Chapter 6
CHAPTER 6
AUSTIN
As soon as his lips were on mine, instead of the expected stiffness and panic, I melted. I also wanted to fucking cry in relief, but I managed to hold it all back with a will I didn’t know I had. His short beard was rough on my skin, and I loved it. His peppery scent was all I could breathe in. It wouldn’t take much for me to grow addicted to him.
How was he accepting this?
Don’t question, Austin.
His lips were as soft, warm, and as owning as I remembered them.
Hell, I was surprised I even remembered how to kiss.
The noise in my mind was finally silenced when his strong fingers forked through my hair at the back of my head and fisted it, not painfully so, but more like he wouldn’t allow me to run this time.
Our heads twisted, and his tongue brushed the seam of my lips. I quickly opened for him, allowing him to explore the inside of my mouth. When he pressed his pelvis against mine, there was no denying how hard he was.
I nearly wept again when my own dick stirred to life, proving, once again, that we were meant to be here at this moment in time. God, it’d been so long.
Soon, our entire bodies went into the kiss, touching everywhere we could as if making up for lost time. This was how it should’ve been. I never should’ve used him or anyone to get over my pain that day.
We finally pulled away, resting our foreheads together, trying to catch our breaths.
“That’s what I’m talking about,” he whispered. “How does a simple kiss feel like coming home? Only our second kiss in as many years? Your energy is so raw and deep. I fucking crave it.”
The buzzing of his phone pulled us apart. The food was here.
An idea suddenly hit me. He needed to see it.
I grabbed his hand and pulled him out of his condo. He quickly locked up, and we headed downstairs to the lobby to grab the food. Once back in the elevator, I pushed the sixteenth-floor button.
“We’re going to eat at my place,” I said.
We held hands again as we rode up, the air quickly filling up with scents of coconut milk and curry. I glanced over at Dallas, who had a slight smile on his face, looking up at the floor numbers blinking by.
When the doors opened, I tugged him toward my condo and unlocked the door.
His pretty blue eyes scanned my place. “So, this is where you live. Damn, your place is so much bigger. And I love what you’ve done with it. So eclectic.”
I took the food from him and brought it to the kitchen, setting it on the counter, but I didn’t grab plates for us to eat. We came here for one reason only.
I threaded our fingers together again, tugged him into my living area, and pointed at the painting over my sofa.
“That’s a gorgeous piece,” he said.
“That’s us.”
The longer we stood together without him running for the hills, the stronger my confidence grew. If I could handle coming out to Dallas like I had earlier, I could handle anything.
His brows rose, looking at me. “Us?”
“I’m an artist.”
“You did this? Holy shit. I had no idea you were an artist. No wonder you’re so passionate. It’s stunning.”
Dallas walked closer to the painting, scrutinizing it. “It’s… a bit sad, yet sensual.”
My stomach flipped around in excitement that he understood the emotions behind the piece.
“Yes. Exactly. All I could think of was that kiss. It wasn’t supposed to happen, not like that. I’d been so angry and upset that day. My life as I knew it was over. I rushed to the bar to get drunk. Not to find someone to kiss… or other things. But there you were. It was spontaneous on my part and not at all like me. It was that kiss and how gentle you were with me when I was on my knees. It wasn’t supposed to be like that. I ran because it was wrong of me to do that to you just because I was hurting. But that kiss… It was electric.”
He craned his head back, smirking. “So you captured it in art. It’s as emotive as that kiss was. Stunning. It truly reflects the pain and passion behind it.”
“There are others—so many others that I have an art show going on centered around this theme.”
“Oh, hell… now you have to take me.”
I smiled, truly smiled, for the first time since I could remember. “I will.”
“You need to do that all the time.”
“Do what? Art?”
“No, smile.”
I smiled shyly and walked over to him.
“For over a month, I couldn’t create shit after Alex, but with you… You helped revive my creativity and career.”
Dallas slid his arms around my waist. “Hmm, it seems you owe me a substantial amount of money.”
My jaw dropped, and he laughed.
“I’m teasing you, Austin. But I would love a piece for my new condo since I don’t have anything on my walls.”
“I have tons of them you can have.”
“Thank you for showing me.”
Dallas pulled me into another kiss that was as good, if not better than the last one.
“Are we doing this?” he asked when we pulled away. “Are we going to make a go of something special here?”
“I would like that, but I’m still afraid. I can’t promise I won’t freak out on you from time to time.”
“Then have your freak out, and then we’ll talk about it.” He cupped my face again in his strong and protective hands. “I’ve been waiting my whole life for you.”