Beat of the Heart

Mia nibbled on her lip. “Can you give me a few minutes to freshen up?” At what I imagined was my confused expression, she said, “I don’t want to show up all red-faced from crying.”

“Oh,” I murmured with a nod. “Sure. Come on.” Placing my hand in the small of her back, I led her up the hill to the barn. Grabbing my keys, I unlocked the front door and held it open for her.

Mia stepped inside and gasped. She turned around several times—her expression one of awe. “Wow, the girls weren’t kidding about this place. It’s amazing.”

I gazed around the massive open room. “Yeah, it is. Jake’s contractors did a pretty amazing job transforming it.”

“Can you get my bag from the car?”

“Yeah.” I motioned over to the ladder. “The master bedroom and bath is upstairs. Go on up there, and I’ll bring our stuff.”

“Thanks, AJ,” she replied, before leaning over and pecking me on the cheek.

I hustled down to the car and back for our bags. I was out of breath by the time I got back to the barn. After I lugged her suitcase up the ladder, I found her sitting on the edge of the bed with her head in her hands.

“Mia?”

She jerked up her head up and gave me an apologetic look. “Sorry.” She rose up from the bed and grabbed her bag. “I’ll hurry.”

“Take your time. I’m going to get out of these wet clothes.”

When Mia disappeared, I went downstairs to retrieve my bag. I changed into a dry T-shirt and shorts. After I finished, I began pacing around the bedroom, waiting for Mia to come out of the bathroom. Even over the music from down at the bonfire, I heard water running and then the buzzing hum of a hair dryer. After she had been in there a long time, I fought the urge to go check on her. Finally, after what felt like a fucking eternity, she came out. My heart kick started again at the sight of her. She’d totally redone her hair and makeup, and she’d changed into a strapless, red sundress. She looked so fucking beautiful, it made my heart clench. Her dark hair tumbled in waves over her bare shoulders. Her newly applied ruby red lipstick made her plump lips all the more kissable. And needless to say, my cock surged against my zipper.

Framed in the doorway, she stared at me. We stood unmoving and unblinking as the conversations from the guys floated back up to us along with a steady thumping bass. I knew in that instant that what had been discussed down by the river had deepened our relationship, or whatever the fuck it was we had going.

When the song changed over to Bob Marley’s No Woman No Cry, electricity crackled in the air between us. I held out my hand. “Dance with me?”

Her brows rose in surprise. “Now? Here?”

“Yes.”

“Okay,” she whispered. She closed the gap between us and slipped her hand into mine. I pulled her flush against me, resting my other hand on the small of her back. Closing my eyes, I took in the delicious scent of both her shampoo and her perfume. We swayed in silence to the music. When it got to the part in the song about how everything was going to be okay, I pulled away to stare into her eyes. “It really is going to be okay. You know that, right?”

Her bottom lip trembled as tears pooled in her eyes. “Even though I shouldn’t, I believe you.”

“Believe in me, Mia. Believe in us.”

A single tear slipped down her cheek, which I caught with my thumb. “Are we an ‘us’, AJ?”

“I’m down for it if you are.”

She shook her head. “It’s only been two weeks.”

I snorted. “Fuck the amount of time. I know what I’m feeling.”

“But I’m confused as hell. I’ve never fallen this fast,” she admitted.

“Me either. You know, Jake and Abby were in deep after a few days, and look at them. Brayden and Lily knew each other since they were kids, and there’s grew over time. Love is still love—it doesn’t have a time limit.”

Her dark eyes widened at the insinuation of love. “I do think I’m falling in love with you, AJ.”

As pansy as it sounds, my heartbeat accelerated at her admission. I couldn’t believe this amazing woman actually wanted to give me the time of day, least of all be falling in love with me. I’d never met someone who was my match in and out of the bedroom. “Good. Cause I think I’m falling right back.”

The song ended, and Unchained Melody began playing in its place. I could tell Jake must’ve put some of his mom’s old mix CDs on the stereo system.

“You know, you never sang to me in Spanish last night.”

“That’s right. I didn’t.”

“Will you sing to me now?”

“This old song?”

A faint smile danced on her lips. “Please.”

“Lemme see if I can remember the words,” I lied. The last fucking thing I wanted to admit to Mia was that I knew the song by heart. The truth was I’d been forced by my mother and sister to watch the movie Ghost way too many times. If she knew that, she’d probably demand for my man-card to be revoked.

With my lips hovering over her ear, I began to sing. “O mi amor, mi cielo, yo sufro por tu adios. En mi soledad el tiempo se va tan lento si tu no estas aqui.”

Mia tightened her arms around me, almost molding her body flush against mine. Closing my eyes, I focused not only on translating the lyrics, but making sure I was giving enough emotion in delivering them. I knew I was doing a pretty good job when a content little sigh came from Mia. When she braced one hand on my shoulder and used the other to draw lazy circles on my back, it was my turn to sigh. After the song drew to a close, I pulled away to peer down at her. “So how did I do?”

“Amazing,” she murmured. Untangling herself from my arms, Mia started walking backwards to the bed. When her legs bumped against the mattress, she crooked her finger at me. My brows rose in surprise. “Really? Even after you just spent twenty minutes getting ready to be seen again?”

She laughed. “Yes. You proved my theory right about singing about Spanish.”

At the thought of her being wet, my dick surged against the zipper of my shorts. With a groan, I pulled my shirt over my head and tossed it to the floor. “Well, you know I’m never going to argue with a chance to fuck you senseless.”

When I pulled her into my arms, Mia’s expression grew serious as she brought her hand to my heart. Pressing it firmly against my pec, she whispered, “Make love to me, AJ.”

The touch of her fingers on my skin, along with her words, caused the beat of my heart to accelerate beneath her hand. “Anything you want, amorcito mio,” I murmured, before crushing my lips against her hers. There was an urgency to it I hadn’t experienced with her before. It was like we were both trying to figure out how the screwing we had done in the past switched over to lovemaking. As I deepened the kiss, Mia’s hand slipped down my bare chest to the button on my shorts. Although I wanted nothing more than my dick to be freed, I knew if we were lovemaking, it was too fast. I reached between us to grab her hand. “Not yet,” I whispered against her lips.

Her eyes widened, but then she nodded. I brought her hand back to my chest, over my heart. My fingers came to intertwine in the long strands of her dark hair. It felt so silky smooth against my skin. As my tongue tangled against hers, a burning in my chest started to grow.

“Hey AJ!” Jake called from outside the barn.

“Fuck,” I muttered before pulling away from Mia. Fucking cockblocker! This seriously couldn’t be happening—not now. Not in the middle of our big moment. I stalked over to the window, threw it open, and stuck my head out. “What?” I growled.

Jake gave me a shit eating grin. “Get your ass down here. It’s time to do Jude and Melody’s bedtime song.” I opened my mouth to argue, but Jake shook his head. “We always do this, man. You can fuck Mia’s brains out when we’re done.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “Fine, douchetard. We’ll be right down. And you better hustle your ass back to the fire because I’m going to punch you for that last comment.”

Jake only chuckled and started shuffling down the hillside. After I slammed the window, I turned back to