In desperation, Austin shook his head to rid the thoughts he was having. He needed to calm down before things got out of hand. The opera would be over soon, and he’d have to get up and walk. He was not feeling at all honorable at the moment, and he did not want to make a fool of himself in front of her.
When Melanie looked over at him, she could see he was completely mesmerized, but she had no idea the battle that was currently waging in him. His brain was fighting for control over his body and it was a struggle he wasn’t used to. Just then the final act began to play out.
The curtains closed and the audience rose to their feet offering a thunderous applause. Austin picked up Melanie’s wrap and placed it on her shoulders.
“That was beautiful, thank you,” she smiled softly at him.
He guided her out of the box and around to the front of the theater. They only had to wait a moment before the limo was brought around and once they climbed in, it pulled away and drove back to Melanie’s.
When they pulled up to the curb at the front of her brownstone, she glanced to the side at him. “Would you like to come in? I could make some coffee...”
“Sure, that sounds nice,” he looked longingly at her. He knew exactly what he wished would happen for the rest of the evening. When he helped her stand, he pulled her against him and placed a kiss to her lips. When he wrapped his arm around her waist and felt his palm brush against her bare back, it was almost his undoing. He felt her lean into him and release sigh. He ran his tongue along the seam of her lips begging for entrance. When she parted them without hesitation, he plunged in. She rose up on her tiptoes and wrapped her arms around his neck, grasping at the soft hair at his nape. Just as he was beginning to deepen the kiss further, she shivered. It was getting cold out and even though he didn’t want to stop, he knew they needed to move this indoors. He broke the kiss and looked down at her stunned expression, “It’s getting cold out, why don’t we move this inside?”
She blushed a deep shade of crimson and began to dig her keys out of her clutch. After unlocking the front door, Melanie slowly entered and turned on a few lights. She pointed to the hallway, “I’ll just be a minute.”
She quickly scurried into her room and removed her shoes and wrap, tossing them on the bed. She glanced in the mirror and took a deep breath to calm herself. When she came back out into the kitchen, Austin had removed his coat and vest, and was standing in the kitchen looking around. Before she made her presence known, she stood a few moments just admiring the view. Austin was ruggedly handsome. He had the body of a man who worked in manual labor, but the style and class of an executive. His arms and shoulders strained against his shirt and his slacks hung loosely on his hips. He had rolled up his sleeves exposing his forearms, one of which was adorned with a gold Cartier watch.
When she shifted on her bare feet, the floor squeaked giving her away. She glanced away embarrassed when he looked over his shoulder and noticed that she was staring. As she ducked her head, she made her way into the kitchen to join him.
“Thought I’d get started, but I don’t know my way around your kitchen yet,” he shrugged.
She caught the “yet” in his comment and understood that he was implying that he’d like to know his way around her place better. He removed his tie and unbuttoned the first couple of buttons on his shirt as she began to open cabinets and place items in the counter.
“Here,” she opened a cabinet and pulled out two mugs. She set them on the counter and just then noticed how close he was to her.
“I know you can’t be comfortable in that,” he slowly trailed his finger over her shoulder making her shiver. “Why don’t you change into something else? I don’t mind. I mean this is, wow, but I know how I feel right now. And right now I would kill for a pair of sweats and a t-shirt,” he smiled at her.
“Ok, I’ll be right back,” she blushed.
She scurried back to her room for a second time and flung open the closet. She hung the dress back on a hanger making a mental note to never get rid of it after the night that she’d just had. She then grabbed a pair of flannel pants along with a cotton tank top. As she stood looking at herself in the mirror, she grabbed a sweatshirt and pulled it on at breakneck speed. She rushed down the hall stopping at the door to the family room to calm herself before she returned to the kitchen.
“You’re right, I do feel better,” she laughed.
“You,” he handed her a mug of steaming coffee, “can make anything look good.”
She blushed and took the mug from him. They moved into the family room and took a seat on the couch. Austin pulled her right up next to him and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. “I had a great time tonight.”
“Me too,” she snuggled in closer.
“I’m really enjoying spending time with you. I’d like for this to continue,” he turned to gaze into her emerald eyes. “Melanie, I think I’m falling in love with you.”
His eyes were soft and pleading for understanding. She only hesitated a moment before returning the gesture.
“Me too Austin, but I’m afraid,” she looked at her lap.
“Afraid of what? Me?” he gestured with his hands pointing at his chest.
“No, of feeling something for a man again and then losing him. I couldn’t handle going through that pain again,” she looked away breaking the contact between them.
“You won’t,” he sighed. “Trust me?” He took her mug from her and placed it along with his own on the coffee table in front of them.
