Page 46 of Taming Grumpy Dr. Beast

Me: What’s going on?

Jessamine: They want to announce our sham of an engagement.

Me: Tell them no. Nothing has changed.

Fuck me. Almost three months ago, Jess called me in hysterics. Her parents were forcing her to marry a man that she despised. They control her trust fund, and therefore in their eyes her life. When she told them no, they demanded to know why. In the spur of the moment, she said we had gotten engaged.

Jessamine: I’m afraid they’ll go behind our backs and do it anyway. I’m sorry Jax. This has gone on longer than I wanted. I’m so damn close to not having to rely on them for anything.

Me: What do you need me to do?

Jessamine: Help me keep them all at bay.

Her parents and mine were best friends. Both parties were pushing to announce our engagement, thinking it was an advantageous match to combine our wealth.

Me: Tell them we’re planning an event to announce it. That’ll hold them off.

Jessamine: Okay. That could work. You’re the best friend ever for doing this for me.

Me: I know.

Jessamine: Dick

I shoved my phone into my pocket. This fake engagement wasn’t what I wanted, but Jess was my oldest friend. I’d protect her with my life if I had to.

Now without the distraction of my phone my eyes were immediately drawn to Lily. With each mile, she fidgeted in her seat, drawing my attention to her legs. I watched as her skirt slowly hiked higher up her calves almost to her knees.

Damn, she was beautiful.

Before Lily, I never knew how sexy mid-length skirts could be. Or maybe it was just the ones she wore. The way they skimmed over her hips, narrowing, and then flared out at her knees, allowing the skirt to flutter around her calves.

I was also learning I was more of a leg guy than I previously thought. As she tapped her toes in time to the beat of the music Paul had turned on, her calf muscles tightened and stretched. I imagined how it would feel to have her leg hooked over the back of mine, rubbing up and down, forcing me closer to her.

I ran a hand down my face and groaned.

“Are you okay?” Lily asked, uncertainty lining her face.

Had she realized I’d been staring at her? I needed to pull myself together.

Ignoring her wasn’t working. It gave me too much uninterrupted time to envision her body wrapped around me. Lily’s gorgeous curves ignited a fire in me, but it wasn’t just her looks, it was her intelligence, and the way she stood up for herself. She intrigued me like no one else ever had.

As tortuous as dinner was the last two nights, I enjoyed spending time with her. And the brief moments I checked in on her progress with the book had me noting how easy our conversations were when I wasn’t trying to censor every thought in my head.

I wasn’t in the market for a long-term relationship and from what I sensed of Lily, she wasn’t one to have a quick fling.

“Uh, yeah. Just stretching out a kink in my back.” The lie fell easily from my tongue.

“Oh, that’s no good. I could show you stretches I’ve learned to relieve that.” She smiled helpfully at me.

The vision of her bent over, her delectable ass in the air as she touched her toes, tightened my throat. “No,” I gritted out.

“Well, okay.” She huffed and crossed her arms. “You don’t have to get all gruff about it.”

“Lily,” I paused, expecting her eyes to turn to me. Instead, she stared out the window, ignoring me.

Fuck. I was a total idiot around her.

“Lily, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that the way it sounded.”