Beau's Redemption

by Royal Blue

  “Thank God,” I drawl out.

  I enter the showers to find Angel under the spray, standing the exact same way I found him that first night: his head bent between his shoulders with his hands braced against the tiles. Water cascades down his muscled brown back.

  I step out of my shorts and pad the rest of the way in to stand behind him. I gently place a hand on his hip to warn him of my presence, so I don’t alarm him. His muscles bunch, and his hands fist against the tiled wall.

  I kiss his shoulder and cover his fists with my palms. He relaxes, flattening his hands beneath mine. Placing my forehead to the back of his wet hair, I soak him in. It’s only been a little over twenty-four hours, but it feels like weeks. I relish the feel of him as the sound of the shower fills the silence.

  “Are you okay?” I say into the quietness between us. “That’s all that matters to me.”

  He nods, turning to face me. His arms go around me, and his face buries into my neck. I feel like I can breathe again as I hold him in my arms. I lend him my strength, willing his pain into my own body.

  “I’m here,” I say. “I’m here for whatever you need.”

  He raises his head, and those whiskey-colored eyes lift to meet mine. I think I fall in love with him all over again. His eyes speak of his concern for me, while I can feel his own pain. When he cups my face to search my eyes, the emotions I see are confirmed. His thumb strokes my cheek.

  “You look tired. I’m sorry. I needed to clear my head, but I won’t disappear like that again,” he says.

  “Don’t worry about it. I just needed to know you were okay. That’s all I wanted.”

  “Yeah, I’m good.”

  I search his eyes to see if that’s the truth. I push his wet hair from his face. He turns his head to kiss my palm.

  The simple gesture turns into heated, openmouthed kisses trailing from my palm to my wrist. I clench my teeth and stifle a groan, my gaze drawn to his mouth against my skin. “Angel—”

  “I’m fine. At least, I will be,” he cuts me off. “This is what I need for now.”

  He takes my lips, and I give in without protest. Emma’s earlier words about Angel’s need for control rings in my ears. I yield to him as his hands lock in the top of my hair, holding me to him.

  Tonight, I’ll be whatever he needs. Tomorrow we’ll talk about what went wrong because losing him isn’t an option. We can make it through as long as we do it together.

  Angel

  Normally I’d thrill in the fight between us, and I’d be pissed that Beau’s giving in so easily. Not tonight. I need this, and the fact that he understands that makes me love him even more. It makes me feel worse for shutting him out.

  I plan to make that up, though. I slide my tongue deeper into his mouth as my fingers run through his scalp. The groan that sounds from him is a soothing balm to my soul. A confirmation that I should’ve come home sooner.

  “I love you,” I breathe into his open mouth.

  “I love you too,” he says.

  I break the kiss to look into his eyes. I brush my fingers across his collarbone. I love that I can pull shivers from him with the simplest touch.

  My gaze follows as my hand travel down over his nipple, shifting course to run down his taut stomach. Another tremble rolls through his strong body. I grin as I watch his belly cave under my touch.

  I claw my nails from the front of his waist around to his lower back. He releases a loud groan, and I bite down on my lower lip. I’ve learned so many things about this man. I know what turns him on. I know where he needs my touch most and when.

  I know he trusts me. And that’s what brought me home. That trust I see in his eyes even now.

  “Angel,” he breathes as I continue to caress and tease the skin along his lower back.

  I cease the slow touch to lift my hand to his lips. His tongue comes out to play, licking my fingers as I brush his full lips. I stick my thumb into his mouth as my other fingers bury into his beard.

  I’m transfixed by him sucking me into his mouth. A new thrill hits me as Beau begins his own seduction. I drag my finger from his lips as he begins to lower to his knees. I step forward a bit to come from under the spray of the showerhead.

  He takes a pause, looking up at me for permission. I nod and he places his hands on my thighs. My dick is pointing straight at him, making it easy for him to take me right into his mouth.

