“I know, I know.” She winked before going back to Ben.
“I’ll drop in tomorrow after work but call us if you need anything. And don’t be a stubborn ass. Otherwise, I’ll call Ashlyn, and she’ll rip you a new one,” Ben warned, raising a brow, knowing full well she’d do exactly what he said. My sister might be little, but when she was pissed, she made sure you knew, and I’d witnessed her bring grown men to their knees countless times. Ben and I included.
“It’s like you think you know me or something.”
“Better than you know your fucking self. I mean it, I’ll call your sister.”
“Okay, fine.” I laughed. “Get out of here.”
After our goodbyes, I locked myself in and sighed loudly. Fuck, it was good to be home. Carefully, I removed my shirt, and in the mirror secured to the wall near the front door, I took in the white gauze covering what I knew was angry red flesh that would leave me with a scar. I was lucky, so fucking lucky, and I didn’t take that for granted. Some would call it a graze, and some would call it a low-level flesh wound, but I just called it a painful inconvenience. It hurt like a bitch, though. The initial burn of the bullet stung like a motherfucker and then the after pain burned longer. My adrenaline had kicked in quickly, and Ben’s training kicked in just as fast, and he wrapped it tightly and got me to the hospital instead of waiting for the paramedics. Boston and another paramedic I didn’t recognize eventually met us at the doors, and I’d found out later that Boston had been the one to tell Marnie where I was. Oh, and the guy who fired the bullet? He was sitting in the cells at Monroe PD with a list of offenses growing by the day, including firing at a police officer.
I sliced my fingers through my hair and headed toward the couch. As soon as my ass hit the cushions, three quick knocks pierced the air. With a groan, I stood, thinking Ben and Sasha had forgotten something and headed back to the door.
“What did—”
It wasn’t Ben and Sasha staring back at me, though. Never in my wildest dreams did I expect to find Marnie standing in front of me.
“What are you doing here?”
Her eyes went straight to the white gauze. “I’m coming to stay the night.”
Sure enough, in one of her hands was a bright pink overnight bag covered in flowers, while the other was struggling to hold three bags of groceries.
As I leaned against the doorframe, my smile was easy. “You don’t have to do this.”
“Yes, I do.”
We locked in a fierce battle. To me, what had happened was nothing. I’d been trained for this, and all I’d live with was a superficial scar as a reminder. But to someone whose father had been shot dead while wearing the badge, it would have seemed like I was facing death’s door, and that would have been the scene Marnie thought she’d be walking into when she rushed into the hospital room.
“Marn—” I started but stopped when her big brown eyes flashed desperately at me.
“Please, Austin, I need to do this. Let me do this.”
I nodded once, knowing I’d always give her whatever she wanted. I grabbed the three bags full of groceries out of her hand and walked into my apartment. The door clicked shut behind us, and her soft footsteps told me she’d followed me in, rather than rush off in a panic.
I dumped the bags on the kitchen counter, then leaned down and rested my chin on my hand as she scanned my apartment. She’d never been here before, so I enjoyed watching her take in my space. A gentle smile graced her pretty pink pout when she focused onto the photo of Aria dressed as a princess that I had framed on the living room wall, right next to the mounted television.
“She’s so cute,” she whispered, eyes still locked on the photo. “She is so obsessed with you.”
“I’m just as obsessed.”
Her chest rose as she inhaled a deep breath, then she glanced away from the photo of Aria. Dashing into the kitchen, she immediately began to rummage through the groceries.
“I picked up a few groceries on the way over. I didn’t know what you’d have, so I got a bit of everything.” She pulled out a bottle of milk and orange juice, then a bunch of grapes and some ground beef.
“What are the chances you’ve got double stuffed Oreos in one of those bags?” I asked, giving her my best attempt at puppy dog eyes.
“How long have I known you for? Of course, I do. I’ve got three packs of double stuffed and a pack of mint,” she said, full of sass. She started to rummage through one of the bags and pulled out one of the packets and handed it to me. “You’re welcome.”
