“He can be a dick.”
I studied him. He was holding back and I was debating on how far I’d push him. I decided, pretty damn far. “What aren’t you telling me?”
He flopped onto his back and dragged his hands down his face. “She fuckin’ called Hawk.”
“What do you mean?”
“To help. She called him before me.”
“What is your deal with Hawk?” I asked.
“He was our brother… sort of.”
“Another foster kid?”
Austin shook his head. “No, he’s the real son of our foster parents.”
I scooted closer to him, his arm coming automatically around me as I slipped mine across his waist. “What happened?”
“He put Annie in danger, is what happened.”
I leaned up on his chest and gripped his chin. “I swear to God, Austin, if you don’t start giving me detailed information, I’m going to hurt you.”
He sighed. “Sorry, babe. I just hate revisiting this shit.”
“Well, you either tell me what’s going on with you, or you shut up about it,” I said, leaning down to kiss him quickly. “I’m a woman, Austin. You can’t throw out partial information without my mind running rampant and making up all manner of stories, probably way worse that you could ever imagine. Either you put me out of my misery or you…,” I met his eyes and shook my head, “…actually, no. At this point, you just need to fill me in.
Austin laid his hand on my bottom and gave it a gentle squeeze. “Bottom line, he knocked Annie up and then forced her to get an abortion, which was done by a hack, so she started to bleed uncontrollably. She nearly died.”
I gasped. “What? Seriously?”
Austin nodded. “Then, when she admitted his father had been messin’ with her, he said nothing. Did nothing. Didn’t defend her, didn’t testify against his father, nothin’. Fuckin’ bastard.”
“Weren’t you all just kids though, honey? Maybe he didn’t have a whole lot of choice.”
“We were nineteen, Dani.”
Because I knew this was a hot-button issue for Austin, I chose not point out that being nineteen didn’t really mean much when it came to the difference between being an adult or a child. “What does Annie say about all of this? She obviously doesn’t have the animosity toward Hawk that you do.”
“She doesn’t say anything. She refuses to talk to me about it,” he spat out. “Says I’m a loose cannon and can’t be trusted not to go off on anyone ‘I deem a threat to those I love.’” His body locked and he scowled. “She didn’t trust me, but she had no fuckin’ problem trusting the bastard who’d nearly killed her.”
I kissed his neck. His sister wasn’t wrong when it came to his need to protect. “Sorry, honey.”
“Just give him a wide berth tonight, yeah?”
“If that’s what you want, yes. But does that fall to Lily too? Because I kind of adore that little girl.”
He rolled me onto my back and raised an eyebrow. “I’d be a total dick if I said to keep away from her, huh?”
I nodded. “Total.”
“So, what if I said that you should only talk to her if she seeks you out?”
“Then you’d only be half a dick.”
“Hmm.”
“What?”
“I’m trying to figure out if I can live with this,” he retorted.
“You can’t.” I giggled and slid my hand down to grip his cock. “Believe me. I require all of it to stay right where it is.”
“Just stick close to me, baby. Avoid him, yeah?”
“I’m a big girl, Austin. Hawk doesn’t scare me.” I kissed his chin. “Neither do you.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
He grinned and slid down my body, kneeling between my legs. “What does scare you, babe?”
“Oh, I don’t know… heights, spiders, the zombie apocalypse…”
He spread my legs and kissed my inner knee. “What about…?” He kissed my thigh, then gave a gentle suck on my clit. “This?”
I squirmed. “That doesn’t scare me,” I said, a little confused.
“What if I never did this again?” Another suck.
I raised my head to look down my body. “Are you saying that if I don’t keep away from Hawk, you won’t ever do that to me again?”
He shrugged and I pushed away from him.
“Babe.”
“You know how we have the nothing rule?” I snapped.
He sighed, but didn’t acknowledge the question.
“We’re also going to have the no withholding rule.”
“I would never actually withhold anything from you, Dani.”