  “Mm,” I hum as he takes me in slowly.

  I fist the top of his hair and start to guide him as my hips take on a mind of their own, thrusting into his hot, waiting mouth. I throw my head back and get lost in the feel of his wet cavern. My lips part and my nostrils flare.

  “Yes, just like that,” I hiss out. “Suck that dick like you mean it. You know what I want you to do for me.”

  He releases me from his mouth and dips his head to take my balls between his lips instead. My eyes roll as the sensation of the shower at my back and his attention to my sac cause my spine to tingle. When I tighten the hold I still have on his hair, he shifts his attention back to my erection.

  His hands caress up and down my thighs a few times before joining his mouth. It won’t be too much longer, and he knows it. He glides one hand around to my ass to squeeze and knead the cheek.

  “Suck harder,” I command.

  Those grays lock with mine, sending promises of a grand completion. He hollows his cheeks and takes me deep. His hand tightens at the base, and I explode with a loud call of his name.

  Wrapping a palm around his neck, I gently guide him to his feet. When I take his lips, it’s a punishing kiss. I want him to feel me. I want him to know how much I’ve fallen in love with him.

  I swift our bodies until his back hits the shower wall. He bites my lip, drawing a hiss from me. I return the favor, licking away the sting. His fingers dig into my shoulder blades, clinging to me and holding me to him.

  Slowing things down just a bit, I nip and sip from his mouth, tasting and tempting, as our sounds of pleasure ring out. When I have him where I want him, I draw back just out of his reach. Frustration lines his features as I tease him, lean in, but back away just before the connection.

  After one time too many for his liking, his hands go into my hair, tugging me forward. I chuckle into his mouth and our tongues dance. Reaching for his hands, I pin them over his head. I explore him with my mouth. First, his lips and chin.

  Then I move to his neck, licking and nipping at the moist soft flesh. I let my tongue glide across his collarbone, moving down to his nipple. His groans fill the air, pushing me forward. Releasing his wrists, I gently drag my hands down his arms, over his chest, his stomach, and back up his ribs.

  I squat before him and just stare. His body is gorgeous. All of the training has only toned him to a greater level of perfection.

  “I don’t know what I did to deserve you,” I choke out as the last twenty-four hours hit me hard.

  He cups my face and lifts it until my eyes train on his. I can see the love he has for me in them. I close my lids as I realize what I have.

  Am I perfect? No. Am I enough? Yes, for Beau I am, and that’s all that matters.

  Beau

  Something shifts as Angel looks up at me. When he closes his eyes, peace washes over his features. A peace I’ve never seen before. It tugs at my heart and cracks it open.

  He has become my peace, and I now believe that I can see that I’m his. I want this peace for him more than I want my next breath. I brush a hand over his wet hair, and he opens his lids. Water clings to those full long lashes, making him look like a true ethereal being. Simply beautiful.

  However, this time when I look into his gaze, I see more than peace. Desire like I’ve never seen before stares back at me. It oozes from him, filling the shower stall to a point of stifling the air around us.

  He wraps my length in his palms, his lips encasing me next. His lids are hooded as those dark lashes shadow his gorgeous eyes. I lick my lips, my own mouth watering at the sight of him
sucking my cock.

  “Angel,” I whisper, damn near drooling on myself as he takes me in over and over.

  I push a hand into the side of his hair. It’s not a guiding hand, rather an anchor as my toes curl and my heart pounds. I want to throw my head back, but I don’t want to tear my gaze from him.

  Even like this he has control. It’s the way he commands my body and demands my pleasure. He does it so effortlessly. I don’t even try to fight my orgasm.

  “Fuck, Angel,” I roar as I release. I don’t get to come down before he lifts to his full height and turns me swiftly. Pushing a hand between my shoulder blades, he presses me forward. I place my hands on the shower wall.

  “I love you,” he says as he begins to kiss and caress his way down my back.

