Page 30 of The Outpost (Jamison Valley 4)
I leaned back so I could look at his face. “Shortcake?”
“Seems only fair that you have a nickname too.”
I shook my head. “But I’m not short. And cake? I’m the farthest thing from sweet.”
One of his arms unwound from behind me so his hand could cup my jaw. With his thumb stroking my cheek and his fingers threaded into my hair, he whispered, “You’re sweet, and to me, you’ll always be short.”
My knees buckled. They actually buckled and he hadn’t even kissed me. Heaven help me if he ever did. I’d probably faint and miss all the good stuff.
“Easy,” he said, taking my weight and lifting me back up. “Are you okay?” His sexy, low voice made my knees wobble again.
“Uh-huh,” I breathed. When his brows furrowed, I cleared my throat and spoke with more confidence. “I’m okay.”
“Are you sure? Do you need to sit?”
I shook my head, not wanting his arms to go anywhere. “Just a little light-headed.”
The heat from his chest was radiating against my breasts and my heart started pumping double time. When Beau and I were close like this, my body’s reaction was completely out of my control. I wanted him with a wildness I’d never felt before.
The throbbing between my legs wasn’t just a dull twinge, it was a fierce and desperate ache. It took every ounce of willpower not to unwind my hands from his waist and move them to the button on his jeans.
I doubted he’d push me away but I didn’t want to put him in the uncomfortable position to make that choice. He had been clear. We are just friends. Repeat. We are just friends.
“Sabrina?” Beau’s concerned voice snapped me out of my sexual haze.
Needing some distance before I did something to embarrass myself, I pushed out of his hold and took a step back. “I’m better now. Maybe I’m just hungry or need some air.”
He grinned. “That happens when you spend four days living off nothing but granola bars.”
“Ha, ha,” I said dryly. “Do you, uh, want to go for a walk before dinner?”
Having spent the last four days inside, I was craving some sunshine and fresh air. That and I needed to cool off. That hug had turned me really hot, really fast. Too bad it was one-sided. Beau was still staring at me like I might faint.
“Okay,” he drawled. “If you think you can handle it.”
“I’m sure.”
He nodded and walked around me to the door, calling for Boone as he stepped outside.
I was relieved that my low-blood-sugar lie had worked and he hadn’t seemed to notice that my reaction had been purely sexual. I didn’t need another one of his reminders that we would always be platonic. My own affirmations were harsh enough.
Beau was way too good for me. He deserved a wholesome woman. The minute I’d started to date Anton, wholesome had gone out the window.
As I walked outside, I reminded myself again and again that Beau and I were from two different worlds, wincing with the familiar twist in my stomach. But by the time we stepped out of the trees and into the open meadow, my disappointment had been pushed to the back of my mind—not forgotten, but no longer center stage.
Beau and I wandered across the empty field, taking in the warm sunlight and slight breeze. Our pace was much slower than the last time we’d come out together. The green grasses, now thick and lush, had surged to new heights these last few weeks of spring and I had to bring my knees up high just to wade through it all.
I kept thinking about Beau’s words from earlier today. You can tell me anything. The only person I really confided in was Felicity, but Beau shared her confidence and strength. He wasn’t letting me shut him out. So by the midpoint of our walk, I had decided to take him up on that offer and tell him what I’d been considering recently.
“So, while I was resting these last few days, I did some thinking.”
“Resting?” He looked at me skeptically, like he expected whatever I had concocted during my four-day wallow session to be pure insanity.
“Resting,” I insisted. “Let’s move on, shall we?”
He smirked. “Continue.”
“I’ve been thinking about returning home and going to the FBI.”
