Since You've Been Gone

by Elle Kennedy

  They both groaned in disappointment when he pulled out. Austin still had a semi, a fact that Mari wasted no time commenting on.

  “Good, you’ll be ready to go again soon.”

  Exhausted and sated beyond belief, he rolled over and pulled her close. “You have incredibly high expectations,” he mumbled. “Lord, woman, two orgasms weren’t enough for you?”

  “Two orgasms will do—for now.” She nestled against his side and rested her head on his chest. “I’m just kidding,” she added with a little sigh. “That was incredible, Bishop.”

  “Yeah?” he said roughly.

  “Hells yeah. Granted, I don’t have much to compare you to. I’ve only slept with two other guys.”

  “And I’m better in the sack than both of them. Clearly.”

  “Clearly,” she echoed. Then she laughed. “I bet my two measly lovers are nothing compared to the stable of women you’ve slept with.”

  He threaded his fingers through her hair and absently stroked the wavy strands. “You’d lose that bet.”

  “Really? How many fillies do you have in your stable then?”

  A laugh lodged in his chest. “I’ve slept with four women. And I think you might have set the feminist movement back several decades with your horse comparison.”

  “Ah, whatevs. Feminists are too uptight for my liking. Anyway, only four? That surprises me.”

  “I wasn’t lying when I said I wasn’t into casual sex,” he replied with a shrug. “I’m more of a relationship kind of guy. Not lately, though. It’s hard to maintain a relationship when I’m always traveling.”

  “I can imagine. Who was the last person you were with?”

  “A journalist I met in South Africa. She was pretty damn cool, but we couldn’t make the long-distance thing work. What about you?”

  “I dated this artist in Chicago for two years. He painted the craziest shit, like futuristic landscapes and weird killer robots. He was a great guy.”

  Austin tweaked a strand of her hair. “Um, if you want to vouch for someone’s character, I’m not sure you should lead with ‘killer robot paintings’.”

  Mari’s laughter fanned over his pecs. “Yeah, you’re right, that does make him sound nuts. But Michael really was sweet. The relationship just fizzled after a while. He wanted to move in together, but I couldn’t see myself ever living with him, or marrying him, or having kids with him. That’s when I realized we probably shouldn’t be together.” She stroked his chest with her palm, her tone growing thoughtful. “Do you see yourself getting married?”

  “Eventually. Maybe once I get the traveling bug out of my system.” He shrugged. “For now, I’ll leave the marriage thing to my brothers.”

  “Are all three of them married?”

  “Nate and Owen are, but Jake’s on his way. I think he’ll probably propose to Bree this year.”

  “What are they like?” Mari asked curiously.

  “My brothers or their partners?”

  “Both.”

  “Well, Nate is the oldest, and I guess he’s the strong, silent type. Come to think of it, so are Owen and Jake. Those two are identical twins, but they took completely different paths in life. Owen runs his own construction company, and Jake enlisted in the army right out of high school. He was Special Forces, but now he’s an instructor on the base in Colorado Springs.”

  “Oooh, military men are so hot.”

  Austin rolled his eyes. “I think the entire female population agrees with you. Jake was never hurting for female company. But he’s committed to Bree now. She’s a lawyer, not sure what kind of law she practices, but she’s a great girl. Really sweet.”

  Too sweet, he almost added, but he didn’t feel like going there right now. Since he’d met Mari, he hadn’t been obsessing as much about his family issues, and he wanted to keep it that way for as long as possible.

  “Maddie is great too,” he went on. “She’s Owen’s wife, and the two of them fight like cats and dogs. Maddie is way too opinionated for her own good and the most stubborn person I’ve ever met.”

  Mari laughed. “I like her already. Okay, so Bree and Maddie are with the twins. Who’s Nate married to?”

  “Charlotte. They were high school sweethearts, but she left after graduation to study at Juilliard. She came back a couple of years ago for their high school reunion, and the two of them reconnected.”

  “Juilliard, huh? That’s pretty impressive. What does she do for a living?”

  “She’s a singer.”

