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She nodded. “Even Robin seemed like she believed us, and her bullshit meter rarely misses a thing.”
“It helps that we know each other pretty well.” The urge to touch her hit hard and strong as he turned toward the front again, but he forced his hand to the gear shift and his brain to focus on driving halfway around the block. Less than a minute later, he parked in front of her garage. His insides weaved and spun, like they were trying to avoid getting tackled, but she’d caught him months ago. “I’ll walk you to the door and then carry in the cooler.”
Her smile sent his pulse skipping and jumping along with his stomach. “Thanks, Beau. You’re such a sweet guy.”
A few minutes later, the thought of saying goodnight to her and going next door to his empty house gave him a kick in the ass as he joined her in the kitchen with the party leftovers.
Her coat, scarf, and gloves now gone, she reached into the cooler and looked up at him. “Do you want some of this?”
A deep inhale barely prepared him to respond to the opening she’d given him. “I’d rather have you.”
4
Stunned into silence, Laurel could only replay Beau’s words in her head and hope her brain wasn’t playing tricks on her. The bag of mixed raw vegetables slipped from her grasp, but she couldn’t make her hand pick it up again. “I… Me? You want me?”
His expression more serious than she’d ever witnessed it, he stared down at her and gave a curt nod. Then he cleared his throat and huffed out a breath. “You. I can’t pretend anymore, not after holding your hand and kissing you and dancing with you today. Tonight. I want to be more than friends.”
Friends with benefits?
Instant disappointment struck with that possibility, but he shook his head before she could ask if that’s what he meant. “God, I’m seriously screwing this up. I like you, Laurel. A lot. Maybe it’s just me, but it feels like there’s this amazing chemistry between us when we’re together. We fit. At least I think we do, and I hope we can date for real. No more faking, like at the party.”
She straightened and grabbed for the countertop as his admission sank in. Was she dreaming? “You’re sure?”
“Yes.” His eyes suddenly widened. “I know what you’re thinking, and it doesn’t matter. Why can’t I be with a woman who’s older than me? Besides, it’s less than six years. Guys date younger women all the time—fifteen or twenty years younger—and nobody says a word. In this case, numbers mean nothing. Unless, of course, you don’t feel the same about me as I do you.”
Her heart tripped and she finally gave herself permission to take a chance.
She shoved the cooler lid closed and grasped his hand. “Come with me.”
The double meaning hit her a moment too late—at the same time his mouth curved into a swoony half smile. Dr. Bravestone of Jumanji fame had nothing on Beau Walters’ smolder.
Ducking her head to hide what had to be a brilliant shade of Christmas red on her cheeks, she tugged him toward her bedroom. “I mean, follow me.”
He scooped her into his arms and marched out of the kitchen. “You had it right the first time.”
His husky voice lit up every nerve ending in her body that hadn’t already ignited. Getting rid of their multiple layers of clothes became her top priority, but she needed a kiss—a real one.
When he stopped next to her bed, she dove in for the kind of taste she’d been dreaming of for months. His lips parted with the first touch and his tongue tangled with hers, stealing all the air from her lungs. A moan vibrated through her throat, but she had no idea where the sound originated.
He nibbled a path along her jaw to her ear, his rough breathing making goose bumps spread across her skin. “I wish I could kiss you everywhere at once.”
“Everywhere?” She nearly choked on the word as tiny tremors rippled through her belly.
“Mm-hm.” His lips still pressed to her neck, he lowered her feet to the floor.
“Then maybe you should undress me.” The thought escaped before she could censor it, but she wanted to be naked with him. She wanted every part of him making contact with every part of her. “Forget the maybe.”
He straightened, giving her a good look at his hopeful expression. “Are you sure about this? I don’t want you to regret it in the morning.”
The prospect of him spending the night obliterated the fear of telling him exactly what she desired. “I won’t have any regrets unless you’re selfish in bed. If that’s the case, I’ll be kicking you out long before morning.”
Humor danced in his eyes and a grin hinted at the pair of dimples that rarely made an appearance. “I plan to be very generous. You can’t kick me out if you’re too satisfied to move.”
Bull rubbed his thumb along Laurel’s kiss-swollen lower lip and worked her sweater upward with his other hand. His fingers found bare skin at her lower back, inciting more than a few tingles in his balls. “Are you going to undress me too?”
She shoved his leather jacket off his shoulders, but it got stuck on his biceps. “It might be faster if we undress ourselves.”
“I don’t mind undressing both of us.” He tugged her festive top over her head and dropped it at their feet. Then he let his eyes roam over her lacy bra and the handfuls it held in place while he shed his coat and shirt. “My dreams didn’t do you justice.”
