“You fuck me. God, Austin… fuck me!” I cried out and arched my back as he quickly placed his hand on top of mine, nuzzling against my neck.
Bursts of energy rolled through me as I came so hard my entire body tensed up. Being in heat intensified everything like I’d never experienced. I barely noticed Austin’s lips melting against my shoulder.
He twirled my nipple between his fingers and tugged, bringing another jolt of pleasure through my belly. My legs straightened out like useless timber and I panted, slowly becoming aware I’d just pleasured myself in front of Austin Cole, who was still fully clothed.
His lips kissed mine softly, in a different way than they had before. “Thank you,” he whispered.
This threw me, because it should have been me thanking him. So I played it cool. “Anytime.”
Austin laughed warmly and rolled onto his back, locking his hands behind his head. “Feel better? I have a short fridge with some food in the other room if you get hungry. You should eat before the next wave hits. The house needs work, but I got the power turned on last night. I thought we could sleep with the windows open tonight since the rain should cool things down.”
Rain? Oh yeah, that hammering noise going on outside that I hadn’t even noticed over the sound of my pounding heart. This was too weird. Here I was, coming down from the throes of a mind-blowing orgasm, and Austin was discussing the weather and the electric company. I was looking around for my shorts when he yanked me back down.
“Let me go,” I protested.
“Nope. Not letting you leave, Ladybug. If you’re chilly, you can wrap up in the sheet. But the shorts stay off for the rest of the night.”
“What about yours?” I pointed out, wrinkling my mouth.
He smirked and shifted over so he was propped up on one elbow and lying on his right side. “That’s not going to happen. You have to be careful with loaded weapons.”
I rolled my eyes. “Give me a break.”
“I’m just here to give Mother Nature a hand.”
My legs crossed at the ankle and I stared at the ceiling. “You were always so bad with jokes,” I groaned.
“Did you really like the candy or were you just being polite? Be honest; my feelings won’t be hurt and I swear I won’t be crying over a gallon of ice cream at two in the morning with Denver, talking about my feelings and shit.”
A burst of laughter flew out of my mouth and I curled on my side. Austin’s look was so serious my Beaker laugh slipped out and then he quickly kissed my neck. “There it is,” he said. “That’s the Lexi I know and love.”
My smile was erased like a mistake on a chalkboard. I sat up and covered my bare legs with the sheet. “Don’t say flippant things like that if you don’t mean them.”
An ordinary remark hit the psycho switch in my brain and turned me into one of those… sensitive girls. Normally, I just rolled with the punches and dished what I got, rarely taking what people said to heart. But for whatever reason, hearing “love” come out of his mouth in the same sentence with my name provoked a new feeling I didn’t have a grasp on.
An uncomfortable moment passed between us and vanished when thunder cracked outside and I screamed, flying against Austin’s chest. He rocked with laughter and threaded his fingers through my long, silky hair.
“Why didn’t you bring a blanket?”
“I did. I brought the Austin special,” he said, running his hand teasingly down his chest.
A snort escaped. “Very funny.” I was too afraid to ask what any of this meant—if anything—so I just let go of all the questions and lived in the moment. “Did you kill a lot of men?”
“Yeah,” he admitted. “Bounty hunters track down outlaws and it’s dead or alive. Outlaws in the Breed world are the worst kinds of criminals, so we do whatever it takes to bring them in. Hunting is a legal, respectable position that pays well. I needed to build up my finances before starting my own pack. Our parents didn’t leave us with much money because they’d never established a pack of their own, which is how you get that kind of security. Most of the men were turned in alive, if that makes it any easier for you to think about.”
“That business card you gave me, was that your old job?”
“I still have a few of those left,” he said. “It was my calling card. The bow and arrow is the symbol of a bounty hunter. You’ll see that a lot among Breed in certain professions; we use symbols instead of titles. That’s the life I’m leaving behind.”
The room lit up with strobe lights and we quietly waited for the crash of thunder. Instead, it was a heavy roll, like a bowling ball traveling down a wooden lane. I felt like I was supposed to say something profound, or funny—something to kill the silence. But there was a sweetness in the quiet moments we shared that I enjoyed too much.
The rain. The rumbling thunder. The flashes of light and catching glimpses of his pale eyes watching me. His fingers threading through my hair. And when I began to drift off to sleep, his soft lips kissed my eyelids.
I wanted to ask what I meant to him. I wanted to hear it from his lips, even if they were words of denial. But all I felt was his warm body against mine as I fell asleep, wrapped up in his embrace.
Chapter 25
The previous night was one sexual blur. I’d love to say I slept in Austin’s arms for the rest of the night, but that heat thing ain’t no joke. I had four more episodes, and he was right there, taking care of me like he’d promised. I loved that at twenty-eight, Austin could give me a first-time experience. Honestly, it meant more because it was with him. He wasn’t exactly a perfect gentleman, but he kept his word that it wasn’t about reciprocating the favor (not that I would’ve objected).
