Page 23 of Smoky Darling

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Beckett

Little Elouise Hall.All grown up.

My eyes drink her in for the hundredth time.

Grown all the way up.

I made the mistake of not recognizing her once, but I won’t do that again. No, now, I have her outline burned into my brain.

One look, a single glance, was all it took for me to see that this is Adult Elouise.

Even bundled up in layers of clothing, she can’t hide the shape of her beautiful body.

With her back turned towards me, my eyes start at her feet and trail their way up. Mud-splattered ankle boots that somehow look cute. Thick, strong thighs, wrapped in tight, black leggings that are a damn gift to mankind. And that ass. Jesus Camping Christ, that fucking ass. I want to get my hands on it. I want to grip it. Lick it. Smack it.

Feeling my blood heat, I drag my eyes up.

Staring at her back means I don’t have a view of her chest, but if it matches the rest of her curves, I know where I want to lay my head tonight. And I can’t see her eyes, but I can picture them perfectly. Bright, stunned, deep brown orbs, staring at me in shock while I introduced myself earlier. Lips parted… Fuck. She’s dressed for camping and I’m over here nearly panting. Staring…

I want my hands on her.

She has a hat pulled low over her head, but it doesn’t hide her pretty brown braids. And it doesn’t stop me from imagining grabbing those braids and showing her just the way I like it. A little rough. A little hard. A little-

“Hey, Mr. Beckett,” there’s a tug at my sleeve.

I glance down at the kid yanking on my jacket and clear my throat. Nothing in the world kills a boner like a Surprise Kid.

“What’s up, Little Man?”

He doesn’t blink as he asks, “Have you ever fought a bear?”

I have to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing, because he looks very serious. Instead, I answer just as seriously, “Not yet.”

He nods, like this is a perfectly reasonable response. “Okay.” Then he seems to think, “Are there bears here?”

“Unlikely.”

His brows furrow, “Are there bears anywhere in Minnesota?”

“There are,” my whole introduction spiel was about the importance of being educated, so I don’t want to lie the first time someone asks me a question, “but most of them are up north.”

“But they could walk down here, right?”

“They could, but they don’t do it often.”

“How often?” This kid’s brows keep lowering with each question and I feel like I’m on the wrong side of an interrogation.

“I don’t know the exact number of times it’s happened. But if you want to know more, there’s a website where you can track bear sightings.”

His brows shoot up this time, “Really!?”

“Really,” I actually have no fucking clue, but there’s a website for everything so there must be.

The kid turns around and takes off at a run, “Mom! Mom, can I use your phone?”

I mentally cross my fingers that my guess was correct.

Distraction gone; my eyes move back to Elouise. She’s standing in the same spot, talking to some blonde. She’s waving her hands around, animatedly telling her friend a story. Elouise makes another wild gesture, and the friend has to bend over, she’s laughing so hard.


Tags: S.J. Tilly Romance