Call You Mine

by Claudia Burgoa

  “It’s not that simple,” Beacon answers. “We’re being proactive, not reactive. Next week, we’re going to install security all over town. Every establishment is getting an upgrade. Henry is visiting each business as we speak.”

  “Is that even legal?” Mane frowns.

  “My family owns the buildings. We had Pierce look into the lease contracts. They have a clause that allows us to make any improvements without the permission of the tenant.”

  “Do your brothers know what we’re doing?” Langdon inquiries.

  “Only the basics,” I explain. “We don’t want them to worry about any speculation.”

  “And Vance?” he questions.

  “He knows more because he’s concerned about it too,” Beacon answers. “Listen, while you’re working here, be invisible. I don’t want the town to notice any of you. If I see anyone on the fucking Twitter feed, you’re going to be sent to the H-I-B bodyguard division and work with celebrities. I’ll make sure they assign you the most annoying asshole.”

  “You?” Seth jokes.

  “Fuck you!”

  “The equipment arrives tomorrow,” Seth takes over. “If you have any questions about your role, ask now. For those staying at The Lodge, this isn’t a vacation. Everyone else, make sure to follow protocol.”

  Half of his team is leaving Baker’s Creek immediately. Their mission is to spy on these guys and get back to us with their whereabouts—or give us a heads up if they’re heading to Oregon.

  “The most important thing is that we finish this with zero casualties. Meeting adjourned,” Beacon says.

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Grace

  Monday is the day Mills takes Arden to Happy Springs, where they have a Mommy and Me class. He spends the rest of the day with him. His schedule is flexible enough that Arden doesn’t miss him. But now that his knee is better, thanks to Hayes, he wants to go back to skating.

  That’s why he’s happy that I’m going to be here. I’m not sure how to tell him that I don’t plan to stick around for the rest of the year. It might be easier to break the news to him than to Beacon, though.

  Leyla only works in the morning. Since I wouldn’t be able to be with Carter until noon, Pierce said he’d take the day off to be with him.

  “I feel like a slacker. I came to take care of your nephews, and I had to excuse myself on the first day.” I laugh.

  “No, you came to be with me. You’re doing them a favor,” Beacon rectifies my statement. “But since it’s for their protection, I think it’s fine that you took the day off.”

  We’re approaching the Baker’s Creek exit when he asks, “What do you want to do? We could go to Portland.”

  “No. Why don’t you walk me through a day in the life of Beacon? When I visit it is usually over the weekend, or you ask someone to cover for you.”

  He grins. “It’s around eleven. That means I texted you about five times already. It’s Monday, and today I’m scheduled to work at The Lodge.”

  “What do you do there?”

  “I usually work at the front desk. When I piss off Henry, I get sent to one of the restaurants. I usually end up washing the dishes since I’m not allowed to cook, and I’m a shitty waiter—according to the manager.”

  “We used to waiter at that restaurant close to Central Park during college. What gives?”

  He chuckles. “That was fun. I don’t miss the stuffy uniform. That’s not the point. I don’t want them to know that I can do it.”

  “So, you’re always washing dishes instead,” I say, laughing.

  “What can I say? Henry gets irritated easily. It upsets him that I’m not willing to learn new things. How am I supposed to manage The Lodge if I don’t know the difference between a fucking salad fork and a table fork?”

  He pauses, looks at me briefly, and says with a grumpy voice, “Do you know there are fourteen kinds of forks? I’m lucky we only use two types.”

  “You need to stop teasing your brother.”

  “Well, if you want, we can work at The Lodge for the remainder of the day. I promise to behave. But hear me out, there’s a second option.”

  “Ooh, goodie, what else can you offer other than pissing off your brother so we can wash an unlimited number of dishes?” I laugh. “Do you have any idea how ridiculous that sounds?”

  “How many times do I have to explain to you it is about having fun? Life is short. I’d rather look back and say, ‘I had a fucking awesome life’ rather than ‘I wasted it in nonsense.’”

