throughout my entire body. I felt the inferno build, hotter with each driving force, hotter than I could ever have imagined. The heat caused each moan to get louder, each gasp to grow more ragged. Abilene flung her head back and reached for my hands. She placed them on her breasts as she rode my cock with wild abandon. She went down as I went up. I moved my body faster, stoking the fire until I finally screamed out her name as she joined my sounds of lust with her own.
We rocked our hips together until every last bit of completion was removed from our bodies. Slowly, Abilene moved off me and cozied her tiny frame next to mine. Our breathing seemed to match in cadence as we both tried to regain some sense of normal.
Normal.
What the fuck was normal?
I felt my heart rate speed up and my stomach flipped. Instantly, my once satiated body became tense and stiff. Panic was setting in. My wall had slowly come down with this woman, leaving me vulnerable.
Weak.
I needed to remain strong if I was to make it through these Trials. This wasn’t just a game. This was my life. My future. And the protective side of me also realized that this was Abilene’s future as well. I wanted to help her achieve whatever it was she wanted. She deserved it. She would have it. I would make damn sure she would.
But not if I was weak.
“That was… tonight was… wow,” Abilene murmured sleepily as she snuggled closer to my body.
With the insane urge to wrap her into my arms and kiss and whisper sweet words and promises attacking my soul, I stood up and walked toward the window to look out and try to clear my head.
There was silence in the room. Thick. Suffocating. Reality strangled what little euphoria still lingered from the mind-blowing fucking.
“Beau…” Abilene finally said softly, cutting the growing tension with the warm timbre of her voice.
I should throw caution to the wind and climb back in bed with her.
I should kiss her again like I wanted to.
I should caress that body of hers and remind her that it was mine even after the haze of dominance and submission wore off.
I should let go of the rules. Release the restrictions.
I should.
I fucking should.
“We need to stick to the contract,” I said, refusing to look upon Abilene naked in bed. “As much as tonight was… hot. We crossed the line.”
“By kissing?”
I nodded, even though we crossed the line in so many more ways than just kissing. At least I did. Maybe I was to blame.
I took a deep breath. “We have a contract for a reason.”
“Seriously? Are you going to seriously hold us to that stupid contract? We were just joking around about it and now you’re getting… Are you fucking serious?” Her words were sharp and without looking at her, I knew she was pissed.
Pissed was good.
Pissed was safe.
“We have a business arrangement,” I continued.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” she shouted. “We just got done having sex and getting as close as we’ve ever been, and you start with the business arrangement talk. Fuck you, Beau. Fuck you for being such a dick.”
Good. Don’t like me. I didn’t want people to like me in business. Black and white, cold, and to the point. Respect me, not like me. Business was business.
I spun on my heels to confront her and instantly regretted it. Her fury only made her sexier. “Don’t get angry,” I demanded. “I made it very clear from the start what was expected. You and I are starting to make this… messy. I’m just bringing it up so we can clean up our actions.”
“Messy?” She said the word calmly which only made me see the rage in her eyes all more clearly.
“Yes, messy. I’m simply pointing it out.”
She flung her legs off the side of the bed and marched toward the bathroom… again. “Well, we don’t want that. No one wants messy.”
The last sound in the room was the slamming of the door.
9
Abilene
Messy. Messy.
I’d show him fucking messy.
I glared at Beau, passed out on the bed beside me, sleeping peacefully, because, of course, he was. Apparently, that was just the kind of man he was. He could have amazing, earth-shattering sex with me that felt, that felt so—
I swallowed hard and pressed my palms against my eyes.
Goddammit, I was the stupid one here.
A man promising things and saying sweet shit while he wanted to get inside you was