Without Limits: Austin (Rugged Riders Book 4) Page 4

  “And now I just want to stop for a moment and enjoy it all,” he said, settling back in his chair.

  “You deserve it, you’ve worked so hard,” I said.

  The servers began bringing out the plated selections. We wasted no time digging in. The food was amazingly delicious. The dishes were even more appetizing than I remember from my past visits here with Rick. Of course, I didn’t want to have any thoughts about Rick right now so I did my best of take my mind elsewhere, which was easy. All I had to do was take one look at Austin and I forgot everything except the fact that this was our night to clear the air, so to speak.

  “What?” He grinned as he finished chewing a piece of steak.

  “Nothing.” I stuck my fork into my salad plate and stuffed my mouth.

  “This brings back memories,” he said.

  “Indulge me.”

  “Us food sharing all the time. We liked much of the same things.”

  I smiled. “I remember.”

  “I was too broke to afford big meals like this back then.” He sounded like he regretted it.

  “Those were the best days of my life. You introduced me to something so informal and you were so random. Yet, here you are and you’ve really matured.”

  “But I haven’t changed. I’m still as random as they come.”

  “Of course you are,” I said. “Considering how you made your introduction back into town and me finding out that I had an investor at the last minute, proves that you’re still a heat-of-the-moment kind of guy.”

  He reached across the table and touched my fingers where they rested on the salad bowl. Before I knew it he had taken my hand in his and was now studying me intently.

  “Thank you,” he said.

  “For what?”

  “For giving me the time of day when no one else would.”

  “Come on.” I laughed nervously. “We’re adults now. Why would I give you the cold shoulder over something that happened years ago?”

  “Well, thanks for that too, but what I really meant was when we first got acquainted with each other. When everyone knew me as the poor kid from across the tracks living in a mobile home on a deserted lot. You were the only one that didn’t give a shit about that.”

  I sighed. “I gave a shit about it and I gave a shit about you because I saw something in you that wanted more. And you deserved it. Not only did I want to help you, I wanted to be there for you.”

  I lowered my gaze to the table, but he gently slipped his fingers under my chin and lifted it back up gently.

  “When you left me, I thought maybe you didn’t need or want my help anymore,” I continued. “I didn’t realize my parents were part of the reason you were dissuaded from staying.”

  “It was my stupid decision too. Once I worked up the nerve to make things right and to come back and explain, you were already spoken for. I saw what Rick had done for you and what he could provide for you at that moment, I knew it was for the best. Rick was stable and I wasn’t. I couldn’t pull you into NASCAR. You would’ve been on the road constantly and not pursuing your dreams. I was happy for you, but I wasn’t really happy. If that makes sense…”

  “About Rick…I turned to him because he was a friend. It’s not easy not to love a friend,” I said. “And I just…he was there for me.” I bit my lip in frustration.

  “Look, you don’t have to explain any more than that. You did what you needed to do to move on. My grudge isn’t with you.”

  I caught on to a bit of indifference in his tone. “Then with who?”

  He remained silent and ran his fingers through his hair a few times.

  “With Rick? You’re angry with Rick?” I pressed my lips together, swallowing down my suspicions.

  He shook his head. “Not angry. Just…” He let go of my hand and straightened in his seat again. “There are things you still don’t know about what went on between Rick and I after I left.”

  “Oh?” I frowned. “I know he’d tried out for some of the same teams and still didn’t get picked—not even for pit crew, but what do you mean? After you left, what happened?”

  The waiter came back to ask if we needed anything else. After checking with me, Austin told her no and waved her away.

  “Are you going to tell me,” I asked when she was gone.

  He visibly swallowed and rubbed his palm over the back of his neck. “Yes, but don’t you want to enjoy dessert first before we leave? I have another surprise for you.”

  I hesitated a bit before I said, “There’s no use in spoiling the night before it really ends. Let’s order chocolate cake and share it.”

  He grinned. “My favorite.”

  After enjoying the cake together, I didn’t want the night to end. I didn’t want to rush it, but I knew he was holding something inside that he didn’t really want to share. Something that would open old wounds for both him and myself. But I initiated an end to our dinner anyway and soon we were outside of the restaurant under the humid night sky.

  Austin offered me his hand. “Wanna walk across the street? There should be a nice view of the moonlight on the river by now.”

  “I’d love to.”

  The night was relatively quiet with only a few couples littered about every few yards as we walked the distance to reach the park across the street and the river’s edge. Our silence gave me some time to think about what Austin had revealed tonight. There was no reason not to believe him. I, of all people, knew that my parents had never really liked Austin. Not at all. But they misunderstood him. Heck yeah, I had already agreed with them that I’d been too young back then to run off with a man older than me, but that gave them no right to scare him off for good. They had no problems when Rick proposed to me and Austin and Rick were only a year apart. In fact, they encouraged our union whenever they got a chance.

  “What now, Austin,” I asked as we paused next to a tree and a bench.

  “All these years, I’ve been imagining a different outcome for the two of us. It irks me to not know what could have been versus what happened,” he said.