Fuck, I wanted to kiss her again and not just because she’d got me three packs of Oreos. I hadn’t stopped thinking about her lips on mine since New Year’s. As if she could read my mind, her eyes dropped to my mouth, and the moment they did, my cock twitched. When the pink tip of her tongue swiped across her bottom lip, I throbbed, desperately for her.
“Word of warning Freckles, if you don’t stop looking at my mouth, I’m going to kiss the fuck out of you.”
Her eyes came straight back to mine, as her chest heaved, and pink crawled up her neck. “You kissed me on New Year’s Eve.”
“And you kissed me back.”
She smiled briefly, and I sure as hell didn’t miss it. “I was shocked into kissing you.”
“Bull. Shit. You were just as much into it as I was.”
“Lies,” she muttered while fighting a smile and continuing to pull out more random items from the grocery bags. “Utter lies.”
With the pack of Oreos she’d handed to me, I left the kitchen and headed for the living room. “You keep telling yourself that, Freckles, oh and don’t forget that you wrapped your arm around the back of my neck and held on.”
A loud pfft sounded from the kitchen, and I chuckled softly.
I collapsed onto the couch and waited for her next move. With my legs propped up on the coffee table, I opened the Oreos, then rested the pack on my stomach and switched on the television. Having her in my space felt incredible; it felt like the most normal thing in the world. This was what I wanted and what I missed. Teasing each other, spending lazy days on the couch, and just being together. I got a glimpse of that on Christmas night, and I was getting a glimpse of it again now, and I wanted a hell of a lot more of it, and to be honest, I was starting to think she wanted that too, but I wouldn’t get ahead of myself.
I heard the fridge open and close, and grocery bags being scrunched together after they were emptied. Then nothing. Complete silence. Twisting around, I looked back toward the kitchen and found Marnie staring out the window with tears streaming down her cheeks.
What the fuck!
I jumped off the couch and bolted toward her.
“Hey, hey, hey, what’s going on?”
I spun her around, one arm wrapping around her waist while my hand cupped her cheek. Swiping under her eyes, I wiped away her tears, and she hesitated briefly before taking in every inch of my face then finally meeting my gaze.
“You’re okay?” she hiccupped, her question tearing apart my heart. “You’re really okay?”
“I am. I truly am,” I dropped my voice low and gently caressed her cheek with my thumb. “Walking into the hospital would have been really hard for you, Freckles.”
She nodded, her eyes pooling with fresh tears.
“But you didn’t hesitate.”
“I had to make sure you were okay.”
“You could have called Ben or Sasha. You didn’t need to put yourself in that situation.”
“When Cora told me you’d been shot, I was pushed right back to the moment we lost Dad. I prepared myself for the worst because that’s the only way I could walk through those doors. I expected to turn up, find Benji covered in your blood, and be told you were dead. I thought I’d have to bury you, and it scared the absolute fuck out of me.” She sucked in a deep yet broken breath and closed her eyes. “But then I found you, breathing, alive, still here. I’ve never been as thankful as I was when I saw your eyes.”
Tu
gging her against me, I buried my face in her hair as she wrapped her arms tightly around my middle. Marnie blew out a long breath and held on as if she was trying to convince herself that I was really here, alive and breathing.
“If it makes you uncomfortable being here, you don’t need to stick around. Honestly, I am fine, and if I get stuck, I can call Sasha.”
She shook her head and took a step back and out of my arms. “Nope.”
“What do you mean nope?”
“I take care of you, Austin, just like you take care of me. I always have, ever since we met. I need to be here, and I need to be doing this.” Her honesty was raw, brutal, and beautiful. “So I’m not leaving.”
“Marnie—”
“I said nope. Now, are we going to cook something for lunch, or are we ordering a pizza?”
I threw my head back and laughed. Marnie had spoken, and that was that. One minute, she was opening her heart and declaring she wanted to take care of me, and then the next, she was bossing me around. Classic Marnie.
“Let me grab my phone and credit card.”
“I’m paying.”
“You are not paying.”
