Chapter 8

Danielle

He dropped his feet to the floor and he twisted to face me. "No?"

I nodded and then shook my head.

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 me to 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. Hatch looked it over and said it would take less than three hours."

"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. Hatch, was it?"

"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," I said.

"Pickin' up on that."

I took his face in my hands. "You fixed my car."

"I fixed your car."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"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 '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."