He steps further into my space, and I’m now sandwiched between the wall and Austin. He tips his face down so we are nose-to-nose. I can’t see the rest of his expression, but his eyes are blazing.
“I didn’t like it, Lauren,” he rumbles in a quietly angry voice.
“Why, Austin? Why did it bother you?” I whisper, completely mesmerized by that look in his eyes. I should have paid attention, though, because instead of answering me, his lips come crashing down on mine.
Chapter 18
Austin
I spend the whole day Saturday running a 5K through the park and rearranging my emails in alphabetical order. Fucking Carmen.
Noah picks me up at seven, when we hit up a pub and watch the Yankees kill it again. At the end of the ninth inning, he suggests going to Light Night Club.
Shaking the doorman’s hand, I make my way over to the corner bar. We have spent many nights closing this place down. This is one of the first clubs to hold our names. I look around taking in the beauty of it.
The minute I scan the booths, I see her. The woman who has been a thorn in my side. Tonight, she looks like she just walked off the red carpet. Her hands rise to the sky, taking her skirt up to dangerous levels.
I stand up straight, draining the bourbon in my glass in one gulp. I make eye contact with the bartender and raise my glass to get another shot.
He pours my shot and passes it to me, and I shoot it down in one gulp, signaling for another. When I look back over to the dance floor, I see some douche with his hands all over Lauren, while she shakes her ass.
She turns around to put her back to his front and her eyes scan the area around her. The minute they land on me, it’s like I’ve been lit up from the inside.
I take the last shot and make my way over to her. I know exactly when she feels me, because her body goes stiff.
I look at the idiot she’s dancing with and motion with my head for him to move on.
“Get lost.” My voice is tight, my mouth doesn’t even move, since I’m talking through my clenched teeth.
The douche doesn’t even try to fight for her. He just puts his hands up in defeat and walks away.
She turns around, all pissed off, but before she can say a word, I grab her hand and drag her across the dance floor, through the throngs of sweaty bodies dancing, and out the side door into the cool night.
I don’t stop till I’m in the middle of the alley. She tries to yank her hand out of mine, but I push her against the side of the wall.
“Don’t push me, Lauren, not now,” I warn her.
She looks me up and down before she squares her shoulders and opens her mouth to let me have it. “Don’t push you? Don’t push you? You have some nerve, Austin. You called me uptight, and I was in there enjoying my night when you charged over there like…like…I don’t even know what the hell that was all about, except for the fact that I wasn’t the uptight one in that scenario. Hmm, who needs to loosen up now, Austin?” She finishes her rant with her hands on her hips and her breasts heaving with her anger.
“You drive me nuts! I can’t sleep! I can’t think! I can’t even fucking get anything done at work without thinking about you!” I snarl at her as I rake my fingers through my hair, half tempted to pull it out of my head. That’s how crazy she makes me.
“So, I come out tonight. I’m going to kick back, have a few drinks and not think about you. But of all the places, you’re here, looking like this.” I don’t even attempt to hide the fact that I let my eyes run up the length of her body.
“What’s wrong with how I look? I look good!” she huffs in outrage as she crosses her arms under those luscious tits and throws her hip out to the side.
“No, Lauren. No, you don’t look good. You look fucking amazing. As usual. I tried to ignore you. I turned my back. I wasn’t going to pay you any attention at all. But when I turn around, there you are on the dance floor, swinging your ass with that douche all over you,” I grit out as I lean even further into her space.
“So? I’m here to have fun, too, Austin. And I was! Until you marched over there like some crazy man and dragged me out here. What the hell was that, huh?” Her voice rises as her anger climbs. Well, so what? I’m getting angrier, too.
I step even further into her space, backing her right up against the wall. My chest is heaving against hers, and she tips her angry face up to mine so we are nose-to-nose. “I didn’t like it, Lauren,” I hiss out.
That seems to take the wind out of her sails a bit. “Why, Austin? Why did it bother you?” she whispers.
I’m still feeling anger, but now it’s mixed with lust and confusion. I don’t know why I didn’t like it. So instead of answering her, I do the only thing I can in the moment.
My mouth crashes down on hers, and I run my tongue along her plump lips. She whimpers, and I use that opening to slip my tongue into her mouth, sliding it against hers. She kisses me right back, meeting my ferocity with a hunger of her own. The taste of her invades my mouth. A small moan escapes her, and the lust I’m feeling kicks up. I move my hand up and into her hair, where I pull it, tilting her head
