by Claire Adams
I punched the wall. “Shut the fuck up,” I warned her as her words hit me right where it hurt.
“I think your coming back is sweet and all, but we both know that it won’t last. You need the city as much as I do and the pace of it. You need the thrill of it. I don’t know why you’re all sentimental about this place, but you’ll get over it. Rebecca can’t be that good in bed, not after the Austin who I know so well. I know all your kinks. Remember?” Mia lifted a perfect brow. “Sentimental doesn’t suit you, Austin. It’s all about the game for you.”
“You don’t know me at all,” I told her as I stepped forward and took a deep breath. I hated what she was saying about Rebecca and North Reed. She didn’t know anything about any of it.
“Of course, I do. We were together, Austin.” She tried to smile, but it just looked twisted to me. “I got to know you so well over the time that we spent together.”
How could she know me? I didn’t even know myself all that well, even now. I hated the man she was describing to me, even though I knew that she had it right. It made me sick inside.
“You’re too good for North Reed, Austin. I did stop by and have dinner at your place in Dallas, which is more your style. The food was delicious, and I think we could have a little fun there before going back to New York as the power couple that we are.” She gave the room a disdainful gaze before she looked back at me. “I mean, this is the best hotel that I could find for miles. But a bed is a bed, right?”
“You will never have me in any bed again, Mia. We are through.” She walked toward me. This woman used to make me drop to my knees, but now I could only see Rebecca in my mind. I loved her and only wanted her. “We agreed that we were through.”
“I miss you, Austin. I miss what we had.” She tilted her head and gave me the big eyes that got her way most of the time.
“Can’t get into the good places without me, Mia?” I asked.
She shook her head slowly. “I am the top model in the world, Austin. I can do anything that I want in any part of the world, but I want you by my side. I’ve had my fun fucking other people while we were apart, but my heart is set on you. We’re so good together.” Mia gave me the smile that she gave the press that won them over, but it did nothing for me. I regretted hooking up with her at all now.
“I don’t want to be with you, Mia. I’ve told you that several times over the last few weeks, and you just don’t get it.” I watched as she reached behind her to unclasp the bra, releasing it to the floor as I closed my eyes. “Stop making a fool of yourself. You’re better than this.”
“I can take it all away from you, Austin. I could ruin you.” Mia’s voice drifted across the room. I shook my head with a bitter laugh.
“I’m a billionaire, Mia. You’re a model. How could you possibly do that? One deal didn’t take me off the map like you seem to think. I just had other things going on in my life.”
“I did some digging. I know what you had going on. It’s so good to know people in the same circles.” I opened my eyes to glare at her, focusing on her face as she reached up to squeeze her full, fake breasts. “Such a sweet donation to the library and the local hospital. Austin Harris is such a kind-hearted man when it comes to the shit town that he was raised in. You could give this town all of your money and it wouldn’t save it, in my opinion.”
She threw herself at me. Mia’s lips were on mine for a second before I struggled to push her away, brushing my hand over her hard nipple. She moaned playfully against me. I gripped her shoulders and shoved her away from me just as her tongue brushed my lips, breathing hard as our gazes locked. “Get the fuck away from me and North Reed, Mia. You’re fucking out of your mind, and I will never get back together with you.”
“I am going to ruin you, Austin.” Mia smiled as she spoke the words, but there was pain in her eyes. “Mark my words.”
“Fuck you, Mia. I’m done with this.” I pushed her away completely and left the room, slamming the door as I walked out to my car. Why did I ever think that hooking up with her was a good idea?
Chapter Thirty-Six
Rebecca
Austin surprised me with a visit to the salon at the end of my shift, inviting me to dinner that evening. The women loved it and greeted him with warm smiles as they all shot me private looks that made me blush. I told them good night as he rushed me out, and I followed him to the steakhouse for a good meal.
