Chapter 23
CHAPTER
TWENTY-THREE
Brooks
“I can’t believe it’s time to go already,” Audrey says, tossing her remaining toiletries into her bag. “This was the fastest getaway of all time.”
“Did you have a good time?”
She grins at me like I’m ridiculous. “I’m going to assume that’s not a real question.”
I shrug on my way to her, wrapping her in my arms from behind and pulling her back into my chest. I close my eyes and breathe deeply, feeling the ease of air flowing in and out of my lungs. Because when we leave here, that sensation will be over.
The curtains are open to let more of the early afternoon sun into the bedroom.
The host graciously allowed us a super late checkout since no one was coming in on our heels, so we’ve spent most of the day leisurely preparing to go.
We’ve avoided talking about it until now, as if we didn’t discuss leaving, we wouldn’t have to.
“Well, I had a fantastic time,” I say, kissing the top of her head. “You made this the most memorable trip of my life.”
“Then you haven’t had many memorable trips, huh?”
“That might be true.” I laugh. “But even if I’d traveled back in time and watched Ali and Frazier go at it in Manila, they couldn’t hold a candle to watching you fall apart around my cock.
” She squirms, but I don’t let go. “You get this look just before you come. Your head tilts back, and your lashes flutter. And your bottom lip falls just a touch—and then it trembles as if the explosion is already causing foreshocks to rock you.” I groan, pulling her tighter. “It’s so fucking sexy.”
She tips her chin back and looks at me through her lashes.
I have a sudden urge to take her home with me because the thought of anyone ruining her vulnerability or taking advantage of her kindness fills me with rage.
And I have to wonder, who looks out for her?
She’s a capable woman, there’s no doubt, but who has her back?
Who does she call when she wakes up in the middle of the night, scared of the dark, or when she burrows under the blankets with a snack to watch a movie and forgets her drink?
I know she has Astrid and Gianna, but in a perfect world, it would be me.
“Going back to reality is gonna suck,” she says, extracting herself from my hold. “I have a meeting with a student tomorrow online, and then two of my classes have the second draft of their essays due. And I just … ugh.”
I go back to gathering my things. As I reach for a pair of shorts, I notice the pink thread holding my arm together. I bite back a smile.
“What are you looking at?” she asks, crouching down to check under the bed for lost socks.
“My scar. It’s looking pretty good.” I glance at her and see the cut on her right thigh. I’ve noticed it a few times but have never asked about it. “What happened to your leg?”
She stands tall. “What do you mean?”
“You have a scar right there.” I point to her thigh. “Interesting place to get a cut.”
I didn’t think much about it, just figured it was an old childhood scar that refused to fade. But her shifty eyes make me reconsider my assessment. And when she turns her back to me, my curiosity rises three degrees.
“It’s no big deal,” she says, entering the en suite. I have a suspicion it’s not to get her toothpaste.
“So, what happened?”
“I got sliced.”
I wait for a longer explanation that doesn’t come. “By what?”
“A knife,” she says, her voice echoing through the bedroom.
“By whom?”
She comes into the room with her head down and deposits a few things in her bag. “It’s really not a big deal. I was on a date with a guy and had a piece of string dangling from my dress, so he used a pocketknife to remove it.”
My jaw ticks. “And he cut you instead?”
“Yeah. See? No big deal.”
“Did you get stitches?” I ask, following her around the room with my eyes.
“Three. No big deal.”
I inhale a breath, working to keep it smooth and steady despite the war call sounding in my head. “I feel like there’s more to the story than that.”
“There’s not.” She zips her bag closed and smiles at me. “That’s it for me. I’m ready to roll when you are.”
Fuck, I want to press for more information. Who is this guy? Has she seen him again? Did he do anything else to her?
Do I need to help a dentist find a new client?
Despite the questions roaring inside my head, I don’t ask them. There’s a speck of fear in her eyes that keeps me from going any farther … for now.
“So, you’re heading back to Boston?” I ask.
“Yeah. Saturday morning. I fly out at the crack of dawn, which—go me.” She rolls her eyes. “But I got a great suite at Ruma so there’s a silver lining.”
She’s always looking for the silver lining.
“Does it feel like home there?” I ask.
“No.” She shakes her head from side to side.
“Nashville is my home. Gianna and Astrid are like my sisters, even though our dynamic has changed so much over the last year.” She sits on the edge of the bed next to my bag.
“All of my relationships are changing, really. Not good or bad. Just different.” She stares wistfully out the window.
“That’s the fun of life, right? It never stays the same. ”
I grab a bottle of water from the bedside table and toss it in the trashcan.
“It’s either in the air or it’s the age we’re at because it’s the same for me.
Gray has always been gone playing, and we went for a while without talking much.
He’s back in town a lot these days, but he has Astrid.
That’s not bad, it’s just different. Jasper and Markie are serious, I think.
I’m here when Gray’s usually not, and it’s just … everything is changing.”
She sits quietly while I sort the rest of my things. Then I grab our phone chargers from the kitchen and bring them back. Audrey is in the same spot. Something heavy is on her mind, and I have no idea what it might be, so, I continue to arrange my bag, giving her time to think.
