I let out a quiet huff. “I don’t know what you want from me.”
“Come on. Let’s get you warm,” he said.
I had a feeling he wasn’t going to leave, so I nodded and led him upstairs. Unlocking the door, I stepped inside and turned on the light. Austin closed and locked the door behind us and I shrugged out of my coat. He threw his jacket on the chair by the television, but kept his vest on.
“Why don’t you talk like a thug?” I blurted out.
He chuckled. “I’m sorry?”
“Nothing.” I dropped my purse on the chair by the door. “Do you want some wine?”
“Got beer?”
“Um, maybe. I’ll look.” I stepped into the kitchen to see if Elliot had left anything the last time he’d come for dinner. I pushed the milk to the side and found three bottles of my brother’s favorite Portland brew, hoping Austin would like it. I grabbed one, opened it and then poured the last of the red I’d been drinking over the past few days into a glass.
I walked back into the living to find Austin lounging on my sofa, his booted feet up on my coffee table, television remote in his hand, flipping through stations and looking like he owned the place. He smiled at me and reached out his hand to take the beer. “Thanks, babe.”
I handed him the beer and shook my head as I sat in the chair next to the sofa.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
“What do you mean?”
He patted the cushion next to him. “Come here.”
“Um, no, I’m good right here. Thank you,” I said, and sipped my wine.
“Babe, come here.”
“No.”
He dropped his feet to the floor and he twisted to face me. “No?”
I nodded.
Austin grinned, setting his beer on the coffee table and rising to his feet. He took my wine and set it next to his beer.
“What are you doing?” I asked, leaning back as though I could achieve some space. Silly me.
He reached down, sliding one arm under my knees and one behind my back lifting me like I weighed no more than a small child, and sitting back on the sofa, me in his lap.
“Austin?” I squeaked.
“Yeah, babe.”
“What are you doing?”
“Well, I was drinkin’ a beer.” He stroked my hair, grinning like a loon.
I tried to scoot off his lap, but he held me tighter. “You are really confusing me.”
“I get that.”
“Then why are you doing it?”
He chuckled. “Because it’s fun.”
I sighed. “Will you take payments on my car?”
“No.”
“I can’t pay you without making payments, Austin.”
He ran a thumb over my lower lip. “I know.”
I pushed his hand away. “Are you expecting that I’ll sleep with you?”
“Not because I fixed your car, no.”
“What?”
“Babe,” he said with a sigh. “We’re working shit out here. I want to get to know you, so we’re gonna get to know each other.”
“Because you want to get to know me, we’re going to get to know each other?”
“Yeah.”
“What if I don’t want to get to know you?”
He sat up a little and kissed me. Captivated me with his mouth. It was awesome… and terrifying, and yet, I couldn’t do anything but feel, so I did. And it was overwhelming and beautiful and all-encompassing. He kissed me like he was drowning and I was his breath.
I came to my senses and broke the kiss, dropping my forehead to his. “What are you doing to me?”
He smiled, kissing me quickly again. “What do you want me to do to you?”
“I think it would be best if I didn’t answer that.”
Austin ran his thumb over my lower lip again. “Damn, you’re cute.”
“Are you really not going to let me pay for the car?”
“I’m really not going to let you pay for your car.” He gave me a gentle squeeze. “Mack thought it was worse than it was.”
“Five grand’s pretty bad, Austin.”
He grinned. “If you were someone off the street, it’s what we’d charge you. The parts were less than three hundred. The rest was labor.”
“I should at least talk to the person who fixed it about payments.”
“I fixed it, Dani.”
“You did?” I glanced at his hands. They were still void of oil.
He smiled. “I wore gloves, babe.”
“I thought you were using “I” in the general sense of you organized it.”
“Pickin’ up on that.”
I took his face in my hands. “You fixed my car.”
“I fixed your car.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
I bit my lip. “Can I get off your lap now?”
“In a minute.”
I didn’t say anything, but I liked that answer. I liked where I was. He made me feel protected.
“You asked me a question before,” he said.
“Which one?” My face heated. “The thug one?”
He chuckled. “Yeah, that one.”
“I’m sorry. That was rude.”
“Would you like me to answer it?”
“If you want to.”
“We’re gettin’ to know each other, right?”
I nodded. “Can I get off your lap now?”
He shook his head and my heart raced. He was delicious.
“Can I at least have my wine, then?” I asked. He grinned, gripping me tighter as he leaned forward and lifted the wine glass off the table, handing it to me. I smiled. “Thank you.”
Austin leaned forward and kissed me again and I smiled against his lips. “We’re getting sidetracked.”
He nodded. “I like getting sidetracked with you.”
I blushed again.
“I’m a genius,” he said.
I choked on my sip of wine and coughed to clear my throat. Austin rubbed my back until I was able to catch my breath. “That is the last thing I thought I’d hear out of your mouth.”
He chuckled. “Picked up on that.”
“Are you really a genius?”
“I’m really a genius. My IQ’s one-seventy-one.”
“Shut up.” I stared at him for a second, hoping to see if he might flinch revealing a lie. He didn’t. “If you’re a genius, how is it you’re a part of a gang?”
