Call You Mine

by Claudia Burgoa

  Seth stares at me and bobs his head a couple of times. “So, we’re not forgiving him for scaring the shit out of us, huh?”

  I look intently at him, puzzled by his comment, and I immediately understand. I’ve been too quiet, overthinking the kiss. Should I tell him about it? Nope, he’ll probably try to kick Beacon’s ass. Or laugh at me because I can’t get laid and have to approach my hot, sexy, smart-ass best friend.

  I redirect my thoughts and say, “Are you upset at him?”

  They are pretty close, and I’m sure if something happened to Beacon, he’d be pretty messed up, just like me.

  “Nah, I knew he was fine.” He rolls his eyes. “That guy is like a cockroach. Nothing can kill him—not even his stupidities.”

  “He can be reckless,” I agree with a sigh.

  Beacon is impulsive. The guy is a genius, and he’s always a few steps ahead of us. When we’re scouting, he’s already tracing a plan on how we’re going to proceed. Sometimes, he just says follow my lead without waiting for Dad’s approval to continue.

  “I guess that’s why he’s one of Dad’s best men.” Seth looks at his watch. “Can we leave? We could borrow his truck or one of his brothers can fly us to Portland.”

  Vance is the one who picked us up from the airport and flew us here. He said he’d take us back whenever we wanted. The guy was angry that he couldn’t open the locks. Maybe it was a way to hide the worry. He doesn’t know Beacon as well as we do, or they would have just waited for him to come out from his hiding place.

  “Why don’t we go to Beac’s house? I’ll introduce you to his family.”

  He smirks. “I know them well enough. I could even tell you what brand of toothpaste they buy.”

  “Maybe — and this is just my opinion—it might be different if you introduce yourself. Because they don’t know you,” I remind him. “They have no idea you’ve been watching them since their father died, just to check if they are worth being close to your friend.”

  He grins. “It wasn’t like that. Beac asked me to do it.”

  I roll my eyes. “You two are ridiculous.”

  “By the way, the lawyer is in town.” He suddenly changes the subject.

  If there’s one thing I’d like to do, it’s kidnap Jerome Parrish and interrogate him until he tells us what his deal is. He drops by every so often to make sure “the boys” are complying with the will. He throws in a few unrequited life lessons. There are some letters William Aldridge left that he didn’t just hand over. He’s giving them one by one. As if those were golden stars they only deserve when he feels like it.

  What is his game?

  “Are you going to tell them?” I look around, wondering if the asshole is nearby.

  “Beacon already knows, if he checked his text messages.”

  “Where is Parrish staying?” When the guys moved into town, they kicked him out of The Lodge. That’s the only hotel in Baker’s Creek. Since they own the place, they decided to not allow him to stay there.

  “He’s been renting a house in Happy Springs since late September when one of the brothers bought the bed-and-breakfast.”

  “Interesting.”

  “We should run a thorough background check on him. He should be in New York running his law firm,” I say, pulling out my phone and taking off one of my mittens. “Why would he spend his time in Baker’s Creek babysitting six grown men?”

  “Money?” Seth asks, then shakes his head. “His firm does well enough.”

  “He’s getting something out of this deal,” I insist. Beacon doesn’t believe me. He thinks his father paid him to fuck with them, and there’s nothing more to it.

  Beacon loves to fuck with people, so he put a detail on him just for fun.

  “Let me finish my caseload, and I’ll start digging into his life,” Seth assures me.

  Maybe I should help him. What if we discover something useful that can end these stupid stipulations sooner? Now, that’s something I can get on board with.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Grace

  Seth and I go to Tucker’s home to say goodbye, just in case we don’t have time later. Our cousin isn’t thrilled that we’re leaving. He thought we’d be sticking around like everyone else.

  “It was unplanned,” I say, apologetically. “I left Mozzy alone and there’s no one who can check on him.”