  “It’s a bit crazy that your nonsense is logical.”

  “Which is why option number two should be our goal of the day.” He pauses. “We’re going through your list.”

  “You’d like that, wouldn’t you, Mr. Aldridge?” I say in a sultry voice.

  “You’ve no idea, babe.” He grabs my hand and kisses my knuckles. “I’m wondering what a guy has to do to get to number five.”

  I snatch back my hand. “That’s personal.”

  “I’ll make it personal to figure out what you need in and out of bed.” His intense voice shoots a dose of desire along my body.

  “There are four items before that one,” I remind him, trying to control the lust.

  “Kissing is a top priority. You’re improving, but we definitely need to keep going with the list.”

  “I’m improving?” My voice comes out appalled.

  “We are improving,” he corrects himself. “My theory is that kissing has to do with both parties. I don’t think I’ve ever kissed anyone the way I do you. Then again, I’ve never wanted anyone as I want you—ever.”

  The feeling is mutual. Last night while we kissed, my mind worked hard to stay in the moment while my body wanted a lot more than just kisses and caresses.

  “We’re practicing flirting,” he continues. “I think dirty talk could be included during those ‘search for the G-spot’ sessions. You can tell me how you want me to touch you. Maybe between your long, toned, beautiful legs. I bet you’ll be so wet and hot for me. Fuck, I can’t wait to mark you as mine. I’ll be deep inside you ordering you to come for me.”

  The way he says those things, with a low, commanding voice, makes me hot. I want to reach between my legs and touch myself until I come. Better yet, I want him to do it with those long, calloused fingers of his.

  “Tell me what you’re thinking, G,” he orders.

  “I…”

  “You want me?”

  “Yes.” I almost moan.

  “Say it. Tell me how you imagine me touching you. Do you want my cock in your mouth?”

  I lick my lips and groan. “Yes, I want to feel it in my mouth, inside me.”

  “If you’re a good girl, I’ll let you suck me dry.”

  This is driving me crazy. I want him to park the car so he can touch me. Make the ache disappear and replace it with pleasure. I want to mount him and ride him.

  The phone rings. It’s Henry. “Yo?”

  “We need you at The Lodge,” he answers. Beacon grunts. “Kid, we need help with the lunch rush. I only have one waiter. Can you do this for me?”

  “I can teach him how to do it, Henry. I used to wait tables back in college.”

  Beacon glares at me.

  “I owe you one, Grace. Thank you.” Henry hangs up the phone.

  “G, I’m hard as a rock. I was hoping we’d go to my place and do something different. Not serve tables for the next couple of hours.”

  I grin. “I could offer you a blow job, but it’s not on my list. Sorry.”

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Beacon

  Having Grace in Baker’s Creek makes it harder for me to separate my life in Seattle and my life here. I learned to do that when I was a teenager. It was easier to convince myself that the brotherhood only lasted a week. Grace is forever.

  The lines between one and the other become a total blur as the minutes pass. It’s like now I’m living in one reality that includes the life I couldn’t have and the one I
was gifted. When I was a kid, I didn’t realize what my grandparents had given me: a big, loud, and loving family.

  “Look at Henry. He’s smiling,” G says as we wait for our orders to be up. “I think he likes teaching you. Maybe he feels like he has a second chance to take care of you. You should give him a chance.”

  “I love you, but you’re a pain in the ass, Bradley.” I kiss the top of her head when the chef says, “Order up.”

  The lunch rush lasts until three. Henry doesn’t leave until there are only a few customers in the dining room.

  “So much for ‘It’s Monday, it won’t be that bad,’” Grace says, taking off the black apron with The Lodge logo that Henry gave her when we arrived.

  “It’s ski season,” I remind her. “This was quiet compared to what we get on Thursday or Friday. Let’s not talk about the weekend.”

  Between the festivals, ski season, and the fame the restaurants are acquiring, the place is full from the time we open until midnight when we close. I have to give it to Henry. Without changing the name of The Lodge, the place has become a success.

  Around four, when the shift ends, I send a message to the group chat.

