CHAPTER 5

DELILAH

I move closer to the intoxicating scent around me. It smells so familiar, but I can't place where I’ve smelled it before. It smells so good that I don't even want to open my eyes to check where it’s coming from. It calms my heart and makes me want to spend the whole day wrapped around it. I let out a sigh and feel my breath bounce back against my face. That's odd; why did that happen? I slowly open my eyes to find out what's wrong. My eyes widen as I come face to face with a rock-hard chest. I quickly check my body to ensure I didn't do what I think I might have done. I know I drank a lot last night, but I am not one to have a drunken one-night stand. A breath of relief escapes me once I see I am fully clothed. Thank God, I didn't have a one-night stand.

I tear my eyes away from my body and look up to see the owner of the magnificent chest in front of me. Every finger is itching to rub my hands all over this beautiful man's chest, but I stop myself because I need to know who it belongs to before I take advantage of him. I unwrap his hands from around my body and pull myself away from him a little.

"Beau!" I say once I see his face. His eyes immediately shoot open at my voice. I can see the fear in his gaze as he looks left and right, probably looking for any sign of danger. Once he realizes there is none, he calms down. I watch as he rubs his eyes. For a split second, I forget that I woke up in bed beside him and admire how adorable he looks rubbing the wax out of his eyes. But I snap out of it once I remember where I am. "What the hell am I doing here?" I shout at him as I jump out of bed. I regret it the minute I do, because I end up almost falling, but Beau catches me quickly. I close my eyes as I try to massage the headache I just gave myself from screaming. I can't believe I shouted like that. Did I forget how much I drank last night?

"You shouldn't scream; you will make your hangover worse," Beau says, placing his hand above mine to help me soothe my headache.

I slap his hand away from my head and move away from him. "Don't touch me."

"How bad is it?" He looks genuinely concerned about my health, which is surprising because I know he doesn't actually care.

"None of your business," I look around the room to find his bathroom. I need something for the headache. It's terrible; I feel like removing my brain is the only solution.

"Sit down; I'll get you something for the pain." Beau ignores my request not to touch me and places his hands on my arms. He makes me sit down on the edge of the bed and then walks towards what I’m guessing is his bathroom.

I take this time to look around the room properly. I might hate him, but he does have good taste. That was one of the things that drew me to him in the beginning. The way he knew how to mix his colors and recognize beautiful things pulled me to him. The walls are painted black, which is not surprising. Black has always been Beau's favorite color. There is a lovely painting on the wall above his bed. The lights are also done beautifully. I can admit I like how his room is designed, even though I don't like him.

"Here you go," Beau says once he returns, placing a pill in front of me while also handing me a glass of water. I contemplate if I should take it from him or not. Beau might be a horrible person, but I don't believe he would physically harm me.

"Thank you." I grab the pill and the glass of water from him before quickly knocking them both back.

"Do you want me to take you home or to your friend's place where I lied and said you were at last night?" Beau asks as he walks to his closet. I follow him and ask him the one question I haven't been able to answer since I opened my eyes.

"How did I get here?" I say, walking into Beau's closet. But the minute I enter, I quickly spin around. "God! The least you could’ve done is warn me before I walked in," I say with my back to him. He had started to undress. I almost saw something I was not supposed to see.

"It's not like you haven't seen it before," he replies.

I bet there’s a smirk on his face right now. "It's small, and I don't want to see it again," I snap back.

"Oh honey, we both know that's a lie." I feel a hot breath on my neck as Beau speaks. When did he get behind me? I turn around to see how close he is, and I almost fall, but Beau's strong hands hold me upright. "You were always clumsy, weren't you, darlin’?" Beau brushes his knuckles across my nose.

I stare at him wide-eyed as I take in our position. His arms are wrapped around me, and all I can smell is his amazing cologne. My whole body is pressed tightly against his bare chest, and having him so close makes me feel warmer than I’ve felt in the past seven years. I swallow hard as I feel something poking my waist.

