Road to Desire (5 page)

“Pickin’ up on that.”

I took his face in my hands. “You fixed my car.”

“I fixed your car.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

I bit my lip. “Can I get off your lap now?”

“In a minute.”

I didn’t say anything, but I liked that answer. I liked where I was. He made me feel protected.

“You asked me a question before,” he said.

“Which one?” My face heated. “The thug one?”

He chuckled. “Yeah, that one.”

“I’m sorry. That was rude.”

“Would you like me to answer it?”

“If you want to.”

“We’re gettin’ to know each other, right?”

I nodded. “Can I get off your lap now?”

He shook his head and my heart raced. He was delicious.

“Can I at least have my wine, then?” I asked. He grinned, gripping me tighter as he leaned forward and lifted the wine glass off the table, handing it to me. I smiled. “Thank you.”

Austin leaned forward and kissed me again and I smiled against his lips. “We’re getting sidetracked.”

He nodded. “I like getting sidetracked with you.”

I blushed again.

“I’m a genius,” he said.

I choked on my sip of wine and coughed to clear my throat. Austin rubbed my back until I was able to catch my breath. “That is the last thing I thought I’d hear out of your mouth.”

He chuckled. “Picked up on that.”

“Are you really a genius?”

“I’m really a genius. My IQ’s one-seventy-one.”

“Shut up.” I stared at him for a second, hoping to see if he might flinch revealing a lie. He didn’t. “If you’re a genius, how is it you’re a part of a gang?”

He raised an eyebrow. “A gang?”

“
Please,
I will admit that I’m somewhat sheltered, but I know enough to know that motorcycle clubs are pretty much glorified gangs, Austin.”

He laughed. “Fuck me, you’re adorable.”

I shoved at his shoulder and slid off his lap, rising to my feet.

“What did I say?” he asked.

“Nothing.”

“Babe. I don’t play that game. Somethin’ crawled up your ass. Tell me what it was.”

“If you must know, you hit a nerve,” I snapped.

“No shit.” He leaned forward, settling his arms on his knees. “How’d I do that?”

I bit my lip and set my wine on one of the side tables. I took a minute to study him and then I decided if he wanted to get to know me, he was gonna get to frickin’ know me. I knew when he did, he’d run as far as he could and never look back. “I’m the baby of the family. I was what could only be described as a surprise. Elliot was ten when my mom found herself pregnant with me, Emily was twelve. They thought they were done.”

“Okay,” he said.

“I have always been “adorable” and “cute” and “naïve,”” I used air quotes after each description, “and until a few years ago, I was even “lucky” enough to be a virgin. Because my sister is an ADA, my brother is a detective, and my father is the chief of police, I have always lived in a bubble of over-protectiveness. If I liked a guy and he liked me back, either my brother threatened death if he touched me, or it would never get past a kiss when they found out who they’d be up against.” I took a deep breath. “And you know what? They were right, because the one guy who pushed past them is the one who stole all my money! I have worked really hard to forget about all of that, but when you speak to me like I’m nothing more than a cute face, it hits a nerve and reminds me just how incredibly stupid I am.”

“Let me make sure I’m hearing you.” Austin stood and closed the distance between us. “Because I think you’re beautiful and sexy as hell, that led us to you feeling stupid?”

I snorted. “I’m not sexy.”

“Babe.” He frowned. “You are.”

“I’m fat.”

“Fuck me, you are
not
.” He scowled. “You’ve got a real body, babe. Not a runway model, eat a fuckin’ sandwich, kind of boney ass one. And by the way, most men like something soft to hold onto. I do.”

“Austin,” I admonished, and looked at my feet. “Stop it.”

“Hey.” He slid his hand to my neck, his thumb stroking my pulse before lifting my chin. “I get that that asshole did a number on you, and I plan to deal with that, but you need to know something. I don’t lie. So, when I say you’re adorable, it means you’re fucking adorable, but it also means I think you’re funny and, from what I’ve seen so far, quick. Shit, baby, your observations and sense of humor are not those of someone stupid. Then, pile on the fact I want to fuck you… that means you’re sexy as hell.”

I couldn’t breathe. No one had ever made me feel the way he did and I’d known him for a little over twenty-four hours. “Wow,” I rasped. He grinned, leaning down to kiss me, but I laid my fingers over his mouth before he reached me. “What did you mean by you were going to deal with that?”

“See?” he said against my hand. “Quick.”

I lowered my hand and leaned back to meet his eyes. “Are you going to tell me?”

