We Fall Like Ashes | Wildfire Series

Fourteen: I Like You With Your Shirt Off

I was speechless.

Beau was...oh my God, I couldn't even put it into words. Not even I knew how to get myself off as quickly as he'd just managed. And he seemed to know it, too. His dark eyes smiled at me as he sucked his fingers into his mouth, cleaning them off.

That mouth...I hadn't expected such a dirty, talented mouth.

"Three fingers it is," he whispered before taking a step back to restart the elevator. "I'll remember that for the future."

My gut clenched. And not in a good way.

The future.

I should probably tell him, shouldn't I? I should tell him now that the only future we had was the very near one. Tonight. We had tonight. And that was it.

I should tell him, but this moment felt perfect. It pulsed between us. Beau threw his hands into his pants pockets, looking me up and down in a way that clearly said he wasn't done with me yet. And I wasn't done with him, either. This moment was perfect, and I didn't want it to end yet.

Swallowing, I pushed my dress back down over my hips.

"I think it's your turn to tell me what you like," I said, stepping toward him with a sway of my hips that likely made me appear more confident than I felt.

Beau accepted me into his arms with an ease that felt too good to be true.

"Not yet, sweetheart. I'm not done taking care of you." He grinned wickedly. "Let's get you to that room, huh?"

___

"This is not necessary, Collins."

Ignoring him, I all but shoved Beau into a bathroom that was just as rustic as the rest of the mansion. The timber-slatted walls, stone backsplash, and fluffy towels made it feel cozy even though it was probably the most luxurious bathroom I had ever been in. After directing Beau to sit on the toilet seat, I looked down at him.

"It is necessary. It would really put a damper on a lot of things if you were killed off from an infection that could have easily been cleaned out."

His lips twitched. "A damper, huh?"

I'd brought in my Prosecco for emotional support and took a gulp of it before placing the glass on the counter. "Yeah, it would definitely ruin Christmas."

Beau waved that thought away and sipped from his own drink. "I'm pretty sure I would make it through Christmas. I don't think infections set in that quickly, Collins."

I sighed, wishing I hadn't even teased about it. The world wasn't allowed to exist without Beau Martin in it. It was something that I had quickly realized when he'd left that first weekend to come up here, and I had been stuck in the apartment by myself. It wasn't the first time I'd been alone since moving to Oakland, but it had been the first time it happened after Beau stopped ignoring me. After he'd declared we were friends. After it started to feel like we were friends.