  I arch my back when he licks from the base of my spine up the center to my nape. He gently kicks my legs apart, grabbing and kneading my cheeks roughly. Anticipation builds in the pit of my belly.

  His mouth and tongue are in command of my ass in the next motion. I grind my teeth and squeeze my eyes shut as pleasure seizes me and my sanity. Although it’s not quickly, when he does pull away, it’s much too soon.

  Taking the shower gel from my right in his hand, the sound of the cap clicking open echoes in the space. His breath fans my ass as he works the soap over his cock. He pours some of the soap down my back, smoothing it over my skin.

  Lifting to his full height, he leans into my back. His chest presses against me and he places his lips close to my ear. “Te amo.”

  Cupping my throat, he tugs my head to the side carefully and takes my lips in a slow kiss. This kiss speaks. It tells a story of his love for me. I take it with understanding of the language that has become our own.

  “I love you, Beau,” he repeats as he starts to inch into me.

  He takes his time as the soap becomes our only lube. I need him so much I welcome him without hesitation. I grunt and take him, growing hard again as he begins to ease in and out of me. His free hand goes to my waist, guiding me to his rhythm. Not too fast, not too slow.

  “Ah, Angel, yes,” I groan out as he releases my lips to watch my face.

  “Tell me how you want this dick,” he says in my ear. “Tell me how much you need me.”

  I reach to lace my fingers with his on my hip. He backs up, guiding me with him until I’m arched farther forward in front of him. Now that I’m more open to him, he drives in harder, faster.

  “Just like that,” I call out. “Fuck, Angel. Just like that.”

  He slaps my ass not once, not twice, but three times, alternating between both cheeks, and keeps thrusting. I reach for my cock and start to stroke. I half expect him to knock my hand away, but he covers it with his instead. We work together to push me over the edge as he grows near.

  Chests heaving, legs buckling, we sag forward and fall to the floor. Angel reaches up to turn the water off. His arms go around me as he shifts our bodies. His back to the shower wall, me cradled between his legs.

  “Thank you,” he says, kissing my shoulder.

  I nod. No words need to be said. I already understand.

  Chapter 35

  Right Perspective

  Angel

  “Okay, ladies. That’s a wrap for today. Enjoy the rest of your day,” I call out to my self-defense students. They begin to pack up, and I start to clean and set up for the next class. I’m lost in thought as I work until cheers from outside of the classroom grab my attention. Some of the guys are gathered in the ring, horsing around.

  I smile. No anxiety, no episode. I’ve been in a good place the last few days. I’ve noticed a few times that things that would’ve triggered me in the past are rolling right off me. Eric was right. I’ve come a lot further than I’d been giving myself credit for.

  “Angel!”

  Billy rushes into the self-defense classroom and wraps her arms around my waist. I’m surprised at first, but I shake it off and return the embrace. She breaks the hug and backs away, her little brown cheeks glowing.

  “Hey, kid.”

  “I’m glad you’re okay,” she says softly.

  “I’m sorry if I scared you,” I say.

  She looks at me and tilts her head. Her brows furrow.

  “I wasn’t scared of you. I was worried,” she says. “Those people don’t understand. Some of them looked angry. I didn’t want anyone to try to touch you or hurt you.”

  My shoulders sag. Eric was right again. I’d made assumptions about how others felt. I didn’t stick around to hear her actual thoughts. I just reacted off what I thought she felt. “They were probably in more danger than I was,” I say.

  Beau told me about the man I grabbed and knocked on his ass. I wish I knew how to find him to apologize. Beau said he did apologize on my behalf, and Eric says I need to let that one go. I have for the most part.

  “I’m just glad you’re here,” she says.

  I reach to palm the top of her head and shake it from side to side, earning a grin. “Where else would I be?”

  She joins me in the completion of my setup for the next session. My mind wanders to my conversation with Beau this morning. We’re trying to figure out the best way to ask her to hang out with us so we can do the big reveal.