Beau moves his face away from mine. The tip of his nose rubs my shoulder all the way up to my neck and stops at my ear. I feel his breath fan my face, and the warmth I felt before shifts into a burning heat.

"It's morning wood, love." Beau faces me once more, and as I watch a smug look cross his expression, all my senses come rushing back. I push him away.

"Get away from me."

He listens, taking a step back. "I won't take long. Give me a few minutes to dress, and then I'll take you home." Beau walks back towards his wardrobe.

"You didn't answer my question. How did I get here?"

"I brought you here."

"Really? You’re being sarcastic with me right now?"

"Isn't it obvious how you got here?"

"I don't even know why I thought you would be straight with me for a minute. I don't even care how I got here. I’m going home," I leave him standing in the closet.

"Wait, I said I'll drive you home." Beau rushes after me as he pulls his shirt down.

"I can take myself home." I find the stairs and make my way down. His apartment is easy enough to navigate.

Beau rushes to catch up with me. "I want to make sure you get home safely, so I'll take you myself." He blocks my path as I reach the end of the stairs.

"Do I look like I can't get myself home?" I’m really annoyed with this pretend show of care he is displaying.

"I didn't say that. It will ease my mind if I take you home myself."

"How is that my problem?" I pull my brows together as his words sink in. Is he really trying to say he cares about my safety?

"It's not, but I won't let you go home on your own. You don't even know where you are."

"Where is my phone? I'll use G****e Maps." I stretch out my hand to collect it from him. I know he has it, because he mentioned texting my dad that I was at a friend’s place. I wonder how he knew my passcode. But then again, he used to know me better than anyone. The man was my first love, after all. Of course he figured it out.

"I’ll give you your phone, but I still want to take you home."

I think about continuing to argue but decide not to. Instead, I just walk around him towards where I hope the front door is.

It seems Beau isn’t giving up because I can hear keys and his footsteps following behind me. I shake my head as I release a sigh. Beau is one stub—

I don’t get a chance to finish my thought before the room whirls around me.

"Beau, put me down this second!" I scream at him as he throws me over his shoulder.

"I told you I would take you home, and that is what I am going to do." Beau opens his front door and walks out into the building’s hallway, carrying me.

"You must be crazy! Put me down!" I hit his back as I scream at him.

"Your hands are still as soft as they always were. The best hands to ever touch my body."

Beau presses the elevator button, and we wait for it to come up. People step outside their apartments, probably to see what all the shouting is about. I figure this will make him put me down but instead, he just smiles at his neighbors and enters the elevator once it arrives. He puts me down once the doors close.

"How dare you?" I poke my finger into Beau's chest with each word.

"I told you I want to make sure you get home safely."

"We will see about that." The minute this elevator door opens, I will be out of his sight faster than he can blink.

I tap my foot against the ground as I watch the numbers on the elevator descend. Before the doors fully open, I push my body through the small gap and sprint towards the exit.

I am not able to take more than five steps before Beau catches me. He lifts me off the ground like earlier and walks towards his car. I scream and hit his back to let me go, but he doesn't budge.

He drops me on the ground once we get to his car and sandwiches me between him and the passenger door.

"Let me go!" I thrash my body against his.

Beau grabs my hands and holds them in a firm grip.

"No." He forces me to stand still. "I am taking you home." He moves closer to me, and then does something I could never see coming. I stand frozen as I feel Beau's soft lips press against mine. My eyeballs almost fall out of their sockets as I taste him. I had stiffened my body when he grabbed my hands, but I can feel it loosening as I register what he’s doing. I blink as I try to understand what is happening. Before I can react to the kiss, Beau's lips pull away from mine. With me still in a state of shock, Beau opens the car door and helps me sit down. He walks over to the driver's side and gets in. I hear the car roar to life and watch as Beau drives us out of the parking lot.

The whole ride, the only thing on my mind is how Beau's lips were against mine a few minutes ago. I don't even notice when we get to Tamara's place until Beau says we’ve arrived. Still a little dazed, I step out of the car and walk up to Tamara's door, wondering why the hell he kissed me. I can't think of a single reason why.