He raised an eyebrow. “A gang?”
“Please, I will admit that I’m somewhat sheltered, but I know enough to know that motorcycle clubs are pretty much glorified gangs, Austin.”
He laughed. “Fuck me, you’re adorable.”
I shoved at his shoulder and slid off his lap, rising to my feet.
“What did I say?” he asked.
“Nothing.”
“Babe. I don’t play that game. Somethin’ crawled up your ass. Tell me what it was.”
“If you must know, you hit a nerve,” I snapped.
“No shit.” He leaned forward, settling his arms on his knees. “How’d I do that?”
I bit my lip and set my wine on one of the side tables. I took a minute to study him and then I decided if he wanted to get to know me, he was gonna get to frickin’ know me. I knew when he did, he’d run as far as he could and never look back. “I’m the baby of the family. I was what could only be described as a surprise. Elliot was ten when my mom found herself pregnant with me, Emily was twelve. They thought they were done.”
“Okay,” he said.
“I have always been “adorable” and “cute” and “naïve,”” I used air quotes after each description, “and until a few years ago, I was even “lucky” enough to be a virgin. Because my sister is an ADA, my brother is a detective, and my father is the chief of police, I have always lived in a bubble of over-protectiveness. If I liked a guy and he liked me back, either my brother threatened death if he touched me, or it would never get past a kiss
when they found out who they’d be up against.” I took a deep breath. “And you know what? They were right, because the one guy who pushed past them is the one who stole all my money! I have worked really hard to forget about all of that, but when you speak to me like I’m nothing more than a cute face, it hits a nerve and reminds me just how incredibly stupid I am.”
“Let me make sure I’m hearing you.” Austin stood and closed the distance between us. “Because I think you’re beautiful and sexy as hell, that led us to you feeling stupid?”
I snorted. “I’m not sexy.”
“Babe.” He frowned. “You are.”
“I’m fat.”
“Fuck me, you are not.” He scowled. “You’ve got a real body, babe. Not a runway model, eat a fuckin’ sandwich, kind of boney ass one. And by the way, most men like something soft to hold onto. I do.”
“Austin,” I admonished, and looked at my feet. “Stop it.”
“Hey.” He slid his hand to my neck, his thumb stroking my pulse before lifting my chin. “I get that that asshole did a number on you, and I plan to deal with that, but you need to know something. I don’t lie. So, when I say you’re adorable, it means you’re fucking adorable, but it also means I think you’re funny and, from what I’ve seen so far, quick. Shit, baby, your observations and sense of humor are not those of someone stupid. Then, pile on the fact I want to fuck you… that means you’re sexy as hell.”
I couldn’t breathe. No one had ever made me feel the way he did and I’d known him for a little over twenty-four hours. “Wow,” I rasped. He grinned, leaning down to kiss me, but I laid my fingers over his mouth before he reached me. “What did you mean by you were going to deal with that?”
“See?” he said against my hand. “Quick.”
I lowered my hand and leaned back to meet his eyes. “Are you going to tell me?”
“I’m not.”
“Seriously?”
He stroked my cheek. “I thought you wanted to know about my genius status and why I joined my ‘gang.’”
“First, why do you wear a vest and a jacket?”
“This is a cut, babe. It tells the world who I am. The jacket’s for warmth or for when I ride.”
“I sound stupid when I ask these questions, don’t I?”
He frowned. “Not at all. You sound curious. I love that you want to know about me.”
I smiled. I liked that answer. “Okay, you can tell me about your genius status now.”
Austin chuckled and tugged me back to the sofa, pulling me down beside him. He wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled my back against his chest as he leaned back and settled his feet on the coffee table again. I liked this position almost as much as I did his lap. Almost.
“I have the typical rough childhood sob story,” he began. “Mom died of an OD when I was six, Dad was an abusive alcoholic, so me and my sister came to live with an aunt out here…”
“Where are you from?”
“Originally? Tennessee.”
“I thought I detected a southern accent.”
“Yeah, I’m surprised I haven’t lost it considering how long I’ve been here,” he said.
I craned my head and smiled. “Apparently, a lot of people out this way have a slightly southern twang. I have a couple sets of parents from California who said I have a bit of one.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, weird right? Anyway, I like yours. It’s kind of sexy.”
He grinned. “Not stupid, baby. Take that in, yeah?”
“I’m not stupid because I think you’re sexy?”
“Damn straight.”
“Good to know,” I said. “So, what happened after you went to live with your aunt?”
“My aunt was a bitch and she broke my sister’s arm, so we were put into the system.”
I craned my neck to look up at him again. “You have a sister?”
He nodded. “She’s two years younger than me.”
“Did you stay together?”
“No. She was sent to live with a couple who adopted her. They felt I was a bad influence, so they wouldn’t let her see me.”
“She did?” I linked my fingers with his and squeezed his hand. “Austin, I’m so sorry.”
“Not your fault, baby.”
“I know, but still, that must have been really hard.”
“Not gonna lie. It sucked.”
I looked up at him and smiled. “I bet it did.”
