Confined with the CEO and the Bodyguard

run my fingers through the fringe of tiny dreadlocks that keep my hair out of my eyes before responding.
“The truth is, I want money as much as the next guy.” There, I said it. “I just want to earn it by doing things that make me happy. My dad loved math. He was great at it. But more than that, he loved the power that banks had to make a difference in the community. For a long time, his was the only bank that would lend in certain parts of Chicago. He had faith that you didn’t have to be wealthy to be a good borrower, and he made a lot of money by sticking with that commitment. Later in his career, a regional bank tapped him to lead a multi-state network. Along the way, he made smart investments in real estate. That’s where most of the money came from—buying properties, fixing them up, renting them out, and eventually selling them. We were good landlords, too. That’s what I want to accomplish here, Sadie. Only, my love is for horses.” I kick a rock. “I’m fucking terrified that I’m going to lose it all.”
When I make myself look up at her, the tension in her body has visibly ebbed. Her shoulders aren’t up by her ears anymore. She glances away and tucks a strand of hair behind her ear before saying, “I can’t even imagine losing this place. It’s magical, Dakota. I see why you love it so much.”
The wistfulness in her voice cracks my heart in two. I move closer and cup her soft, warm cheek in my palm, and whisper, “I wish you’d had all the good things life has to offer, Sadie Banes. Every kid deserves it.”
Her jewel-green eyes meet mine, full of emotion. Pain. Longing. Something more that I’m afraid to name—until she does.
“I love you, Dakota Wilson.”
Simple words, so full of truth that my throat closes off words. I pull her into my arms. She hugs my waist and drops her head against my chest. We stand there together as night falls hard around us. After a few minutes, she pulls back. Light from the rising moon glows on her face as her eyes search mine. “I want to help you. I have some ideas. But before I can talk about them, we need to set things right with Beau.”
“Yeah.” But how? I can’t change his jealousy of my good fortune. It hurts me to even admit that it exists. Yet I’m not willing to relinquish our friendship so readily. That means I have to go in there and fight to repair the rift. “Any great ideas on how to do that?”
Sadie kisses me. Her mouth is soft and welcoming. I lean into her forgiveness. Though I know it isn’t hers to offer, I take it anyway. The mood shifts. I slant my lips over hers and she opens, seeking more. Our teeth meet and tongues slip past one another, feeling. Seeking. Pushing one another higher. Shaking with need. Tonight, we crashed through a barrier I hadn’t known existed. There’s no way I’ll ever let Sadie go.
But I know that she’s the key to repairing our friendship.
“I need to say goodbye to Beau, too.” She swallows. “And say thank you. I belong here, with you. I’ve never felt like I had a real home before, Dakota.”
I know that by home, she doesn’t mean a place. She means a family.
She means me.
It hollows out my belly and fills it with a soft heat like a sunset on clouds. It makes me want to possess her with such raw need that I hardly know how to resist the swelling urgency to take her up against the nearest hard surface. She skims her hand down my chest, over my belt buckle, and gently brushes my straining cock.
After tonight, it will be us together, forever. But tonight, we are still three. Sadie’s mouth quirks up in a half-smile. We swing into stride, side-by-side. Unspoken understanding blooms between us.
“You’ll always have me, Sadie. I’m your family now.” I promise her this with my entire heart. To me, it’s as binding as a wedding vow. “Let’s go make up with Beau.”
We find him in the main room. He’s slumped on the sofa with his feet up on the coffee table, staring at his phone dejectedly.
Sadie and I exchange glances. She knows what to do. For the moment, I stand back.
She places one bare foot in line with the other as she pads toward him. “Hey there, cowboy.”
He tosses the device aside and gives her his full attention. Sadie crosses her arms over her stomach to grasp the hem of her shirt. She tugs it up, over her head and drops it on the floor. Then, wearing nothing but a pale pink version of the lacy bralettes she favors, she straddles his thighs and sits up.
Beau’s gaze lights on her lovingly displayed tits. After a long moment, though, he shakes his head. “Nah, Ms. Banes. I can’t play daddy anymore.”
“I’m not asking you to.” She sits back. Beau wrests his gaze away from the perfect rounds of her breasts and looks her in the eye. He is still unsmiling, though I detect the slightest shift of mood in the set of his mouth and at the corner of his eyes. It’s hard to stay mad when there’s a beautiful woman on your lap. “I’m asking you to join Dakota and me for one wild night.”
“One night?” he asks. “You must have a woman’s intuition, Miss Banes.”
“What’s going on?” I ask in a tone that is both friendly and authoritative. I like the sound of my own voice. It feels new to me, even though I’m sure I sound the same way I always have.
“My momma is sick,” he says softly. “She tested positive for the virus.”
“Oh, no.” Sadie hastily tries to leap off his lap. She is clearly mortified at having attempted to seduce a worried man. But Beau takes her by