Beauregard and the Beast Read online

  Bo clung to Adam as the elevator carried them to the thirty-third floor of the Spa Tower. “Oh my gosh. Tell me you didn’t blow a bunch of money on a superexpensive hotel room.” His eyes bugged as the numbers kept climbing. “We aren’t going to the penthouse, are we?”

  “You didn’t think I’d mess around with a cheap room when I had a free pass to do as I pleased without complaint, did you? Come on. You know me better’n that.” Adam gave Bo’s shoulders a squeeze as the elevator dumped them onto the top floor. The landing that greeted them was contemporary and stylish, yet warm and masculine. Dark wood molding paired with chrome accents and leather in soft cream.

  He led Bo down the hall, swiped their room key, and hip bumped the door open. He motioned for Bo to go first and grinned when his gasp strangled into a squeak. “Go on, babe. This is the entryway. There’s plenty more where this came from.”

  “But….” Bo stepped forward, his head swiveling back and forth as he took in the nearly twenty-foot-high walls of water on either side of the foyer. They poured into a small pool separating the foyer from the rest of the suite, crossable only by a walkway suspended above the tranquil basin. “There’s a bridge. Adam, there’s a bridge. Over water. Inside a hotel room. Our hotel room.”

  Chuckling, Adam nudged Bo on. “Go big or go home. You said celebratory. This feels celebratory, doesn’t it?”

  “Ah, to say the least.” Bo swallowed. “I guess it’s a good thing we have something pretty big to celebrate, huh?”

  Adam let the door close behind them and placed a hand at the small of Bo’s back to keep him moving. “I’m so proud of Lulu. I know this has been a rough semester for her. She’s still planning on another visit over break, right?”

  “Oh, yeah, I mean, yes. It has. And she is. But that’s not what we’re really celebrating.” Bo whistled as he took in the main living area of the suite. “This’ll actually work quite nice for the, ah, festivities ahead.”

  “Oh, I’ve got quite the festivities planned.” Adam wrapped his arms around Bo’s waist from behind and rested his cheek on the top of his head. “But what are we celebrating if it isn’t Lulu’s success?”

  Bo twisted in Adam’s arms until he could snake his own around Adam’s middle. “Something I’m guessing you’ll be as excited about as I am.” He smirked and dug into the back pocket of his jeans, extracting a couple of folded-up pieces of paper. “We got our results.”

  “Oh fuck.” Adam’s stomach did a flip. He snatched the papers out of Bo’s hand but didn’t read them. Instead, he read Bo’s face. It provided the answer he’d been hoping for since they’d gone to the clinic together earlier that week. “We’re both negative?”

  “Yep.” Bo flashed an overly toothy grin. “I left the condoms at home and packed the big bottle of lube with all that extra space.”

  Adam groaned. It wasn’t the idea of going bareback for the first time that had his knees going weak, but the fact he’d be inside Bo. Really inside him. Skin to skin. They’d be one, if only for that brief period. How could Bo not feel his love when they were that close? He might choose to ignore it, but he’d feel it. Deep down, he wouldn’t be able to deny it.

  And once Bo opened himself to the truth? He’d realize he felt the same way. He had to. They were too perfect together for anything other than forever. Adam just had to sit back and wait. Someday, Bo would be his as much as he was already Bo’s.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  EVERYTHING was perfect. More than perfect, in fact. Adam’s surprises always had a way of backfiring a bit, but not tonight. Tonight every piece had fallen right into place.

  Even those women—an interruption Bo had dreaded might lead to something negative—added to the flawlessness of the evening. Because, without even meaning to, Adam had spun that encounter into something magical and alleviated Bo’s fears with one simple kiss and three little words.

  I’m already taken.

  After tonight, those words would hold a bit more merit. Six weeks of banging his boss and wanting more—much, much more—was six weeks too many. Add the two months prior that he’d spent lusting after him, plus the fact Adam didn’t hide his own desires to take their relationship deeper, and it was well past time to make a change.

  The problem was, to try for the more they both wanted meant he’d have to find another job. And considering Bo lived with Adam as a perk of his current position, it also meant finding somewhere else to live.