  That is true. My family usually goes on vacations right after the New Year. Not to the same place, but everyone takes off the first day of the year. Our cousins are here.

  “I have work to do,” Seth informs him.

  “It’s cool,” Tucker says. “We can get together some other time.”

  We say goodbye to everyone and leave. As we approach the Aldridge mansion, we spot Beacon walking toward us.

  “Just the person I was looking for,” Beac says, then greets Seth. “Please, tell me they didn’t pull you out of a mission just to come and rescue me.”

  “You owe me,” Seth responds.

  “He doesn’t owe you anything. You volunteered to come,” I protest, look around, and ask, “Where are the guys?

  “With my brothers in the game room. They’re staying for the rest of the week. I was coming to check on you.” He points toward me, looking at Seth. “If you don’t mind, I need to have a word with the lady. Why don’t you join the guys downstairs? It’s about time you meet my family.”

  “Fine, but now you owe me,” Seth, who doesn’t like to deal with strangers, sighs and walks away.

  “Where do you want to go?” Beacon asks. “My room or the studio?”

  “If I say I want to go home?”

  He shakes his head. “We’re talking first, Grace. You can’t throw something like your list, the request, and that kiss on my lap and then run away. I read your texts. You wanted to proposition me.”

  “I didn’t phrase it like that.”

  He pulls out his phone, slides his finger, taps it, and clears his throat. “I found a solution to my problems. Based on your suggestion, I have a proposition for you,” he reads one of the texts out loud. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but you did use the word.”

  “Not what I meant.”

  He crosses his arms. “Grace, bedroom or studio?”

  “Why those?”

  “They are both soundproofed, and no one will hear our conversation.”

  “Your room?” I’m not sure if that’s the right answer. Honestly, I don’t know if I want to be in a closed space with him. What if I just strip him down and jump him?

  It’s been a long time since I’ve had sex. So long, I might need a few pointers before we do it. He takes my hand the way he usually does, but even though I’m wearing mittens, I can feel the heat of his skin. God, I made this all weird.

  We enter the house. Blaire, Leyla, and Sophia are in the living room with Arden and Carter. I could use them as an excuse.

  “Hi,” I greet them.

  “See you later,” Beacon says, waving at them and pulling me toward the stairs. Okay, he’s not going to let me delay the conversation.

  He shuts the door, locks it, and leans his hip against the handle while he looks at me. “Why did you run away?”

  To anyone else, I can lie. I could argue that he’s wrong. He knows me too well to even try. I’d lose the argument.

  “The kiss was too much,” I answer.

  He gives me a satisfied grin. He met his goal. He wanted to fluster me.

  “Do you understand what this can do to our friendship?” I ask, confused at his laid-back posture.

  Beacon is truly relaxed. Nothing about this worries him, and here I am, almost chewing my nails down and trying to keep my breathing even.

  “You can’t think it’s okay to kiss me like I’m your first meal in ages. Leaving me breathless,” I argue. “It’s too much, and for what? So you can send me packing after this experiment is over. Do you think it’ll be easy to search for someone else after you let me go?”

  “Who told you I’m letting you go
, G?”

  His possessive voice makes my stomach flutter. I stare at him, dumbfounded.

  “We…” I sigh. Is that a real question?

  He’s kidding, right?

  “There are many reasons why we couldn’t work out in the long run, Beacon. I don’t know about you, but I need you in my life.”

  He rubs his hands, probably warming them up. It’s so cold outside, and he’s only wearing a sweater.

  He watches me intently for several beats. I need to know what’s on his mind. Something is bugging him. Either he’s afraid to share it or—no, afraid isn’t the right word. God, I hate when he closes himself up and doesn’t let me into his mind.

