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Page 38 of Austenland (Austenland 1)

“Don’t cry. They’ll be fine.” Then he hung up. I quickly threw a hoodie overtop of my pajamas and grabbed my keys and phone.

When we got to Beau’s door, I opened it and walked in. Instantly my puppy started fighting me to get down. She wanted to see her brother.

I let her down and the two puppies hobbled toward each other, making the most pitiful, high pitched cry I’d ever heard. “Oh no, look how much they missed each other.” I began sniffing all over again just as Beau walked into the living room, pulling a gray T-shirt over his head.

It was a darn shame, too, because covering up all that sculpted muscle should be a crime. There was a large, red maple leaf in the middle of his shirt and the familiarity of it made me smile. “Geneviève,” he said, his voice rough and unused, “no more crying. It’s only their first night apart. They need time to acclimate.”

My eyes found the puppies again, they whimpered and sniffed at one another like they’d not seen each other for years instead of hours. “It’s so mean,” I muttered as I watched the chubby puppies finally settle into a lump together on the floor.

Beau moseyed over to me and put an arm around my shoulders. “Who knew the captain of the Lumberjacks had a soft spot?” he teased me with a short chuckle.

I elbowed him lightly in the ribs. “They’re sweet and defenseless,” I said, then looked up, into his face. His eyes were lazy and half mast. That thick, black hair of his was messy—like he’d been laying down for a while.

“I can normally handle my own. You, my dear, are proving to be more of a challenge,” he said with a sexy little smirk.

This was dangerous territory. Being this close to Beau—smelling his spicy, manly scent and feeling his strong, warm body pressed beside me—was too much. Far too tempting and far too likely I’d do something stupid. Especially in my current sleep deprived, emotional state.

As I pushed away from him, I yawned and said, “Do you mind if I take the couch? You go back to bed. I’ll listen for them.”

“If you want. I was on the couch when you texted, though. I’d rather you not take them outside in the dark by yourself,” he said while he yawned, stretching his arms above his head. His shirt rose slightly, displaying the lower half of his hard stomach muscles.

It was then that I noticed it. Or I should say, ‘them’. Beau Moreau was wearing gray sweatpants. And he filled them out very nicely. Oh crap.

If there was one thing in this world that proved to be my kryptonite, it was most definitely gray sweatpants. I closed my eyes and tried to imagine Beau wearing horrible baggy jeans.

It didn’t work. When I opened my eyes again, he still looked just as hot as before. “It’s fine, I’ve already taken her out a lot. It’s pretty quiet around here,” I answered as I walked to the couch and collapsed on the soft cushions.

I turned my head just in time to watch Beau wander away. In his droolworthy, gray sweatpants. Yes, my eyes remained glued to those perfect globes while he disappeared down the hall. Yowza he looked delicious in those.

My fingertips yearned to slip inside that waistband and explore exactly what Beau had to offer. I yawned again, then put my hands under my head. Naturally, I let my eyelids fall and thanked the heavens above for glorious, still, silence.

The puppies had settled. For now. At most, I’d manage three hours of sleep. That was only if they didn’t stir during that time—which was highly unlikely.

A soft something landed on my head and I was suddenly surrounded by Beau’s manly scent. Pulling the object off my face, I realized it was his pillow.

Good grief.

Next, he dropped a blanket on my body—which also, incidentally, smelled like Beau. “Cover up. If they need to go out, come get me, okay?” he said, flipping the blanket more efficiently over me—which I thought was sweet.

“Okay, thanks,” I said, holding in a small scream at not only being in Beau’s place in the middle of the night, but also sleeping on his pillow. And having his blanket on top of me.

He walked away and I tried my best not to think about where I was or how Beau was sleeping in the next room in the best pair of gray sweatpants the world had ever seen.

It didn’t work.

Out of nowhere, a loud groan sounded. Then a few seconds later, Beau emerged carrying a pillow under his arm. “You aren’t going to tell me if they need to go outside, are you?”

“Probably not,” I said with a small smile. That was the truth. There was no way I was going anywhere near Beau’s room, let alone going in there to wake him up just to take out the dogs. Not when I could do the same thing and let him sleep.

He shook his head. “Yeah, didn’t think so. Move your legs forward,” he said, unceremoniously shifting me over. Then he plopped down, his head on the opposite arm of the couch.

My body froze as he moved around, trying to fit the blanket overtop of us both. “Uh, I can move to the loveseat,” I said and sat up. Immediately, his legs captured mine.

“It’s too short. You’ll cramp your legs up.”

I mean, the man had a point. I’d probably wake up sore and stiff if I tried to sleep over there. However, over here—I had my doubts about how much sleep I would get anyway, next to Beau, his warm, strong body and his damndable gray sweatpants.

“Are you shy to sleep beside me, G?” he said in a low, all too amused voice. “Afraid you can’t trust me?”

Well, he had that half right. I was definitely shy to sleep beside him. But I was afraid I couldn’t trust myself, not him.

“I’m not shy, dufus. Move your mangey feet away from my head. You stink,” I lied before dropping back down. The soft material of his shirt and sweats felt nice and cozy next to my skin. Having his legs behind me, cradling into me felt even better.

Beau chuckled his annoyingly sexy laugh. “Whatever you say, G. Whatever you say.”

“Shut it already. We need to get some sleep before they wake up again,” I shot back at him in an angry voice. I didn’t even know why I was feeling so frustrated, but I was.

“Night, G. And don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone you’re really a big softy.” He chuckled again. What an ass.

I sighed back in exasperation and settled further into Beau’s pillow. Drifting off to sleep—surrounded by Beau’s body and his yummy scent.


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