by Lucy Score
“Alone at last,” Beckett said, his voice was low and dangerous. Gia told herself the goose bumps that cropped up everywhere were from the chilly evening air.
He dug his car keys out of his pocket. “Come on.”
She followed him back to his SUV, careful to stay just out of reach in case any prying eyes from the house were watching. Settling onto the leather of his passenger seat, Gia willed herself to relax. Just because she was in love with Beckett didn’t mean things had to change.
As soon as the interior lights went out, Beckett’s hand found her thigh. They passed the house and bumped along behind the little barn on the well-worn path. And once they were out of sight, his hand slid higher, finding the top of her thigh high.
The quiet rumble in his chest told her he approved. Gia bit her lip as his fingers dragged the skirt of her dress an inch higher so he could stroke bare skin. The pads of his fingers trailed fire over her flesh.
How could something as benign as the stroke of his thumb consume her? Was this desire laced with love?
Gia shivered and took a shaky breath. In the headlights, the barn loomed in front of them. Dark and isolated.
26
The blood pounded through Beckett’s veins as he pulled her inside, carelessly flipping on light switches as they went.
“Wait! I didn’t get the tape measure,” Gianna frowned, resisting his pull.
But he had other plans.
Beckett, his jaw set, dragged her up the new staircase at the far end of the barn. “What are we doing up here?” Gianna asked. “Aren’t we supposed to be —”
Her question was cut off when Beckett yanked her into his arms. Off-balance, she slammed into his chest.
“I can’t stand not being able to touch you.” His voice was jagged and rough. “It’s fucking torture. First at lunch and then at Carter’s. I need to touch you.”
“Please touch me, Beckett.”
He swore. She was begging him and he wasn’t going to be able to stop. They were safer upstairs than they were down, but if someone were to start up the stairs they’d get an eyeful.
He half dragged, half carried her into the door-less restroom on the other side of the bar. The double vanity had been installed and Beckett sent up a prayer of thanks that they hadn’t gone with floating sinks. He dropped Gianna on the counter between the two sinks.
She came alive under his hands. His palms dove into the top of her wrap dress to free her breasts. That dress had been on his mind since he spotted her in the crowd at the luncheon. Sedate enough to be professional, but with a very loud hint at what lay hidden beneath. He pushed away the cups of her bra, and spread the material, baring her to his touch.
“God, let me taste you,” he breathed, skimming his lips across her delicate collar bone and lower to where his hot breath made her nipples strain.
“Please, Beckett,” she whimpered.
He drew one of the taut peaks into his mouth and began to suck. She wrestled with his belt and the zipper on his pants. His long deep pulls at her breast had her fingers fumbling again and again until finally she was able to shove his trousers down just enough.
He groaned against her sensitive skin as her fingers encircled his thick shaft. How could a man want so fiercely? There was nothing that would make him stop.
He released her breast, pressing a wet kiss to the other one and with a deft yank, tore her underwear from her.
“Now, Beckett. Please, now,” she chanted, pumping his cock in her hand.
He spread her knees as wide as they would go and hooked the heel of each of her shoes in the sinks to anchor her open.
She leaned back, hands bracing against the wall and counter and he again marveled at her flexibility.
“Now, baby.” Aligning himself with her wet center, he slammed into her, claiming her. Nothing would stand between them here. He wouldn’t let it. He belonged inside her, buried in her depths.
He held back just long enough so she could adjust to his size before pulling out and driving back into her. It was going to be fast, but fast was what he needed.
His gaze was drawn to her breasts as they trembled with each thrust.
Her whimpers of need drove him crazy. Every time he touched her he felt like he was losing another piece of himself. But he didn’t care, because he was getting a piece of her in return.
Sheathed inside her, he was home. This wasn’t something he could hide anymore. He belonged to Gianna and she belonged to him. He felt the change in her, felt her sliding closer and closer to the edge.
