14. McKenna
McKenna
T he first thing I did when I reached my car was dig through my center console and pull out a piece of gum. The nerves had slowly trickled in, and if I hadn’t walked away from Austin when I did, he’d have seen right through my mask of indifference.
He’d hit it right on the head when he’d rattled off his ridiculous list of things I liked. Number one being that secretly, I did like when he took care of me. But I enjoyed my independence, so the thought of even accepting that fact had bile rising up the back of my throat.
What pissed me off more was the fact that I’d been the one to clear out the diner and encourage the cook to leave before I’d stepped foot in that office. I’d covered his ass, and he returned the favor by calling me out.
Heavy footsteps sounded behind me where I stood with my driver’s door open, facing away from Austin as he approached.
“Booker and Henley are going to come take care of the body,” he announced like it was just another Tuesday .
I swung around, teeth biting through my gum so hard, it was a surprise none of them cracked. “Is this all a joke to you?”
He must’ve seen something in my eyes because he suddenly stopped walking. His brows furrowed, and he took a hesitant step towards me. “Are you upset with me?”
I scoffed and slapped my hands against my thighs. “Am I upset with you? Yes, I’m fucking upset with you!” I held a hand out to the diner for emphasis. “You just killed my boss for touching my ass!”
“And I’d do it again,” he said matter-of-factly.
“Of course you would, because you’re fucking crazy .” I blinked back the tears that had begun to burn my eyes. I wouldn’t cry—couldn’t cry—in front of Austin. He’d think of me as weak.
He moved closer, and I hated the proximity. If he looked hard enough, he’d find me crumbling.
“If ending the man who thought he could get away with objectifying women makes me crazy, then consider me fucking insane.” He leaned into my space, enunciating each word he said next.
“I would do anything to make sure you felt safe. To make sure no one puts their hands on you without your permission.”
My lips pressed together tightly because anger was a lot easier to feel than whatever emotions he was trying to pull from me. “You think killing someone in front of me makes me feel safe ?”
“Yes.”
“That doesn’t solve my problem.”
“It solves one of them.”
It took all the control I had not to scream to the skies and beg for a moment of peace away from this insufferable man.
“What’s your plan with the next one, then? Kill the man sending death threats my way, too?” I asked.
His facial expression was of cool indifference, as if we weren’t talking about murder. “That’s exactly the plan.”
“You can’t just go around killing everyone, Austin!”
That made him snap. “And you can’t go around acting like none of this affects you! If I have to end the people who make you feel like you’re in danger, I will.”
I nearly scoffed. “Don’t act like you really care that much.”
He cupped my cheeks, his nose inches from mine as he stared into my eyes. “McKenna, I’ve cared since the moment Booker and I sat in your diner to watch Brynne. I didn’t flirt with you all those weeks for my fucking health. I like you.”
I turned my head to the side, but he turned it right back.
“Look at me and tell me you’ll let me help you.
With more than a sleazy boss.” His thumb brushed my cheek, and I couldn’t tell if a tear had fallen.
What the fuck was I doing, crying in a goddamn parking lot to a man who wouldn’t leave me the fuck alone?
I didn’t respond, so he pressed on. “I don’t want you feeling like your life is in someone else’s hands.”
His words sent cannons careening toward my carefully crafted walls, and I had no defense against them.
Swallowing the urge to say yes, to let him take care of me so easily, I instead said, “Take me home.”
And without a word, he led me to the passenger side of my car, laid his jacket on the seat so no blood would get on it, then buckled me in and drove us to my house.
Dangerous? Maybe. But Austin seemed to be good at getting me to give in to my cravings.
Right now, that just so happened to be him.
Austin followed me inside after parking my car in the driveway. I didn’t bother fighting him on it—he’d simply stand outside my door like some lost puppy if I didn’t let him in. Then, inevitably, he’d find a way inside. It wouldn’t be the first time.
He breezed past me once the front door was closed, inspecting the house like there might be someone waiting to strike. If there was, I think I’d let them take me away. I was too tired to fight for my life tonight.
Maybe it was a good thing Austin was around. Or maybe that was my exhaustion talking.
Definitely the latter.