  Beacon: Taking my woman on a date. Don’t bother me.

  Pierce: We have to have dinner together.

  Beacon: Pretend I’m there.

  Henry: It’s too quiet to pretend.

  Mills: Aw, look at Henry trying to make a joke.

  Henry: :middle finger emoji:

  Sophia: Can you make sure Grace is here tomorrow morning? We have a board meeting at the factory.

  I groan.

  “What’s the matter?” G asks, eyeing my phone. “We don’t want to have a meeting?”

  “We don’t,” I admit. “What should I say?”

  “I’ll be there first thing in the morning.”

  “You’ll be there late at night too.” I wink at her. “You might need coffee to stay awake because I might not let you sleep.”

  I open the door of my truck and help her get inside.

  The phone rings a second later. It’s Leyla.

  “Yep?”

  “You left your cat in the house.”

  “Mozzy,” I correct her.

  “You left an unattended cat in the house,” she rectifies.

  “Okay?” I frown, opening the driver’s door and looking at Grace. “Is Mozzy okay?”

  “Your cat scratched Buster,” she says. “Daisy ate from the litter box. I…we can’t have a cat in the house.”

  “Did Mozzy scratch Buster before or after your dog tried to eat him?”

  “There might’ve been some chasing,” she confesses. “I just think we should’ve introduced them before leaving him to wander around the house.”

  “I told you that on Saturday. You said, ‘We’ll do it later.’”

  “That meant, ‘don’t to bring him until we’re ready.’”

  “What do you want us to do?”

  She growls. “I don’t know. Let me research because it’s not fair to kick the cat out because Buster thinks he’s a big rodent.”

  “Fuck, I forgot your dog likes to hunt.”

  “As I said, let me research, okay?”

  “You’re a queen,” I say, hoping she doesn’t suggest we take our cat somewhere else.

  Mozart can’t go to sleep by himself. I could move him to the studio, but I’d have to stay with him, and I can’t. My family doesn’t know it, but I have a few agents staying underground.

  “I know you want to skip dinner,” Leyla continues, “but you have to be a responsible parent and come watch your child.”

  “If I needed someone to cockblock me, I’d have invited the Bradleys to stay.”

  Leyla laughs. “Have I told you that you’re a brave man? If any of your brothers had an in-law as scary as Grace’s dad…well, none of them would be married. Anyway, get your cute butt and your gorgeous girlfriend back home. You can organize a date night when your cat knows how to behave.”

  “My cat knows how to behave. Your dog needs to learn the difference between an intellectual feline and a rat. See you in five,” I sigh.

  “Everything okay?” Grace asks.

  I nod, turn on the engine, and catch her up on everything that happened at home while driving to the mansion. Between Mason Bradley, Vance fucking up, and Mozzy attacking Buster, I’m never going to have a fucking date with Grace.

  I park in the garage, swoop her from her seat, and place her on my lap, kissing her hard. “Are you okay if our date plans have changed to family dinner and pet watch?”

  “There’s plenty of time, Beac,” she assures me, wiggling her ass on top of my very hard cock. “This isn’t a marathon. Dating is not at the top of my list.”

  “Grace, don’t tempt me because I won’t be able to control myself tonight.”

  She opens the car door, jumps out, and asks, “Is that a promise?”

  We spend the evening with my family. When it’s time for everyone to head to bed, Grace and I go to my room. This time I carry the cello from the studio to my bedroom. She’s so fucking sexy when she plays it.

  I choose to play the violin since I can’t have a piano or a drum set up here. The atmosphere in the room thickens as the intensity of the music we play increases. As time passes, we begin to undress. It’s slow. First my shirt—it’s too fucking hot. Grace takes off her sweater. Her white tank top is loose, and she’s not wearing anything underneath.

  Fuck, I want to grab her, pin her against the wall, and thrust inside her.

  Grasping the little self-control I have, I continue to play. It’s the first time Grace is conscious about what the notes between my instrument and hers are doing. They’re making love with one another, fusing, bonding.