  But Bo didn’t care. As long as he could locate a job that paid enough to support himself and Lulu—something he had faith he could manage now he had his GED—he’d do whatever it took to find the freedom to be with Adam.

  And what better way to ask a guy to go steady with you than with condom-free sex in a luxurious hotel suite following a fab night on the town?

  Bo groaned when Adam’s roaming hands slid under his shirt. The sharp contrast of his rough calluses with the soft warmth of his palms and fingertips moving over Bo’s back caused goose bumps to prickle his skin. He gripped Adam’s shoulders to keep himself upright. “I know there are about a hundred places we could do it in this gi-frickin’-normous place, but I want you in a bed.”

  “Your wish is my command.” Adam’s hands disappeared from beneath Bo’s shirt, only to reappear a moment later at the back of his thighs. He boosted Bo into his arms so his legs could wrap around that deliciously muscled torso, then swung by the luggage the front desk had delivered and left in the main living space. “Where’s that big-ass bottle o’ lube?”

  Laughing, Bo pointed to the smaller bag. “Front pocket. Didn’t want to have to go searching.”

  Adam planted a loud, smacking kiss on Bo’s grinning lips. “You’re a god.” He kept Bo supported with one arm and hooked his free hand around the handle of the suitcase. “Any preference on beds? I think there are, like, four. Of various sizes.”

  Bo snorted. “Doesn’t matter to me. I just want you spread out and mine. All. Mine.”

  The arm around Bo’s lower back tightened. “I’m yours. Always. Any way you want me.”

  “Then pick a bed and get naked. I need to touch you. Everywhere.”

  Adam complied without question. He lugged Bo and the suitcase into the closest bedroom, tossed them both on the bed, and stripped. When Bo rolled off to remove his own clothing, Adam crawled onto the bed in his place and stretched out on his back.

  “Put your arms behind your head.” Bo wriggled out of his pants and kicked them aside, then tossed his shirt on top. “I don’t want you interfering. It’s my turn for a little worship session. Well beyond, actually. I don’t think I’ve had you at my mercy for far too many days.”

  Adam did as Bo requested, reaching back to prop his head on his folded arms. He rolled his hips so every gorgeously carved muscle in his body flexed and moved beneath his skin. “Go ’head, babe. Do your worst.”

  To avoid any delays when the time came, Bo fished the lube out of the suitcase and tossed it on the bed beside Adam. He edged into the space between Adam’s spread legs, running the tips of his fingers featherlight over the tops of Adam’s feet all the way to his groin. Adam’s breathing increased the farther up Bo’s touch crept, and a curse fell from his lips when Bo traced up the underside of his cock.

  That big, beautiful cock that would bury deep inside Bo in the very near future with nothing between them but the slick succor of lube.

  Bo clenched his jaw. He had to focus. He had to make this special for Adam. Because after, he was going to ask for something that might be hard for Adam to accept. He needed Adam to believe. He needed him to see beyond the obstacles a new job might bring to their relationship. He needed him to accept his need to find a place of his own. To take care of himself and Lulu, and to do so in a way that wouldn’t leave them open to disaster if something happened between him and Adam.

  He needed Adam to understand that by allowing him the space to step away and find his own footing, he’d only be bringing him closer.

  As Bo contin
ued to trail his hands over Adam’s body, he reveled in the writhing movement of sinew and muscle that followed in his wake. Adam had been gorgeous from the start, but his added workouts and their increased intensity had done indescribably scrumptious things to his body. Each muscle was cut with precision, standing out in stark relief under the muted bedroom lights. He looked like a sketch from an anatomy textbook. Something an artist dreamed up to represent the ideal of human perfection.

  When Bo brushed his thumbs over Adam’s nipples, Adam growled and bucked his hips. His eyes flashed with the heat of desire, turning them a dark, stormy gray. “I’m trying really hard to be good here, but I’d like to throw out a little reminder. I haven’t come since last night. On a good day, I’d be ready to explode. Then you introduced your little surprise, and….” He groaned. “I’m gonna die. This might be the end for me.”

