Staring in my long mirror, currently only propped up against my bare bedroom wall, I fidget in my shimmering, black dress. It's relatively high necked but short and form-fitting, revealing my long legs, which I know Beau will like. The new pair of stilettos I'm wearing will make me only a couple of inches shorter than him, and I try not to dwell on how close that will bring our lips, the thought alone setting fire to my core.

Frowning slightly in the mirror, I recall how little self control I had when he'd asked me to his house for dinner following our coffee date. Fueled partly by curiosity - I've never seen where Beau lives, the only exception being when he was living out of the tour bus and hotel rooms, and truly unable to resist that devilish grin of his, I caved almost immediately.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid," I mutter to myself, grabbing my purse and phone from my bed anyways. So much for taking things slow. I try not to think of Nadine's disapproving look the other night, one that supported my own doubts, and focus instead on walking in these heels.

I make my way through the relatively empty condo and vow to begin unpacking when I get home this evening. I'm actually pretty excited to see the place transform into my own home, but at the moment, I just have other places to be. With one last look in the mirror by my door, I head out, hoping I'm not making a huge mistake.

The butterflies swarm in my belly like crazy the entire drive to the address Beau texted me earlier today. Pulling into a long, secluded driveway, lined by thick forest, I park on the semi circle, brick pathway in front of a massive house, centered in a huge plot of land. Gazing up through my car window, I shake my head. I shouldn't have expected anything less.

Pulling my dress down my thighs, I cautiously make my way up the impressive staircase under the carport. Raising my hand to knock at the door, I feel my heart hammering in my chest and try to steady my breathing. Before my knuckles hit the door, it's swung open, revealing Beau, dressed up in black jeans and a crisp white button up, chest tattoos peeking through the opened top buttons in a way that begs for me to trail my fingers over them.

My breath catches in my throat as he grins down at me, green eyes intense on my face.

"Hey, Emma." Beau bites his bottom lip and my belly does a somersault inside as he takes in my outfit slowly, my skin bursting into flames wherever his eyes trail my body.

"Beau," I say breezily, ducking under his arm as he shoves the door open for me to enter the grand foyer.

Our bodies graze each other as I pass by and I'm sure he feels the electricity between us like I do. The hairs on the back of my neck stand up straight at the minimal contact and I have to remind myself how to breathe.

"So this is your place?" I spin on the sleek marble floors, taking in the open floor plan and abstract art on the walls. "It's not what I expected," I admit, stepping back a couple of feet to create some distance between us. The closer I am to him, the more intoxicated I feel, and the less likely I am to maintain my resolve.

"What was it that you expected?" Beau cocks his head to the side, his half-up ponytail falling over his shoulder as he does. My heart lurches at the familiar habit, aching for him more than ever before.

Before I can reply, the clatter of nails on marble catches my attention, just in time to see a large German Shepherd barreling towards me. "Oh!" I squeal, already too late.

"Zeus, no!" Beau shouts, but as he mentioned at Nana's funeral - the dog doesn't listen. Unable to react quickly enough, I'm thrown onto my butt as the furry beast jumps all over me, trying to lather my face with kisses. "Shit, sorry, Emma. Zeus, off!" Beau's voice is stern, but still, the dog doesn't release me, wagging his tail happily as if to tell Beau to screw himself. As Beau struggles to grapple Zeus off of me, I let out a laugh, making my way back into a standing position.

"So this is karma," I smirk at Beau's frustration as he coaxes the dog into another room and closes the door. When I receive a famous Beau Lewis eye-roll, I giggle. "I must taste good," I wipe a hand down my neck and remove some of the doggy-slobber.

A wicked glint casts over Beau's eyes as his lips turn up at one corner. "I can personally attest to that," He winks when my cheeks flush red hot, before he takes my hand and leads me into the kitchen. I try to appear cool and collected, like the simple gesture isn't making my heart race. "Here," He brings me to a large farm sink and runs a wash cloth under the faucet. "May I?" He breathes, leaning in close and holding the cloth to my neck.

I nod, not trusting my voice enough to speak, and pull my hair over my shoulder, exposing my neck to him even more. Once Beau wipes away the sticky residue left from Zeus's puppy kisses, his fingers trail over my collarbone for a second longer than necessary, sending heat through my veins.

