Romancing Austin

by Riley Bancroft, Evelyn Berry, Cara Carnes, Jax Garren, Irene Preston, Rebecca Royce, Chandra Ryan

  “Terminator? Really?”

  His lips hovered above mine. “For what it’s worth, the balcony was nowhere near goodbye for me.”

  I closed my eyes and kissed him, giving him all the confusion, desire, anger and wanton need drowning me in a kiss I hope expressed everything I intended. I needed his understanding, his help explaining what tonight was about since I had zero clue.

  The vehicle lurched to a halt too soon. I was okay with driving in circles, kissing Caleb all night as we kept the world locked out. I fell into an awkward silence, unsure what he expected once we were alone. Bets squeezed me tight and whispered words my inebriated mind didn’t hear.

  I toed off my shoes, opting for the safety of bare feet versus another feeding frenzy for the media vultures when I had to get something broken set in the ER. The world spun, my head floated. My heart thundered adrenaline and anticipation through my veins as I tromped beside Caleb, blinding out whoever may or may not be watching us.

  The elevator sealed us into isolation. Heat coursed through me. The last time we’d been alone in a moving tube I’d…and he’d…and we’d…Yowza. He groaned and drew me into his arms. I ran my hands along his chest, willing the moving to stop.

  “I’m not kissing you until I have at least two locks between us and the world because once my mouth closes on yours again, I won’t stop until we’ve both come and we can pass out on the bed in exhaustion.”

  My will crumpled beneath the pleasure his words offered, unabashed freedom to do whatever we wanted one more time. I’d craved the opportunity too long. I hustled out of the elevator the moment it stopped and smiled when he chuckled behind me. Sprinting down the hall proved pointless, though, since I had no idea which room was his.

  Of course it turned out to be the huge ass double door one at the corner. A suite. Naturally. He carded us in and I attacked him the second the door shut. Tongues dueled, hands groped, clothing ripped—his more than mine. Impatience prickled the awkward tussle to the massive bed in the other room.

  He growled and picked me up. I wrapped my legs around his waist and deepened the kiss. Cool pillowy softness greeted me as he severed the contact long enough to remove my skirt. I yanked the red lace top over my head and tossed it aside. When he reached for his belt, I grabbed his hands and licked my lips.

  “Let me.”

  “Jesus, Shas. I’m about to explode. Not sure I can handle those sweet lips of yours on my dick.” He groaned when I freed his manhood and wrestled the denim down his lean lips and powerful thighs.

  He kicked off his shoes and freed his legs from the jeans. Kneeling before him, I massaged, kneaded and licked my way up his magnificent body. I’d missed Caleb’s unique flavor, the glide of his flesh beneath my tongue, the way his muscles clenched and flexed beneath my touch.

  The responses I drew from him invigorated me, pushing the tequila haze back. Rubbing and massaging along his inner, upper thighs I bypassed the pulsating cock awaiting me and chased an invisible trail along his washboard abs. Damn the man was cut. I moaned my appreciation and flicked my tongue from the top of the left side of the sexier-than-hell V down to where it intersected the heated flesh awaiting my mouth.

  I wrapped my hand around his thick shaft and flicked my tongue along the tip, savoring the precum. My fingertips ran along his shaft, pumping as I drew him into my mouth. The feral growl rumbling from him shook along my spine and pooled in heated arousal at my core—where I wanted him most.

  Pleasure thrummed within my veins. Each thrust of his hardened length taunted me with how good he would feel buried within me. Eager for the sensation his touch sparked, I ran my fingers of my other hand across my pussy and clit.

  “Fuck, you’re so hot,” Caleb grunted as he powered into me in a thrust I felt clear to the finger buried in my wet slit. “I need inside you, Shas.”

  Before my mind could wrap around the plea he pressed me against the mattress. The kiss was hot, hungered. I hoped there was a third condom in his magic pocket, but then remembered his pants weren’t around. I thought to sever the contact, hunt for protection.

  His mouth roamed south, his trajectory obvious since he pinched and tweaked my nipples. I groaned. To hell with thinking ahead.