  “Oh no you don’t. No dying allowed.” Bo grinned and gently pinched Adam’s nipples between his thumbs and forefingers. As expected—and desired—Adam fired off a round of curses before scooping an arm around Bo’s waist and rolling them both so Bo now lay beneath him.

  “Tell me to stop and I will.” Adam panted against Bo’s neck, his voice husky and deep. “But if you don’t, I’m gonna make you mine. Really mine. All the goddamn way mine. No barriers, just us.”

  Like there was any chance Bo would say anything but, “Yes, please. Do it. Now.”

  Once again, Adam complied without hesitation. He lubed up, gave Bo the minimal amount of prep it had taken Bo weeks to convince him was enough, and slipped inside. They both cried out as Adam slid all the way home, pulling Bo into his arms and burying his face in the crook of his neck.

  “Jesus Christ.” Adam nibbled at Bo’s throat. “You feel like fuckin’ heaven. So soft and sweet and warm. I’m gonna have to sit here for a minute, ’cause if I move right now? It’s over.”

  “That’s okay.” Bo hummed in appreciation as Adam kneaded the back of his neck in tandem with the nips, licks, and kisses he rained over his skin. “You can stay like this forever, as far as I’m concerned.”

  Adam shook his head and rolled his hips in a slow, languorous circle. His cock pressed deeper, and the washboard surface of his abs teased Bo’s own dick. The dual zap of pleasure had Bo wilting and tensing all at once. As soon as Adam moved in earnest, it’d be over. Likely for them both.

  As if he shared Bo’s thoughts, Adam rolled them again so Bo was on top, straddling his hips. Even that minimal movement was enough to leave them both groaning. “I can’t be trusted to have control. You’ve gotta run this show or it’ll end way too quick.”

  Bo clenched his butt and laughed when Adam countered by digging his fingers into Bo’s hips and shoving farther inside. He joined their mouths for a delectable kiss, filled with battling tongues and the taste of mutual desire like honeyed wine passing between their lips.

  “I… I can’t. I need you. I’ve gotta move.” Bo mewled and twisted his hips, driving Adam to respond in kind. They fell into that sweet, cherished rhythm of lovers who knew each other so well, words were no longer needed.

  Pressure built at the base of Bo’s spine, spreading like molten lava to tighten his muscles and turn his movements desperate and jerky. He grappled at Adam’s biceps, finding purchase only at the last second when his orgasm tore through him. He cried out, his back arching as his heart hammered in his ears and his release pooled between them.

  Somewhere in the middle of his climactic writhing, Adam joined him. His body tensed, and his cries mingled with Bo’s as they shared that ultimate moment of bliss and satiation.

  As their breathing slowed and their heart rates evened, Bo lay limp on Adam’s chest. His limbs refused to move despite the sticky discomfort driving him to get washcloths for cleanup. Adam’s hand moved over his back with slow, comforting strokes that had Bo closing his eyes on a hum.

  Now was the time. This was when he needed to tell Adam he wanted more. That he was finally ready to take the next step. That he needed to find another job and leave him so they could truly be together.

  But before he could, Lulu’s ringtone pierced through the air. Bo froze. She knew what he’d planned for that night. She knew he was going to be with Adam, asking for a commitment, begging for understanding. No way would she call and interrupt unless something was genuinely wrong.

  He pushed off Adam’s chest, the proof of his release wet and cold on his belly. He pried himself free and snatched his pants off the floor, then dug his phone out of the pocket and slid the answer button to the side before putting the cell to his ear. “Lulu?”

  “Ah, hello. Is this Beauregard Wilkins?”

  Bo’s blood turned to ice, his heart struggling to pump the frozen slush through his veins. “Yes, it is. Who’re you? Why are you calling me from my sister’s phone?”

  Adam appeared at Bo’s back. He draped a blanket over his shoulders, then wrapped himself around Bo, holding him close and offering silent comfort and support.

  “My name’s Mandy. I’m a nurse at Alta Bates’s emergency department. Your sister was recently admitted following a motor vehicle accident. Do you live close?”

  “Oh God.” Bo crumpled under the weight of the woman’s words, but he didn’t fall. Adam held him up. “I don’t, but I can be there in about ten, maybe twelve hours.”

