Page 20 of Beckett the Bad Boy

Soon, maybe, I’ll have the courage to brazenly ask for what I want from Beckett.

Because each time he kisses or compliments me, my confidence grows. Pieces of the armor around my heart crack off, and the caution I usually approach life with takes a backseat to our connection.

A low buzz filters through the covers, and I close my eyes to dream of Beckett and what the future might hold for us.

Until a knock on the front door interrupts my fantasies.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

BECKETT

I shouldn't be here.

I promised to let Beth rest after working so hard today, yet when I got on my motorcycle for a relaxing cruise, I ended up here on her doorstep.

The firehouse is lit up on the other side of the street, and I pray none of the guys see me. They'd give me so much shit if they discovered I'd broken all of my rules for one woman.

Appearing at her house for what could easily be construed as a booty call because I'm so far gone.

“Jesus…” I scrub a hand down my face, not totally recognizing myself at this point, then knock on Beth's door.

If she doesn't answer within five minutes, I leave, I reason.

No need to wake her up if she's already asleep.

Which is a good bet, since there's not a light to be seen through her window curtains.

“You dumb, obsessive…” I turn on my heel, ready to call it a night on this spectacular failure, when the sound of a lock clicks, and the door creeps open.

“Beckett? Is everything alright?”

Beth stands in the doorway outlined by a ray of light coming from the hall behind her. A matching set of burgundy pajamas molds to her curves, and for a moment, I can't speak.

My mind goes completely fucking empty.

“Beckett?” Wariness enters her voice.

It's that note of worry that finally snaps me out of my stupor.

“I know I said I'd let you rest tonight.” A frisson of shame settles in my chest, and instinctively, my hand moves to rub it away. “But I had fun with you today, and I decided to go for a ride, and I just wound up here.”

Holy fucking shit!

Now, I'm morphing into an anxious mess.

Hopefully, she finds it as endearing on me as I find it on her.

“Oh… Do you want to come in?” Beth steps back and motions me inside.

“Yeah,inis good.Inis great,” I babble nonsensically.

What suspiciously looks like an amused smile tugs at the edges of Beth's mouth.

“Do you want a drink or…?”

“I didn't wake you, did I?”

She bites her lip as a scarlet flush blooms on her cheeks and chest.