  “It’s obvious that you’re out of my league, Beacon.” I change strategies. There are many ways to break his walls. Two can play this mind game. “You are billions of years ahead of me when it comes to the relationship world—even when you don’t date. Other women might be fine with those kinds of kisses, but to me…”

  I can’t finish the sentence because I don’t even understand what I’m trying to say. Kiss me again because I need more? Give me a kiss that lasts—and lasts forever. That thought, those words surprise me because I shouldn’t want more of him, and yet, I feel like I have denied myself an essential necessity.

  Him.

  No, you’re just lusting because he’s a good kisser and nothing more.

  “This was supposed to be helpful and educational. What if I fall in love with you? I can’t just move on and try to find another guy.”

  He arches an eyebrow. “Have you noticed you’re talking in circles?”

  “You flustered me, and if you grin again, I’ll wipe it from your face.”

  “Anger,” he says, pressing his lips together. “You are confused as fuck.”

  I could ask why he’s so chill, but I know the answer. This isn’t affecting him at all.

  “The guys and I think it’ll be best if they buy or rent a property where you can stay while you’re around,” he says, not even acknowledging what I tried to tell him. “Maybe you can give Mills a hand with Arden during the day. Pierce is trying to amend the part where we can’t hire anyone to help us, unless you’re still working on the Bryant case.”

  He’s already moving on to the planning stage. We haven’t agreed on my plan, which is a bad idea to begin with.

  “Did you hear me?”

  “Loud and clear,” he responds, shoving his hands inside his pockets and balancing his weight from one foot to the other. “You have a list. There’s a plan. We need to proceed.”

  “It was a mistake. I’ll figure this out with—”

  “Don’t say someone else,” he says, his eyes flaring with anger. “You made that list for a reason. You thought about me because you trust me. I will take care of you. I always put you before anyone else—even myself.”

  “When this ends, it won’t affect you, will it?”

  He saunters toward me, cradles my face, and I’m starting to love the way he does it. So delicate and loving. The adoring way his eyes look at me makes my heart skip. “Maybe this is our chance to write something new. This is our chance to create something so imperfect, messy, colorful, and fulfilling that will be ours. If it only lasts a few songs, that’ll be enough to fulfill me for a lifetime.”

  “Those are serious words, Beac,” I mumble, unable to look away. “Lyrics of a love song that might end in a heartbreak.”

  He sweeps my lips with his and kisses the tip of my nose. “Hearts are made to beat, to love, and sometimes they break. But they mend and love again. If you break my heart, I’ll survive.”

  Beacon kisses my temple, then my jaw, finally my bottom lip. He nips it lightly with his teeth. Then his arms wrap me into an embrace where it is just us. Everything that I swore to erase and forget about us finally comes out floating to the surface.

  He might survive a heartbreak, but can I?

  Chapter Seventeen

  Beacon

  There are times when talking to Grace needs a particular skill. She needs logic. I don’t want to lie to her, but I don’t want to come out too strong.

  I’m not sure how she’ll react when I say, “I love you. I’ve loved you for years.”

  She’s going to want an explanation about my behavior for the past eleven years. I’m not ready for that. When she says she can’t have a relationship, she’s not kidding. Grace only opens up to the people she knows, which makes it impossible to get past the second date because she’s a closed book. I feel for the fuckers that’ve tried and failed.

  Here’s the thing; they aren’t patient with her.

  She might go out on a date every other week, but she doesn’t like to deal with feelings. Because of that, she’s not well-versed in intimacy. She needs to warm up to people, and as I always say, those assholes she’s dated are impatient as fuck. They seek immediate gratification. That’s never going to happen with Grace. She needs to be emotionally invested to let anyone in.

  Has anyone realized that she fears three things?

  Emotional entanglements, people, and failure.

  Hence her dating life sucks. My Grace needs someone who is patient and willing to learn how her mind, soul, and heart work.

  Or…she can stay with me forever. I have ample knowledge on all things Grace related.

  I don’t know how I’m going to handle the end when our time is over. It’s going to be hard as fuck to let her go. For now, I’ll focus on the present. I’m going to give her everything I have.

