“That's exactly what I plan on doing.” He patted my butt. “Every minute of every day.”
My nose scrunched as I thought about how my dad was bound to react to the idea of Beau and I getting into a relationship. I hadn't really dated at all, and I was sure it would be a shock to him that my first boyfriend was closer to his age than mine. “I have a couple of friends who will be more than happy to cover for me a few nights a week so I can spend them with you.”
He scanned my face, his eyes turning serious. “I'm willing to give you a little time to settle into being mine before we talk to your dad about us, but it's going to happen sooner rather than later.”
“I need until the end of the semester. I can’t risk him messing up my internship and having to push back my graduation.”
“He can’t do anything about your internship. I’m the managing partner.”
“But he’s still my dad.”
“I made you mine last night, and there's no going back from that.”
I hated the possibility that he thought I was having second thoughts and rushed to reassure him. “No, that's not it at all. The last thing I want is for this thing between us to end. Ever.”
“Good, because I'm never letting you go.”
I nuzzled my face against his chest and whispered, “It’s too bad you have to let me go for the day. I would love to spend it with you at the ranch instead of going to school.”
He stroked his fingers through my hair and brushed a kiss against the top of my head. “Can you come up with a believable excuse to be away for the whole weekend? If so, we can head straight to the ranch after work tomorrow.”
“Yes!” I exclaimed, my head tilting back so I could smile up at him. “I can absolutely come up with something for that. I am so looking forward to meeting all of the animals and seeing those bedrooms you told me about last night.”
“Perfect, because we need to start christening them too.” My cheeks heated as he rolled us off the mattress and nudged me toward the bathroom. “Go take a shower and get ready, sweet girl. I'll use a different one, so we actually make it out the door before half the day is over. And so I’m not tempted to sink my cock in your pussy quite so soon after taking your virginity. You need a little recovery time, and no way in hell would I be able to give it to you if I was that close to your perfect body while it’s naked with water dripping down your sexy curves. ”
I was grinning as I padded into the bathroom, and the smile didn't leave my face all the way through breakfast—blueberry pancakes and bacon, another favorite meal of mine. It wasn’t until he walked me to my car, in the spot next to his in the parking garage, that my lips curved down. “I hate not knowing for sure if I’ll be able to see you tonight.”
“I hate it too, sweet girl,” he grumbled, pulling me against his chest. “I’m more than willing to talk to your dad today. Just say the word, and I’ll take care of it.”
“You have no idea how much I’m tempted to tell you to do it today.” Shaking my head, I heaved a deep sigh. “But there’s only a few months to go until I need to turn in my internship evaluation to my guidance counselor. In the grand scheme of things, that’s not very long when we’ll have our whole lives together. And as much as I hate the idea of lying to my parents about where I am and what I’m doing, I’d feel better if we could hold out until then. Please.”
“I’ll do my best,” he promised, hugging me close.
I dragged his masculine scent into my lungs. “That’s all I can ask for.”
“Text me when you get to school,” he growled as he stepped back. “And once you know if you can get away to be with me again tonight.”
“Will do.” I darted forward to give him one last quick kiss before I climbed into my car and pulled out of the parking garage.
Once I was closer to school and confident I knew the route I was taking, I pulled up my dad’s contact on my phone and called him. “Good morning, Izzy.”
“Morning, Daddy.”
“Did you have fun with Stephanie last night? Get your project done?”
“Yeah, it was a great night.” That was certainly true even though who I’d been with and where wasn’t. But I was doing my best to limit how many lies I had to tell. “And my homework is all done and ready to turn in today.”
“Good job. I’m really proud of you.”
I smiled at the compliment while also feeling awful for keeping such a huge secret from him. But it was all for the best in the long run, and I only hoped he’d understand when he found out about Beau and me. “Thanks, Daddy.”
“How’s the internship going? Beau must be keeping you busy because I never see you around the office.”
My voice was strangled as I answered, “Um, yes. He’s keeping me very busy.”
“I hope you realize how lucky you are to be working directly under him. He has a brilliant legal mind, and you can learn quite a lot more from him than you would have if you had remained with Kevin. He’s nowhere in Beau’s league yet.”
Thank goodness his lecture hadn’t ended with his first sentence, or my brain wouldn’t have had time to recover from thinking of all the ways I’d literally been beneath Beau instead of the figurative way my dad had meant. “I do know how lucky I am. He even let me sit in on a client meeting yesterday.”