Chapter 8
“Can I at least have my wine, then?” Lasked. He grinned, gripping me tighter as he leaned forward and lafted the wine glass off the table, handing it to me. I smiled. “Thank you.”
Austin kissed me again and I smiled against his lips. “We’re getting sidetracked.”
He nodded. “I like getting sidetracked with you.”
1 blushed again.
“Anyway, I’m a genus,” he said.
“Huh?” 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’s 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 inch 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?”
1 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. “Tm the baby of the family. I was what could only be described as a seprise. 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 “naive,” 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 liked a guy and he liked me back, either my brother threatened death if he touched me, or it would never get past ass 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 m
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Chapter 8
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“Let me make sure I’in hearing you” Austin stood and closed the distance between us. “Because I think you’re be sexy as hell, that led us to you feeling stupid?”
1 morted. I’m not sexy.”
“Babe” He frowned. “You are”
*Fuck me, you are not.” He scowled. “You’ve got a real body, habe 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 adorabile, 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 grimed, 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
“Tim not.
“Seriously?”
He cocked his head. “I thought you wanted to know about my genius
“First, why do you wear a vest and a jacket?”
is status and why I joined my ‘gang
“This is a cut, babe. It tells the world who I am. The jacket’s for warmth or for when I ride.”
1 bit the inside of my cheek, “I sound stupid when I ask these questions, don’t
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 me 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,
to live with an aunt out here.”
and my
sister
“Where are you from?”
“Originally? Tennessee.”
I smiled. “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.
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12:13 Thu, Jan 15 G D D
Chapter 8
He grinned. “Not stupid, baby. Take that in, yeah
“Tm not stupid because I think you’re sexy!”
“Damn straight.”“”
Good to l
o know.” I said. “So, what happened after you went to live with your not?”
“All hell bruke loose. My aunt was a bitch and she broke my sister’s am, 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
“They did!” I linked my fingers with his and squeezed his hand. Austin, I’m so sorry.”
“Not your fault,” he said.
“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 awfull
He shrugged. “It is what it is.”
Where’s your sister now?”
“She married a doctor I think.”
“You don’t keep in touch!” I asked
*No.
“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’ll 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.”
1 gasped and turned to face him. “What do you mean? Did she report it!”
Austin nodded.
“Officially!” I pressed.
“Yeah, babe, Officially. They buried it.” He frowned. ” “Or they tried to. I found it.”
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Chapter 8
“You found it? How?
He scowled. “I hacked into their system and found the report. It handed me in jail”
I gasped again. “You went to jail because you
hacked CPS’s sysian?”
“No, I went to jail because I hear the shit out of our foster dad. Put him in the hospital and wasn’t street smart enough yet not to get caught, Jail is where I met Crow and he’s the one who gave me a purpose.”
“He’s our Prez
I shook my head. “Tin assaming 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,” he said. “Became the father I never had. I owe him everything. And he needed a linle help protecting the chib from an ex–member who had computer skills as good as mine. Better, even. 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 dan verbal abuse, he never touched me. He probably knew I’d kill him if he did. But I wish I’d known about Annie before If I could have protected her.”
“Where is she now!”
-She’s an
‘s an 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, “a horrible title.”
Austin dropped his head back and laughed. “It’s a title of honor, abe
“How is calling a woman ‘old‘ a title of honor?”
He tugged on my hand, lifting it to his mouth and kissing my pa. “It just is”
I shrugged. “If you say so.”
He released my hand and pulled his cell phone from his pocker Yo,” he said as he answered it.
So much for my “doesn’t talk like a thug theory.
“Yeah I’m here.” Austin glanced at me and then frowned. “Shit, you serious! Tell the little fucker it’s not gonna happen.
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No, Mack, it’s not a fuckin‘ option.” He rose to his feet and step outside. I was left sitting on my couch in the sa position I’d been in for the last fifteen minutes and wondering what the heck was going on
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