  No holding back.

  No reservations.

  No restrictions.

  And rules be damned.

  That’s how I kiss her. Surrendering myself and my feelings. When the intensity of the kiss is about to break my self-control, I stop.

  Though I’d love to do more than kiss the fuck out of her, I stop devouring her and work on evening my breathing.

  “Please?” I add to the speech I gave her before I tried to suck her soul and steal her heart.

  “How is this supposed to work?”

  “Trust me, G,” I plead.

  “Maybe I don’t trust myself,” she whispers in a low, raspy, sexy voice that sends logic flying out of the room.

  I slant my mouth to hers and kiss the fuck out of her. I tease, taste, and claim her with my mouth. Her tongue meets mine, matching stroke for stroke. I lower my hands to her body and unzip her parka, pushing it out of the way. Something overtakes me. Desire surpasses reasoning. I have to have her. I need her.

  Desperately, we begin to peel each other’s clothes. Fuck, she’s so beautiful. I run a finger along the soft skin of her throat, my lips follow right behind. I trace the outline of her breast.

  “Beac,” she whispers.

  “Do you want me to stop, G?”

  “No. Yes.” She exhales harshly. “I don’t know. This is happening too fast.”

  I pull her into a hug, pressing her bare skin against mine. I had no idea how much I had missed her until now.

  “This isn’t what I came for,” she mumbles. “I just needed to know that you were okay.”

  “There’s also the list,” I remind her, sliding my hand down her spine.

  “It’s a bad idea?”

  “The list or what we could be doing right now?”

  I love that instead of pushing me away, she rests her head on my shoulder. Her arms are wrapped around my body and her hands rest on the elastic of my boxer briefs. I could persuade her and continue kissing her. Get reacquainted with her beautiful body.

  Today isn’t the day to make love to her. She’s not even ready to proceed with her idea. If I make a mistake, this is over before it begins. I don’t have the luxury of losing her when she’s so close I can taste her.

  “Go home, pack your stuff, and I should have everything ready when you come back, okay?” I say, making the decision for both of us. It’s not only her. I’m not in the right place to take this step. There’s a lot of stuff we have to clear before we can be like this agai
n. “I’ll take you on a date when you’re back.”

  “Should I remind you that I need more than just a date,” she states. “Today doesn’t count.”

  I chuckle. She’s sobering up from the kiss. “Of course, you do. We’ll tackle that list while we date.”

  “Are you serious about it? We’re dating?” She lifts her chin. Her gray eyes, filled with desire, stare at me confused.

  “We are going steady.” I wink at her, picking up her long sleeve shirt. “We are doing this old school. I might even serenade you.”

  “Okay?” I hate the hesitation and fear in her voice.

  “Do you trust me, G?”

  “Stop asking me that question,” she says with annoyance while we’re getting dressed. “You know that I do.”

  “Then stop doubting me,” I state, trying to keep myself from arguing that she’s the one who came to me and opened the doors to having some sort of relationship.

  Now, she doubts that this will work. She doubts me.

  I should be hurt. I could tell her how I feel. How I’ve felt for years. I don’t. It has to come organically—when she’s ready. At some point during this exercise, she’s going to learn that I never joke when I tell her I’m hers. That I’ll be by her side forever.

  She’ll understand that every time I say, “I’m yours, you make me happy, you’re all I need,” it’s the gospel truth.

  This year I’m taking time off to finally have what I need.

  Who I need.

  “Operation, Get G Out of the Loser Slump starts now.”

  “That’s a ridiculous name,” she complains.

  I kiss the top of her head and hug her tight one last time before letting her go.

  “Come on, let’s go downstairs. I assume Seth wants to leave right about now.”

  “You know him. He can only be social for so long.”

  Seth is not an introvert, but like his sister, he avoids social gatherings with strangers. The youngest one of the Bradleys is the social butterfly.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Beacon