“Hey,”Beau’s soothing voice interrupted his thoughts, causing him to stop pacing thefloor and look over at him.
Liftingone eyebrow, he tried to give Beau a look that would deter the man frominterfering. He wanted Beau to believe that what happened between them earlierhadn’t affected him, but either Beau wasn’t as adept at reading him as heoriginally thought or Beau wasn’t giving him an out. Part of him hoped it wasthe latter. He was tired of fighting himself and everyone else at the sametime.
Hedidn’t move a muscle as he watched Beau walk to the control panel that wouldlower the open bay door. Once that was done, Beau made his way over to him,stopping within inches of his body. They stared at one another for what feltlike an eternity, but was probably only a few tense seconds.
“Ineed to kiss you again,” Beau whispered before his lips eased over his.
God,why did he just want to give in? Why did Beau speak his mind and why in thehell did it have a calming effect on him?
WhenBeau’s arms came around him, Ethan relaxed instantly, his arms snaking up andaround Beau’s neck, unable to resist despite his common sense screaming likethe blaring horns on a fire engine. Holding him close, Ethan reveled in Beau’staste. The kiss moved from tentative and gentle to wild and daring faster thanEthan could inhale.
Hegroaned, unable to hold back as Beau’s strong hands slid up his back, pullinghim close and holding him there.
“Stillup for getting out of here for a while?” Beau asked gruffly after several intenseseconds, his expression solemn.
Ethancouldn’t lie to him. There was no way he’d be able to tell him no. The onlything he wanted at the moment was to get out of there, just the two of them.
“Sure.You have somewhere in mind?”
Beaunodded but didn’t offer his suggestion.
Ethangrinned. “Come on.” Nodding his head toward the door, Ethan once againretrieved his truck keys. This time, he prayed that no one would interrupttheir attempted departure because he wasn’t sure how much longer he could waitto be alone with Beau.
Lessthan five minutes later, Ethan was pulling up to his house. Bypassing his usualspace in the center of the driveway, Ethan kept his truck to the right,allowing Beau a place to park that monstrous truck of his.
Withoutwaiting, he climbed out and headed to the porch, hoping like hell Beau wouldfollow. Seconds later, Beau was at his side, his big, warm hand coming down onhis shoulder as Ethan attempted to unlock the front door.
“Yousure this is all right?” Beau asked.
Ethanturned to face him, not understanding the question. Beau simply glanced over atthe two trucks parked in the driveway. Taking a deep breath, he held it. Let itout.
“Ishould’ve let you ride with me,” Ethan said hurriedly, unsure what to make ofBeau’s statement. Did he not want anyone to know he was there? Or was he tryingto protect Ethan? After what had happened with Ricky yesterday morning, Ethanknew he should’ve had Beau ride with him, but this was his family’s land.Private property. And they were far enough back, no one other than his brotherswould ever see Beau’s truck. Sure, it might raise some questions, but he’dbecome a pro at evading them whenever they popped up.
Thatdidn’t mean Beau hadn’t wanted to be more discreet about their interaction.
“Ifyou’re worried about someone finding out, I promise, no one will see yourtruck. And if they do, they won’t say anything.”
Beau’sface fell as he took a step back, his hand dropping from his shoulder, but hedidn’t look away. “I don’t have anything to hide, E.”
Ratherthan having that conversation outside in the cold, Ethan pushed open the frontdoor, reminding his feet that this wasn’t a race, and he wasn’t supposed to berunning. He’d shown enough lack of decorum so far, he wasn’t about to letBeau’s off-handed comment get to him.
Afterwaiting for Beau to enter the house, Ethan followed, then closed and locked thedoor behind them, dropping his truck keys on the small table in the entryway.
“Niceplace,” Beau stated.
“Thanks.”Ethan observed the interior of his home as though seeing it for the first time.Large, open rooms. A lot of glass, steel beams and bamboo flooring tiedeverything together. Aside from that, the walls were carefully decorated, theappliances were sleek stainless steel, and the furniture was all modern with ahint of contemporary. Just the way Ethan liked it.
Itwasn’t anything like his brothers’ houses, but given he had been provided theopportunity to do as he wanted, he had designed it to suit his tastes. In hisopinion, they already lived in the country, he didn’t need the interior décorto remind him of that. Instead, he’d opted for modern and sleek. He liked cleanlines and no clutter and his house suited him.
Ifhe had to describe it in one word, Ethan would say his taste was… simple.
Ethanwatched as Beau moved slowly, glancing back at him once before moving forward.
“Wantsomething to drink?” As though the question triggered Beau’s hunger response,Ethan heard Beau’s stomach growl. “How about I make us some lunch?”
Beau’ssmile was so bright, Ethan’s heart thudded double time in his chest. God, theman was beautiful. And when he smiled, he was magnificent.
“I’llhelp,” Beau offered. “Which way is the kitchen?”