“I’m taking a shower,” I announced as I followed him down the hall where he was peeking inside every room.
My house wasn’t large by any means, but there was a linen closet, a guest room, a guest bathroom, and my room.
So, really, there was a good assortment of hiding places for the boogeyman if he really wanted to put that much effort into it.
As soon as I said the words, he veered into my room, glancing underneath the bed on his way to the attached bathroom.
I walked in after him, finding him taking up post with his hip against the counter, arms crossed.
I surveyed the small room, already knowing there was no place for someone to hide in here.
The doors to the shower were glass, and no one could fit underneath the sink or in a drawer, so obviously, it was empty.
“What? Are you going to watch me shower, too? I can’t be alone anymore?
” I hated how good he looked standing there with the muscles of his arms pulling his shirt sleeves taut, the way he practically glowed under the warm lighting, pulling me into his trance with his eyes alone.
It made me want him to stand there and watch as I washed my body and hair.
“Well, I wasn’t going to at first, but…” He dropped his arms to grip the counter behind me and hefted himself up onto it so he was sitting with his legs dangling. “If you’re offering, I’d be an idiot to pass it up.”
With a roll of my eyes and subtle shake of my head, I began unbuttoning the top of my diner uniform. “You’re an idiot either way.”
He set a hand over his heart. “You wound me.”
The top fell apart, and I slid it off so it landed in a heap on the ground. “Good. It’s working.”
Austin’s hungry gaze fell to my breasts spilling out over the top of my sky-blue bra. White lace covered the soft fabric, and I was secretly glad I chose this one today instead of a more plain option. He clearly seemed to be eating it up as he shifted on the counter.
I moved to my skirt, shimmying it down my legs to lay next to the top. The lace panties matched my bra, and my focus fluttered to Austin for a split second to find him licking his bottom lip like a man deprived of water for months.
I straightened, moving my hands behind me to unlatch my bra. I fumbled with it for a moment before dropping my arms back to my sides. I pasted on my best pouty look. “Help me?”
His throat moved on a swallow and he slid off the counter, crossing to me without a word. With a hand on my upper arm, he spun me until my back was to him. So fucking gently. I wanted to scream at him to manhandle me because his soft touches made me more feral than anything else.
He brushed my hair over my shoulder, hand lingering on the strands before moving away.
His fingers didn’t need to trail down my shoulder blade and elicit goosebumps all over my body, but they did.
He didn’t need to grip my waist with his other hand, but he did.
He touched me like he wanted to take his time.
Like this was the highlight of his day. Like he hadn’t just killed a man for touching my ass less than an hour ago.
My bra suddenly loosened, and I realized how good he was with the clasps. It made me wonder what else he was good at. Made me kind of want to find out.
He moved closer as he delicately pulled the straps of my bra down my arms. Once they were past my elbows, it slid to the ground.
I barely saw any of it as all I could focus on was his boner pressing against my bare ass through his jeans.
The fact that he was still fully clothed, and I was nearly completely naked, drove me crazy.
His chin was hovering over my shoulder, his stubble tickling my skin. His breath, warm and intoxicating, was so close to my ear that it sent shivers down my spine.
“Problem?” I asked, mustering all my strength behind the word so it didn’t come out in a whisper. I spun around slowly, meeting his heated gaze. The fire that blazed behind those eyes… The man was ravenous.
Ravenous for me.
“Nope. Not at all.”
But even I could detect the lie behind those words. We both could.
I hooked my thumbs in my panties and slid them off, and clearly that was his breaking point because he moved past me, opened the glass door, and turned the shower on.
Then, he returned to his spot at the counter, this time remaining standing.
I took in the sight of his boner pressing against his zipper.
Heat ripped through me like he’d set me aflame.
I knew the hot water would only accentuate the feeling, but if I turned it to cold, he’d know.
But it wasn’t like he didn’t already.
Once steam began to rise in the air, I stepped inside and closed the shower door.
It didn’t hide me from him, but that wasn’t the point.
I needed something to separate us right now, even if that something was a thin sheet of very breakable glass.
Otherwise, my hands would be flying to his zipper and I’d be begging him to take me.
I didn’t care if he still had traces of Marv’s blood on him at this point.