CHAPTER EIGHT

Danielle

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.”

“They did?” I linked my fingers with his and squeezed his hand. “Austin, I’m so sorry.”

“Not your fault, baby,” he said.

“I know, but still, that must have been really hard.”

“Not gonna lie. It sucked.”

I looked up at him and smiled. “I bet it did.”

He kissed me quickly and then pulled me close again. “Over the next ten years or so, I was shuffled around from one shithole to another and then when I was eighteen, I aged out.”

“That’s awful.”

He shrugged. “It is what it is.”

“Where’s your sister now?”

“She married a doctor I think.”

“You don’t keep in touch?” I asked.

“No.”

“I’m sorry,” I whispered.

He kissed my temple and gave me another gentle squeeze. “When I was nineteen, my foster sister Annie called me… she’d been in the last place before I aged out and she was in trouble. She was drunk and some guy was smackin’ her around, so I got her out and took her home. What I found out later was that our foster father had been molesting her and child protective services did nothing about it.”

I gasped and turned to face him. “What do you mean? Did she report it?”

Austin nodded.

“Officially?” I pressed.

“Yeah, babe. Officially. They buried it.” He frowned. “Or they tried to. I found it.”

“You found it? How?”

He scowled. “I hacked into their system and found the report. It landed me in jail.”

I gasped again. “You went to jail because you hacked CPS’s system?”

“No, I went to jail because I beat the shit out of our foster dad. Put him in the hospital and wasn’t street smart enough yet not to get caught. Jail is where I met Crow and he’s the one who gave me a purpose.”

“Crow?”

“He’s our Prez.”

I shook my head. “I’m assuming that’s not his real name?”

“It’s his legal name. Crow Butler.”

“Shut up.”

He grinned.

“So, Crow gave you purpose. How?”

“He bailed me out, gave me a family,” he said. “Became the father I never had. I owe him everything. And he needed a little help protecting the club from an ex-member who had computer skills as good as mine. Better, even. But in answer to your original question, I don’t speak like a thug because I have to work with highly educated people on a regular basis, so Crow made sure that I could converse with them properly. I’m “Booker” because, not only did I used to have my nose in a book most of the time, I do the club’s books.”

“Wow.” I dragged my legs in front of me, criss-cross style, and leaned forward to study him. “What happened to your foster dad?”

“He was arrested once the evidence was released and several other girls came forward. He was an asshole, but I could deal with that, I was sixteen when I went to live with him, and other than verbal abuse, he never touched me. He probably knew I’d kill him if he did. But I wish I’d known about Annie before I left. I could have protected her.”

“Where is she now?”

“She’s an old lady to one of our California charter’s members. She’s protected.”

I settled my chin in my hand. “How does the old lady thing work?”

“Lookin’ to be one?”

“Ah, no, I don’t think so.” I wrinkled my nose and sat up a bit. “It’s a horrible title.”

Austin dropped his head back and laughed. “It’s a title of honor, babe.”

“How is calling a woman ‘old’ a title of honor?”

He tugged on my hand, lifting it to his mouth and kissing my palm. “It just is.”

I shrugged. “If you say so.”

He released my hand and pulled his cell phone from his pocket. “Yo,” he said as he answered it.

So much for my “doesn’t talk like a thug” theory.

“Yeah I’m here.” Austin glanced at me and then frowned. “Shit, are you serious? Tell the little fucker it’s not gonna happen. No, Mack, it’s not a fuckin’ option.” He rose to his feet and stepped outside. I was left sitting on my couch in the same position I’d been in for the last fifteen minutes and wondering what the heck was going on.

***

I UNWOUND MYSELF from my seat and made my way to the kitchen. I was starving, but hadn’t made it to the store due to my lack of a car situation, so I didn’t have much in the way of food. It was just past six, so ordering a pizza was probably my best option. More of a hit to my bottom line, but now that the pressure was off with the car repairs, I figured I could splurge a little. Don’t get me wrong, I fully intended to pay Austin back; I just had to save a little first.

Grabbing my laptop, I powered it up and pulled up the pizza delivery menu. Two pizzas for under fifteen bucks suited me perfectly and the leftovers would last a while, but before I could hit the order key, Austin walked back in.

“Everything okay?” I asked.

He nodded. “Club business.”

“Which means, it’s none of mine, right?”

“I’m starving,” he said without acknowledging my question. “You hungry?”

“I was just going to order pizza.” I focused back on the screen. “My cupboards are bare, I’m afraid, so I’ve got nothing to cook.” I glanced up at him. “Do you want to stay?”

He chuckled. “Did you think I was leaving?”

I shrugged. “You didn’t say either way, so I’m flying blind here.”

He sat next to me on the sofa again. “Pepperoni would be good.”

“Okey dokey.” I put the order in and then set my computer on the coffee table. “Want another beer?”

“In a minute.” He pulled me onto his lap again and kissed me.

I was so unprepared for his ability to throw me around like I weighed next to nothing; I had to grab his shoulders to keep from falling off of him. He shifted me under him, stretching out beside me never once releasing my mouth as he stroked my neck, moving his hand to cup my bottom.

I felt my nipples tighten and my breasts grow heavy with desire as he deepened his kiss. What he could do with his mouth was surely illegal somewhere in the world and I found myself weaving my fingers into his hair. Crap… even his hair was sexy.

Austin broke the kiss and dropped his forehead to mine. “Fuck me, you can kiss.”

I licked my lips and took a deep breath. “Back atya.”

He rubbed his nose against mine and smiled. “I had planned to take this a lot slower.”

“Well, I hadn’t planned you’d take it anywhere at all, so I guess that makes us kind of even.”

“We’re gonna make this work, babe. You’ll see.”

“You don’t even know me,” I argued. “You seem awfully sure.”

“When I see something I want, I don’t hesitate to make it mine, Dani.” He ran his finger across my collarbone. “It’s good you get that now. It’ll cut down on any confusion later.”

“So you’ve seen me, you want me, and I’m to be another conquest?” I challenged, pushing at his shoulders.

“I don’t do conquests, babe.” Austin smiled, holding me tighter and leaning down to kiss my nose. “But I will do you.”

“Charming,” I ground out.

“Don’t typically do flowers, babe, but tell me your favorites and I’ll buy ’em for you.”

“Don’t bother.” I pushed at his shoulders again, but he didn’t move.

My doorbell rang and it was the perfect opportunity to put distance between us, but apparently, Austin wasn’t done and he kissed me again.

“The pizza’s here,” I said as the doorbell pealed again.

He nodded. “We’re gonna eat, then we’re gonna talk some more.”

“I think you’ve said enough.”

“Babe,” he said with a sigh.

“Let me up so I can pay for the pizza.”

“You’re not payin’ for the pizza, Dani.”

I let out a frustrated groan. “You are not the boss of me.”

He climbed off me. “For the sake of our current argument, baby, let’s say I am.”

I couldn’t stop my jaw from dropping open as he sauntered away from me toward my front door. I knifed off the sofa and made my way to the kitchen muttering to myself. How could a man who drove me so frickin’ crazy manage to also make me mad with desire? It didn’t make any sense to me.