Build

by Gillian Archer

  I ducked my head. “I’m not happy. Just…” I peeked up at him out of the corner of my eye and thought what the hell. Why not just say it? “I just thought we made a perfect pair. Not perfect perfect. Just that we both are the responsible ones in our families. The ones who are working their ass off for their families and everyone looks to…”

  Austin stared back at me with wide eyes. My verbal diarrhea was out of control. I wanted to lean forward and just bury my face in his chest in total embarrassment, but again we weren’t a couple, and that was just ridiculous.

  I sighed. “Never mind.”

  Austin tipped his head up and rocked back on his heels. The intensity of his stare made my skin prickle. Finally one side of his mouth hitched up in a half smile. “No, I get it. We’re both the breadwinners of the family. My brothers do their share, but they have jobs because of me. I’m the one who started the shop. I’m the face of the business. I’m the responsible one. Or at least I was, until this weekend when everything went to hell.”

  “Do you want to talk about it? I’m a really good listener, you know.”

  A stony expression fell over Austin’s face. “No.”

  “Okay.” I bit my lip as a shaft of pain pierced my chest. It was totally irrational. We weren’t a couple. He didn’t owe me anything, but I still felt a depth of pain in the face of his abrupt rejection. Pivoting, I surveyed the motorcycles and side by sides arranged in the garage.

  And then it hit me. This far out in the hills, shouldn’t there be one of those attachment plow thingies for four-wheelers? It looked like Cole had every boy toy I could name—he totally should have one of those, right?

  I tore off to examine the shelves and equipment piled inside the garage.

  “What are you doing?” Austin drawled from somewhere behind me.

  “Does Cole have one of those plow attachments for a four-wheeler or the side by side? We could plow the road ourselves and be out of here before the next storm hits.”

  “Fuck, why didn’t I think of that?” Austin muttered.

  The next few minutes clangs of metal and grunts were the only sounds in the garage. To be honest, I wasn’t one hundred percent sure what we were looking for. But I’d know it when I saw it, right?

  Ten minutes later I wasn’t so sure. Nothing I could see in the garage looked like what I thought a plow attachment should look like. I’d been all over my side of the garage and Austin’s and found nothing. I sank into the passenger seat of the side by side and sighed heavily. Nothing. And Austin’s phone hadn’t rang once. No one was coming to help us. We were gonna be stuck here another night.

  The side by side rocked as Austin settled into the driver’s seat. His voice was rumbly when he spoke. “We could always take one of these out and see how far we can get. Might be able to reach the highway.”

  I snorted. “There’s three feet of snow in the driveway—the drifts are even deeper. We’d sink to the axle, get high centered, and be stuck there. And even if we made it to the freeway, then what? We drive it all the way to Sac or Auburn? That’s insane.”

  “You’re really tightly wound. Has anyone ever told you that before?” The smug, condescending tone of his voice pissed me off. I might be stuck here with this asshole, but I sure as hell didn’t need to listen to his bullshit for one more minute.

  “You know what? Fuck you, Austin. I’m not dealing with your shit.” I pushed up off the seat and was two steps away when he spoke again.

  “And off she goes. Running away. Again.” The sound of his mocking slow claps rang in the garage. “Fucking fantastic.”

  “What do you want from me?” I whirled around and marched back to his side of the vehicle. “I’m sorry. Was I supposed to fall down and bow and scrape to your brilliant suggestion? You are ever so smart, sir. I know you’ll save us. My hero.”

  Austin shook his head wordlessly, his eyes narrowed even as his lips curved in a sneer.

  “I don’t believe that you even want to go home. Did you even call the business manager again? Or other plow companies? After that call from your brother you just disappeared into the gym and didn’t say a single fucking word. Who’s the runner? You just wanna hole up here and wallow in your misery. I know, maybe some alcohol will help. You can always drink us out of here.”

  “Fuck off. You don’t even know what the hell you’re talking about, so shut the fuck up.”

  “I know a bitter, alcoholic asshole when I see one. My dad had been one after all. You two are very much alike. Kinda gross to see that I have daddy issues, so thanks for that. Fuck you very much.”

