Chapter 4 Austin #2
I kiss her again, harder. My hands roam down her back, tracing the dip of her spine through the thin t-shirt. I grab her ass, squeezing the soft flesh, lifting her slightly so she’s pressed right against my erection. I want her to feel it. I want her to know exactly how much she affects me.
She wraps her legs around my waist, abandoning all pretense of friendship. She clings to me like I’m the only solid thing in the world. And I am.
My mind is a haze of lust. I pull back just enough to look at her. Her lips are swollen, red and wet. Her eyes are blown wide, glassy with want. She looks ravished—marked—utterly, deliciously claimed.
But it’s not enough.
My gaze drops to her stomach, pressed against my leather vest. My hand slides around to splay over her belly. Soft. Warm.
Mine. The word roars through me. My woman. My legacy.
I imagine her swollen with my child. I imagine her walking around this old house, belly round and tight with my baby, safe behind the walls I built, wearing my ring, wearing my mark.
The image is so vivid, so visceral, it nearly brings me to my knees.
I want to fill her up right now. I want to plant a seed in her that ensures she can never leave Pine Valley again.
"You have no idea," I rasp, thumb rubbing circles over her navel through the fabric, "how long I've wanted to put my hands on you."
"Show me," she challenges, voice breathless.
I growl, burying my face in the crook of her neck. I bite down on the sensitive skin, not enough to draw blood, but enough to mark. Enough to bruise. She cries out, fingers tightening in my hair.
"I'm going to ruin you for anyone else, Court," I murmur against her skin, inhaling her scent. "You understand that? Once we start this... there is no going back. You’re mine. The club, the mountain, me. You take all of it."
She shudders, chest heaving against mine. "I'm not selling the house," she whispers.
I freeze. I pull back to look at her face. "What?"
"I was going to fix it up and sell it," she says, eyes searching mine. "Leave in three days. But... I'm not selling it."
Victory surges through me. Sweeter than the kiss. I’ve won. Or at least, I’ve won the first battle. She’s staying.
"No," I say, smoothing hair back from her forehead. "You're not. You're staying right here."
I kiss her again, slower this time, savoring the surrender.
My hands slide under her t-shirt, skin to skin for the first time.
Her waist is narrow, her skin fever-hot.
I trace the line of her ribs, thumbs brushing the underside of her breasts.
She arches into my touch, a soft moan escaping her lips.
I want to take her right here against the wall. I want to rip the t-shirt off and feast.
The heavy vibration against my thigh starts suddenly, followed by a sharp ringtone that cuts through the haze like a knife.
My phone.
I ignore it, grinding my hips against hers to drown out the intrusion. I kiss her jaw, her ear, my teeth grazing her skin. But the ringing persists—harsh, demanding, and signaling a world that doesn't give a damn about my hunger.
I ignore it. I kiss her jaw, her ear. The ringing persists. Harsh. Demanding.
"Austin," she whispers, putting a hand on my chest. "You have to answer that."
"I don't have to do anything but this," I mutter, nipping at her earlobe.
"It might be important," she says, sanity bleeding back into her voice. She unwraps her legs from my waist and slides down until her feet touch the floor. "It might be... club business."
I curse, loud and violent. She’s right. If it’s ringing this late, it’s not a social call. It’s trouble.
I pull my phone out, keeping one arm securely around her waist so she can’t move away. I look at the screen. Logan.
"Yeah," I answer, voice rough.
"We got a problem," Logan’s voice is clipped. "Perimeter breach near the eastern ridge. Blake found tracks. Fresh ones. Too close to the house."
My blood runs cold. The lust evaporates, replaced instantly by the cold, hard armor of the Vice President.
"How close?" I ask, grip on Courtney tightening.
"Too close," Logan says. "I need you at the clubhouse. Now. We're locking down."
I look down at Courtney. She’s watching me, eyes confused. She sees the change in me—the shift from lover to soldier.
"I'm at the estate," I tell Logan. "I can't leave her here."
"Shane is on his way to relieve you," Logan says. "He'll sit on the house until morning. But I need you in the war room, Austin. We have to decide how to handle the Costas before this turns into a war."
"Fine," I snap. "But tell Shane if he lets a single fly into this house, I'll kill him myself."
"He knows," Logan says. "Five minutes."
He hangs up.
I shove the phone back into my pocket and look at Courtney. The mood is broken, shattered by the reality of my life. The reality I’m trying to drag her into.
"I have to go," I say, words tasting like ash.
"Is everything okay?" she asks, stepping back. She pulls her t-shirt down, covering her thighs.
"No," I say bluntly. I reach out, grabbing her chin and forcing her to look at me. "Listen to me, Courtney. You lock that door the second I step out. You go into this room, you lock the windows, and you do not come out until you see me or Shane. Do you understand?"
"Shane?" she asks. "Your brother?"
"He's coming to watch the house," I say. "He'll be parked at the end of the drive. You won't see him, but he'll be there."
"Austin, you're scaring me," she says quietly.
"Good," I say. "Fear keeps you alive."
I lean down and kiss her one last time. A promise and a threat rolled into one.
"I'll be back," I promise against her lips. "We aren't done. Not by a long shot."
I pull away before I can change my mind, stalking out of the room. My body aches with unspent need, my cock throbbing in protest, but my mind already shifts gears.
I walk down the stairs, checking the locks, checking the windows. Everything tight.
I step out onto the porch, the cold night air hitting the sweat on my neck. I wait until I hear the rumble of Shane’s bike approaching in the distance before I swing a leg over my bike.
I fire up the engine, the roar shattering the peace of the mountain. I look up at the window one last time. She’s there, watching me from behind the glass, a silhouette in the yellow light.
My woman. My house. My territory.
And if the Costas think they can come onto my mountain and threaten what’s mine, they’re going to find out exactly why the devil runs this club.
I gun the engine and tear off down the driveway, leaving my heart in that rotting house, riding straight into hell.