  Mari sounded even more impressed. “That’s cool. Would I have heard of her?”

  “Well, she’s pretty popular, so I’m guessing you have. Charlotte Hill?”

  In the blink of an eye, Austin found himself lying there alone, as Mari shot up to a sitting position, her jaw wide open.

  “Your sister-in-law is Charlotte Hill?” she exclaimed. “Why the heck didn’t you tell me that earlier?”

  “I take it you know her music,” he said dryly.

  “Duh. She’s awesome. I didn’t put any of her songs on my car playlists because her music’s too mellow for a road trip, but I have all her albums on my iPod. I can’t believe she’s married to your brother! You have a celebrity in your family—that’s so freaking cool.”

  He chuckled. “It’s so weird to hear you refer to her as a celebrity. I mean, technically she is, but Charlotte is so down-to-earth you’d never know she was famous. Actually, you’ll probably get to meet her when we get to Paradise. I don’t think she’s on tour right now.”

  “Wow, that would be unreal.” She shook her head in amazement. “I’ve never met a celebrity before. And I really do love her music. I hope I get the chance to tell her that.”

  “Well, she’ll be there for sure this coming weekend because of the party, but hopefully she’ll still be in town when we show up.”

  “What party?”

  Austin gave himself a mental kick in the shin. Fuck. Why had he let that detail slip?

  “What party?” Mari repeated when he didn’t respond.

  He stifled a sigh. “My mom’s fiftieth birthday is this Saturday.”

  “What! But that’s only six days away. Will you be able to get the assignment done in time to—” Mari’s blue eyes narrowed. “Wait a minute. You’re planning on skipping the party!”

  He didn’t answer, which put an outraged look on her face.

  “You can’t not go,” she said sternly. “You have to be there for your mother’s birthday. No matter how you feel about her right now, she’s still your mom.”

  “I know.” Misery jammed in his throat. “But I don’t think I can put on a happy face and pretend everything is okay. I had to do it at Nate’s wedding, and then Owen’s, and I don’t have the energy for another social occasion where I have to force a smile the whole time.”

  “That sucks,” she agreed, “but you don’t have a choice, bud. You’re going.”

  “It’s not like I’m not going home at all,” he said defensively. “I was planning on showing up next week. That way I can talk to my mom without my brothers glaring at me the entire time, which is what they’ll do if I’m at that party.”

  “You’re going,” she said again, firmer this time.

  He swallowed another sigh. “I still have this job to fini—”

  “Bullshit,” Mari interrupted. “You said so yourself—you can choose whichever and however many towns to shoot.” Her tone became businesslike. “You wanted to do Kansas and Nebraska this week, and then drive up to the Dakotas. The way I see it, we can hit the first two and still make it to Colorado in time for Saturday. But that means you’ll have to sacrifice North and South Dakota.”

  He sat up and dragged a hand through his hair. “I already told Nate I wouldn’t make it.”

  “Well, now you can call him and tell him you will.” She set her jaw. “I mean it, Austin, you can’t miss this party. You have to go.”

  “Or what?” he had to ask, even though he knew goading her was the last t
hing he ought to be doing. “What are you gonna do if I refuse? Tie me up, throw me in the trunk and drive me there yourself?”

  “You’re so melodramatic.” She rolled her eyes. “But to answer your question, if you refuse, I just won’t have sex with you again.”

  He shot her an incredulous look. “You’re using sexual blackmail on me?”

  “Yep. Now that you’ve had a taste of me, I know you’ll want a lot more, and I’m perfectly willing to deprive you of all that sweet lovin’.”

  Despite himself, he started to laugh. “Cocky little thing, aren’t we?”

  Mari dropped the sheet she’d wrapped around her torso and exposed her bare breasts, then eyed him defiantly. “You know you want another piece of this, Bishop. Don’t pretend you don’t.”

  He could have tried to deny it, but his cock revealed his exact feelings on Mari’s nakedness. It immediately got hard and rose to salute the topless woman sitting in front of it.

  “See,” she said smugly.

