And there wasn’t. I lay there, cuddled against Tobias’ chest, with Beau’s hand on my shoulder as he fed me more water and wrapped a blanket over me, snuggling in tight when I began to shiver.
“My turn next,” Beau told me as he stroked my hair back from my forehead. “And you’ll need your passport again. I’m taking you to London.”
63
“So…do I bother asking what we’re going to London for?” I asked once we’d checked our bags in. Beau took my hand, and I felt his thumb brushing across my knuckles, back and forth, back and forth, at a little too fast a pace. Then there was his grin—it had a sheepish edge which made me tense.
“I only want to make you happy.”
Every single one of his brothers felt the same, I knew that now, but…I got the feeling that Beau meant it more. Those bright blue eyes searched my face, looking for signs of just that.
“The trouble is, right now, that seems to be nestling into the couch with a blanket and a bowl of popcorn and watching Netflix until our eyes fall out of our skulls.” He reached out and smoothed a hand over my tightly bound hair. “I can’t make a grand gesture out of aFriendsmarathon.”
“Maybe you don’t need to,” I said, leaning into his touch.
“I need to.” He nodded then. “I really do. So you’re going to give me what you gave my brothers—your trust. When we land in Heathrow, I’ll tell you what our two choices are. I hope you choose the first, I really do, but if you hate it, there’s a second thing we can do which I think you’ll like.”
I stared at him, torn. On the one hand, I wanted to drag those two options out of him with my fangs and claws, and on the other? He needed to give me this, a surprise, something ridiculously grandiose, if I knew Beau at all. He wanted to watch my face as I saw it, capture my every response, to shoot his shot and show me how much he cared about me. Right now, he watched that war between control and surrender wage within me with a slow smile.
“Fine,” I ground out.
“Well, there’s the ringing endorsement I was looking for.” He offered me his arm, and I took it. “But the first-class lounge awaits. Champagne and smashed avo on toast, milady?”
I heldit in as we had a leisurely breakfast in the lounge. I even kept it together during the interminably long flight to London. I’d always longed to travel overseas, but the canned air, compressed spaces, and noises definitely made me aware it wasn’t quite as fun as I’d thought. When we finally landed at Heathrow, I asked him.
“So can you tell me now?” I asked as we walked into the terminal. He just snorted and shook his head.
“I was gonna go to the toilets and have a piss—”
“Beau.”
He turned to me and then when he saw my face, he drew me out of the stream of travellers until he pressed me against the wall and went to kiss me.
“Fuck…” I said, putting a hand on his chest. “Dragon breath.”
“Singe with your flames, dragon lady,” he told me, right before he went in for a kiss.
Would I ever get used to this? Beau made a meal out of every sensual experience, kissing me and kissing me with slowly building intensity until all of the noise of the airport dropped away, then there was only him. I didn’t care about the options or that I had only brushed my teeth with one of those little travel brush things. I just needed him, needed Beau. He sighed as he pulled away, but only slightly, his hands still cupping my jaw.
“You’re so fucking beautiful, Sage. You make my heart hurt every time I look at you.” His hands began to move restively now. “The wolf just wants to touch you and kiss you and drag you back to my lair to rut you into a swanky hotel bed.”
“So we’re going to a hotel?” I asked, my mind grabbing at every detail, which made him laugh.
“Fuck, you’re relentless. Yes, we’re going to hotel, and yes, we’re going to sleep for like a million years after we’ve scoured the grime of our bodies, and then we’ll go and meet with someone you know.”
“Who?” I asked, my mind racing as I tried to think of who I might know in London.
“Fabian.”
“No way!” We’d kept in contact via social media. The guy was hysterical, and I’d even introduced him to Nikki one drunken night, him lingering over his breakfast coffee as he listened to two drunken Aussie bitches warble. “Oh my god! That’s amazing.”
He nodded, staring down and soaking in my flushed face. Talking to Scarlet, I realised that Beau was a pleasure Dom, who loved to bestow experiences on those he cared about, experiencing a deep and satisfying referred pleasure from it. I was willing to bet he was riding a little high from this right now.
There was something else there, though, a wariness or perhaps a sadness which dulled that happy feeling inside me.
“But that’s not it,” I said.
He drew in a breath and then let it go slowly.