Page 31

Anger momentarily blinded me, stealing away my vision and replacing it with a red sheen, before I worked to regulate my breathing. In and out. In and out.

“Beau.” Her tiny hand cupped my cheek, and I squeezed my eyelids shut, twisting my head slightly to press a kiss against her palm. “I don’t…I don’t…” Tears trickled down her cheek as she struggled to formulate words.

I pressed my forehead against hers and began to rock us. “Shh. You don’t need to say anything.” My voice broke from disuse on that final word.

“You’re speaking,” she pointed out once again, but this time, her tone only held wonderment. Joy. Surprise. When she pulled back, her eyes were alight with something radiant and bright, something that had my heart hammering in a way that was almost painful.

“I’ve been silent too long.” I felt something travel down my own cheek, but I didn’t lift a hand to brush the tear away. I wanted her to see me, all of me, and know that I was hers. Irrevocably and completely. “I’m so sorry about everything. You never should’ve gone through that with Dylan. If I’d known sooner…”

“Hey.” She captured my cheeks once more, pulling my attention down to her gorgeous face. “Don’t blame yourself, okay? This isn’t your fault.” She hesitated, her tongue snaking out to lick her bottom lip, before she forged on. “I meant what I said the other day. I don’t expect you to say it back, especially if you’re with Mar—”

I pressed my lips to hers.

Immediately, fireworks burst to life behind my eyes and fire ran through my veins. The innate sense of safety and completion engulfed me in a warm embrace. I never wanted to escape it.

This woman…

Her arms…

It was where I belonged.

She released a breathy moan, her arms reaching upwards to wrap around my neck. I could feel her fingers in my hair, pulling at the blond strands, and I deepened the kiss, tilting my head to the side. Her tongue prodded the seam of my lips, demanding more, and I obliged eagerly.

Anything she wanted, I would give her.

But there was something she needed to know first.

I pulled back, ignoring her tiny gasp of surprise, and once again pressed my forehead against hers. “Maria…” I coughed, my frail voice wobbling slightly. “Nothing happened between us. I promise you.”

“Beau, you don’t have to—”

“I love you too,” I blurted out before I could lose my nerve. “I love you more than life itself. Bianaca, you’re my everything. You have been for quite a damn long time. I never wanted to say anything for fear of ruining our friendship, but as I said before, I’m done with being silent. Not when it concerns you. I almost lost you today, and I—”

She molded her lips to mine, the force of her kiss sending me to the ground, her perfect body on top of mine. The curves of her breasts brushed against my shirt, and if there weren’t an audience watching us, I would memorize every piece of her as I’d yearned to do for years. I would kiss down her neck, across each breast, and—

“Tanner,” she said abruptly, sitting upright. Her eyes were wild and frantic, her chest heaving.

Another man’s name leaving her lips had me freezing, my muscles coiling tighter than an angry snake. I didn’t speak—so used to silence, I was able to communicate without any words—and her flushed face twisted behind us, towards where the others were watching.

“Beau, I love you. You know I do. But…” She lowered her gaze to the ground, staring intently at her thighs.

Over her shoulder, Heath, Aiden, Kace, and Tanner were all staring at us.

Heath had an amused smirk pulling up his lips, even as his eyes danced with lust. Aiden appeared almost intrigued, as if he were attempting to solve a difficult math equation in his head. Kace refused to meet my eyes, immediately dropping his head with flames rising to his cheeks.

And Tanner?

He looked fucking devasted.

It was only then that I realized…

I wasn’t the only one who’d fallen for the striking girl with a heart way too big for her own good and darkness tainting her past.

But now wasn’t the time to think about our romantic entanglements, or lack thereof.

“Hey.” I pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I understand.”

“Beau, I don’t—”