  Warmth enveloped the tiny bud, streaming bursts of ecstasy throughout my body. His wandering mouth continued, licking a trail down my ribcage. I gasped when his fingers thrust into me.

  “So wet,” he whispered before his tongue laved my clit. His hands spread my thighs wider and he looked up at me. “I’ve wanted to do this all night.”

  Yes. Sweet heavens his tongue was a registered weapon meant to destroy a woman’s thinking ability. His fingers and tongue worked in tandem, suckling and fucking me into a delirium. Hands above my head, I relished the way he commanded my body so easily, ignited pleasure I couldn’t imagine having with anyone else.

  “You taste so good I could do this all night.” His hot breath fanned my inner thigh a moment before he rose to loom above me—a sex god about to fuck the sacrificial virgin into oblivion. Okay, I wasn’t a virgin, but the sentiment was the same.

  “Does your magic pocket have any more of those equally magical condoms left?”

  “Fuck I hope so.” He growled his agitation and abandoned me.

  Mutters and frustrated grumbling ensued while he rifled through his baggage, a rabid squirrel not finding the proverbial nut. I sighed, my vision dancing with a glorious display of skin—his perfect, muscular ass and powerful thighs. I bit my tongue and planned where I’d nibble later.

  He stood and I moaned when he paused and rolled a condom on his gorgeous cock. The thought seemed somewhat cliché. How could a dick be pretty? But his was—thick and long enough for a woman to feel long after he was done fucking her senseless. Before I could regale him with thoughts of the beauty of his manhood, he returned and kissed every thought from me. Again.

  “It’s probably good you left me, Caleb, because every time I’m with you I can’t think about anything but this, what you make me feel.”

  “I never left you, Shas. You were with me every time I closed my eyes at night. You were the first thought I had when I woke up.” He slid into me. The pleasure, the completeness was almost too much to bear.

  Caleb covered my body as he drove into me with a wild abandon I felt trickling through me. I met each thrust, clenched and begged for more with the press of my fingers to his ass. My entire body shook with the need for release, but the thought of ending this undid any thought I had of abandoning the small grip I had on my control.

  I moaned when his hand slid between us and his talented fingers strummed my clit. Damn him for always knowing exactly what ignited my blood. I cried out the release I didn’t want because it meant the fusion between us would end. Tonight would end.

  An errant tear trekked down my cheek. He kissed it away and moved inside me slowly, each thrust stroking the embers igniting between us with an impossible promise my jaded heart latched onto.

  “I won’t let you go, Shasta Monohan. Come for me, sweetheart.” His lips melded with mine and swept me into a landmine of what-ifs and maybes I had no desire to leave.

  I panted and gasped, my body seizing in pleasure. My senses fled. I heard his growled release from a distance from the tunnel of awareness I was floating within. Tucked against him, I nuzzled into his warmth and basked in the euphoric cocoon only Caleb spun.

  “Wow,” I whispered.

  He feathered kisses along my forehead and moved my damp hair from my eyes. “Go to sleep, sweetheart. We’ll talk in the morning, when I know you’ll remember what I say.”

  My gut clenched. The conversation wasn’t necessary because my heart had known all along what words he’d say. Tonight couldn’t mean anything. There wasn’t a place in his life for anyone from White Bluffs.

  “No sleep. Wake me for round two when you’re ready. I’m not done with you, Caleb.”

  I never would be, but he didn’t need to know the ugly truth looming between us
. I had the next few hours and I had no intention of wasting a single moment sleeping. I was a rock princess and I’d reunited with my rock star king.

  —

  The thing about tequila few people realized? Its effect only lasted a few hours. When the blissful numbness fled your body all those emotions you’d attempted to block out returned and chewed away at your insides. Harsh morning light flooded through the floor to ceiling windows along an entire wall.

  The fact I hadn’t even noticed them last night should’ve been a litmus test for all the things I’d done in the bed, the shower, the floor, against the wall, over the sofa. I sighed. No wonder my muscles ached. I’d been bedded by the Energizer Bunny and the list I’d run through hadn’t even been the end because he’d carried me back to the shower. Damn the man had serious skills and staying power.

  We have seven years to make up, Shas.