Leaning in, he brushed his lips over hers, waiting for permission to deepen the kiss. She relaxed into him, giving into the sensations coursing through her body and parted her lips allowing him entrance. He slowly began caressing her tongue with his own and pulled her into his lap. One hand wrapped around her back while the other slid up to her nape. She sighed and deepened the kiss more as her hands slid up his chest and neck, capturing his face. She leaned forward farther, pressing her breasts into his chest, and felt a rumbling groan bubble up his throat. Austin slid his hand further down and cupped her bottom. Melanie could feel her body reacting to him. Her nipples were hardening, her center was throbbing, and her breath was coming out in pants. She could feel Austin’s erection making its presence known as it pulsed against her. Their bodies were calling out to one another. He slowly released her neck and slid his hand to the bottom of her sweatshirt. As soon as his fingers began to brush against her bare back, she tensed and began to pull away. Both turned their heads to regain their equilibrium before taking a chance at meeting each other’s eyes.
“I’m sorry, I can’t,” she panted.
“No, I’m sorry,” Austin groaned and ran his hands over his face. “I shouldn’t have pushed you.”
“No really, you don’t understand,” she slid away slightly. I just…” she began to stumble through her words. “I can’t do that. Sleep with you, I mean.”
Austin blanched and his head whipped around at her frankness. When Melanie saw the look on his face, she groaned and tried to turn away from his stare.
“That’s not what I meant,” she shook her head. “This isn’t coming out right.”
“Well, tell me. I don’t want to do anything to make you uncomfortable. Please, if this is going to work you have to be honest with me,” he cupped her cheek and moved his thumb back and forth.
“Well,” she glanced down towards her lap. “I was always taught that you were supposed to wait,” she peaked up at him though her lashes. “I know that may seem old fashioned, but when Sean and I married, I was a virgin.”
Austin nodded as she continued.
“I haven’t been with anyone since he died, and I don’t plan to. I mean if I get married again, then that will change, of course,” she looked up at him with pleading eyes, hoping that she hadn’t completely ruined whatever was happening between them. “I understand if you aren’t okay with this. Most men aren’t, I know.”
Austin sighed before answering, “Anyone who is unwilling to wa
it for you, doesn’t deserve you. You, Melanie, are the most beautiful, sweet, sensual woman I have ever met. I’m willing to wait as long as it takes.”
As Austin sat pouring his heart out to her, Melanie couldn’t help but read between the lines. Here he was basically telling her that he wanted to one day marry her. He was willing to wait for her. Her heart began to swell with love and the cracks that had been there for so long were finally beginning to heal. Austin Montgomery was patching up the broken pieces and slowly cementing them back together.
“I better go,” he leaned forward and placed a light kiss to her lips. He slowly stood and began to gather his things and make his way to the door.
“I understand,” Melanie blushed. She hadn’t intended on that kiss getting as out of control as it had, but she was glad that they had talked. She walked him to the door and offered a light kiss to the cheek. “Thank you again for tonight. Maybe next time you can come over here and I’ll cook for you.”
“Sounds perfect. Goodnight,” he lifted her hand to his lips and placed a kiss to her knuckles, and then disappeared into the darkness.
Chapter 9
After Melanie and Austin had left, Katie began to let her nerves get the better of her. Going over to Hannah’s to watch a movie had sounded like fun. Now, knowing that she was going to be there with Zach and no parents, she was beginning to second-guess herself. She pulled out her cell, and checked to make sure that it was charged and that she didn’t have any unchecked messages. She glanced at the clock. Zach was late. He was supposed to be there fifteen minutes ago to pick her up. Just as she was putting her phone back into her purse, she heard a knock at the door.
“Coming!” she called. She stood and made her way into the foyer to answer the door, and to peek through the window to make sure it was, indeed, Zach. Upon seeing him standing there shuffling his feet, she pulled the door open. “I was beginning to wonder...” her voice trailed off when he looked up at her. She noticed a swollen red spot right on his cheekbone below his left eye. “What happened?” She reached up and tentatively grazed her fingers over the forming bruise.
“It’s nothing,” he pushed her hand away. “You ready?” he turned and began walking to his awaiting car.
“Sure, let me lock up,” she assured. “Is that why you’re late?” she pointed to his face.
“I don’t wanna talk about that, ok? Just drop it!” he demanded and stalked over to his car.
This was the Zach she’d heard about. The one that got into trouble, the one that would break her heart. She silently wondered where the Zach was that she’d been spending so much time with lately. Where was the Zach that she was falling for? She began to question whether or not going to this party with him was truly a good idea. What if he’d been in a fight? What if he got mad at her and took a swing at her? She stood chewing her nail as she contemplated those questions.
“You coming?” he glared at her.
She huffed and slowly nodded her head as she walked up to his car, a brand new Camaro. He jogged around to the driver’s side and jumped in. Once she was buckled in, he cranked the engine and tore away from the curb.
“Zach, you need to slow down,” Katie began to panic. “You’re scaring me!”
“I’m sorry,” he began as tried to get control of himself.