  I think we’re both making something so simple into much more than it is. Yet we still hadn’t come up with an answer by the time we finished our breakfast and Beau’s morning training session. I’ll text Emma for ideas later.

  “You guys still owe me dinner, by the way,” Billy says, pulling my attention.

  She has a little twinkle in her eyes. Her teasing reminds me that we did miss going to dinner that night. It also gives me the door I need to solve our little issue. I smile and wrap an arm around her shoulders.

  “How about we have breakfast?”

  “Really?”

  “Yup.” I nod. “Beau and I will pick you up Friday.”

  Her face lights up, and my chest swells. We’ll be making this official on Friday. Billy will know that we want her as a part of our family.

  “That’s what’s up, I’ll be ready.”

  Beau

  I walk up beside Angel as he packs the last of his things into the boxes that will be delivered to the new place. Placing a hand on his back, I start to rub soothing circles. He turns to look at me with a smile on his lips.

  “So Friday,” I say and draw in a deep breath.

  “Friday.” He grins. “She was excited. I mean, she has no idea, but she was so excited to have breakfast with us.”

  “Is it just me, or are you scared shitless that she’ll say she doesn’t want us?” I speak my latest fears aloud.

  Angel stops, tossing down the shirts in his hands. He turns to look at me with the same worry I feel. It actually allows me to take a breath.

  “Dude, I’m not going to lie. I’ve thought that shit so many times it’s making me twitchy. We’ve gone through all of this, and she could say she doesn’t want to be our little girl. I think… nah, I know I’d be crushed,” he says.

  “You and me both.” I grunt. “She’s so independent minded, and you never know what she’ll do next. In the back of my mind, I know she’s asked us about being her family, but I just can’t shake the doubts.”

  He wraps his arms around my waist and tugs me in closer. We enter in a slow, lazy kiss that soothes some of my nerves. When our lips separate, he places his forehead to mine.

  “I think we both need to relax.” He laughs. “At the end of the day, her happiness is what matters. If she says no, it won’t be the same, but we can look for another kid.”

  “It would take me a while to get to that point, I think. You know what I mean?”

  “Sure do,” Angel breathes. “It will be fine. We’re just psyching ourselves out.”

  I rub my hands up and down his back, knowing his words are nothing but truth. We’re worrying over nothing. Once Billy sees the home we’ve made for her, she’ll be ready to move in right away.

  “I can�
��t wait for you two to see the place. It’s nothing like before,” I say with new excitement running through my bones.

  “I’m sure it’ll be popping,” he says with those dimples showing.

  My cell chimes in my pocket, drawing my attention. I pull it out and read the message. I can’t help the frown that comes to my face.

  “What’s wrong?” Angel asks.

  “It’s nothing,” I bite out harder than I mean to.

  Angel places his fingers beneath my chin, lifting and turning my face to him. He searches my eyes for answers, but I slam the shutters closed. I chose not to worry him with this. Until this moment, I had pushed it to the back of my mind.

  “Nah, we’re not doing that. We just agreed the other night that we’d stop closing each other out. What’s going on?” he says.

  I pull away and start back over to the things I’d been placing in boxes. Angel stands with his arms folded across his chest, waiting. I’m not ready to talk about this because it makes my head want to explode, but he’s right. We did agree to stop shutting down.

  “Steve has been trying to sell off rights he feels he has to me,” I ground out.

  “Steve?” Angel asks, then realization hits. “Your old promoter?”

  “Yeah, in my old contract, there was a clause that guarantees him a stake in my future earnings. I was young and stupid. Mama never trusted him, but I thought I was a man and knew it all. I signed that contract anyway. There was a shit-ton wrong with it.” I snort and draw a hand down my face.

  “I’m no lawyer or anything, but if the agreement is with him, doesn’t it die with him if he sells it?” Angel asks with furrowed brows.

  “No, he’s packaging the sale as his promotion business. The contract is an asset. Basically, my contract is the sum total of the value to his company,” I reply.