She gave me a don’t fuck with me look, and I gave it right back to her. I left her standing in the kitchen and went to the entrance where I’d left my wallet and phone when I’d got home. Next thing I know, I hear her on the phone ordering both of our favorite pizzas and garlic bread and then rattling off a credit card number I didn’t recognize.
“There, it’s done,” she announced proudly, flopping down on the couch. She focused on the TV, and I just stared at her, completely impressed that she’d fucked me over and got her way so easily.
She continued looking at the television. “You’re staring.”
“I don’t know whether to be impressed by your evil brilliance or scared?”
Only then did she turn, winking. “You’ve had years of my brilliance, so this shouldn’t come as a surprise.”
Chuckling still, I sat next to her on the couch, and a weird as fuck silence swept in around us. Hearing her say she took care of me wasn’t a lie. That was what we’d always done. We took care of each other when we faced shitty times. We both stared at the television. I don’t know if she was paying attention, but I sure as hell wasn’t. All I wanted to do was switch it off, turn to her, and ask her where I stood, where we stood, and whether this was her way of telling me she was considering giving me a second chance.
The fact that she’d come to me in the hospital had given me a glimmer of hope, but having her turn up at my home had ignited me with possibilities.
Plus, I really wanted to kiss her again. Repeatedly.
Once the pizza arrived, the need to kiss her grew stronger because she started moaning after every bite of pizza she took.
“You know how I told you if you kept looking at my mouth, I was going to kiss you?” She swallowed the bite she’d just taken and nodded. “Well, forget that, because now if you don’t stop moaning after every bite of pizza, we’re going to end up naked.”
I challenged her to moan again, but she reeled it in. But that didn’t mean I stopped thinking of her sweet moans, but it wasn’t her pizza moans I was thinking about. Fuck, I didn’t need to be thinking of how she sounded when I fucked her.
“Knock, knock, knock, is anyone home?”
Gigi strolled in wearing one of her signature tracksuit ensembles in aqua and a face full of makeup and perfectly curled hair. I stood from the couch, grabbed the empty pizza boxes, and took them to the trash, then made my way to Gigi.
“There’s our injured boy, how are you?”
“Hey Gigi, I’m feeling okay.” Smiling, I leaned in, kissing her cheek.
“I’m so glad my boys have an aversion to wearing shirts.” Gigi fanned her face as she scanned me from head to toe, not hiding the fact she was checking me out. “You and Ben keep this frisky sixty-something-year-old woman feeling like she’s a frisky twentysomething. I just need to get Drew on the shirtless train. I think that boy is hiding something fine under his shirts.”
“You should get a pool installed and invite him over. He could become your pool boy.”
“Now, that is a great idea! Benjamin’s my yard boy, Drew can be my pool boy, and that just leaves me to find a job for you.”
I shrugged. “I can be your boy toy.”
“Austin Hart! You stop that.” She threw her head back cackling, and her whole body shook. I took great pleasure out of encouraging her inappropriateness, and I fucking loved when she got on a roll. “That’ll make me your sugar momma.”
“Oh my god, stop, I’m going to pee my pants.” Tears streamed down Marnie’s face, but this time, they were brought on by the craziness of Gigi. She was shaking her head, causing her chocolate brown hair to swish around her face, and her eyes were scrunched up mid-laugh. She looked phenomenal. I would have kept staring at her if Gigi hadn’t spoken.
“You’ve got some explaining to do,” Gigi’s left brow rose, and she pursed her lips. “Last night, Benjamin told me some disturbing and somewhat devastating news that he had to call your sister to confirm.” Gigi didn’t miss a beat as she lifted the cake carrier she’d been holding and waved it in my direction. “I was informed that your favorite cake is vanilla. I’m known for my chocolate cakes, Austin, but there I was, spending my Saturday night covered in flour and making you a vanilla cake with extra strawberry frosting. Disturbing and devastating.”
“Gigi, you didn’t need to make me a cake.”
She looked at me in utter disbelief. “One of my boys was in the hospital, so yes, I needed to make you a cake, lots of cake. I’m going to put you and Marnie on my cake rotation too. I make Ben and Sasha a cake, so now I’m making you two a cake.”