“You say that a lot you know?” she glanced at him out of the corner of her eye as she kept an eye trained on the road. She had a white knuckled grip on the door and dashboard, and she was holding her breath, offering a prayer that this wasn’t the stupidest thing she’d ever done.
“I’ve had a rough night. I don’t mean to take it out on you.” He glanced over at her and slumped in his seat. “Let’s try and have a good night, ok?”
When they arrived at Hannah’s building, they parked in the underground deck, took the elevator to the twentieth floor, and knocked on the door. The rest of the group was already there. They could hear laughter filtering to the outside. As they knocked on the heavy wooden door, Katie glanced around at her surroundings. This was one of the fanciest buildings she’d ever been in. When they had stepped out of the elevator, there was a large open atrium with flowers decorating a small table in the middle. The long hallways were filled with heavy wooden doors all lined in brass with nameplates adorning each one. As Katie stood glancing around, Zach had shaken his head and mumbled something unintelligible about rich people.
Hannah flung open the door, “About time guys. Hey we can eat now!” she shouted over her shoulder.
Zach grabbed Katie’s jacket as he removed his own and went to place them on the coat rack in the hallway. When he lifted his arms, Katie couldn’t help noticing the bruise that was visible from where his shirt crept up on the side. It looked a few days old, but was still pretty angry. She shuddered and averted her eyes before he noticed that she was staring.
“Nice,” he ran his finger over her bare shoulder. “I like this, a lot,” he whispered in her ear.
She shivered and turned towards Hannah. “You could have told me that your dad wasn’t going to be here.”
At hearing this, Zach wagged his eyebrows and a wicked grin crossed his face. “No parents tonight. Nice,” he ambled away.
“What does it matter?” Hannah raised her brow and shrugged.
“It matters to me,” Katie growled and folded her arms across her chest.
Hannah laughed as the three made their way into the kitchen to join Anthony and Sam. There were three pizza boxes on the table along with a stack of DVD’s.
“I wasn’t sure what everybody had seen, so I got a whole bunch. They had all the Halloween rentals marked down too,” she giggled.
Zach looked over at the stack and began sifting through them, “Sweet! You got Dawn of the Dead.”
Katie cringed, “Dawn of the Dead.” She glanced at Zach. “That’s not really my thing.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll protect you!” he laughed and slung his arm around her shoulders, pulling her to him.
The group joked around and stuffed pizza in their mouths for another half hour before moving into the family room to watch the movie. Katie became more stiff and ridged as the evening progressed. Every time Zach moved to place his arm around her or hold her hand, she moved away from his advances. She wasn’t sure why she was pulling away, but something felt off about the whole evening. She couldn’t put her finger on what it was, but Zach wasn’t acting like himself. His behavior earlier, along with the mysterious bruises, was gnawing at her, and the fact that they were essentially alone and soon to be in the dark watching a movie wasn’t sitting well with her either. She and Melanie had had “the talk” about waiting, but she hadn’t mentioned any of that to Zach. Were they even dating? Her head was filled with so many questions about him. Did he like her or was he using her? Was he only interested in getting in her pants? She hoped not, but here he was a sixteen-year-old boy wanting to spend a lot of time with her. At fourteen, she’d had boyfriends, but none as serious as whatever this thing was with Zach.
“I’m going to get the movie ready,” Hannah announced, bringing Katie out of her musings.
“Nothing ‘girlie’!” Anthony shouted as he trailed her with a piece of pizza still in his hand.
“Hey can I talk to you a minute?” Zach whispered in Katie’s ear.
“Sure,” she blushed.
“I’m gonna go…” Sam pointed in the direction that Hannah and Anthony had gone in.
“What’s going on?” Zach stood in front of her with his hands out, waiting for a response.
“What do you mean?” Katie crossed her arms over her chest in a defensive stance.
“I mean you won’t touch me. You won’t let me touch you. What have I done in the last twenty four hours that changed the way you feel about me?” he moved closer. “I thought you liked me.”
“I…I…I do. I mean...oh I don’t know what I mean,” she sighed. “I do like you. I’m just worried.”
“Worried about what? Have I done something tha
t would lead you to believe that I’m not sincere with my actions?” he moved so close that there was no space left between them.
“No, no you haven’t,” she gasped.
“Then you need to trust me,” he leaned in and placed a soft kiss to her lips. She gasped at the contact and felt electricity course through her. He wrapped his arm around her lower back and pulled her tighter to his chest as he deepened the kiss, and a small groan escaped his throat. As soon as she heard this, she reached up in a pawing motion and pushed against chest. She forced herself away and gasped for air. Both were breathless and flushed with desire.
“This is what I’m talking about. It’s not you that I’m worried about. I’m worried about myself. Zach, I’ve never felt like this about someone before. I’ve had boyfriends, but none that I would consider serious feelings about. But you…you bring out a whole other side of me, and it scares me,” she shook her head and rubbed her face with open palms.
Unbreak Me (Second Chances) Page 10