  Mandy was silent for a moment, then she cleared her throat. “That would be good, Mr. Wilkins. Let the receptionist at the front desk of the emergency room know who you’re here to see when you arrive.”

  “I….” Bo’s voice cracked and tears spilled down his cheeks. “I will. Th-thank you.”

  His fingers went lax and the phone fell to the floor. Adam twisted him in his arms, then pulled him close. He picked up where he’d left off with the gentle caresses over Bo’s back. “I’ll book us a flight. It’ll be faster than driving.”

  Panic set in, and Bo shook his head. He shoved out of Adam’s arms, stumbling over the blanket when it fell from his shoulders. “No. You’ve got your training camp. You can’t miss it.”

  “Bo.” A muscle in Adam’s jaw jumped. “I don’t give a rat’s ass about my training camp. Something’s wrong. I’m going with you.”

  Bo shook his head with more force. “You aren’t bailing on your career to chase your personal assistant out to California. I’ll be fine.”

  Adam took a step back, but Bo’s focus wasn’t on him. He scrambled for his clothes and carried them to the bathroom. All he could think about was renting a car and getting to Lulu. Nothing else mattered.

  When he stepped out of the bathroom a few minutes later, Adam had slid on his boxers and held a pad of paper with the hotel’s name embossed along the top edge. He handed it to Bo. “That’s your flight information. You can print your boarding pass at the airport.”

  Bo nodded, his eyes roaming the room, looking for what, he had no clue.

  “Can I drive you? To the airport?”

  “I—” Bo glanced at the words scrawled hastily on the pad. They swam together and scrambled in his brain. He shifted his watery gaze to Adam and crumpled the paper in his fist. “I’d appreciate that.”

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  “WHAT crawled up your ass and died, my man?” Kyle thumped Adam on the back. “Boys are saying you’re being more of a shithead than usual. That’s saying something, considering you’ve been slowly turning creampuff on us lately. What spurred the abrupt about-face? Trouble in paradise?”

  Adam shot a glare over his shoulder before refocusing his attention on the speed bag. He pounded his fists into the leather and sand with punishing force. “Fuck off.”

  Kyle chuckled and leaned a hip against the metal frame of the speed bag platform. He watched Adam mistreat the equipment for another couple of minutes before giving his shoulder a shove. “Talk to me, Adam. You’re gonna wind up hurting yourself if you don’t calm the fuck down and give yourself—and the gear—a break. That poor bag’s gonna need restitching when you’re done with it.”
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  Grunting, Adam stepped off the platform. Sweat poured down his body, and his muscles—all of them, not just those he’d recently abused at the bag—screamed for reprieve. But he didn’t care. What the fuck else was he supposed to do? He couldn’t go home. Hell, he couldn’t even stop moving. If he did either, Bo haunted his mind.

  Adam hadn’t heard from him for nearly twenty-four hours after leaving him at the airport. He’d left at least half a dozen frantic messages before Bo had finally called. He’d apologized and said he didn’t have a cell phone charger but had borrowed one of the nurse’s long enough for a half charge.

  Then in a hollow, dead voice, he’d updated Adam on Lulu’s situation. She’d been involved in an alcohol-related car accident. Thankfully, she hadn’t been the driver, so she faced no legal repercussions, but her injuries were serious. She’d remained intubated in the intensive care unit following a six-hour surgery to address internal bleeding. Another surgery had been planned after she’d further stabilized to repair a fractured femur bone.

  That was two days prior. Adam hadn’t heard a peep from Bo since. He’d called and left one more message, this time assuring Bo not to worry about finances. He told him to consider himself on indefinite vacation until Lulu was all healed up and promised to send three months’ salary in advance to make sure he had funds while he stayed in Cali.

  If it were up to him, he’d send Bo every cent in his account and take the next available flight so he could be there to support him in person. But for the time being, all he could do was play by the rules. Bo didn’t want that kind of help from him, even if he wanted to give it more than he wanted the air he breathed.

  Adam snatched his towel off one of the metal arms on the structure holding the speed bag. He dried his face and the back of his neck before tossing it over his shoulder and rounding to glower at Kyle. “Mind your own business, old man.”