He adjusted the angle just slightly and it was enough to have her head dropping back against the mirror in silent ecstasy.
“You guys in here?”
They both heard the call from below. Carter.
Gia tensed, but it was too late for them to stop. He could feel the first tremor of her release as she tightened around him. He clamped a hand over her mouth. Leaning over, he brought his forehead to hers. And staring into each other’s eyes they came together. A wave breaking, an explosion of pleasure. He stared into Gia’s green eyes and gave her another piece of his soul.
“Hello?” Carter called again. The door clicked closed behind him when he exited to search outside.
But neither of them heard him. They were lost in each other.
Guilt and shame painted Gia’s face as she practically flew off of the counter, straightening her dress. “Oh my God! What were we thinking?” She frantically shoved her bra back in place. “Carter almost caught us.”
Beckett took his time tucking his shirt back in and righting his pants. He looked at his reflection and frowned. “Can guys have sex hair?”
“Beckett, be serious! I didn’t even bring my phone in here. What if something had happened to one of the kids and they couldn’t reach me because …”
“Because what?”
“Because I was being selfish and sneaking around having sex when I’m supposed to be helping my friend decorate for her wedding. I’m using my other friend as a baby-sitter while I have a tryst with my … my…”
“Your what?”
“Whatever you are!” She covered her face with her hands. “Beckett, I’m acting like a lovesick teenager. I can’t be sneaking around like this. I’m a mother.”
“Red, I hate to tell you this, but my mom and dad did a lot of sneaking around when we were living at home. Just because you have kids doesn’t mean you have to give up everything else.”
“Your parents were your parents. They were married and everyone knew it. We’re just … sleeping together.”
“We’re not just sleeping together, Gianna.” Beckett kept his tone cool and level even though he felt like yelling some sense into her. How could she regret what they shared? How could she feel guilt from it?
Gianna shoved the skirt of her dress back down and pulled her hair back into a ponytail. She brought her hands to her flushed cheeks.
“What if Carter had come upstairs?” she asked, ignoring his statement.
He grabbed her by the shoulders. “What has you so worked up?”
She stared up at him, eyes wide and full. “You matter to me, Beckett. And this sneaking around feels like … it feels like it diminishes what you make me feel.” She shook her head. “I need to think. I’m going to go check on the kids.”
Beckett’s hands slid from her shoulders to his sides. “You matter to me, too, Gianna.” So much more than he ever anticipated. There was no planning for something as unexpected as Gianna Decker.
“I know I do. But I need to think about this, about us. Sneaking around behind everyone’s backs, it doesn’t make me feel … healthy. Or valuable.”
“What are you saying?” Beckett asked, panic gripping his gut.
She brought a hand to his chest. “I’m only saying that I want to get things straight in my head. I want to talk it out with you, but not here. Now isn’t the time or the place obviously,” she smiled weakly.
She held up the crumpled list Summer had given he
r. “Will you get all these measurements for Summer? Please? I need to go see the kids.”
Beckett didn’t trust himself to answer and only gave her a curt nod.
She whispered a thanks and hurried through the door and down the staircase, leaving Beckett to stare at his reflection. Her moods changed like wildfire. One second she was an untamed temptress driving him to new heights of pleasure and the next she was a desolate girl in need of solace.
Predictable she was not, nor logical. His lips quirked recalling Evan’s barely disguised insults about Gianna and her emotional decision making.
And now, she wanted space to think. She wanted a change, and rightfully so. But if she were to reason her way out of their relationship … well, he wasn’t about to let that happen.
By the time he collected all the measurements on Summer’s list and scoped out the newly laid patio for fireplace potential — there was room and they should have thought of it before — he had worked up a good steam of mad. Rather than calmly talking out her concerns, she went straight to I need some time.
She kept the fairy garden he gave her on the table next to her bed, which made it the first thing she saw every morning and the last thing she saw at night. This wasn’t just some fling and she knew it.
