MIGHT JUST HAVE TO kick Tilson’s ass. They’d spent an hour and a half now going over the exterior and the downstairs, listing the necessary repairs and remodel required for the wedding and reception. Natalie actually had a good eye and an equally good grasp of what Caitlyn wanted done. But for the last hour and a friggin’ half, Tilson had stuck to them like glue.
When Tilson had driven up, Beau had explained he was checking out the house and Tilson had been all set to ride his Mule, the all-terrain vehicle he drove over the property, off into the sunset to “secure the perimeter.” And then Natalie had emerged from the cab of the truck. She’d resourcefully loosened the seat belt straps by pulling them and then climbed out.
Tilson had taken one look at her tousled hair and kiss-swollen lips and decided the perimeter didn’t need securing nearly as much as he needed to check out the new female on the Dahlia horizon. Beau was pretty damn tired of Tilson trotting along with them and he didn’t care for the way he kept eyeing Natalie. Sort of like a dog circling a juicy bone.
The guy was a persistent son of a bitch, Beau thought as Tilson followed them out of the house, into the now-dark night. They were finished making their list so Tilson could vamoose. Beau flicked on his flashlight and Natalie pulled out a pink one.
“Y’all want to grab some dinner now that you’ve wrapped things up out here?” Tilson asked as they covered the distance to the truck.
Beau cut him off at the pass. “We ate at Headlights on the way out here.”
“How about grabbing a cup of coffee and a piece of pie at the Waffle House, then?” Tilson didn’t even pretend to include Beau in that invite. “I can give you a ride to your car afterwards.”
Once again, Beau didn’t give Natalie a chance to answer. He opened the truck door for her, light from the dome spilling out into the dark, and said to Tilson, “We’ve got to discuss scheduling on the way back to her car. Got to use that time wisely.”
Hell no, he wasn’t feeling proprietary at the thought of Tilson nibbling at the fullness of her lower lip or mouthing her tightly budded nipple through her T-shirt the way he himself had earlier. Not a whit, because Beau didn’t do proprietary with women. They were fun, a good time was had by all, and he moved on. Nope. It was simply that Natalie taking off with Tilson didn’t fit in with his plan. That was all. Nothing more.
Natalie shot Beau a look that promised more to say on the matter later. However, she said to Tilson as she slid into the cab, “Thanks, but we do need to wrap up the business.”
Beau closed her door. “See ya, Tilson,” he said as he rounded the truck to his side. Tilson looked decidedly unhappy but that wasn’t Beau’s problem, now was it?
Natalie sat buckled in the middle. She gestured to the mess next to her. “That seat belt is done for. I can’t get the buckle loose and the belts won’t retract.”
He grinned and slid in next to her. “I’m not complaining.” He buckled up and they headed back to the drag strip.
They weren’t touching but he felt her body heat with mere inches separating her hips, thighs and shoulder from his. He caught an occasional whiff of her perfume, or maybe it was just her shampoo and the smell of her skin, but he liked it. He was more than ready to take up where they’d left off when Tilson had arrived.
“Just to set the record straight. I’m a big girl and fully capable of answering for myself.”
What? Like he was just going to sit back while Tilson moved in and screwed up his plans? Not likely. Plus, she didn’t have any business getting involved with the former Marine.
“Tilson’s wife left him while he was on his last tour of duty in Iraq. He has issues.” There. Issues was one of those girly buzzwords he heard his mother and sister and their friends use. He’d give her something to relate to and reveal his softer, feminine side.
“So, that’s why you acted like such a jerk.”
Obviously his softer, feminine side hadn’t come through. “Don’t you think jerk’s a little harsh?”
“Harsh? I gave you the benefit of the doubt.”
“I was being thoughtful. Gallant, even. I only had your best interest at heart.”
She snorted. “And there I was thinking you were simply being manipulative and high-handed. Regardless, I’m fully capable of making my own decisions. And just for the record, Tilson’s not my cup of tea.”
He knew a moment of smug satisfaction. He nodded. “What is your type?”
“Suit and tie. Professional.”
That was no real surprise. “Ah, a sissy boy with soft hands. Someone who doesn’t break a sweat to do his job.”
“I prefer to think of it as brains rather than brawn.”
Maybe. And she could go on about brains and a suit and tie all day long, but he’d bet his racecar her panties had been wet earlier. “I’d say someone easily managed, who asks how high when you say jump. I think you have control issues.”
She sputtered, actually, honest to God sputtered. “I…you…you…” And then she laughed, more with incredulity than amusement. “You think I have control issues? Okay.”
He could tell there was so much more she wanted to say, except she was working for his sister. He bit back a chuckle. He’d like to hear what she wasn’t saying.
“So, do you have one of those sissy boys on a string back in Nashville? I’m just asking because I’m not so sure he’d approve of the way you kissed me earlier.”
“Wait a minute! You’re seriously confused if you think I kissed you. You kissed me.”
He hazarded a glance her way in the dashboard glow. Was that a flash of devilment in her brown eyes?
“No confusion here. And I can tell you now, sugar, if you were mine, I wouldn’t want you kissing someone else that way.”
He sensed—no, felt—the shift in her before she ever took action or opened her mouth. He’d pushed her to her limit. “Really? And if I were yours, be still my beating heart, how would you want me to kiss someone else?”
She released her seat belt. and before he could draw a breath she had twisted and curled one leg beneath her, levering herself up and bracing one hand on his shoulder, her warm breath teasing against his neck. “Like this?” She nuzzled beneath his ear and then nipped the tip of his lobe.
Holy hell. The sensation shot straight to his dick. She caught the recently nipped spot between her lips and sucked. His balls tightened as surely as if she’d cupped them in her hot little hands and gently squeezed.
He acknowledged the contest of wills. “No, baby, definitely not like that.”
“Then what about this? Would this be acceptable?” She trailed hot, open mouthed kisses down the column of his neck and he was damn glad to see the drag strip entrance to his left because at this point he was DUI—driving under the influence of her distracting mouth.
He pulled into the spot next to her minivan in
