AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Watching him from across the yard, I think back to the man I knew before the quiz and the app threw him into my life. I try to mentally put myself in those memories, when I thought he was nothing but a brat—and not the kinky kind. I vividly remember the day Emerson came crying to me because his son stopped taking his calls after he found out his dad owned a kink club. I recall how much I…despised Beau for that. But I didn’t even know him.
Beau said it himself—we judge what we don’t understand. And I didn’t understand Beau. Hell, he didn’t even understand himself, which would explain why he came to me so broken and self-deprecating. He hated himself because he didn’t understand his submissive side.
Look at how far he’s come. How is this even the same person? I wasn’t even aware a person’s mind could open as much as Beau’s has. Even now as he slings an arm around Charlie’s little sister, a smile as wide as the sun on his face—and twice as bright—I shove away the misguided memories of the man I thought I knew. And I let that tender feeling, which I know now was the slowly building roots of what would become love, fill every crevice of my body, swimming through my veins as tears fill my eyes.
I love himso much, and I hate that I can’t tell a soul.
But none of that matters because, soon, he’ll be with me in Phoenix, and no one here will matter anymore. We can stay there, not just for six months. If he’s really happy with me there, then we have a chance to make a real life. The forever kind.
“They shouldn’t be bothering you guys anymore,” Fitz says, and something about it draws my attention back to the company I’m standing with.
“What?” I ask.
Garrett smiles. “Fitz took care of those protestor assholes. Found enough dirt on them to scare them away for now.”
“Dirt on them?”
“Yeah. Even the tiniest smudge on their record can be used against them when they think they have the legal upper hand,” Fitz elaborates.
“That won’t backfire, will it?” I ask.
He shakes his head with smug confidence. “Like I said, you should be good for a while.”
“Thank God,” Mia replies, hugging closer to Garrett’s side.
I see the concern etched on Garrett’s face. Having his loved one passing them every day, knowing they could hurt her, fueled only by the ignorant hatred in their hearts, is terrifying. No one should have to feel that way. If it was Beau…I know how I’d feel.
“Thank you for that, Fitz. Really…”
“I’m happy to help,” he replies with a warm, lopsided grin. Such a handsome man. Makes me wonder how often he loosens that tie of his.
Then, of course, I have Ronan next to me, who loosens his tie every chance he gets. Even at fifty-six, he shows no signs of slowing down. I have no doubt that man will be at the club, still drawing a crowd of ladies until the day he dies. And it has nothing to do with the money. The confidence and swagger he exudes, with every subtle movement, is the world’s most potent aphrodisiac.
Suddenly, the sound of metal gently clinking against glass draws our attention to the newly married couple standing by the quartet of musicians stationed near the patio. White string lights illuminate the party overhead, giving the large yard a romantic ambiance.
“If you don’t mind, I’d like to lead my new wife in our first dance,” Emerson says, holding her hand in his and gently pressing his lips to her knuckles. She beams up at him with love and adoration shining in her eyes. The crowd softly applauds, and the quartet begins to play an instrumental rendition of “Can’t Help Falling in Love.”
We watch in silence as they hold each other impossibly close on the makeshift dance floor, staring into each other’s eyes as they slowly turn to the music.
When I search for Beau across the yard, I can’t find him. He probably ditched this part, and I wouldn’t blame him. A man can only take so much.
After the song ends, other couples begin to join the bride and groom. First, Mia and Garrett. Then, Isabel and Drake, him towering over her so much, it almost looks funny to see them together, especially with that round basketball of a belly she’s sporting in that tight dress. I can tell by the way he’s holding her that he’s literally taking some of her weight off her feet, and she beams up at him before pulling his mouth down to hers for a loving kiss. I thought it would be weird to see them together after knowing her as Hunter’s wife for so long, but it’s not. It’s as if they were in a poly relationship this whole time and nothing’s changed.
“Can I have this dance?” a deep familiar voice rumbles in my ear from behind me.
I spin around and stare at Beau with his perfectly coiffed locks, disarming bright blue eyes and skin tone so perfectly sun-kissed, it looks good enough to taste.
“I think that’s a little risky, don’t you?”
He’s wearing a smug, tight-lipped smile as he shakes his head. “Dancing with you is not a risk. Letting a beautiful woman stand alone at the edge of a dance floor, that’s a risk. Letting people think you’re available…also a risk. Wasting this opportunity, risk. None of which I’m willing to take.”
He curves his fingers around my wrist, gently pulling me toward the dance floor. Quietly, so no one can hear, he whispers, “Ma’am, please don’t make me beg.”
Finally, to avoid causing a scene, I relent, letting him take me to the middle of the floor and wrapping my arms around his neck. I feel too vulnerable, too exposed. But his warm eyes settle me, and I stare into them, finding that comfort ofusI enjoyed earlier. Then, I simply drown out the party around us and let him lead me into a gentle turn around the dance floor.
“But I do enjoy you begging,” I whisper.
“I know you do,” he replies with a smile. For the most part, we look friendly. We aren’t kissing like Drake and Isabel. We aren’t pressed hard against each other like Charlie and Emerson, and Beau’s hand is nowhere near my ass like Garrett’s is to Mia’s.
