“Can I get off your lap now?” I asked.
“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.
“My use of language.”
“The thug comment?”
He chuckled. “Yeah, that one.”
“I’m sorry. That was rude.”
“Would you like me to answer it?” he asked.
I shrugged. “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 kissed me again and I smiled against his lips. “We’re getting sidetracked.”
He nodded. “I like getting sidetracked with you.”
I blushed again.
“Anyway, I’m a genius,” he said.
“Huh?” 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’s 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 ‘naive,’” 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.”
Danielle
Danielle
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 cocked his head. “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 bit the inside of my cheek. “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 me 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 smiled. “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 like it. 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?”
“All hell broke loose. 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.”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.