Just as I pull the zipper across the top, she turns to me. “I have to take back something I said a minute ago.”
“Oh?”
“Nashville isn’t my home either, I don’t think.
” Her hands fold in her lap. “I felt at home in Boston before we moved to Tennessee. And while I love it here, and I have no desire to live anywhere else, I don’t walk into a space, whether it be a coffee shop, a house, or a salon, and instantly feel at ease. Is that odd?”
“I think it’s probably more normal than you think it is. But I’m not the doctor here.”
She laughs.
“Just a guess,” I say, sitting, too. “But when people think of home, they aren’t thinking of walls and roofs and floors. They’re probably thinking of a vibe. And it’s the people under the roof, so to speak, that determine that.” I shrug. “Again, just a guess.”
“That does make me feel better. There’s hope yet.”
I grin at her. “I think there’s probably always hope for you, Doc.”
“There’s always hope for you, too.”
I scoff, standing again. “Now you’re pushing it a little too far.”
“Why? Do you really want to be all alone for the rest of your life? I mean, if so, good for you. But that’s a long time.”
I hate this fucking question. Society has decided the answer either has to be yes or no, and that is complete bullshit. The world is full of various shades of gray, but for some reason, it’s never an option in these goofy Q&As.
“My life was mass chaos growing up,” I say. “And I’d be a liar if I didn’t say that sometimes it still crosses my mind to imagine what it would be like to have a family like the Adlers. But it’s just not in the cards for me.”
She frowns. “Why not?”
“It’s a tremendous gamble to attach yourself to someone, to tie up your sanity, happiness, and finances with another person. And you have to have something to offer a prospective partner. I got nothing.”
“That’s not true.”
“It certainly is. I’m not good at responsibility, don’t have an income at the moment, and am really good at not being around when I’m needed.”
She gets up and comes to me, wrapping her arms around my waist and pressing her cheek against my chest.
“Can I say one thing, and if you don’t want to hear it, we can just pretend like I didn’t say it?” she asks softly.
No. Instead, I shrug helplessly.
“You have to let the past go,” she whispers.
“You were a kid faced with a horrific and impossible situation, and you and your mom are here because of your courage.” She pauses, locking her arms around me.
“To paraphrase your boy Marcus Aurelius, the best revenge is to not be like the person who harmed you.” She presses a kiss against my sternum and then backs away.
My head spins as a swarm of emotions gather in my throat. Leave it to the beautiful philosopher to be the one who gets under my skin. The only girl in the world that I’m not supposed to have. Never have.
“What time do we have to be out of here?” she asks.
I glance at the clock on my phone. “We have about thirty minutes. Why?”
She reaches for the hem of her shirt and pulls it slowly overhead, showcasing a pale pink bra we purchased in town.
Holding my gaze, she drops her jeans and kicks them to the side.
“I was thinking,” she says, turning a half circle to show me her juicy ass, “maybe we have time for one more …” Her eyes find mine before she faces me.
They dance with a mischievousness that I haven’t seen in them before. “Fuck.”
“I can’t handle hearing that word come out of your mouth,” I say, shrugging off my shirt and joggers. “It makes me instantly hard.”
“Just how I like ya.” She giggles. “Lie down.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
She follows me onto the bed, then crawls up my body, smirking the whole way. “I would love to pull your cock into my mouth and taste your cum go down the back of my throat.”
Ho-ly fucking hell. What kind of siren have I created?
“But we don’t have time for that,” she says, getting on her knees.
“I don’t know what you’re about to do, but I’m all for it.”
She laughs, putting one knee on either side of me, with her ass facing me.
You’ve got to be kidding me.
Audrey grabs my dick with one hand and then lowers herself down on me in one smooth, steady motion. She’s already so wet that she takes me easily until she’s filled with my cock.
“I seriously love this,” she says, grinding her hips in slow, sexy circles.
Well, I seriously love …
No.
That’s not what this is or ever could be.
My fingers find her waist, running up her sides until I touch the bottom of her tits. “You’re getting no complaints from me.”
She’s a goddess, and far too good for the likes of me.
Watching her ass move as she grinds against me takes the cake as the sexiest moment of this trip, and of my life.
Her hair falls to the middle of her back and swishes with each movement.
Whether she does it because she knows I like to hear it or just because she feels it, I don’t know, but her little moans and groans nearly send me over the edge.
“Lean forward,” I say. “Hold on to my legs.”
She grabs my calves, and her ass rises just enough to give me a clear view of her pussy accepting my cock.
Her tits drag against my legs as she moves, finding a rhythm she enjoys. I rub the apples of her ass cheeks, kneading them as she rocks. It’s perfect. The sounds, the view—the softness of her skin and the stickiness of her juices coating my groin—nothing could be better than this.
Well, maybe one.
But we don’t have all the time in the world, and she isn’t coming home with me.
And that’s a problem I’m going to have to deal with because all of that home shit Audrey was talking about earlier? It is about the people. And I’ve never felt more home than with her.