  “Do you mean what we allowed to happen?”

  “Yes.”

  We sat down on the bench close to each other.

  “Did I come between you and Rick?” I asked. I partly knew the answer to that question, but I only needed confirmation.

  “No, the friendship between Rick and I was rocky before I knew he was in love with you.”

  “Wait a minute. You knew?”

  Austin nodded. “It was before me going to NASCAR and before getting confirmation from your parents that they never liked me. He thought I was just in it for the sex. At least that’s what he said and accused me of. We argued a long time after that and then that shit happened with your parents and that’s when he swooped right on in. I would almost say he planned it.” He sighed. “But all that is over and done with now.”

  “My God, Austin, I didn’t know,” I said.

  “Rick wouldn’t have told you for good and obvious reasons and I agreed with your parents on one thing. I wanted what was bet for you.”

  “But how did you get invited to the wedding?”

  Austin gave me a knowing look. “Rick invited me. I knew he was doing it to get back at me and prove that he got you in the end. I doubt he thought I’d show up. I decided to own my loss and actually came. I don’t even think he noticed. He was so infatuated with you on wedding day.”

  “This is so weird.” I dropped my forehead in my palms. “I’m sorry. That was just petty of him.”

  “It’s all right, really. I was this close…” he demonstrated with his fingers “to seeing you again in person.”

  I crossed my legs, turned toward him, and said, “You didn’t have to give me money in order for me to pay attention to you.”

  “I know.” He shrugged. “I didn’t want you to have to worry about where your income was coming from.”

  “That’s nice of you, but I had plans.”

  “Like what?”

  “
Like selling my work exclusively online until I could afford to get another store. I’ve never done it before, but I just launched my website so I hope to have another income stream by December.”

  He smiled. “I have faith you’ll do well.”

  “I’m going to pay you back as quickly as I can.”

  “Oh, I’ve been meaning to tell you that your loan has been settled in full. With this being the weekend, you might not see any paperwork until mid next week.”

  “What?”

  “The bank just needs some time to process the release.”

  “Did you just say my loan was paid in full?”

  “By who,” I asked.

  He paused for a moment and then commented, “An angel?”

  I pursed my lips and assessed him carefully. “I get the feeling that you’re playing games.”

  “I assure you, I’m not. The shop is yours.”

  “Austin, you know I’m grateful for this and cannot thank you enough, but there is no way that I could feel good about this,” I said.

  “Why not?” He slipped his arm behind me, resting it on the back of the bench. “I once told you that I’d do anything for you. This time that’s passed between us while we got our lives together hasn’t changed anything.”

  I sighed. “I thought I was certain four years ago that your statement meant that you wouldn’t leave me for any reason whatsoever, but now I know better. What do you really want from me, Austin?”

  “Just you. I came back for you after I made that mistake only to realize that I was too late. I’m staying in town, but not just for the hell of it. I made a temporary residence here to finalize my uncle’s things, but I can’t leave here without you. Not again.”

  I reached for his face and slid my palm across the side of his face. I couldn’t help myself. My fingers traced along his jawline and chin. He turned his face into my palm and kissed it. My thumb ended up against his lips and he wasted no time parting his lips and taking the digit inside.

  One contact with his tongue and my need for something more intensified. He took my wrist, moving my fingers across his lips until they were all tingling from his touch.

  “I miss this,” he whispered.

  “Me too,” I said.

  He reached over and gripped my thighs and then pulled them over his lap until I was straddling him. His dick was already bulging against the fly of his pants.

  “You’re hard,” I said.

  “Indeed.” He thrust his hips forward, pushing against my center.

  My skirt was bunched up high over my thighs, but I didn’t care. That was the thing about Austin. Whenever I was with him, I didn’t care about anything else.

  “If you were mine, do you know what I’d do right now.”

  “What…” I breathed.

  “I’d lift this skirt up some more and slid my fingers into your sweet, tight pussy. I would make you ride my finger and I’d play with your clit until you reached climax.”

  I swallowed.

  He placed two fingers against my lips. I parted them, letting him in just like he did.

  “And then after that, I’d have you on your knees and I’d drive my dick between these sexy lips of yours. I’d fuck your mouth and make you beg to lick me clean.”

  Austin Clark hadn’t changed. He was right. He was a dirty-talking sex fiend.

  “All you have to do is say the words and I’ll cross that line,” he whispered. “But once I cross it…”

  I repositioned myself to feel the rock hard proof of his arousal, making him groan out loud.

  “What are we waiting for? You’re here now. We might as well take care of this unfinished business between us before you run again.”

  He ran his fingers up through my hair and grabbed a handful of it. “Are you talking shit?”

  I smiled slyly. “Just stating the obvious. And since we are shit talking, both you and I know that it was never your money that I was after.”

  I pulled the ends of his shirt from his pants and slid my fingers up his chest. He groaned and rested his head back against the bench.

  “Can you handle business in bed like you used to,” I asked, teasing him with my fingertips. “Or have you lost that touch?”

  “Fuck it,” he growled.