“I need some time,” he mimicked. “You matter to me Beckett. I need some time to decide to dump you. Let me meditate about it or maybe I’ll flip a coin. And now let me run out of here without a flashlight so I can fall down in a ditch and hurt myself.”
Yeah, he was good and mad. He wasn’t about to be ousted from their relationship without a fight.
Gia hurried down the dark gravel drive from the brewery to the stables. Relief flooded her when she heard Aurora’s giggle and Jax’s amused voice inside.
“That’s it, Ev,” Joey called. “Really nice.”
Gia plastered on a happy face before stepping up to the fence. Evan, in a black riding helmet, was posting pretty as you please on the back of a gray horse as it trotted around the ring.
“Awesome,” Joey said. “Now bring her down to a walk.” She watched with careful eyes as Evan used the reins to neatly slow the mare’s pace. He came to a halt in front of Joey and the grin on his face was balm to Gia’s heart.
He spotted her, standing on the bottom rung of the fence and started to wave but stopped. “What’s wrong?” he demanded.
So much for my happy face, Gia thought wryly.
“Nothing,” she called brightly. “I’m just really impressed. Are you sure you haven’t been skipping school and sneaking over here to ride?”
She could see the pride in his shoulders, but his eyes remained wary.
“You sure everything’s okay?”
Damn her intuitive kid. “Everything’s good. Really good.”
“Mama! Look at me!” Aurora squealed from the opposite end of the massive ring. Jax was leading her around on a white and gray pony that pranced and swished her tail.
“Wow! What am I going to do with two equestrians?” Gia laughed.
“Can I have a pony, Mama?”
“Thanks a lot, Joey,” Gia rolled her eyes.
Joey grinned. “You can visit Princess anytime, Roar.”
“Yay! Princess, did you hear dat?” Aurora leaned forward a little too zealously to pat Princess’s neck, but Jax was there to right her before she slipped.
“Don’t you have a slightly shorter steed?” Gia asked weakly.
“Yeah, but she’s a goat,” Jax said with a grin. “And she’s evil.”
“Cwementine! She’s so funny,” Aurora giggled. “She eats shirts. Demon hell spawn!”
They all froze, eyes on Aurora, who was too busy cooing at Princess to the notice the attention.
Jax looked guiltily in Gia’s direction. “She may have been within earshot of me when Clementine attacked.”
“I thought Beckett was kidding about that,” Gia said, covering her mouth.
Evan shook his head. “Oh, it happened. And it was pretty awesome. Beckett got video on his phone.”
Jax gave Evan a mock glare across the ring. “You watch it, kid, because I’ll feed you to her next chance I get.”
“What have I exposed my children to?” Gia asked the heavens.
Joey told Evan to take a lap walking with his mount and strolled over to Gia, her long legs eating up the sawdust between them. “He’s good,” she told her. “Really good. You should think about formal lessons for him if he’s into it.”
Gia looked at her son’s face as he ambled past. Serious, but with that unmistakable sparkle usually reserved for video game victories. She sent him an air high-five that he returned.
“I’ve got a group class of kids his age twice a week. I could catch him up to them with a few private lessons and then he could join the group,” Joey suggested, watching Evan’s form and calling out a correction here and there. She turned her attention back to Gia. “He’s like, really good. I think this could be his thing.”
Gia felt the warm glow of pride spread through her. “I’ll talk to him and see if he’s into it. I’d love to sign him up.”
Joey nodded. “Good. Now you don’t want to talk or anything about why your face looked like you ran over a litter of kittens when you came in, right?”
Gia shook her head guiltily. More secrets, she supposed. “No. I’m good, thanks.”
Joey looked marginally relieved. “Good,” she said again. “Because I’m pretty sure the only thing that can put a look like that on a woman’s face is a Pierce.” She shot a dark look at Jax’s back.