  “I am not him! I will never be him.” Austin jumped out of the vehicle and towered over me. “I am not my goddamn father and fuck you for even saying it.”

  His chest heaved with his breath as he glared down at me. I shrank back as he moved into my personal space and was being kinda scary.

  “I uh, didn’t say that. I said you reminded me of my father. Not yours. How would I know what your father was like? I’ve never met the man.”

  Austin blinked a couple times then seemed to snap back into himself. “Fuck. I didn’t mean, I wouldn’t…”

  Taking a few steps back, he shook his head slowly then—and if I didn’t see it myself, I’d never have believed it—tears welled in Austin’s eyes. “I’m sorry.”

  Before I could reply, he stepped past me and made for the house.

  “Austin, wait…”

  But he didn’t pause. A beat later the door softly clicked shut behind him, leaving me and Blue in the garage together.

  Blue jogged to the closed door and sat on the top step. With his nose pointed at the door knob, Blue whined quietly. I walked over to him and patted him on the head.

  “I’m sorry, Blue. I kinda took my anger out on your owner, and I think I might’ve pushed him over the edge. Do you have any suggestions on how I should make it up to him?”

  Blue swung his head toward me and whined again. He wasn’t speaking English, but I knew what he wanted, and I agreed with him. Blue, at least, could help Austin right now. I opened the door and watched as Blue tore through the house searching for his master. I followed behind but kept my distance so as not to scare Blue or Austin off.

  Our search ended in the home gym down the hall from the media room. Blue nosed open the door, but I hung back, waiting behind the door to see how Austin was doing.

  “Hey boy,” Austin murmured softly. “I’m okay.”

  Blue whimpered. I couldn’t see what was happening but from the metallic clinks it sounded like Austin was punishing himself with more exercise. It hadn’t worked before, judging by his earlier explosion. How often had he gone to a gym to work through his demons? Enough times to give him an eight pack apparently.

  “I know I fucked up, buddy. It’s just…you know how I get when he’s brought up. Not that she brought him up—I did—but argh. I don’t like being the one in the wrong. How do I even apologize for that shit that just went down?”

  “How about you start with “I’m sorry?” It’s my go-to phrase.” I said as I stepped into the room.

  Austin’s eyes snapped to mine from where he sat on a weight lifting bench. His expression went flat just before a small smile tugged at his lips. “I guess it serves me right. I eavesdropped on you first.”

  “Wait, what? When?”

  He jerked his head in a tight nod. “Earlier today. When you were with Blue in the bedroom.”

  My eyes widened as I realized what I’d said earlier, and the fact that Austin heard it all. Shit. “That’s not even the same thing. I was pouring my heart out to Blue, and you were whining about having to apologize.”

  “Not my fault if you interrupted us too soon. Maybe I was just gonna get to the good stuff. You should’ve waited.”

  I had to laugh at that. “Touché. I guess I need some eavesdropping tips. You wanna swap? I’ll teach you how to apologize, and you can teach me how to listen in on private conversations?”

  “Sounds like a deal.”
Austin smiled and the sight made my heart pound. Unlike earlier, his eyes were soft with regret, and I just wanted to curl up in his arms and tell him that everything would be all right.

  “I am sorry. I just…shit with my dad has kinda reached epic levels, and I’ve been twitchy about it all week. Hell, it’s the reason I’m out here in the first place.” He sighed and hung his head for a second. Then, with a resolved straightening of his shoulders, he tipped his head back and met my eyes straight on. “I’m sorry, okay? I shouldn’t have lashed out at you like that, and I’m sorry if I scared you. I don’t…I’ve never hit a woman. You don’t have to worry about that with me. I swear.”

  “Good to know. And I’m sorry I was blaming you for everything. I was pissed and taking it out on you apparently. I’m just…I miss my little boy, and I’m worried we won’t be able to get back to town today.”

  Austin crossed his arms over his chest and tilted his head. “What’s the worst thing that would happen if you didn’t make it home tonight?”

  “Uh, I don’t show up at work, I lose my job, and my little boy forgets what I look like.”