“Then don’t threaten to.” I pulled my knees up to my chin and wrapped my arms around my legs. “If you don’t want me to be best buds with Hawk, then I don’t have a problem with that. I’m on your side. Always. However, I’m an adult and I’m fully capable of making up my own mind on who I choose to associate with, and the bottom line is that his little girl is adorable and sweet, and he is at least part of the reason she’s that way. So, I will be distantly polite to Hawk because I’m Team Booker all the way, but I will never ostracize a little girl because of who her father is.”
He cocked his head. “Team Booker?”
I forced myself not to smile. “All the way.”
He crawled up the bed, tugging my arms from my legs, and settling his chin on my knees. “I’m sorry, baby.”
“Thank you,” I said, and slid my legs apart. “Now, make it up to me.”
He grinned and did as he was told.
WE ARRIVED AT the compound earlier than we’d planned. Austin’s sister was apparently on her way and he wanted to see her before Hawk, which meant we got there before six so Austin could convince her to stay with him.
Austin had gone off with Mack and another brother, I think his name was Flinch, and I was in the kitchen with Susie and a couple of the other ladies helping with food. I wasn’t there long before a tall, stunningly beautiful Hispanic woman walked in and studied me. She looked a little like Penelope Cruz and she held herself with a confidence I envied. She wore tight, dark jeans, knee-high black motorcycle boots and a black lace cami under a silver blousy top. Her glossy dark hair hung in straight sheets down her back, stopping at her waist, and she had heavy liner and dark red lipstick that worked with her skin coloring.
“Annie!” Susie exclaimed and pulled the younger woman in for a motherly hug. “You look hot, girl.”
Annie giggled. “Thanks Suz.”
“Is Bullet with you?”
Annie shook her head. “Just me.”
“Good for you.”
“You must be Dani,” Annie said, and hugged me. “Booker won’t shut up about you, so I think I’d know you anywhere.”
I blushed. “It’s nice to meet you finally.”
“Where is my big brother?”
“You didn’t see him when you came in?” I asked.
Annie shook her head.
“Maybe he’s in his room,” I said.
“Let’s go see,” Annie said, and took my arm. “Be back, Suz.”
“Take your time, honey.”
Annie and I walked upstairs and down the hall to Austin’s room. I knocked and turned the knob… it gave. His door was usually locked, so I figured he must be in there and pushed it open, my stomach turning at what I saw. Tiffany lay on his bed, naked, as though waiting for him.
Annie hissed. “What the fuck are you doin’ here?”
“Waiting for Booker. He’ll be here any minute.” Tiffany faced us, her head in her hand, and gave me a smug look. “What are you doing here?”
Tiffany had what most would consider a kickass body. Long legs emphasized her five-foot-eight slender body, and her large breasts, albeit fake, sat perfectly in the middle of her chest mostly because that’s where they were designed to be. She had a belly button ring and was shaved completely… down there. I was reminded that this is what Austin was u
sed to. Not me with my extra weight and my overly large breasts that often got in the way most days. Not to mention my legs that I’d always referred to as tree stumps. I was short. Really short in comparison to Tiff.
I backed out of the room and Annie followed, pulling the door closed with a slam. “You okay?” she asked.
I shook my head and tried to swallow the bile threatening to spill.
“Dani, my brother does not cheat.”
“How would she have gotten in there if he hadn’t planned it?” I challenged. “Only a few people have keys.”
Before Annie could respond, heavy footsteps sounded in the hallway.
“There you are,” Austin said, and then stopped and frowned. “What’s wrong?”
I blinked back tears and bit my lip.
Austin moved Annie out of the way and squeezed my arms. “Babe. What’s wrong?”
“Your... um,” I swallowed, “whore is waiting for you.”
“What the fuck?”
“Tiff,” Annie said.
“Not following.”
“Tiff is on your bed, naked and ready, Booker.” Annie crossed her arms. “She told us she was waiting for you.”
“Fuck me,” Austin snapped. “I’ll deal with this.”
He released me, shoved open his door, and closed it behind him. Annie rolled her eyes and pushed the door open again.