“Austin, you seem a little keyed up,” I said as we sat down at our table. “Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, I just wanted to see you,” he told me as he scooted closer and leaned in to kiss me softly. I appreciated this version of him after Saturday and kissed him back with a soft smile. His hands were all over me the entire meal, and I felt my desire rising through dinner. He kept kissing my lips and my neck. It wasn’t lost to me that most of the restaurant was keeping a close eye on us, but I was too lost in Austin to care.
He paid the check with a few bills and rushed me out of the restaurant to kiss me breathless by the car. “What has gotten into you?” I asked.
He pulled away and stared into my eyes. “I love you, Rebecca. That’s what’s gotten into me.” He sneaked another kiss, and my underwear dampened a little more. “Meet me at your place. I’d like to spend the night with you, Rebecca.”
“I’d love that.” I smiled at him and turned to walk back to my car, shaking my hips just a bit more than I normally would. I heard him whistle and laughed as I unlocked my door. We drove to my house, and I parked in the garage while he took the driveway so he could get back to his parents in the morning.
Once we were inside, Austin pressed me against the door and claimed my mouth hungrily. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him closer to me, needing this. I’d been so tense since Saturday, and a good, hard fuck would do me well right now.
Austin backed me up slowly and slipped my coat off as he kept kissing me. I did the same as I bumped into the couch and then ripped at the buttons on his shirt.
“I want you so bad,” I whispered.
He lifted me against him and carried me to my bedroom. Austin let go of me enough to let me slide down his muscular body and add even more to my lust before he ripped my shirt over my head. I gasped as he tore at the clasp of my bra and slid it back over my shoulders. He cupped me in his big hands. I moaned as he brushed against my nipple with his thumb.
“I love you,” Austin murmured. “I never should have left you behind.” He lowered me to the bed. “I’ll always regret that, Rebecca.” His lips traced my jaw before moving down my neck.
I smiled. That suggested to me that he didn’t want to go back to New York after all. Austin unbuttoned my jeans and slid them down my thighs, taking my soaked panties with them.
“You’re so beautiful, Rebecca.” He kissed my stomach and down to my thighs before spreading them wide.
“Oh, Austin,” I groaned. He kissed the sticky skin of my inner thighs before blowing on my pussy. “Please. I need you.”
He covered me with his mouth, his tongue gently teasing my folds. I slipped both hands into his hair and tugged him closer. I heard his cry as he moved deeper with his tongue and then circled my clit.
There was a passion to this tonight, a desperation. I sensed it, though I didn’t mind it at all. I wanted to be the one who he came to in times like this. I wanted to be the one who loved him.
Austin parted my legs and sucked my sensitive bud between his teeth. I cried out his name. I didn’t know what brought this on, but I liked the way that he worshiped me. His tongue teased and his teeth dragged against me. He slid a finger inside of me.
“Austin. Don’t stop!” I cried out.
I felt another finger dragging against my walls, feeling the pressure building inside of me. He bit down just as I came, tasting me, and keeping the orgasm going until I was breathless and weak.
Austin stood and slipped his shirt off before he opened the button to his jeans. They slid down to join the shirt, and I gasped as I
saw that he was bare underneath. Something filled me with adrenaline. I pushed myself up to crawl toward him as Austin stared at me. “You’re so fucking perfect, Rebecca. You always were, and I was blind not to see that.”
I moved closer to him and licked the tip of his cock with my tongue. He was already salty. I sucked him into my mouth, and Austin gripped my hair, pulling out the ponytail. He held me as I sucked him, beginning to move with me. His hips drove him deep into my throat. I moaned and gripped his perfect ass to pull him closer and encourage his movements. Austin told me that he loved me before he jerked against me, filling my throat.
Austin made me feel so complete as I rested against him and took a deep breath. “God, I’ve never enjoyed that so much.”
“You’ve always been good at it, Rebecca. I’ve always loved this with you.” Austin stroked my hair. I looked up at him, and he smiled down at me. “I love you.”
