Page 29 of It's Only Love

Chapter 10

Christy woke up feeling a little out of sorts. She lay in bed, refusing to move from the cozy domain, this was where she belonged now. She replayed the memory of her kiss with Dean, and ran her fingers over her lips as though she could still feel his there.

Their kiss had seared her, her body still humming with arousal, and ready to pick up where they left off. She had been furious with him, humiliated by him once again, and ready to unleash fiery hell on him. But the longer she was in his presence, backed up against the wall with his heat enveloping her, his hard, muscular chest against hers, the fuzzier her brain had become. His closeness and teasing scent had awakened urges in her that she hadn’t felt in so long, if ever. When he caged her in, he felt on edge and tension had radiated from him, if he hadn’t kissed her, she certainly would have kissed him.

But why did he? He didn’t like her, she knew what he really thought of her and he rejected her the previous night when she threw herself at him. He also spent most of last night glaring at her when he wasn’t trying to drive a wedge between her and Beau. Wait, was that what he was trying to do? Get her to cheat on Beau and ruin his trust? Yes! That was it, it made more sense now. Hurt speared through her chest at the thought of Dean doing such a low thing. He was trying to split them up, and he was definitely ready to play dirty to do it.

But his kiss had been so convincing, especially as she felt his arousal, had rubbed up against it, needy and desperate. She had been desperate for him, the kiss had been raw and carnal, like nothing she ever experienced before. Beau’s kisses hadn’t been like that, they were sweet, not down and dirty. It made her question her feelings for Beau. He was kind, caring, and so beautiful but he didn’t make her heart pound. Didn’t make her lose her breath when he so much as glanced in her direction; which she guessed was fine because she didn’t want more than a bit of fun anyway, but she didn’t want to lead him on.

At least if we call it quits then Dean will be pleased and he can stop invading my thoughts, dreams and general life, she thought bitterly. Or maybe Dean would tell Beau about what happened and Beau would end it with her first. She couldn’t believe Dean would be that mean, the image so at odds with the man who comforted her so readily, not once but twice. Maybe that was him easing his guilt? Maybe that’s why he paid for the use of the bar too? To lull her into a false sense of security. She shook her head not wanting to think about it anymore.

She forced herself to get up, have a shower and get dressed. She started to go downstairs but stopped outside her father’s bedroom. She hadn’t been able to go in there since she came back to town. Before the funeral it had been because she hadn’t wanted to open up her pain and anger again by seeing his things. But now, she felt some semblance of peace and wasn’t sure if she was ready to upset that just yet by seeing his belongings. Would she recognize anything in there? Would the familiar scent of his clothes bring forth any memories? No, she decided she would leave it. She knew she had to go in and clear the room at some point, but she wanted to keep hold of her newfound peace a little longer.

She went downstairs and began moving around the kitchen making a much-needed coffee and heard a knock on the door. When she opened it, she saw Beau on the porch, smiling down at her.

“Morning, gorgeous,” he said, ducking his head and kissing her cheek.

“Hey, you,” she said nervously. Crap, did he know? Is that why he was here? To confront her and end things? Judging from his expression, he didn’t seem very mad.

“I was thinking we could go for a late breakfast and then have a little walk,” he said, coming into the house.

“That sounds great,” she replied.

“Cool, I could drive us to the bar so you can grab your car as well? Then I know a great place that does pancakes, if you’re game?”

Definitely doesn’t know what happened if he’s being this nice. Maybe spending the day with him and having more time one on one would help solidify her feelings. Get to know him a bit more before dismissing the fling potential, passion wasn’t everything! She liked him, so she would love to keep getting to know him, even if it was just platonic.

“Perfect, let me just grab my purse and shoes,” she said over her shoulder, already hurrying off. She stumbled up the stairs, really need some coffee, and rummaged for the right pair of shoes in her suitcases. When she came back down, he was staring intently at the door frame.

“Everything okay?” she asked.

“The door sticks a little. I know you’re selling the place, but I would like to fix this if that’s okay? I don’t want you to have any trouble with it while you’re still here?”

“It was sweet of you to offer to help out last night, but you really don’t need to.”

“No, I don’t mind. I told you I would help out and I meant it. I want to do it, I love this stuff. I’ll come back tomorrow and fix this and look at the rest of the place if you like?”

“I’ll feel bad, you spending all this time helping me,” she whined.

“Don’t be silly, guys love this stuff. Working with their hands, helping out a beautiful woman, you’ll be doing me a favor, trust me,” he said.

After a moment she caved. “That would be amazing, thank you.”

They left the house and Beau drove them to the bar. “Did you speak to Dean last night at all?” she asked, trying to sound as casual as possible. Beau turned to her, smiling quizzically.

“Yeah? You were there for most of it,” he laughed.

“Oh yeah, I meant afterwards. You know, back at his place? Did you guys sit up all night in your pj’s talking about girls?” she teased.

“Pretty much. He’s been telling me about the women he’s been seeing and I, uh, talked about you.”

“But nothing else?” she pushed, and he stared at her again.

“Did I talk about anything else but you? Not really.”

Relief flooded her, followed by guilt, “I’m sorry, that was rude.”

He shrugged, “Want to know what I said?”

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