  The words stung more in the brutal morning after than they had last night. I couldn’t lay here and have the conversation he’d promised. No way could I deal. Call me chicken shit. I didn’t care.

  Unwrapping myself from Caleb, I ninja’d my exit from the bed and activated Operation Save My Heart. It was weak, desperate and pathetic. Whatever. It was doable.

  After rescuing what clothes I located, I tip toed out of the room with a momentary pause. Looking over my shoulder, I sighed my acceptance. This was for the best. He had a life so beyond me he was in the stratosphere.

  Goodbye, Caleb. I’ll always love you.

  Emotionally wrecked and physically exhausted, I powered forward through the hall and hit the elevator before I could second guess the most fateful decision I’d made. The lobby proved problematic. Planning on the fly wasn’t my strength. The vultures hovered near the Starbucks beside the nearest exit.

  Damn.

  I looked around, praying for an invisible exit strategy.

  “Miss?”

  Shit. I did an uncommitted glance over my shoulder and sighed in relief when I noted his uniform. Hotel staff I could handle. Hopefully. “Y-Yes?”

  “If you’ll follow me, I’ll get you a private car if you wish.”

  I smiled at my savior. “Thank you.”

  5

  News of my scandalous evening traveled down Highway 290 and hit White Bluffs like a nuclear torpedo. By the time I dragged ass in to Pete’s Percolator for my late afternoon shift, all the regulars were there with big grins on their faces.

  Ugh. I should’ve called in.

  “You’re on counter today, Hollywood.” Pete tossed an apron at me the moment my purse left my hand. “They want the nitty gritty, you give it to them, but only after they pay up. Coffee and a muffin is the price for the goodies. You hear me?”

  I stared at the copious amounts of muffins in the display case and sighed. Pete was in for a rude awakening because there was no dirt to dish. Okay, so I’d gotten carried out over Caleb’s—sorry, Colt’s—shoulder the night before. Big whoop.

  So we’d had toe-curling sex. Repeatedly.

  So we got tossed in the slammer for indecent exposure, after being captured in full color screwing on the balcony. Big whoop.

  I was in full-blown denial mode and had every intention of staying there. Muscles I’d forgotten existed ached. The sweet euphoric wave I’d ridden all night crashed when I woke this morning. My skin and hair still smelled of him. I hadn’t had the heart or energy to wash away the remnants of my romp fest. I cupped my face with my hands and inhaled deeply.

  The last thing we’d done together was shower. I’d never shower again without thinking of him, his hot body pressed against mine as water pelted my heated skin.

  “Shake a leg, Hollywood. Your adoring fans wait.” Pete slammed through the kitchen door and I groaned. The disapproving tone made my gut clench.

  I followed him into the back and stopped in the door to his office. Pinned with nowhere to go, he turned his disappointment on me, quick and efficient, a bandage being ripped off a festering wound.

  “I thought you knew better than get tangled up with him again.” His weathered face, lined with worry, angled away as he fiddled with a pile of papers on his desk. “Those boys did good for themselves, better for their folks. They didn’t do what most kids would’ve done when they hit it big. They’ve done right by this town. I heard they’re donating to fix up the old baseball field.”

  I nodded and waited for his muddled thoughts to drop bombs on land I’d attacked myself the moment I’d woken up. No doubt whatever he said I’d screamed a hundred times already. I might be in denial about what last night meant to me, but it didn’t mean I couldn’t bitch myself out.

  “He tore you up something fierce. Harrison gets wind of what happened he’ll be Austin bound with a shotgun and fifty alibis lined up. Mark my words.” Pete shook a finger at me. “You get your head on straight, missy, because half the town is cheering you on and the other half is waiting for shit to hit the fan. Success breeds jealousy and my shop reeks with some of those busy bodies out there.”

  Half the town wouldn’t fit in Pete’s shop, but I got what he said. Most of the implants from Austin’s population explosion settled into two massive “neighborhoods” outside of White Bluffs and, therefore, weren’t really residents as far as old timers were concerned. They were wandering wannabes with no business hanging around and wrecking a good thing.

  Too late.

  The surge of several thousand new residents brought a massive grocery store, chain eateries and national retail outlets. All those things, when combined, made small local business owners itch. Progress sometimes sucked the marrow from one’s soul, or so I’d heard more times than I’d care to count.