“I think I like this romantic and rough side of you,” I told him. I dropped back onto the bed and held my hands out. Austin joined me. I sat up to stare at him, and he kissed me deeply. I could see myself on his lips, and he could taste himself in my mouth as he swept it with his tongue. God, that turned me on.
He was over me and pushing me on the bed before too long. He slid inside of me. Austin moved hard as he rocked back, fucking me and telling me he loved me. It was a perfect combination, and we came together. I screamed his name, and he buried his face into my damp neck.
“I love you, Austin,” I said. He collapsed against me and pulled out. I cried out with the void of him and sighed.
Austin rolled beside me and asked if I wanted some water. I nodded and watched as he headed to the kitchen through the dark house, giggling at the idea of doing this when I was in high school. I looked over and glanced at the clock. It was only eight. We couldn’t keep our hands off one another tonight.
He came back with a big bottle to share. Austin handed it to me before dropping on the bed and giving me a kiss. “That’s the kind of night with you that I needed. I’m sorry that Saturday wasn’t what I planned it to be.”
“Did you get that sorted out?” I asked him, watching Austin smile and nod. We snuggled together, making love slowly before we fell asleep to the sound of the wind outside of my window.
It was dark when I woke up to the sound of my phone from the living room. I turned it up when I left work in case someone needed me, and I looked at the clock to see that it was midnight. Kim! I managed to jump up and stumble into the living room where I’d dropped my purse on the floor. I knelt over it and dug through until I saw the screen lighting up. I grabbed it to see a strange number that I didn’t recognize on the screen. I didn’t even think that it was a local number. It was a text, but it had to be important at midnight. I noticed Austin’s name on the subject line before I swiped it, gasping at the image that would forever haunt me.
Austin was with Mia in the photo. Her naked breasts pressed against him as they kissed. He was touching her, and the familiarity between them was obvious to me. I let out a long, broken cry as I stared at the image. I could tell by the sign on the wall that the picture had been taken at the local hotel here in North Reed. I dropped onto my ass and closed my eyes as I started crying.
Did he do this with her before coming to fuck me? Was that the game that he was playing? I pulled myself together and walked to the bedroom. I shook him roughly as I held my phone in my hand.
“Baby, what is it?” Austin asked. I held out the phone to show him the picture. “Fucking bitch. I can explain this, Rebecca.”
“She’s near naked and you're kissing her in a local hotel. You’re touching her nipple in the picture, Austin. That’s pretty self-explanatory to me.” I felt myself go numb the way I did when he left before. Tears slid down my cheeks.
“Rebecca, this was a set-up. I knew that she was up to something, but I never expected this. Listen to me.” I dropped onto the edge of my bed and stared at the floor. He pulled me against him. “She was in town and told me to meet her at the hotel. I went to tell her to get the fuck out of my life. She wouldn’t take no for an answer. Mia was the only woman in New York who I saw on more than a casual basis, and I regret it so much now. She’s insane and manipulative, and she did this to break us up. What you don’t see is how I shoved her away and left the room.”
I was frozen against him. I couldn’t move except to let the last few tears slide down my cheeks. I gave him a second chance, and everybody was right about that. It did hurt like hell. “Who took the picture?”
“I don’t know. I never saw anyone else there, but I left right after this was taken. She must have had someone there waiting for the right moment. She answered the door in this stupid lingerie.” I stared at him. Austin held his hands up as I moved forward. “She took it off. Not me. I only touched her to get her away from me.”
I wanted to believe him, but my walls were back up around my heart. I wouldn’t let them down again for Austin. I wiped my face with my hand. He touched my shoulder, and I moved to shake his hand off while I went to get my robe. “This isn’t going to work, Austin.”
“Rebecca, I love you,” he insisted.