  He slammed his mouth down on mine, devouring me like a man with a relentless craving. I demanded no less from him, meeting his lips and tongue with a passion of my own. He tasted like chocolate and mint. His tongue dove deep and possessed every corner of my mouth. My nails dug deep into the skin on his chest. His hands were on my ass, grinding me into his hard core.

  He tore his lips from mine. “You’re playing with me.”

  “Am I?”

  “I know that look in your eyes.”

  “Do you want to fuck me or not?” I asked.

  “Fuck yeah, I want to.”

  “Then take me home,” I said, un-straddling him and straightening up my skirt.

  Austin wasted no time rising to his feet and adjusting his pants, before taking my hand and leading me toward the parking area where the valet service had taken his car.

  I was extremely aroused. There was no doubt about that. I wanted Austin to take me in a hundred different ways over and over again. On the way to my apartment, I grasped his thighs and even massaged his dick a few times.

  He walked me to the door and I fumbled with my keys. Once I got the door opened, I shoved him back against the wall and kissed him passionately until he was rock hard against my belly again.

  I trembled against him, almost giving in to the need to have his tongue against my pussy and feel his perfectly sized dick thrusting in and out of me again. But I knew what being deprived tasted like and I thought he should share the feeling with me.

  I pressed my hand on his chest. “Thanks for the date and the dinner. Like I said, I’ll pay you back that loan.”

  He frowned, his eyebrows coming together in confusion.

  “Valerie…?”

  “Reconciliation doesn’t have to result in hot makeup sex. You’re forgiven. Good night, Austin,” I said, and then slipped over the threshold pulling the door behind me.

  The door was almost closed before I heard him say, “You’re kidding me, right?”

  “No, I’m not. If you need a reason to run again, here it is.”

  Against my better judgment, I closed the door on his face.

  6

  The next day, it rained buckets for the entire day. Almost non-stop. By the time Monday morning rolled around, the rained still hadn’t let up. It was a bit of blessing in disguise since the number of customer visiting the store remained relatively low. I used that time to catch up with things I didn’t have time to do earlier in the week. The best part of my morning was logging into my bank account to see the deposit had come through for the large wedding party I’d sold dresses to last weekend. From the profits, I was able to cut three separate checks. One to buy more inventory, another to pad the payroll account for my employees, and another paid to the order of Austin Clark. I wasn’t sure if he’d gotten the memo that I’d called or if he’d received my message requesting where to send the check.

  I wasn’t sure until Austin walked into my shop about two minutes to closing like he owned the place. My mouth had already dropped to the floor the moment he reached the counter where I was locking down some contents at the front desk.

  “What are you…?”

  “You called.” He rested an elbow on the counter and glanced throughout the store and then turned his wicked gaze back on me.

  “I did, but that was hours ago,” I said.

  “Was it to apologize?”

  I almost laughed. “For what?”

  He pressed his lips together. “I think you know.”

  This time I did laugh.

  “You think it’s funny that you left me standing at your doorstep with blue balls?”

  “Blue balls,” I exclaimed. “I didn’t know there was such a thing.”

  “That’s wh
at it felt like,” he said.

  “Well, you didn’t have to endure it. You had your hand and I’m sure at this point you could’ve found any woman willing to help you. After all, you are Austin Clark, the man that left our little town and made a name for himself.”

  “I’m almost certain you’re enjoying this.”

  I pushed off from the counter and walked over to the door. I turned the sign around to indicate that the shop was closed and then I locked the front door and pushed a button that let the security gates down.

  “Level of enjoyment is subjective, Austin,” I replied.

  “Then why would you call me here? To rub it in?”

  I pulled out the envelope with the handwritten check in it and handed it to him.

  “What’s this?”

  “I needed your mailing address, but since I didn’t have it and you’re here now. Open it.”

  He did just that and then exhaled. “I told you—”

  “I know what you told me. I’m going to pay back that loan, regardless of what you think, Austin.”

  “A hard head makes a very soft ass, Valerie,” he said, and then ripped the check in two and then in fours and placed the torn pieces on the counter.

  I gasped.

  “Don’t look so shocked,” he said.

  The content smirk on his face told me that he had anticipated my reaction. He came around the counter and I had no choice but to back up against the wall behind me. He caged me in by pressing the flat of his palm on the surface right next to my head. My body responded in kind, heating up the mere centimeters of spacing between us. My nipples beaded against my bra. All I wore was a thin tank top and a bra due to the heat so I knew the evidence of my weakness was visible.

  “Come any closer and I’ll make you pay.”

  He chuckled softly. “Of course you will.” He arched one perfect brown eyebrow. “How would you like me to pay? He parted my legs with one gentle nudge of his thighs and then pressed his hips to mine. “Like this?” He was big and heavy against me. “Do you know what it’s like being in a state of constant arousal because of one woman?”

  “You bastard,” I muttered.

  “Yes, I am.”

  “Why are you doing this to me? You’re the one who left. I forgave you, but I will not give in again. I don’t think I can trust any man like I did before.”