Blinking myself back to reality, I take a step back and lean against the huge island in the center of the kitchen. "So what're you cooking for me?" I tease, crossing my arms over my chest and raising a brow skeptically.

"Cooking?" Beau shakes his head, leaning against the sink casually. "There's a lot of things I would do for you, Em, but learning to cook isn't one of them,"

The smile on his face tells me that he's joking, but the takeout containers in the recycling bin reveal some truth to the statement. "Fine. What did you order, then?"

I make my way into what I assume is the dining room, separated from the kitchen only by a gorgeous bar-top and stools, and stop in my tracks, mouth hanging open in surprise. The end of the dining table is beautifully arranged, highlighted by tall, white candles, and red rose petals scattered over a white table cloth. The electric spark in the air tells me that Beau has approached, and soon, his body heat radiates against me, his chest so close behind me that I can almost feel every intake of his breath.

"This is the kind of stuff I should've been doing before," He whispers, breath tickling the back of my neck. "This is the kind of stuff that you deserve,"

"Beau," I turn to face him but close my eyes tightly, afraid they'll betray just how scared I am to be here with him. Taking a deep breath, I open them to meet his gaze, and find his green eyes filled with emotion staring down at me.

"Emma," He brings a large hand to my cheek and instinctually, I lean into his touch, loving the way it sets my skin on fire.

His scent intoxicates me, sending me over the edge. I lean forward, allowing my lips to touch his, slowly at first, and then faster and more fervently as he deepens the kiss. As his tongue finds its way into my mouth, I welcome it, relishing in his taste. As the seconds tick by, we begin to lose all restraint - Beau's hands travel down my body and cup my backside, squeezing gently before moving to my hips and lifting me onto the bar-top. Shoving stools out of the way, Beau plants himself between my legs, his hands trailing up my thighs as he leaves urgent kisses up and down my neck.

The heat builds beneath my skin and the only thing I can think of is how I want more - more of this, more of him. I didn't get nearly enough before it was all taken from me, and now it's like I'm making up for lost time.

Taking a step back, Beau's eyes meet mine as his long fingers find the button of his pants. Waiting for my permission, his chest heaves up and down and I see how badly he wants this - wants me. Nodding my head slightly, I knot my fingers into his hair and crush my mouth to his right as he crashes into me, groaning my name in my ear as he does.

Losing myself in his ragged breathing, I let my body melt into his, past the point of caring about the consequences.

***

"You really won't stay?" Beau carries our take out boxes to the kitchen, the heavy smell of Chinese food still thick in the air.

Staring into what's left of my water and still reveling in the after glow of my moment with Beau, I shake my head. "I meant what I said about going slow,"

Returning to the dining room, Beau raises his brows at me. "I guess if you weren't satisfied, I could go slower next time,"

I grin lazily at his perverted smirk, before downing the last of my drink. "You know what I mean," I sigh and stand from the table, grabbing my purse and the heels that I kicked off once we began dinner. Feeling his eyes following me around the room, I wait for him to walk me out.

"I wish you'd stay," Beau admits, walking towards me anyways.

I follow him through the foyer wordlessly, recounting the million times I'd wished he'd said those exact words to me those years ago. Despite the pull inside me begging me to spend the night wrapped in his arms, I make myself strap my feet into my shoes and head to the door.

"Well, until next time, Mr. Lewis," I pause at the door that he's opened for me and tilt my head back to look at him.

"Next time?" His eyes light up and I try to squash that same hope growing inside of me. The last thing I need is to be made a fool of twice, especially when the accompanying hurt was so much worse than the embarrassment.

With one last glance at him, I take a step into the evening air, cool against my clammy skin, and dig into my purse to find my keys. Taking a step down the stairs, I feel his fingers grip my wrist and spin me towards his body, holding me close.

"I had a really good time tonight, Emma." His stare is so intense that I nearly lose all control of my thoughts. "Not just the se-"

Placing a finger to his lips to quiet him, I tell him the truth. "So did I, Beau. Really," His mouth curves into a smile beneath my fingers. Unable to help myself, I plant one last kiss on his lips before finally rushing down the steps and locking myself in the car so that I can't run back to him... no matter how much I might want to.