I stood to face him. “We’ve grown apart too much. You’re a different person now.” I waved my hand in the air and pushed back the pain. “I could never be her for you, and I can’t stand the idea of Mia and the other women who you slept with while we were apart. I’m just me. I live in a small town, and I work a really average job. I’m nobody special, and you moved on from here. You’re probably ready to drop the news that you’re moving back to New York any day now, so you can break my heart. Guess what? It’s done.”
“I love you, Rebecca. I wasn’t planning on just leaving you. I regret leaving you behind more than anything else in my fucking life. I don’t want to lose you again.”
“I love you more than anything, Austin. I always have and always will, but I don’t trust you with my heart. That picture released all my insecurity back into…everywhere, and I don’t want to compete with the girls or your life. I want you to leave.”
“No, I don’t want to. I need you, Rebecca. Mia set this up so you’d react like this. Don’t you get that?” He moved to cup my face in his hands.
“I’ll never be enough for you. I don’t want to try anymore, Austin. I love you, but I want you gone. Don’t contact me before you leave North Reed. Don’t call me, don’t come to my work, and let me move on already. It hurts even worse the second time.”
He sighed and dropped his head forward.
I watched as he dressed, feeling my heart splinter into pieces. He left his shirt untucked over his jeans and looked at me when he was ready to leave.
“One last kiss?” he asked. I remained still. Austin moved towards me and pressed his lips to my unresponsive ones before pulling away with a low cry. “I love you.”
I followed him to the door and locked it securely before I went back to my room and sent Kim a text. I needed my sister. I needed someone who I could trust.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Austin
It was hard as hell not to see Rebecca all week, but I honored her wishes. I just didn’t leave town like she thought I might.
I spent the time on the phone with Preston, who was returning to New York soon. I called other people there and made the arrangements I needed to prove myself to the woman I loved. My dad sat with me, and I showed him the paperwork that I printed out daily. He clapped me on the back when he learned my complete plan. It felt good to do something different after everything that went wrong. It felt good to be fighting for Rebecca, even though she didn’t know anything about it yet. We kept it from Mom, choosing to surprise her around the same time if my plan worked.
I went into town a few times to deal with some local things, and it was apparent that Rebecca was unhappy with me. I knew that she didn’t tell everyone the details of what happened because that’s not how she was, but this was a small town. If she was at all down, I would automaticall
y be the cause of that. I accepted it and went about my business, confident that I could change her mind.
I even roped Kim into it, visiting her at the library when I knew that Rebecca was at work. Together, we came up with a plan. I missed her more than anything, but this had to be done a certain way.
Dad drove with me to the rental agency to return the car, and then we headed to a local dealership where I picked out a used SUV that would be perfect for all the weather and was not obnoxious. I learned a lot about myself in that hotel room with Mia. I hated the man who I’d become in New York, but I had to forgive myself and try to move on in a way that made me happy.
I dressed in my favorite jeans and a flannel shirt on Friday as I looked in the mirror. I might need another haircut, but I thought that might work out pretty well once this night was over. I grabbed an old cowboy hat from high school and fit it over my head with a grin, thinking of Preston. He supported my plan wholeheartedly. He was one of the few that told me he was proud of me.
Later that night when I knocked on Rebecca’s door, I knew she’d be home. Kim would have told her she was running a little late for dinner together. That was part of my plan.
I’d packed my briefcase with everything I needed the night before and checked it several times to make sure that everything was there. I walked out into the living room to see Mom cooking dinner in the kitchen and Dad watching a game. He gave me a knowing smile.
“Austin, honey, aren’t you staying for dinner?” Mom called out to me as I set the briefcase down.
“I have to take care of something, Mom. I’ll be back later.”
She looked closer at me, and a smile crossed her face. “Now that looks like the Texas boy I remember. It’s a good look on you.”
I smiled and tipped my hat toward her. She giggled and kept cooking as she shook her head.
“See you later,” I told Dad.
He gave me a loving look. “Go get your girl, Austin.” He smiled, and I nodded.