“I’m not.”

“Seriously?”

He stroked my cheek. “I thought you wanted to know about my genius status and why I joined my ‘gang.’”

“First, why do you wear a vest
and
a jacket?”

“This is a cut, babe. It tells the world who I am. The jacket’s for warmth or for when I ride.”

“I sound stupid when I ask these questions, don’t I?”

He frowned. “Not at all. You sound curious. I love that you want to know about me.”

I smiled. I liked that answer. “Okay, you can tell me about your genius status now.”

Austin chuckled and tugged me back to the sofa, pulling me down beside him. He wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled my back against his chest as he leaned back and settled his feet on the coffee table again. I liked this position almost as much as I did his lap. Almost.

“I have the typical rough childhood sob story,” he began. “Mom died of an OD when I was six, Dad was an abusive alcoholic, so me and my sister came to live with an aunt out here…”

“Where are you from?”

“Originally? Tennessee.”

“I thought I detected a southern accent.”

“Yeah, I’m surprised I haven’t lost it considering how long I’ve been here,” he said.

I craned my head and smiled. “Apparently, a lot of people out this way have a slightly southern twang. I have a couple sets of parents from California who said I have a bit of one.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, weird right? Anyway, I like yours. It’s kind of sexy.”

He grinned. “Not stupid, baby. Take that in, yeah?”

“I’m not stupid because I think you’re sexy?”

“Damn straight.”

“Good to know,” I said. “So, what happened after you went to live with your aunt?”

“My aunt was a bitch and she broke my sister’s arm, so we were put into the system.”

I craned my neck to look up at him again. “You have a sister?”

He nodded. “She’s two years younger than me.”

“Did you stay together?”

“No. She was sent to live with a couple who adopted her. They felt I was a bad influence, so they wouldn’t let her see me.”

“She did?” I linked my fingers with his and squeezed his hand. “Austin, I’m so sorry.”

“Not your fault, baby.”

“I know, but still, that must have been really hard.”

“Not gonna lie. It sucked.”

I looked up at him and smiled. “I bet it did.”

He kissed me quickly and then pulled me close again. “Over the next ten years or so, I was shuffled around from one shithole to another and then when I was eighteen, I aged out.”

“That’s awful.”

He shrugged. “It is what it is.”

“Where’s your sister now?”

“She married a doctor I think.”

“I’m sorry,” I whispered.

He kissed my temple and gave me another gentle squeeze. “When I was nineteen, my foster sister Annie called me… she’d been in the last place before I aged out and she was in trouble. She was drunk and some guy was smackin’ her around, so I got her out and took her home. What I found out later was that our foster father had been molesting her and child protective services did nothing about it.”

I gasped and turned to face him. “What do you mean? Did she report it?”

Austin nodded.

“Officially?”

“Yeah, babe. Officially. They buried it.” He frowned. “But I found it.”

“You found it? How?”

He scowled. “I hacked into their system and found the report. It landed me in jail.”

I gasped again. “You went to jail because you hacked CPS’s system?”

“No, I went to jail because I beat the shit out of our foster dad. Put him in the hospital and wasn’t street smart enough yet not to get caught. In jail is where I met Crow and he’s the one who gave me a purpose.”

“Crow?”

“He’s our Prez.”

I shook my head. “I’m assuming that’s not his real name?”

“It’s his legal name. Crow Butler.”

“Shut up.”

He grinned.

“So, Crow gave you purpose. How?”

“He bailed me out, gave me a family. Became the father I never had. I owe him everything. But in answer to your original question, I don’t speak like a thug because I have to work with highly educated people on a regular basis, so Crow made sure that I could converse with them properly. I’m “Booker” because, not only did I used to have my nose in a book most of the time, I do the club’s books.”

“Wow.” I dragged my legs in front of me, criss-cross style, and leaned forward to study him. “What happened to your foster dad?”

“He was arrested once the evidence was released and several other girls came forward. He was an asshole, but I could deal with that, I was sixteen when I went to live with him, and other than verbal abuse, he never touched me. He probably knew I’d kill him if he did. But I wish I’d know about Annie before I left. I could have protected her.”

“Where is she now?”

“She’s old lady to one of our California charter’s members. She’s protected.”

I settled my chin in my hand. “How does the old lady thing work?”

“Lookin’ to be one?”

“Ah, no, I don’t think so.” I wrinkled my nose and sat up a bit. “It’s a horrible title.”

Austin dropped his head back and laughed. “It’s a title of honor, babe.”