Gia shredded the lettuce with a little more force than necessary in Carter’s kitchen. She’d returned to the farmhouse with Jax, Joey, and the kids, and Phoebe had put her to work on a salad to go with the soon-to-arrive pizza. Carter had taken a break from his invoices to turn on the lights in the front paddock for the kids to play with Dixie and Hamlet before dinner.
Summer had nailed down the wedding menu with Franklin and only given her an odd look when Gia told her that Beckett was finishing up the measurements in the barn.
“You know what’s funny?” Carter said quietly as he leaned against the counter next to Gia. “I went up to the barn to help you guys and I couldn’t find you.”
Gia felt her face go fire engine red. “Uh …”
“You look like you could use a beer,” he said. “How about I get you one?”
Gia could only nod her head. He so knew what she’d been doing.
God. What had she been thinking? She had guilt and just-had-sex written on her forehead. She was an adult, a mother, a business owner. She should know better.
She heard the front door slam and angry footsteps in the hallway. Ignoring the greetings from his family, Beckett burst into the kitchen in a cloud of pissed off. His gaze locked on to Gia’s still pink face and he started toward her with the purpose of a charging bull.
She backed up a pace and was debating about skirting around the other side of the island when he caught her. His warm hands closed like clamps on her arms.
She shook her head. She wasn’t ready for this, was he?
He dragged her to her toes and kissed her fiercely on the mouth. The thoughts flew out of her mind, breath leaving her body. He kissed her and she tasted anger, possession, and something else. Something dark and sweet.
Before she realized what was happening, he’d pulled away.
“Gianna and I are seeing each other,” he announced briskly without taking his eyes off of her.
Gia caught a glimpse of the reactions around the kitchen. Jax was frozen with his beer halfway to his mouth. Franklin looked dazed holding the spatula while Phoebe’s mouth formed a perfect “o”. Carter and Summer were grinning like idiots.
Joey strolled in from the powder room and surveyed the scene. “What did I miss?”
Beckett towed Gia toward the door. “We’re telling the kids. Enough with this sneaking around.”
It was quiet enough in the kitchen to hear the spoon that Phoebe dropped s
trike the floor as the door slammed behind them.
“Beckett, what the hell was that?”
He rounded on her. Toe to toe in the drive he was braced for battle. “I’m tired of sneaking around, Gianna. And you should be, too. What we have isn’t some fling, some secret affair. It’s fucking real.”
“I know it’s fucking real, Beckett.”
She saw the beginnings of a smile play across his lips. “But damn it, it’s our decision to make whether or not we tell people about us. Not yours.”
“Don’t you want to tell the kids?” Like the flip of a switch, he was back to angry now.
She threw her hands up. “Of course I want to tell them. I’ve been dying to tell them. I’ve started to tell them a hundred times this week alone. They’re starting to think I’m even crazier than they already do.”
“Then why are you so mad?”
“Because I wanted to be part of this decision. I was working on a speech to convince you. With logic and everything. And you ruined it by going all lone cowboy in there and kissing the crap out of me.”
“Red,” he cupped a hand to her face. “Sweetheart, you don’t have to convince me. I already know.”
“What do you know?” she asked stubbornly.
He stepped in on her and brought his forehead to hers. “I know that you care about me.” He clapped a hand over her mouth when she started to protest. “And I know that I’m head over heels for you, Gianna. You are never out of my head. I want us to be an official us.”
“What about Evan and Aurora?” Gia didn’t want to leave anything left unsaid before she let her hopes rocket into the stratosphere.
“You’re a package deal and a damn good one. Your kids are one of the best pieces of you.”
“You want to be with me … with all of us?” Gia asked breathlessly. Her mind was spinning.
“Yeah. And you want to be with me,” he nodded. “I’m tired of playing hide and seek, ducking around corners. I want everyone to know that you’re mine and I’m yours.”
“I’d still like to have been part of that decision before you devoured my face in front of our parents.”