pulling on thick socks and lighting a fire before starting my coffee. On the weekends, Beau was in charge of making the outpost toasty warm. Even though the little building had electric baseboard heat, it just couldn’t stand up to a nice fire.
“What do you want to do today?” I asked, burrowed into our sleeping bag while Beau was at the wood stove.
“Let’s go for a hike.”
I smiled. “Sounds perfect.”
The leaves of the deciduous trees had started to turn. Their neon yellow and warm amber leaves shone brightly against the deep green of the fir trees, and the hills surrounding my outpost valley were as beautiful as they’d ever been.
Beau and I didn’t rush outside. We spent the first part of the morning inside, waiting for the chill to burn off before setting out through the meadow and up a familiar trail. The hike was easy but long, and after an hour, we’d risen high enough in the mountains that small clumps of snow dotted the forest floor around us.
“We need to talk.” Beau stopped in a small clearing and sat down on a dry rock, patting the space at his side for me to join him.
I gave him a sideways glance. “Are you breaking up with me? Is it the sex? I’m too much for you to keep up with, aren’t I?”
He chuckled and shook his head. “Sit down.”
I frowned but sat. Our seat was small so Beau threw an arm around my back to pin me to his side.
“In case you didn’t know, when a man starts a conversation with ‘we need to talk,’ a woman automatically assumes the worst.”
The crease between his eyebrows got deeper. “I’m honestly not sure how you’re going to take this.”
“Okay, you’re not making me feel better.”
He bent down and gave me a soft kiss. “Better?”
I nodded. I was always better when he kissed me.
“I think we need to make some changes.”
“Uh, what kind of changes, exactly?”
He pushed out a loud breath, then blurted, “I think it’s time for you to leave the outpost.”
It was a good thing he had a grip on me or I would have swayed off our rock and found my ass in the dirt.
This is where he’d brought me to be safe and “off the grid.” Did he want me to go into witness protection? It had only been a month since Henry Dalton’s visit. Had he already given up hope?
“Why would you want me to leave?”
His arm pulled me tighter. “I’m worried about you. Hunting season is just getting started and this whole area is public land, so anyone could stumble on you out here alone.”
“Can’t I just lie and say I’m one of your employees studying those tree beetle things?”
“It’s not just the risk of hunters I’m worried about. Winter is coming soon. We’re a lot higher up here than we are in town. You’ll have three or four times the snow a
s we do in the valley. I don’t want to chance you getting stranded up here alone.”
I didn’t have a solution to that problem. Truth be told, I despised the snow and ice. It rarely snowed in Seattle, and when it did, I called in sick to work and refused to leave my apartment.
“If the snow gets too deep,” he said, “the only way I’ll be able to get to you is by snowmobile. Too much could go wrong.”
I shook my head and squeezed my eyes shut. This wasn’t happening. This wasn’t the end. I needed more time. I’d been holding out hope since Henry’s visit that he’d find a way to lock up the Federovs and the Russians would lose interest in anything related to me.
But hope was foolish, just like dreams. I’d had a gnawing feeling since my meeting with Henry that things were about to get worse.
Today was the bad day I’d been dreading.
“So what’s the plan?” I asked my feet. “Go back to town and contact Henry?”
Beau’s arm jerked. “What? You’re not going back with that guy.”
My head whipped up so I could see his face. “I’m not?”
His hand came to my cheek. “The only person who hates the idea of you in witness protection more than you is me.”
My whole body sagged in relief.
“I’ve got a plan. You’re going to come home with me.”
“Home?” I couldn’t hide the excitement in my voice. “Is that safe?”
“It can be, but I’ll warn you, it won’t be fun. You’ll have less freedom than you do here. You’ll be confined inside the entire time and I don’t think we should tell anyone you’re in town.”
“Not even Felicity?”
He shook his head. “People will notice if my friend’s wife starts to visit all the time.”
I frowned. “Yeah, that would look bad.”
Standing from the rock, I started pacing. It wasn’t ideal, but if staying at the outpost was dangerous, I didn’t want to take an unnecessary risk. I’d reached my lifetime quota of those already. So house arrest was my only option.
“Okay, let’s do it.”
He stood and smiled. “Look on the bright side. I’ll get to see you every day.”