  He slanted his head. “So you’re seriously going to withhold sex unless I go to that party?”

  “Uh-huh. Not only that, but I’ll go out of my way to torment you. Like, walking around in even skimpier clothing than before. Maybe eating a lot of popsicles. Rubbing sunscreen all over myself. You know, all that super-sexy stuff.” She grinned. “So you may as well agree now otherwise you’re in for a serious case of blue balls.”

  “You’re evil.”

  “And you know I’m right. You need to be there.”

  After a beat, he released another sigh, this one heavy with defeat. “I know.”

  “Good, then it’s settled. You forfeit the Dakotas, we finish up Kansas and Nebraska by Friday, and then we’re heading straight to Paradise.”

  Chapter Six

  Welcome to Paradise.

  Six days later, as they drove past the bright-blue sign welcoming them to Austin’s hometown, Mari gasped in delight, feeling like she’d stepped right into a postcard. The mountains in the distance stood tall and proud, their peaks dusted with snow even in the summer, and the lush greenery and rocky hills were vastly more interesting than the flat Iowan landscape she’d grown up in. Here, the air smelled fresher, the colors seemed more vivid, and everything was so much prettier to look at.

  “I love it,” she declared as they reached a rickety old bridge with a sign indicating that “Downtown Paradise” was one mile away.

  In the driver’s seat, Austin nodded absently. And he only got more distracted once they reached the heart of town. Mari knew he was feeling ambivalent about coming home, but she didn’t let his lack of enthusiasm dim her own. Instead, she gazed at the quaint shops and clean sidewalks, the beautiful historical buildings, the town square that was so reminiscent of all the town squares they’d seen during their road trip.

  When they reached the end of the strip, she caught sight of a corner bar with a familiar name—Bishop’s Corner—and quickly turned to Austin. “Is that your brother’s bar?”

  “Yeah,” was all he said, before speeding through the intersection and putting the bar behind them in the rearview mirror.

  “You don’t want to stop and say hi?”

  Austin shrugged. “He’s not there.”

  She wrinkled her forehead. “How do you know?”

  “His pickup wasn’t parked out front.”

  He turned left at the end of the road, driving way too fast for her liking. She would have liked to take the time to admire Paradise some more, but Austin suddenly seemed like he was in a hurry. Which was odd, considering he’d taken his sweet-ass time in getting them here.

  Not that she was complaining. She couldn’t count the number of times they’d had sex this week—and each time was better than the last. With only two lovers under her belt, one of whom had been a fumbling teenager without much experience, she wasn’t exactly an expert when it came to the bedroom, but she knew the difference between meh sex and oh-my-God-you-rocked-my-world sex.

  And Austin Bishop definitely fell into the latter category. The man drove her absolutely wild. He was rough and intense one moment, sweet and tender the next, and she never knew what to expect once that motel room door closed for the night. She honestly couldn’t remember ever feeling so sexually sated.

  But they’d done more than get naked this last week. Austin had taken hundreds of photographs. Mari had filled up an entire sketchbook with memories from the trip. The conversation had never lagged, the attraction never waned, and now that the journey had come to an end, she couldn’t help but feel a pang of disappointment. Soon she’d be heading to Des Moines, where she’d spend the rest of the summer living under her parents’ roof again.

  “Shit.”

  Austin’s soft expletive jarred her from her thoughts. She glanced over, realizing he’d come to a complete stop on the side of the paved road.

  “Why’d we stop?” she asked, puzzled.

  He rested both hands on the steering wheel. “I just realized…I have no idea where we’re going to stay.”

  The rueful reply caught her off-guard. “What do you mean?”

  He released a rapid breath. “I don’t have my own place here. I usually just crash at my mom’s, but we can’t stay there. Scratch that—I don’t want to stay there. The twins are a no-go too, since Jake and Bree live in Denver, and Owen and Maddie’s place only has one bedroom.” He tapped his fingers against the wheel. “I guess that leaves Nate and Charlotte.”

  Mari sucked in a breath. “You mean we’ll be staying with Charlotte Hill?”