“How the fuck did you get in here?” Austin bellowed.
“Buzz let me in,” Tiffany answered.
“And why the fuck would he let you in my room, Tiff?”
“I told him I was meeting you here.”
“Get the fuck out.”
“Baby, I know you miss me,” she purred. “What the hell can that little goody two shoes do for you? She probably doesn’t even know how to give a decent blow job.”
Annie wrapped an arm around my shoulders as I burst into quiet tears. Tiffany was right. I wasn’t enough for Austin.
“You’re a fuckin’ idiot, Tiff,” Austin snapped.
“We could share,” she offered. “I wouldn’t mind. She’s pretty in a Little House on the Prairie kind of way. A little chubby, but still kinda pretty.”
It was like the woman was in my mind, saying out loud every insecurity I’d ever had. Before I could fully break down, Austin was pushing a very naked Tiff out of the room, his hand wrapped around the back of her neck.
“What the hell, Booker?” she squealed, trying to cover herself with her arms.
With his free hand, he pulled out his cell phone and put it to his ear. “Buzz, get the fuck up here. Now!”
It wasn’t long before Buzz was rushing towards us.
“You let this skank in my room?” Austin snapped.
“She said you wanted her to wait for her,” Buzz answered.
“On notice, yeah? If she ever shows her face within a hundred miles of anywhere Dogs related, I will ruin her.”
Tiffany’s face went white. “What?”
“You got me, Buzz?” Austin asked.
“Yeah, Booker. Sorry,” he stammered.
“But, it was just a joke,” Tiffany rushed to say. “I meant it as a joke. Everyone knows you’re with Dani. I wouldn’t have done anything.”
“One fuckin’ night with you and I’ll regret it forever,” Austin said, his face contorted in rage. “It wasn’t even good, but I tried to be respectful anyway. Can’t believe I wasted my time on you when just a few days later I was given someone near perfect.” He still had his hand wrapped around the back of her neck. “You’ve gone through pretty much everyone here, Tiff, so you can head on downstairs and see if there are any other takers before you get the fuck out of here for good.”
“I’m not going down there naked, Booker,” she snapped.
“Why the fuck not? What makes me so special? You want a threesome so bad, go see if anyone wants to take you up on it. But it’s your last chance, Tiff, so make it count, because I see you anywhere near the club, me, or my woman again, you’ll find out what I’m like when I’m pissed. Got me?”
She nodded and he shoved her away in disgust.
“What about my clothes?” she asked.
“You wanna play the whore, babe, you don’t need clothes.”
I covered my mouth with my hand, both liking the way Austin was standing up for me, but also a little sad at another woman’s humiliation… even if she did bring it on herself.
“Buzz, no one in my room except me or Dani, yeah?”
“Yeah, Booker. Sorry.”
Austin scowled at Tiff. “What are you waiting for? Fuck off.”
She started down the hall, her head bowed, her countenance very different than it had been a few minutes ago. I stood in stunned silence, Annie’s arm still around me, and watched as Austin stepped back into his room and emerged holding Tiff’s clothes. He shoved them at Buzz and then grabbed my arm and pulled me inside. Annie followed.
He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me against his chest and I couldn’t stop myself from crying into his shirt.
“Baby. It’s okay,” he whispered.
“I thought… I… ”
“I know.”
“I’m so sorry, Austin. I should have trusted you.”
“We’re still new, baby. Tiffany’s a bitch, but she’s a smart bitch. She had a fifty-fifty shot of freaking you out enough to mess with your head. I don’t think she was ready for the consequences though.”
I glanced up at him. “Thank you for giving her back her clothes.”
“Baby, there are kids downstairs.”
“So, if it was adults only, you wouldn’t have given them back?”
He smiled. “I’m pleading the fifth on that one.”
I buried my face back in his chest and let him hold me.
“So you fucked Tiff,” Annie murmured
“Don’t start,” Austin said.