  His booming laughter made me jump. After a moment, I reluctantly joined in.

  “That’s fucking whacked, sweetheart. He’s gonna forget you after what? Two days? Didn’t you see him yesterday before you left for work?”

  “Well, yeah but—”

  “And your job. Do you really think your boss won’t understand that you can’t make it in because of a fucking blizzard?”

  I sighed. “He probably would understand.”

  “You might as well call him and let him know. Get someone else to cover your shift, and then you got nothing to worry about.”

  “Aside from how I’m gonna pay all my bills.”

  “It’s that tight for you guys? One shift could make or break you?”

  I shrugged uncomfortably. Between my mom’s doctor bills, our mountain of credit card debt, and all the regular, monthly bills, it was close. I was really the sole breadwinner considering Mom’s paltry social security check. But I couldn’t lay all that out for Austin—talking about money with someone I hardly knew and had slept with was uncomfortable. And tacky.

  Austin tilted his head. “We could arrange something that might benefit both of us.”

  My eyes widened, and I blurted out. “I’m not a hooker!”

  “No! I didn’t mean… I was thinking of hiring you to spruce up our shop. We have a service, but it’s easy enough to switch to you.”

  “You’d have to go through our booking agent. I don’t poach clients from my boss. It’s the fastest way to lose my job.”

  Austin nodded. “I could still—”

  “No! And I’m not talking about this with you anymore. It’s my problem. I’ll figure it out.”

  Blue whined at my strident tone, so I held out a hand to him. He came to my side, rubbing his head against my hip. I ran a hand over his soft, velvety fur. After a moment he sat at my feet and let me rub at that spot behind his ears.

  “Okay.” Austin held his hands up, palms out. “Just trying to help. But you do know that there’s nothing wrong with accepting help from time to time, right? Especially from people who like you.”

  “Well, you don’t need to. I’ve got it handled.” I tried for a softer tone, but I was afraid it still came out a little harsh given his expression. “I just…I need to be able to take care of it myself. But I do appreciate your offer. And if you really want to, you can call our service and request me specifically. Less time spent driving to Tahoe and back would be awesome for me and my family.”

  Austin tipped his head up in acknowledgement but didn’t say anything. Another awkward silence fell between us. And me being so uneasy, I had to fill the silence with something.

  “Do you want to talk about your whole dad thing—the reason you said you were up here in the first place? Sometimes talking through the situation with someone who doesn’t have a side in the whole thing helps—like how you helped me with the worst case scenario thing. We can do that for you if you like…” I trailed off as I realized that once again I was babbling. Apparently one night of sex wasn’t enough to stop the runaway train that was my tongue when I was in Austin Burns’ presence.

  Austin’s lips tipped up in a half smile. “You know you’re really cute when you do that endless sentence thing. Especially the way you blush afterwards.”

  I fought the smile tugging at my lips. He was a smooth SOB when he wanted to be. “And that’s not an answer to my question.”

  “I got a little lost in your tangled question. What did you ask me?”

  I huffed. If he thought his teasing would make me back down, he was wrong. “Do you want to talk about the shit going down with your dad?”

  12

  Austin

  “Fuck no,” I muttered.

  Rachel crossed her arms over her chest with a wounded expression like I’d just punched her puppy.

  “Shit. That came out harsh. I just—I really don’t want to talk about him. Ever. Least of all with you.”

  Rachel flinched.

  I closed my eyes in disgust—at myself. Pushing away from the weight bench, I crossed the distance between us then wrapped my arms around her waist.

  She shrank away, shaking her head. “Austin, I don’t…”

  “I’m sorry. Nothing is coming out the way I mean. What I’m trying to say is that I don’t want anything about that bastard to ever touch you. He imploded my entire family. And took away the only person who’s ever loved me unconditionally. I just…I really don’t want to talk about him right now.”

  “Okay. I’m sorry.”

  I laughed softly. “We really gotta work on that with you. There is nothing you should be sorry about. The sorry is all on my end. In fact, let me make it up to you.”

  Rachel rolled her eyes. “You don’t have to make anything up to me.”

