Must Love Cowboys: This steamy and heart-warming cowboy rom-com is a must-read! (Once Upon A Time In by Carly Bloom (ebook reader that looks like a book .txt) 📕

the room was dancing. And with the help of Beau and Miss Mills, Alice picked up the steps quickly. She laughed and turned, hands on her hips, and belted out the ridiculous lyrics with everyone else.

She was having the time of her life. In fact, she’d been having the time of her life for the past five weeks—ever since she’d signed the contract with Beau. What if it didn’t have to end?

Chapter

Thirty-One

Alice was a ball of nerves as Beau pushed the door to his room open.

“Allie, you should know that I kind of, erm . . .”

“What?”

“Decorated.”

He flipped the light on and Alice gasped. Roses were everywhere. Along with candles, which Beau proceeded to light.

“I hope this is okay,” he said.

Okay? He hoped it was okay? She’d never seen anything so romantic in her life. It was perfect.

“I hope you don’t think I’m being too forward. If you’re not into it, we can sweep all the rose petals off the bed, blow out the candles, and eat chocolate-covered strawberries while we watch TV.”

She squinted at him. “Are you seriously worried about being too forward? You sent me a dick pic just a couple of hours ago.”

“It was technically not a dick pic. I didn’t actually let the horse out of the barn.”

Alice laughed. “I think all of this is lovely. And we’re on the same page. I want . . . Well, Beau, I want to make love.”

Beau sighed. “Thank God. Oh, and I got you something. You don’t have to wear it if you don’t want to.” He pointed at a gorgeous silk nightgown. “I saved the receipt. I can take it back. It’s all good. Whatever you want. Like I didn’t buy it for me . . .” He started laughing. “Sorry. Can you tell I’m nervous?”

Beau was nervous?

She picked up the nightgown. And wow. “Is this silk?”

“I think so,” Beau said. “I thought it felt nice.”

This had to be expensive. Surely, he didn’t buy gifts like this for all of his lovers. None of this felt fake. Not Beau. Not the silk. And not their feelings. “It looks like a perfect fit. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Do you want to, you know, put it on?”

“Yes.”

Beau sighed and took his hat off. He’d been nervous! God, it was charming and sweet. And also unbelievably sexy.

“What you guys did for Brittany tonight was pretty special.”

Beau laughed. “Poor girl. She seemed to finally be having a good time though.”

“It was way better than a typical stripper show. And at least Brittany didn’t have to sit in the dreadful chair while some guy sweated all over her.”

There was a light sheen of sweat still covering Beau’s chest.

“So, ladies get lap dances, too? I didn’t know that. I’m not a big lap dance guy myself. If a woman is going to rub herself all over me, I’d prefer she do it because she wants to.”

“I bet plenty want to,” Alice said.

Beau grinned and didn’t deny it. “Want to sit in the chair?” He grabbed one from the little desk and set it in front of her.

“Like, for a—”

“Lap dance,” Beau said with a wink.

“From you?”

“Who else?”

Holy guacamole. She suddenly couldn’t remember a single thing she didn’t like about lap dances, and she was trying really hard. Beau leaned over and kissed her on the nose. “Why don’t you go put that fancy nightie on, darlin’? Me and this chair will be waiting for you.”

Alice made a split-second decision. “Okay.”

She went into the bathroom and slipped on the gown. Definitely silk. Definitely expensive. She turned this way and that, appreciating the way it felt on her skin, hugged her curves, and dipped low in the back. This was way better than the itchy little number with the crotchless panties.

She shook out her hair, squared her shoulders, and walked out of the bathroom.

Beau was leaning against the desk, his hand on the back of the chair. He’d put his hat back on. His thumb was hooked in the pocket of his jeans, one boot was kicked back, and boy, was he hot. He licked his bottom lip as his eyes traveled up and down her body.

“Damn, woman,” he finally said. “You just knocked the air out of me. I can hardly breathe.”

She was experiencing a similar reaction. And when Beau hit a button on his phone and Dierks Bentley’s “Come a Little Closer” floated out, it was all she could do to continue standing.

“I believe this is your chair,” Beau said. “So, have a seat. And hold on.”

She sat down and took a deep breath as Beau began moving his hips to the music in a way that made his abdominal muscles do all kinds of wonderful things. He was a good gyrator.

She somehow managed to land her eyeballs on his face, and he was grinning from ear to ear. “You doing okay, darlin’? I’m not making you uncomfortable now, am I?” He tilted her head up with his hands. Ran a thumb across her lower lip.

She was dreadfully uncomfortable, but not in the way she’d expected. Instead of being embarrassed and mortified, she was just . . . horny. Unbearably horny.

“I’m fine,” she squeaked. “You’re very good at this.”

“Oh yeah? I’ve never done it before.”

“I never would have guessed.”

“You know,” Beau said, reaching down for her hands. “Some places have a no-touching policy. But not this one. You can touch all you want.”

He placed her hands on his warm, rock-hard belly, and wow. She’d known that each fingertip had more than three thousand nerve endings, but she hadn’t known they were connected to her clitoris. She squirmed in her seat as Beau slid her hands up his sculpted abs to press one of her palms against his chest, just over his heart.

She’d been fantasizing about touching his chest in this way ever since the night he opened the door at the Village Chateau. And the reality was even better. She ran her hands over his pecs, feeling his nipples harden