He kissed me quickly and then pulled me close again. “Over the next ten years or so, I was shuffled around from one shithole to another and then when I was eighteen, I aged out.”
“That’s awful.”
He shrugged. “It is what it is.”
“Where’s your sister now?”
“She married a doctor I think.”
“I’m sorry,” I whispered.
He kissed my temple and gave me another gentle squeeze. “When I was nineteen, my foster sister Annie called me… she’d been in the last place before I aged out and she was in trouble. She was drunk and some guy was smackin’ her around, so I got her out and took her home. What I found out later was that our foster father had been molesting her and child protective services did nothing about it.”
I gasped and turned to face him. “What do you mean? Did she report it?”
Austin nodded.
“Officially?”
“Yeah, babe. Officially. They buried it.” He frowned. “But I found it.”
“You found it? How?”
He scowled. “I hacked into their system and found the report. It landed me in jail.”
I gasped again. “You went to jail because you hacked CPS’s system?”
“No, I went to jail because I beat the shit out of our foster dad. Put him in the hospital and wasn’t street smart enough yet not to get caught. In jail is where I met Crow and he’s the one who gave me a purpose.”
“Crow?”
“He’s our Prez.”
I shook my head. “I’m assuming that’s not his real name?”
“It’s his legal name. Crow Butler.”
“Shut up.”
He grinned.
“So, Crow gave you purpose. How?”
“He bailed me out, gave me a family. Became the father I never had. I owe him everything. But in answer to your original question, I don’t speak like a thug because I have to work with highly educated people on a regular basis, so Crow made sure that I could converse with them properly. I’m “Booker” because, not only did I used to have my nose in a book most of the time, I do the club’s books.”
“Wow.” I dragged my legs in front of me, criss-cross style, and leaned forward to study him. “What happened to your foster dad?”
“He was arrested once the evidence was released and several other girls came forward. He was an asshole, but I could deal with that, I was sixteen when I went to live with him, and other than verbal abuse, he never touched me. He probably knew I’d kill him if he did. But I wish I’d know about Annie before I left. I could have protected her.”
“Where is she now?”
“She’s old lady to one of our California charter’s members. She’s protected.”
I settled my chin in my hand. “How does the old lady thing work?”
“Lookin’ to be one?”
“Ah, no, I don’t think so.” I wrinkled my nose and sat up a bit. “It’s a horrible title.”
Austin dropped his head back and laughed. “It’s a title of honor, babe.”
“How is calling a woman ‘old’ a title of honor?”
He tugged on my hand, lifting it to his mouth and kissing my palm. “It just is.”
“If you say so.”
He released my hand and pulled his cell phone from his pocket. “Yo,” he said as he answered it.
So much for my “doesn’t talk like a thug” theory.
Austin glanced at me and then frowned. “Yeah I’m here. Shit, are you serious? Tell the little fucker it’s not gonna happen. N
o, Mack, it’s not a fuckin’ option.” He rose to his feet and stepped outside. I was left sitting on my couch in the same position I’d been in for the last fifteen minutes and wondering what the heck was going on.
I UNWOUND MYSELF from my seat and made my way to the kitchen. I was starving, but hadn’t made it to the store due to my lack of a car situation, so I didn’t have much in the way of food. It was just past six, so ordering a pizza was probably my best option. More of a hit to my bottom line, but now that the pressure of was off with the car repairs, I figured I could splurge a little. Don’t get me wrong, I fully intended to pay Austin back; I just had to save a little first.
Grabbing my laptop, I powered it up and pulled up the pizza delivery menu. Two pizzas for under fifteen bucks suited me perfectly and the leftovers would last a while, but before I could hit the order key, Austin walked back in.
“Everything okay?” I asked.
He nodded. “Club business.”
“Which means, it’s none of mine, right?”
“I’m starving,” he said without acknowledging my question. “You hungry?”
“I was just going to order pizza.” I focused back on the screen. “My cupboards are bare, I’m afraid, so I’ve got nothing to cook.” I glanced up at him. “Do you want to stay?”
He chuckled. “Did you think I was leaving?”
I shrugged. “You didn’t say either way, so I’m flying blind here.”
He sat next to me on the sofa again. “Pepperoni would be good.”
“Okey dokey.” I put the order in and then set my computer on the coffee table. “Want another beer?”
“In a minute.” He pulled me onto his lap again and kissed me.
I was so unprepared for his ability to throw me around like I weighed next to nothing; I had to grab his shoulders to keep from falling off of him. He shifted me under him, stretching out beside me never once releasing my mouth as he stroked my neck, moving his hand to cup my bottom.
I felt my nipples tighten and my breasts grow heavy with desire as he deepened his kiss. What he could do with his mouth was surely illegal somewhere in the world and I found myself weaving my fingers into his hair. Crap… even his hair was sexy.
Austin broke the kiss and dropped his forehead to mine. “Fuck me, you can kiss.”
I licked my lips and took a deep breath. “Back atya.”
He rubbed his nose against mine and smiled. “I had planned to take this a lot slower.”
Road to Desire Page 4