CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
BEAUX
Leaving Paige sleeping was one of the hardest things I’d ever done. I woke up hard, my dick knowing exactly what it wanted, and it’d been a power struggle not to wake her up with my mouth on her nipple and my fingers teasing her in other places. Damn, she was pretty when she was sleeping though. All that brown hair all over her pillow, her cheeks pressed to her hands beneath her. She’d snuggled up to me during the night and I woke up with her legs plastered to mine, sweating like a demon, but all of it felt damn good.
I couldn’t remember the last time I’d woken with a woman lying all over me. Paige was different than the rest. It didn’t matter why and it wasn’t something specific I could put my finger on. I just knew I really liked everything about her, even when she was pissing me off with her running.
It might have made me a glutton for punishment, but I still understood where she was coming from. That didn’t mean I was going to let her keep doing it.
The fact my dick got hard whenever she was nearby told me everything I needed to know. He hadn’t let me down yet and I was certain the big guy had a mind of his own.
So I’d taken my bag and gotten dressed and cleaned up in the hall bath, being as quiet as possible. When I’d hit the main floor, I’d gone to the kitchen and started some coffee and by the time I was done, Sam was waking up, groaning every time he shifted.
It’d taken a while to talk him into letting me help get him dressed and cleaned up, but considering I could carry him up the stairs and he couldn’t walk on crutches yet, there wasn’t much point in arguing. His pride had taken a hit, I knew that.
I also knew that by the time I’d convinced him to let me hire him a home health nurse, he’d take the hit to his pride if it meant making things easier on Paige.
Now, with her standing in front of me, eyes brightening with every sip of coffee she took, I was certain I’d made the right decision.
Still a bit sleepy, dressed in her Halloway Garage shirt and cut-off jean shorts, minimal makeup, she was the girl who could sling back beers with the guys, spend the night in a tent or under the stars and she wouldn’t need anything fancy. I’d give it to her if she needed it, but everything about her spoke to me on a visceral level.
“You had enough yet?” I asked when she was pouring cup number two. She plopped in a dash of milk and re-settled her hip against the kitchen counter.
“Enough that I’ll be able to remember what you said, yeah.”
“Okay.” I prepared myself for the verbal assault she would surely lash out at me and took a seat next to her.
“Your dad and I talked this morning,” I started, and her grip tightened on her coffee mug. “We made some decisions.”
Her chin jutted out in an adorable way. “You and my dad made decisions.”
“Yup.” I grinned and took a drink from my own mug. “I’m hiring a home health nurse for him. She can help with physical therapy, getting him cleaned up…giving you some time to relax.”
Two brows rose on her forehead. “You hired him a home health nurse.”
“Already made the calls.”
Her quiet stillness concerned me. I was used to buckets of ice water on my head and verbal lashings. Paige hadn’t yet shown me what it meant when she was frozen and silent.
She brought the mug to her lips. “Okay.”
Not what I was expecting. “Kay?”
“I mean, you’ve already done it, and frankly I need the best care for my dad. I can’t be around him as much as I need to and I don’t have the money to pay for it, but I had already decided upstairs I needed to do it. It kills me you’re paying for it, but if he’s okay with it, he’s still mentally there enough to make his own medical decisions.”
It seemed like a trick. “Yeah? I’m going to be honest, I expected more of a fight.”
With a heavy exhale, she asked, “Did you help my dad this morning?”
“I spent a lot of years helping my mom.” It wasn’t a direct answer, but it was enough of an explanation, she understood.
“And he was okay with it?”
“As much as he could be.” He’d actually called me a rich prick at first, accused me of just wanting to spend more time with his daughter. I’d said yes to both and he’d laughed.
She was silent for several moments, draining her second cup of coffee. “I told myself this morning when I was upstairs getting ready and I thought you’d left, that it was time I stopped underestimating how good of a guy you were.”
Now that’s the kind of news I wanted to hear. “Yeah?”
Another pause. She looked into her mug.
As she took her time, my back pulled tight and I walked closer. “Paige?”
Her cheeks puffed and she exhaled a harsh breath. Lifting her head, she scraped her teeth over her top lip. “I had this boyfriend.”
“Spencer.” I hadn’t forgotten about him. Crossing my arms, I waited for her to continue.
“We’d been dating for a couple years when my dad had his first stroke. When I decided to move home, he’d promised me we’d make a long distance relationship work.” She turned and refilled her coffee. Every second she delayed talking made my pulse ratchet up. When she had taken another sip, she continued. “Two weeks later, after I’d told him I couldn’t go back to Charlotte one weekend he broke up with me.”
“Paige—”
“He’s a jerk. I know that now.”
“He’s not a jerk. He’s a dick, and not worth your time.”
She laughed once, but it was cold and flat. “Like I said, I know that now.” She squeezed her eyes closed and when she opened them, sadness filled her hazel eyes. “He isn’t the only guy who’s not wanted anything to do with me once they realize I don’t have the time they think they’re entitled to.”
She’d laid a minefield, but it helped me understand where she was at, why it’d upset her so much that she was with me when her dad was hurt. Why she approached us with a wall between us.
The sound of bricks crumbling to the floor between us echoed in my ears.
“I’m not them, Paige. You forget I know what you’re going through. I don’t think less of you because you’re busy caring for someone you love. I admire the hell out of you for it.”
Tears swam in her eyes but she blinked them back, nodding rapidly. “That’s why I decided this morning that I was going to trust you.”
Jesus. She slayed me.
My hands went to her cheeks and I pressed my lips to hers. I poured everything I felt for and her confession into the kiss. When I pulled back, my chest burned.
“Thank you,” I said, my voice rough, thick and filled with need for her.
She licked her lips and opened her eyes. “I’m not happy you’re paying for my dad’s nurse. I always thought that help came with strings attached, but if there aren’t—”
“Oh, there are strings. It means you spend more time with me, and I get what I want from you.”
Her head tilted toward her shoulder. “And what do you want from me?”
Everything, popped into my mind and I barely forced it back. I slid my hand to her hip and brushed my lips against her ear.
She trembled, leaning into me while a puff of breath rushed from her lips. “Whatever you’ll give me, Paige. And trust me, I’ll be happy to take it.”