  “Oh, believe me, it’ll be my pleasure.” I dropped my head and nuzzled at the delicate skin at her neck.

  “Oh.” Rachel gasped before she sank into me. “I guess you do owe me.”

  “Mmmm,” I smiled into the nape of her neck before placing a kiss there. “You just let me know when you think I’ve done enough to get back into your good graces.”

  Rachel shivered as I suckled on her skin like I was an oversexed teenager. Let’s be honest, not much about my libido had changed since my teens. Least of all when I was around this woman. I swear most of the time I was either so pissed I couldn’t see straight or so horny I couldn’t stand up.

  I pulled away from her neck with a pop, leaving a very red mark marring her silky skin. Looking around the room, I spied the weight bench, and a fantasy from my teenage years jangled at the back of my mind. Gently turning her until I could look at the bench over her shoulder, I smiled wickedly at the mental image running through my head. Christ, I had to muffle my moan as my dick flexed beneath my pants.

  “Everything okay?” Rachel blinked up at me with lust fogging her bright, blue eyes. She bit her bottom lip. “You haven’t…changed your mind?”

  I could almost feel the self-doubt rolling off her. This time I didn’t bother muffling my groan as I nuzzled the top of her head. “Why the fuck would you think I would ever change my mind about you?” I buried my right hand in her hair and tipped her head back to make her meet my gaze. “Fuck me, baby. You are crazy hot. It’s everything I can do to keep enough blood in my head so I can function. When you’re near, my dick has dibs on my blood supply.”

  Rachel blushed furiously as I rubbed the proof of my erection against her. “Oh.”

  “Yeah. Oh.” I grinned down at her and couldn’t resist leaning down to press a kiss against her pursed lips. It only took that little bit of contact to get her breathing a little bit heavier. I groaned and covered her lips with mine. Taking the kiss deeper, I prodded at her lips with my tongue then delved deeper when she parted them to me. She tasted like a mixture of honey and vanilla. Sweet and fresh and so damn
addicting.

  I broke off with a grunt as she swayed in my arms.

  “Sorry,” she panted. “Kinda forgot how to stand up there for a minute.”

  I laughed softly. “There’s not exactly a lotta choices in here for flat surfaces and I want you too much to go hunting for a bed right this second. Come on.”

  Grabbing her hand, I led her over to the weight bench then let go of her so I could pull the thin bench clear of the weight bar. Taking a quick second, I shucked my pants, leaving me in only my boxer briefs as I sat on the bench and pulled her into the vee of my legs.

  “Really? Here?” Rachel looked down at me doubtfully.

  I shrugged. “I uh, kinda have this little fantasy that I wanted to play out.”

  “A fantasy?”

  I pulled her close, until I could burrow my head into her chest. When I spoke, my words were muffled by her jacket. “It involves you and me and this bench and so many orgasms we’ll both collapse into a boneless heap afterwards.”

  “Well, what the hell are we waiting for? Let’s get this party started.” Rachel laughed as she pulled away from me to unzip her jacket. In seconds it was sailing across the room, quickly followed by her polo shirt. She arched to reach the clasps of her bra, pushing her breasts out and into my face.

  I groaned as the little shimmy she did made her fantastic tits dance just inches from my mouth. She gave a little cry in victory, and her bra fell down her arms. I couldn’t look away as her breasts bounced while she shimmied out her pants. Finally, I couldn’t take it anymore. I grabbed her around her waist and pulled her to me. She tripped over her pants, tangled at her feet, and squealed.

  “Austin! Wait!”

  “Nope. You’ve teased me too fucking much. I can’t wait another goddamn second.” I pulled her to me until she had no choice but to climb onto my lap. I splayed my thighs to give her a place to rest. And then I did the thing I’d been dying to since she started her little striptease—I buried my face in her fantastic tits. Groaning, I quickly moved to her nipples, licking, sucking, tasting to my heart’s content. Who the fuck was I kidding? My dick was the one running the show. He had his own little fantasy about thrusting between those two, large, fucking fantastic tits all slippery with lube until my dick came all over her, covering her in a milky bath of my spunk.