  We could do this all night, but I get to a point where I’m burning on the inside. This is the first time she’s bared her soul to me. I want to get tangled inside her body, her soul.

  My desire for her is consuming me. I can’t hold on any longer. I put down the violin, grab her cello, and pull her toward me. I hold her by the waist and kiss her hard, so fucking hard I’m devouring her.

  I push her against the wall. Gripping her wrists, I lift her arms and press them above her. I proceed to retake her mouth. This is overdue. I’m not sure if I’m speaking about the kiss, the music we just created, or this moment.

  “Beac,” she moans my name, rocking her hips against mine.

  “What do you want, G?”

  “Everything. I swear if you say we should stop, I’ll kill you.”

  I chuckle, nestling my face down the side of her face, kissing her as I make my way along the delicate skin of her throat. “But you have a list.”

  “Fuck the list,” she says. “I’ve been thinking about having you in my mouth since you mentioned it earlier. The ache you provoke has lingered since this afternoon. Make it go away.”

  “Your wish is my command,” I tease her, nibbling the top of her breasts. This tank top has been fucking teasing me since we started playing. I want to rip it off, just like I want to do with all her clothes. “Are you fucking sure about this, Grace?”

  “I’ve never been surer about something in my life,” she assures me. “Don’t make me beg. It’s been too long.”

  I don’t know what she’s talking about. The time we’ve been apart or since the last time she was with anyone? I refuse to ask. I assume it’s about me—us.

  “Make the ache go away.”

  Bending, I press my mouth against hers. My teeth fidget with her bottom lip. My hands slide down to her waist. They push through the elastic of her leggings. Fuck. The surge, just from touching her flawless skin, makes my cock hard as granite.

  This wasn’t part of the plan. Woo her, make sure she wants to be with you, and then you can feast on her.

  Does it matter the order?

  This is what she wants. Now. I’ll take my time getting to know every inch of her gorgeous body later. We have a lifetime to do everything on her list and a
dd more to it. We’ll get to know everything we don’t know about each other, in bed and outside of it too. I want to share everything with her.

  Today, I’ll ask her to be mine. Soon, I’ll ask her to become my wife. There’s no other way. After today, I won’t be able to let her go. With all the patience I can muster, I start undressing her. Everything I do is with a slow rhythm, like a love ballad.

  “You’re gorgeous,” I whisper after I’m done unwrapping her like a present given by the gods.

  The best, most exclusive gift a person could ever claim. Her eyes look at me expectantly. She’s biting her lower lip. I can’t resist and nibble it too before kissing her. As our lips latch onto each other, we move toward my bed—tongues dancing. They hustle in a tango that ends with Grace in the center of the bed.

  Her intense gaze locks with mine. Fuck, I’m not going to last. It’s been too long. One thrust and this is going to be over.

  “What are you thinking?”

  “I’m admiring your beauty.” I wink at her.

  Leaning closer to her, I use my pinky finger to pull down her panties. I’m extra careful, making sure her insulin pump doesn’t disconnect. I kiss the clef tattoo on her left hip, and feather kisses on each musical note around it. Once I’m done, I look at her. This is a dream come true. Grace in my bed, legs spread, and wanting me.

  I kneel in front of her and slide the tips of my fingers up her thighs, following them with my lips. I am about to reach her core but move backward.

  “Beacon, don’t tease me, or I swear you’ll pay for it.”

  “I’m not,” I say playfully. “I just want to make sure that every inch of you gets the right attention.”

  “Just remember, tit for tat,” she threatens me.

  “Really?” I laugh. “So, I get your tits in exchange for what tat?” I mumble against her skin as my thumb slides up and down her core.

  She pushes her hips against my hand. I take it away. “Patience, G,” I whisper, replacing my fingers with my tongue.

  The taste of her is addictive. I want her so fucking much. I devour her delicious pussy while I slide a finger inside her. It’s so fucking hard to control myself. I want this to last, for her to enjoy every second as I enjoy her.