“Um, but we aren’t like Ben and Sasha. We aren’t a couple.” Marnie stood from the couch and grabbed the cake carrier out of Gigi’s hand.
“You aren’t a couple … yet. I give it a couple of days.” Gigi followed Marnie toward the kitchen, then she stopped beside her at the island. “I’ve got to say, though, Austin might like vanilla cake, but I don’t think there is anything vanilla about him. Am I right?” She nudged Marnie’s shoulder suggestively.
“How in the world do you know about vanilla sex?” Marnie chuckled, totally engrossed in Gigi.
“Erotic novels. They are my favorite. Ben and Sasha got me a Kindle thingy for Christmas, and now I’m addicted to one-clicking, I think that’s what the kids are calling it these days.”
“You’ll have to give me some recommendations.”
“Let’s eat cake and talk erotica.”
This was not how I was expecting to spend the afternoon with Marnie, but sure enough, as I headed back to the couch, I heard sixty-something-year-old Gigi mention BDSM and how she thinks sex clubs could spice up a marriage.
Five hours later, I woke on the couch, sore and stiff. After I’d left them to chat about erotic romance books, I’d laid down, thinking I’d catch up on the game, but I promptly passed out. Shifting my head to the side, I spotted Marnie curled up on the other end of the couch, engrossed in whatever she was doing on her iPad.
“Boo,” I whispered toward her, my voice hoarse from sleep.
She jumped, sending iPad flying out of her hands and landing on the floor. “Holy fuck! Austin!”
I sat up slowly, hissing as pain slammed into my shoulder. “Whatcha doing?”
“I was reading a book, but now I’m trying to stop myself from having a heart attack.” She leaned down and picked up her iPad and shut it down. “You need something for the pain?”
I nodded. “Yeah, give me a sec to wake up, and I’ll go grab it.”
“Where are your meds?” She gave me the don’t argue look as she rose to her feet. “I’ll get your meds, and warm up the leftover pizza and bring out some cake, and you find us a movie to watch. Fair? Yes? Good. Now, where are your meds?”
“I don’t remember you ever being this bossy when we were together.” Laughin
g, I grabbed the remote and switched on the television, then started scrolling through the movies. “Not sure if I’m into it or a little scared by it. Maybe it’s a little of both, sexy and scary.”
“You better get used to it.”
She disappeared into the kitchen, and I kept focusing on her words.
There was a promise in her tone, and I’d be fucked if I didn’t grab onto it with both hands.
Twenty-Six
Marnie
Hate was a word I didn’t like using, but what I felt for the Harts was as close to hate as you could get. Austin tried everything to hide how his parents’ fucked-up way of parenting affected him, but with me, he allowed me to see the pain, to feel his anguish, and to comfort his hurt. I was the one with him when he drank himself into a stupor after his college graduation because his parents were more concerned about getting their photo taken for the front cover of the newspaper than congratulating their son on his extraordinary grades. I was the one who celebrated with him when he got accepted into the police academy, and it was my parents who threw him a congratulations party when he moved through the ranks. His dad spent a lot of time out of town working as a high-profile lawyer between Los Angeles and New York, and when he was in Monroe, he was always attached to his phone or laptop, and he lived and breathed his work while his mother was too concerned about her status in the community. In her eyes, being a police officer wasn’t prestigious enough. His parents pissed me off then, and they sure as hell pissed me off now.
Now, two weeks after what we decided to call the bullet incident, I was sitting at Hamilton’s with Austin, Ben, Sasha, and Crazy John, enjoying dinner, a few drinks, and gossiping with Sasha while the guys watched the game when ice hit my veins. I’d just spotted Austin’s parents sitting at a table across the room, and my eyes met his mother’s. The conversation around me ceased to exist as anger roared to life within me. I’d spent years reining in my anger when it came to Baron and Cybil Hart, but this time, it was different. This time, they had taken it to a whole new level, and I was done.
My Only Reason (Men of Monroe Book 2) Page 23