Page 44 of It's Only Love

“Uh huh,” she replied doubtfully.

“And they’ll drive each other nuts which will be fun to watch.” He grinned at her and she rolled her eyes and walked away, but not before he noticed the smile split her face.

But later that day, Dean was ready to lose his shit. Friendship with Christy was already proving to be very difficult. He didn’t know how long he could last but he had to stick it out, for himself and for Taylor. Every time a job needed doing, Christy didn’t ask Dean for his help or opinion, she only cared about Beau’s, again!

“Beau, what do you think we should do about the porch railing?”

“Beau, what do you think we should do with that tree stump in the backyard?”

“Beau, would you like to go upstairs and have your wicked way with me?”

Okay, so she hadn’t said the last one, but she might as well have. That’s how they were acting and his jealousy was getting the better of him.

“Beau, do you think we should strip this old wallpaper off?” Christy put a hand on one hip and stared up at the walls in the living room. Dean turned to Beau, glaring at his friend once again as his input wasn’t wanted or needed.

“Well, hon,” Beau started, coming over and draping an arm around her dainty shoulders. It felt so wrong that it made Dean want to rip them apart.

“I think that’s something the new owner can do, you don’t need to worry about doing it,” Beau smiled down at her and Dean muttered under his breath.

“I don’t mind, I like doing it and I’m sure if the new owner knew I didn’t mind and actually enjoyed it then they would be happy to let me get on with it?” she said meaningfully, Beau chuckled.

“Well, if you’re sure, then I think that sounds like a good idea,” he said, squeezing her into his chest, as they broke apart, she peered up at Beau again.

“What color do you think we should paint the walls?”

Dean stared back and forth between them, was he actually invisible? Enough was enough, damnit! He stepped forward.

“How about cream?” he asked through clenched teeth. Christy peered at him but didn’t say anything and shifted her focus back to Beau. Beau looked over at him, smirking, like he knew exactly how much this was pissing Dean off and was loving every minute. Beau then made a huge drama over which color to pick, what would look better in daylight as opposed to night-time, what color would be better feng shui, really building up his part until finally ...

“I think cream is probably the best color for now, don’t you?”

“Oh absolutely, great idea,” she enthused, clapping happily. Dean threw up his arms in frustration and stormed off into the kitchen for some water and to calm the fuck down. Beau insisted on picking up the paint and as he was leaving, Dean heard him say, “I’m paying for the paint though.”

Dean held his breath, smirking to himself, as he waited for Christy to start sputtering and refuse to let him pay, insisting she could afford it, like she did with Dean. But then she shocked the hell out of him by agreeing to let Beau pay. Dean’s temper flared again, and he decided it was best he stay in the kitchen and have another go at fixing the stubborn garbage disposal. After a while of trying to bang his frustration away, he was getting nowhere except sweaty and angry, but for a different reason. He was ready to take a break when Christy came into the kitchen.

“Can you help me change the lightbulb in the living room?” she asked, opening the kitchen drawers and pulling out a pack of spares.

“Is Beau not around?” Dean asked petulantly.

“No, he went out to get the paint,” she replied, not noticing his tone. “I can change a lightbulb myself, it’s just the ceiling is really high and I’m not great on ladders. I think even if I did get on it, I might not reach. But I’ll hold it steady for you, so you don’t fall,” she teased.

“More like tip it over with me on it,” he joked.

She pretended to be hurt, “Maybe last week, besides, I would find a much more inventive way of hurting you than a silly accident with a ladder.”

“I don’t doubt it,” he replied, following her into the living room. The ladder was already out and in position. He made a show of checking it was locked correctly in case she had tampered with it and she giggled. He climbed halfway up the rungs and reached up to unscrew the old bulb while she held the ladder firm. He reached down to hand her the old one and get the new bulb off her, and he felt tingles where their fingers brushed against each other. He tried to ignore it and reached back up to screw the new one in, leaning his weight against the ladder, freeing both hands.

As he was doing it, he felt a warm breeze skate across his lower abdomen, he looked down and saw his shirt had ridden up, exposing some of the skin and a glimpse of his happy trail. The warm breeze he felt blowing over him was coming from Christy, and she was staring at the strip of his skin on display. Realizing it was her breath, the next time he felt it, goosebumps appeared on his skin, despite the heat.

He watched as she stared intently at his abdomen. Her breathing slightly unsteady, her eyes heating and she ran her tongue across her bottom lip, pulling it between her teeth. He felt his cock stirring in his pants, her face the perfect height to take him into her mouth. He nearly swayed off the ladder at the thought of her mouth there, he felt himself growing hard and knew he needed to distract them both before he did something stupid.

“Darlin’,” he rasped, voice thick with desire, “I really need you to stop looking at me like that.”

After a moment, she blinked hard and her cheeks flushed, “Sorry, my mind was on, uh, my new book that I’m due to start writing. I must have zoned out,” she finished lamely.

“Glad I’m in safe hands then,” he joked, thinking she had nearly made him fall off the ladder but not on purpose. He finished screwing in the bulb and got down as quickly as possible, trying to keep his pelvis turned away from her. They were saved any awkward moments by Beau coming back and distracting them with various paint tins.

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