  “Caleb ain’t for you, Shasta Monohan. It’s time you moved on.”

  “I know.”

  Pete’s arthritic hands shook as he tied an apron and looked over his shoulder at me. “If you need a couple days to let the dust settle, I’ll make it happen.”

  I glanced back at the filled lobby and dutifully shook my head. My penance for bad decisions would be Pete’s reward. Someone might as well prosper from my impulsive ways. “I’m good.”

  Grabbing an apron, I tossed it on and forged into the throng of awaiting customers. It didn’t take long for me to note a trend—lots of small coffees and way too much time spent for each purchase. The line grew, swelling to an angry, buzzing beast looping as far as my gaze could track down the sidewalk.

  Lovely.

  “Counter girl and general know-it-all about you know what motoring through. Make way people.” Bets shoved her way through the door and glared at one man when he didn’t budge. “Man, I’m short on sleep and long on misplaced frustration. Do you really want to mess with me? I had to bail my BFF out of the pokey last night. Don’t think I won’t make her return the favor.”

  “I’d move it, buddy. The last man who pissed her off got chased down Main with an axe.” Frank Meadows tossed out the statement with a grin and a nod in Bets’ direction. “Betsy.”

  “I didn’t tag you as the gossipy sort, Frank. “ She tossed a final glare at the stranger, who’d shuffled to the side with widened eyes. “You get sick of chatting up all those cows of yours and realize you need some real friends?”

  The line whistled. Frank’s sun-weathered face spread into a grin. A few years older than us, I figured he was bumping mid-thirties. I didn’t mind the gossip mill as much as most, but it didn’t take a rumor mongrel to recognize the exhaustion on his face. The pain. The general I’m-sick-of-caring-about-life shadow clung to him.

  I hadn’t seen him since his wife’s funeral a couple of years ago. Guilt made my insides sour when he stepped forward and stood before me. I forced a smile I didn’t quite feel. “How’s it going, neighbor?”

  “I’m thinking I’m better than you are.” Frank smiled. “I know you’ve been staying out with your mom at the old ranch, so I wanted to let you know the buzzards are circling the main entrance.”

  “Great.” I ignored the glower from Bets as sh
e fisted an apron from beneath the counter and took her place beside me to take the next order. The immovable wall. Would this day never end? “Thanks for letting me know. I’m sorry I haven’t seen you around. I keep meaning to wander over, see how your boys are doing.”

  “They’re good, growing faster than weeds. Four and seven now.” Sadness entered his gaze as he cleared his throat. “I’ll take six of your blueberry muffins and a large coffee to go, black.” He chucked a twenty onto the counter. “Put the rest in Marcy’s tin.”

  “You’re a good man, Frank.”

  “I’ve been meaning to tell you the same thing. What you’re doing? Handling your mom, even after all she’s done over the years? The mark of a good woman. Most would’ve taken off.”

  Or raise hell in White Bluffs the way my brothers had. My mom might’ve been shit when it came to parenting, but she’d done what she could when Dad took off. Times had been tough, but we’d gotten by. I had to lay the credit at her feet for getting me through until I’d been old enough to hold my own. I owed her.

  I looked down at the empty tin we’d started for Pete’s granddaughter. Chemotherapy treatment was expensive, and insurance only covered so much. I nodded my gratitude as I made change and shoved it into the tin. Bets watched with a glimmer in her gaze.

  What was she up to now?

  Frank shrugged. “Time gets away from you. It’s none of my business and not something you much care about, but I’m happy you’re getting a second chance.”

  “Thanks.” I fell into an awkward silence as his words struck me. He knew more about loss than most. Losing a wife the way he had would suck the happiness from anyone. I’d been bemoaning my tragic life thanks to an impulsive decision and there he was, smiling and buying muffins for his motherless kids and donating money to a sick little girl with cancer. The action, his very presence in Pete’s screamed at me.

  Pull your head out of your ass, Shasta Monohan. It isn’t always about you. Pull your big girl britches up, lace them up tight and make a decision. Either take a risk on Caleb or cut him loose.