  For the first time since they’d arrived in Paradise, humor twinkled in Austin’s green eyes. “Please don’t tell me you’re gonna get all star-struck around her.”

  “I might,” she said sheepishly.

  He sighed. “You’re totally going to embarrass me, aren’t you, Smith?”

  “I might,” she said again.

  When Austin laughed, the husky sound made her heart skip a beat. “Well, try to control yourself,” he said. “Charlotte’s actually pretty humble, and she gets embarrassed when people make a big fuss over her.”

  “Hey, I forgot to ask, but where is the party going to be?” Mari inquired as Austin put the SUV back in drive.

  “My mom’s place.”

  A silence fell between them, and although tension rolled off Austin’s body in steady waves, Mari didn’t force him to vocalize his visible agitation.

  She shifted her gaze back to the window, but there wasn’t much time to admire the sights because less than five minutes later, Austin turned onto a long dirt road bordered by trees on either side.

  When an A-frame, chalet-style house came into view, Mari’s eyes lit up. The house was gorgeous, and looked so darn cozy she was hit by a jolt of envy. Gosh, what she wouldn’t give to live somewhere like this.

  The dirt road gave way to a dusty drive and an enormous front yard dotted with shady elm trees. There was a blue pickup truck parked near the wraparound porch of the house, and next to it was a black SUV with tinted windows, which Austin pulled up beside.

  “I love this house,” Mari remarked, her gaze drifting to the rustic porch and upper-level balcony.

  “Owen and his crew built it,” Austin told her.

  “Really? I should get them to build one for me.”

  The front door flew open the second she and Austin got out of the car, and then a gorgeous woman with long red hair appeared on the porch. Mari immediately recognized Charlotte Hill, her breath catching as the singer descended the porch steps and hurried toward them.

  Charlotte was much shorter in person, just about Mari’s height, but her presence was larger than life as she threw her arms around Austin and hugged him so tight Mari noticed him grimace. But he looked more amused than annoyed by the grand welcome, and he did return the hug, even bending down to plant a quick kiss atop Charlotte’s head.

  “Hey sis,” he said roughly. “Long time, no see.”

  “Too long,” Charlotte corrected, the joy in her green
eyes fading into irritation. “We haven’t heard from you in three months.”

  “I’ve been busy with work.”

  “Uh-huh, sure, like I really believe that.”

  Mari shifted in discomfort as she listened to their exchange. And she suddenly felt unbelievably self-conscious next to Austin’s famous sister-in-law. Even though Charlotte was dressed as casually as Mari, both of them in jeans and T-shirts, Mari felt like a total slob compared to the other woman.

  It took a second to realize that Charlotte was now eyeing her curiously. “And this must be the friend you mentioned on the phone.”

  Mari knew that Austin had called his brother last night, but she’d been in the shower during the phone call so apparently she’d missed Austin referring to her as his friend. Ha. No way did friends do all the naughty things they’d been doing to each other.

  But she supposed friend was a lot better than random chick I picked up on the side of the road and started sleeping with.

  “This is Mari,” he introduced. “She was keeping me company during the trip. Mari, this is my sister-in-law, Charlotte.”

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Charlotte said with a warm smile. “Thanks for getting him home in one piece.”

  “No problem.”

  Mari was in awe as she shook the other woman’s hand. She couldn’t believe she was shaking hands with Charlotte Hill. She had all of Charlotte’s songs in her iTunes library, and she’d even seen her perform live in Chicago a few years ago. Meeting her in person was totally surreal.

  She was scared she really would start gushing about how great Charlotte was, but fortunately she was spared the potential for making a fool of herself when the front door swung open again and a tall, well-built man marched out.

  Mari was stunned by the resemblance between Austin and the other man. They both had the same dark hair, the same chiseled jaw, the same handsome features. Only whereas Austin’s eyes were green, Nate Bishop’s were a stormy gray, and they flashed with displeasure as he looked his brother up and down.

  “You cut it close,” Nate said stonily. “We’ve gotta be at Mom’s place in an hour.”