They smile and wave at us before I lead Charlie to our table, sliding in after her on the same side of the booth.
She looks over at me. “I think Ma was right about the whole town knowin’ about us soon.”
“Good,” I say, reaching for her hand and lacing our fingers together. “Then I won’t have to compete for your affections.”
She leans in close, dropping her voice to a whisper. “Not sure if you got the memo, Austin. But you never did. It’s always been you.”
“It’s always been you too, Char.”
"Good. Now how 'bout you kiss me a little and wereallygive them somethin’ to talk about.”
“Not a hardship,” I murmur as I lower my lips down to hers.
“I don’t think so either.”
17
CHARLIE
With one last swipe of white paint on the back of the apartment door, I drop the paintbrush onto the tray and stand back, grinning at how good the whole place looks now that it’s almost done.
All that is left for us to do is the feature wall behind where my bed will go. Once that is done, I’ll be able tofinallymove in. There’s still the bathroom to do after that, but I’m excited at the prospect of being in my own space again.
Don’t get me wrong, I love Ma, but living away from home for over fifteen years means it has been a bit of anadjustmentliving under the same roof as her again.
Looking over my shoulder, I watch Austin bend down and inspect the window frame he’s just finished working on. My eyes drift down to his jeans that are pulled tight over his behind and make a note to myself to sneak a little feel of it the next time we make out. Something I hope happensverysoon because now that we’ve kissed, I want to keep doing it. Like, alot.It's like I all I can think about. I'm starting to worry that I might havean obsession… or an addiction… then again, there are farworsethings in the world, right?
Every time we kiss or are just in the same room together, it’s like something comes over me and I have to stop myself from throwing myself at the man. If it was anyone else, I’d find it disconcerting. With Austin, I’ve put it down to years of feelings and pent-up attraction pulling us together and magnifying everything. Now that IknowI can touch and kiss him, that’s all I want to do.
He took his shirt off an hour ago, leaving him in just a black Henley, and I’ve been distracted by his arms ever since. And his corded neck… and the way his Adam’s apple bobs when he’s concentrating. The man is just a plain ol’ distraction all round.
“Whatcha lookin’ at, doc?”
“You,” I say, crossing my arms over my chest and making a show of ogling him. He chuckles, the smile crinkling his eyes and giving me yetanotherfeature to admire.Is there anything bad about this man at all? And why oh why did I wait until now to tell him how I feel?
“You’re very distractin’. Did you know that?” I say with a harrumph.
He arches a brow. “That’s a bad thing?”
“Hell no. It’s annoyingly good.”
He puts down the paintbrush and crosses the room. The closer he gets, the harder my heart tries to jump out of my chest. Then there’s the look he’s giving me. He’s raking his hungry gaze over me from head to toe and back again and not hiding it, which sends a wave of heat running through me.
“Annoyingly good?” he rasps, stopping just short of touching me. The pull between us is so strong I swear my body sways toward him.
“Yep,” I whisper, a sly grin tugging at the corner of my mouth.
His gaze drops to my lips, and there’s no missing the desire burning in his eyes. Without looking away, he reaches up and runs the tip of his finger ever so gently along my hairline and down my cheek, the touch sending shivers down my spine. "You have no idea how distractin’youare," he murmurs roughly. “’Specially when you’ve got this little bit of paint right…here…” He taps the tip of my nose and grins at my gasp when I see he’s just put a white dot on my skin.
“Hey!” I grab his hand and rub the paint over his cheek. “There. Now we match.”
His eyes change to melted chocolate that I just want to dive into. I swallow hard, trying to find my voice amidst the overwhelming lust surging up inside of me.
I glance toward the bathroom before turning back and resting my hands on his chest. “Now we’re goin’ to have to clean up.Sucha hardship…”
He growls, closing the gap between us and hooking his hand around the back of my neck. Pulling me forward, he crushes his mouth against mine for a searing kiss that has me sagging into him. The world around us blurs as we get lost in it–and us. I run my fingers up into his hair and hold him in place while he deepens the kiss, groaning against my tongue and making me whimper on his.
We’re both desperate for air when we finally break apart. Austin’s forehead is pressed to mine, his hand still on my neck, his other wrapped around me and holding me close.
