14. Austin
CHAPTER 14
AUSTIN
Fucking hell, Greer Rowan could kiss.
The slide of his tongue along mine was better than anything I’d imagined. This kiss was fourteen years in the making, and almost brought me to my knees.
If I were blindfolded, I’d know it was him, because Greer kissed me the same way he looked at me.
Imploring me to love him.
Begging me to never let go.
Giving me his heart and placing it in my hands for safekeeping.
Greer owned me, body and soul, and always had. I knew I was going to say those three words to him sooner than I planned. They were going to erupt from me like lava from that volcano a few kilometers away.
And I couldn’t wait to spend the rest of my life with him.
If I didn’t sit, I was going to fall. So I took a step back and sat down on the outdoor sofa. Greer followed me down and spread himself across my body. It felt right to have him like this.
“Get yourself off against me,” I whispered before taking his mouth again. Tangled together on the sofa, our hands sought warm skin as the fire kept the chill away. I thrust my hips up, pressing my cock alongside his, making him moan.
“This feels incredible,” he panted as I kissed his neck and nipped at his skin. Greer lost himself in the moment, his eyes closed and panting against my mouth as his orgasm took him over the edge.
The sight of him uninhibited, along with the sounds he was making, had me coming after him.
Greer brought his mouth back down on mine for the most intimate kiss I’d ever experienced. It was the kind of kiss that healed wounds and wordlessly bound you to the one you loved. I knew right then there was no one for me but him.
He pulled back, breathing heavily with kiss-swollen lips as the euphoria faded. He was kiss drunk, and I’m sure I looked the same. It was the best moment of my life, and I never wanted it to end.
“That was...” he trailed off.
“Everything,” I said, kissing him softly. We were both a sticky mess, but neither of us seemed to care.
I ran my hands through his thick wavy hair and memorized the look on his face. The longer I looked at him, the closer I got to telling him how I felt.
I rolled us to our sides but held on to him.
Greer reached up and cupped my cheek. “You okay over there, sweetheart? You’re going to have to give me some time to get good at kissing you. If you still want me to kiss you. Maybe you don’t.”
Laughter erupted out of me at his utterly ridiculous words. It was cathartic and freeing; like the real me had been released from hell after such a long time. And I guess, in a way, I had.
Greer’s face turned red as he pushed away and tried to escape from me. But I knew what I’d done, or rather, hadn’t done. He had no idea what I was thinking, and I had to fix that.
“I’m sorry, babe.” That word had never felt right coming out of my mouth until I’d said it to him. “I wasn’t laughing at you. Well, I was, but not why you think.”
His brows drew together as I pulled him back to me.
“Austin, what are you talking about? You’re beginning to ramble like me.”
I laughed again but leaned in to kiss his forehead. “Greer, you listen to me, and you listen good. You listening?”
I expected him to roll his eyes or scold me, but he didn’t. I was ready to tease him and laugh with him, but that was not what he showed me.
As I got lost in his eyes, Greer looked like I’d hung the moon for him.
Like no matter how much of an asshole I’d been, he’d still forgive me.
And he looked at me like no one ever had before. That was the look that brought tears to my eyes.
“First, there will be no waiting for you to learn how to kiss. You just keep kissing me back like that, and we’ll be just fine. But I wasn’t laughing at you. What I was laughing at was how wrong you were. You are perfect, just like you are. And I’m so sorry I was an asshole to you for so long.”
His eyes teared up. But before I let him speak, I just needed to say it before it killed me.
“I know this might be too soon, and I might be jumping the gun, but I have to tell you something. Physically, I can’t hold it in one more second.”
He gave me that sexy grin he’d been haunting me with for years. “Then say it before I tell you how much I love you.”
My brow furrowed as my mouth dropped open. “You asshole! You stole my line.”
He shrugged, but pulled me closer. “You were rambling again. But you can say it now. Go ahead, I’m listening.”
“I don’t think I want to anymore. Maybe I was wrong.”
He snorted. Again. “You weren’t wrong. I’m perfect, remember? You said I was perfect.”
I laughed. “You are perfect for me. Perfect. For. Me,” I clarified. “That’s what I meant.”
“Yeah, whatever,” he said, but the look was there all over his face.
“We’ve wasted so much time.”
He nodded. “We have, but we also weren’t ready to be together. It would have been too difficult.”
Before I could ask what he meant, a yawn broke free from his chest. We were both wiped out from everything today.
“Can we go to bed? We need to shower again. I’m exhausted.”
I leaned in and kissed his forehead. “Yeah, let’s go. We can talk in the morning.”
I stood and held my hand out to him. He slipped his hand in mine, and I pulled him to his feet.
We walked in, hand in hand, as Greer closed and locked the door. I looked over my shoulder to check the fire, but it had burned down to only a few red embers. It was secured behind a heavy screen and surrounded by a stone wall.
When we walked into the bedroom, the warm white glow of the landscape lighting drew my attention to the balcony. It had one of the most spectacular views of the beach, and I could see why Greer loved this house so much.
I turned my attention back to hunting through my bag and pulled out sleep pants I never used. I’d only brought them because we’d be staying in the same room. And now that I knew his family would be here, they were a necessity.
Greer passed by me to open the sliding doors and trailed his fingertips over my back. I shivered at his feathery touch. “I’ll go shower in the other bathroom.”
He returned to where I was standing next to his bed. “Give me five minutes to rinse off and change, and you can use this one.”
“I can do that.”
Greer leaned over and placed a kiss on my shoulder, then walked into the bathroom. I tossed my clothes onto the bed and stepped out onto the balcony overlooking the illuminated pool below. The sound of the ocean waves was rhythmic and soothing.
Could this be what our life would be like? We’d only scratched the surface of the things we needed to discuss, but for the first time that I could remember, my brain was not running a mile a minute. I wasn’t irritable, but instead felt calm.
Within minutes, warm hands found the skin under my shirt and wrapped around me from behind. Greer rested his chin on my shoulder as he held me close.
“It’s all yours.” He placed a single kiss on my neck, sending chills over my body when his beard rubbed against my exposed skin. I closed my eyes and breathed in the moment with him.
“I never thought this would happen.”
He kissed my neck again. “I didn’t either. You’ve been a permanent fixture in my head for a long time.”
I turned in his arms and kissed him chastely. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
But before I could walk away, he spoke. “Just so you know, I’m all in, even though I don’t deserve you.” He smiled at me, but I could see a hint of sadness in his eyes.
“I want that too.” More than he knew.
When I returned ten minutes later, he was already in bed, facing away from me. By the even steady breathing, I knew he was already asleep. As I stood beside the bed, taking in the sight of the man I’d loved my entire adult life, I was reminded of all the years we could have been together.
He’d pulled back the comforter and sheet on the side closest to the bathroom, leaving me a clear message he wanted me in his bed.
The moment my body sunk into the plush mattress, exhaustion hit me. Now I knew why he’d passed out so quickly.
Rolling over, I moved directly behind him and slipped my arm over his waist. He smelled like the same coconut body wash I’d used.
Greer settled back to get comfortable. He placed his left hand over mine, then laced our fingers together. I didn’t think he was awake, but when he tugged me closer and pulled our clasped hands up to his chest, I wasn’t so sure anymore. Either way, it was more than I ever thought I’d have with him.
“I’m all in too, Greer,” I whispered. “Just please don’t break my heart again.”
When he didn’t reply, I closed my eyes and drifted to sleep.