He pressed himself against her, and Alice’s body became an entity completely separate from her brain. There were no thoughts or desires, just an aching, frantic need. Her skin wanted contact everywhere, all at once, so she pulled Beau even closer, loving the weight and feel of him. She explored the landscape of his back, and then ran her fingers up to his hair.
She wanted to touch every inch of him.
Beau groaned and thrust his tongue into her mouth, invading it completely, showing no mercy at all. True to his promise, he kept his hands to himself, and Alice began to regret the ground rules. Her body craved his touch so badly that it was almost unbearable, and she rubbed against him frantically, craving friction. Her hands went from his hair to his firm butt. She wanted him to move in a certain way . . .
She was out of control, and it was wonderful.
Beau broke the kiss and raised up. And then, while staring directly into her eyes, he began to move his hips with a fluid, gyrating motion. Alice gasped at the feel of his erection, and to keep herself from going mad and wrapping her legs around his waist, she reached up and pulled him back for more kissing.
She moaned and bit his lower lip. She was insatiable. Beau could kiss her from now until the end of time, and she would never get enough.
He stopped and looked at her, panting and gasping for air. Despite the chill, his cheeks were splotchy and red. “Damn, Allie Cat. For someone who’s never made out in the bed of a pickup before, you’re really good at it.”
“Am I?” She sounded just as breathless as he did.
“Yes. You’re driving me crazy.”
He looked a little crazy. She’d thoroughly mussed up his hair, and his lips were swollen—as were other parts. She liked the feel of him, hard and thick. “Do we have to stop, Beau?”
“No, darlin’. I could kiss you forever.”
Chapter
Nineteen
Bryce parked the truck in front of the Kowalskis’ ranch house. “Wake up, dumbass.”
“I wasn’t asleep.”
Not technically anyway. But he was definitely lingering on the edge of dazed. Borderline comatose. Because after getting home at two in the morning and taking an extremely cold shower, he’d risen early to escort Nonnie to church, where he’d entertained deliciously dirty thoughts while Miss Mills played the organ and Nonnie sang off-key. That was followed by brunch at Chateau Bleu and Nonnie’s endless inquiries about Alice.
When is her birthday?
Does she still play the piano?
Would she like to attend the Montgomery family reunion this fall?
He’d tried explaining that they weren’t serious, but Nonnie wasn’t having it.
Should we invite her parents to Thanksgiving?
Now he and Bryce had a quick meeting with Ford and Gerome.
“Jesus Christ,” Bryce said, shaking his head.
“What?”
“Unless you’ve suffered an unfortunate incident with a vacuum hose, you’ve got a hickey on your neck.”
“I do not.”
Bryce jerked the rearview mirror around, indicating Beau should take a look. And there it was, right below the collar of his shirt. “Haven’t had one of those since the eleventh grade.”
“I thought we decided sex with Alice was a bad idea.”
“It was just kissing.” And a little dry-humping. “Adults should make out more. It’s good times.”
Making out with Alice had been more than a good time. With sex-as-a-destination off the table, the journey had been everything. Nothing was rushed; they’d stayed in the moment, which had stretched into hours. And as promised, he hadn’t slid an inch past first base.
He grinned. Because Alice had made it halfway to second by grabbing the hell out of his ass, which he hadn’t minded a bit. They might need to rethink some ground rules—
Bryce banged on the hood of the truck. When had he gotten out?
“Are you coming, Romeo? Ford’s waiting on us.”
Beau got out and followed Bryce up the steps. They knocked three times before pushing the door open, just like they’d been doing since they were old enough to know where Miss Lilly kept the cookies.
“Biscuits are on the counter,” Miss Lilly said, without looking up from her knitting. “And Beau, you’re welcome to bring Alice to first Sunday dinner. I’ll make something special.”
They each gave Miss Lilly a kiss on the cheek. “You don’t need to go to the trouble,” Beau said. “Allie and I just like hanging out.”
“In other words, Miss Lilly,” Bryce said. “I wouldn’t go picking out a dress for the wedding.”
Miss Lilly raised an eyebrow. “You never know. Beau and Alice are a perfect pair.”
Guilt gnawed at Beau’s belly. He hadn’t believed folks would take their fake romance seriously. And now Nonnie was talking Thanksgiving and Miss Lilly had gone straight to the wedding. There were going to be a few broken hearts. And after last night, he feared his might be one of them.
Ford appeared at the top of the stairs with a baby strapped to his chest. “Are y’all coming up?”
They each grabbed a biscuit and climbed the stairs.
Beau nodded at the baby. “We didn’t want to interrupt you, if you were, you know . . .”
“Breastfeeding,” Bryce finished.
“Shut up, idiots. This is the only way she’ll sleep.”
Beau gave Rosa a gentle pat on the head. “We’re just kidding. She looks good on you.”
Gerome stood as they came in. “Howdy, boys. Thanks for coming in on a Sunday. We’ll keep it short.”
“No problem,” Bryce said.
Gerome nodded and they all sat down. But as soon as Ford’s ass hit the chair, Rosa began fussing. He hopped right up and started doing a ridiculous shuffle step, first with one boot, then the other.
“That’s the Polish Granny Shuffle,” Gerome said. “It puts babies to sleep like magic.” He looked critically at Ford as Rosa squirmed in her little cocoon. “Put some more hip in it, son.”
Ford glared at his father-in-law, but then he did seem to put some more hip in it, and the baby quieted