“That’s scrapin’ the very bottom of the barrel big brother. What the hell?”
“I was drunk and horny. She was there and willing.” My body locked and Austin gave me a gentle squeeze. “But we don’t need to go there.”
“Ignore her, Dani,” Annie said. “She’s total skank who seriously has fucked pretty much everyone in the club, other than a couple of the recruits.”
“But that’s kind of sad,” I said.
“How so?”
“Because when a woman feels insecure enough to sleep around, especially that much, she has bigger issues… like her dad didn’t love her enough maybe. I think that’s sad.”
“Holy shit, Booker,” Annie said. “How the hell did you manage to convince this woman to give you a chance? She’s obviously too good for you.”
“I’m hoping she won’t figure that out until after I marry her.” He kissed the top of my head.
Austin loosened his arms and pulled me to the chair opposite Annie’s. He sat down and guided me onto his lap, wrapping an arm tightly around my waist. Because he was so much taller than me and the chair was huge, I was able to settle myself on his chest quite comfortably.
“What’s going on with Bullet?” he asked.
“Maybe you should talk about this in private,” I said.
Annie waved her hand dismissively. “Honey, if you’ve got my brother talking marriage, you’re already family.”
“This is the first I’ve heard of it,” I said.
“Classic Booker,” Annie said with a giggle. “Romance is not his forte.”
I bit my lip which made Austin chuckle. “She knows.”
“He’s romantic in his own way,” I said.
“Seriously,” Annie said. “Saint.”
“Yeah, she is.” Austin kissed me quickly.
“Stop,” I whispered, but I had to admit I was feeling better than before.
“What’s going on with Bullet?” Austin asked his sister.
Annie grinned. “Nothing he won’t learn from.”
“So it’s like that.”
“He just needs to miss me a little I think.” An
nie cocked her head. “Something you’ll need to learn, Dani, is when these men get out of line, or start to take you for granted, you need to dish out some lady justice. Keep ’em on a tight leash.”
“Shut the fuck up, Annie,” Austin said with mock irritation.
I giggled. “If I run into issues with this one, I’ll call you.”
“You will not,” Austin said. “You will never have her phone number.”
“We’ll see,” Annie said. “Let’s get downstairs. I’m ready to get my drink on.”
“You’re comin’ home with us tonight, right?” Austin asked.
“If you don’t mind.”
“We don’t mind,” I said, quickly and climbed off Austin’s lap.
Annie and Austin stood and Austin grabbed my hand. “We’ll meet you down there, Annie.” She nodded and left the room and Austin pulled me into his arms. “You okay?”
I looped my hands around his neck and smiled. “I will be. I’m sorry I thought the worst.”
“I promise, I’ll never cheat, baby. If I fuck up so badly you stop loving me and giving me you, then we’ll break up, but I won’t ever cheat.”
“I love you.”
“Love you too, babe.” He leaned down and kissed me, and it quickly turned heated. Austin laid me down on the bed and, as was his go-to, he slipped his hand under my shirt and pulled down the cup of my bra. His fingers rolled my nipple and I whimpered as I deepened the kiss. I felt a buzzing from his pocket and he broke the kiss with a curse. Rolling onto his back, he answered his phone. “What? Yeah. Okay.” He hung up.
I sat up and fixed my bra and shirt.
“Sorry, baby. We’ll resume this later,” he said and slid off the mattress, pulling me with him.
“Everything okay?”
Austin nodded. “Bullet’s here.”
“Oh,” I said. “Drama?”
He chuckled. “One thing you’ll learn about Annie, there’s always drama. Come on, let’s go have some fun.”
I checked my appearance in the mirror and then followed him downstairs. A tiny body collided with my legs from behind and I glanced down to see Lily hugging me.
“Dani, Dani, Dani.”
I hunkered down beside her and grinned. “Well, hello pretty girl. How are you?”
“Daddy said I could stay up and have a cupcake.”
“Oh my goodness! That’s so exciting. May I join you for the cupcake?”
Road to Desire Page 15