“Wow.” Sara shook her head slightly and her lips turned up in a grin. “Talk about TMI. That’ll teach you not to ask me questions. That was way more information than I’m sure you were planning on getting. I never do that… I never just go on and on like that. I’m sorry, I don’t know wha—”
“Don’t apologize,” Austin interrupted, almost adding that he could listen to her talk forever. That he wanted to know everything about her. But that would definitely be TMI.
“What about you?” Her voice trembled a little as she asked. “What’s your story?”
“My story?” he grinned.
“Yeah. Are you…” There was a moment of hesitation before her shoulders dropped and she looked out the window. “Never mind.”
“No, what were you going to ask me? Am I what?”
She closed her eyes for a second and then turned toward him. “I was going to ask you if you were single or had ever been married. But, the truth is, I think I already know the answer because the girls were talking about it.” Her head fell back against the headrest. “I’m so bad at this.”
Austin appreciated the fact that she’d come right out and said that she’d heard something about his past. He loved when people were direct and hated when they tried to fish for information. For the first time ever, he actually wanted to talk about what had happened. He wanted to tell her everything, but he didn’t think this was the time.
So instead, he asked, “You’re so bad at what?”
“At having adult conversations.” Her eyes were still closed.
“You’re adorable.”
Her eyes popped open and she started to say something but he beat her to it.
“I know that I don’t have to say that. But you are.”
She licked her lips once more and either he was seeing things through a funhouse mirror lens or she began leaning toward him. When he smelled a faint scent of mint and felt the warm puff of air on his face, he knew that his vision was perfectly intact.
He braced himself for the impact that he’d take when their mouths met. He feared that even the slightest brush of her lips against his might throw him into cardiac arrest.
Unfortunately, he didn’t get to test his theory because a few inches from his face she stilled, then glanced over her shoulder. “We should get back. I’m pretty sure they’ll sleep through a parade at this point.” Then she sat back against her seat.
Austin knew she was right, but damn he’d wanted to taste her ruby lips so bad his entire body ached from the loss of the chance to.
Inhaling slowly, he tried to get himself under control as he lifted his arm and put his hand on the passenger seat as he checked behind him to back up. When he did, the pad of his thumb grazed the bare skin of Sara’s upper arm. It was the slightest touch, but it sent a jolt of lust shooting through him. He knew he wasn’t alone in his reaction when he heard Sara’s sharp intake of breath.
His thumb was still resting against her arm, and he fought his instinct to run it along the graceful line of her shoulder and continue up the sexy slope of her neck.
Necks had never really been on Austin’s radar. He was more of a legs, eyes, smile, and ass man. Even when he was a teenager, he’d never given a girl a hickey…at least not on that particular area. Other than the occasional massage, he’d never really even thought about the neck as a particularly sexual part of the anatomy.
Tonight, that had all changed. When they’d gone back to the B&B so the kids could change and freshen up before heading over to the BBQ, Sara had also changed into a sundress and put her hair up in a ponytail. When she’d emerged from the King’s suite, Austin’s gaze had locked on the smooth skin above her collarbone. All night, he’d been fighting the impulse to devour Sara’s neck. He wanted to lick, kiss, and suck on every inch of it.
Austin finally understood the appeal of movies like Twilight and shows like True Blood, which was a little disconcerting, because he was fairly sure he was not their demographic.
“What’s wrong?” Sara asked, snapping him out of the lust trance.
He moved his hand and looked behind him. As he backed up, he said simply, “You are very distracting.”
She may not believe him when he told her that she was perfect. Or beautiful. Or adorable. But there was no way she could make him believe she wasn’t. To him, those were immutable facts.
They rode in silence the rest of the way back to the B&B, the only sound in the small space was the sound of their heavy breaths.
When they arrived and he cut the engine, she was back in all-business mode. “I’m going to grab her first and I’ll be right back to get him.” Her tone was no-nonsense as she explained.
“I can take him,” Austin offered. There was no reason for her to make two trips.
For the second time that day, her face scrunched up in that cute, sexy way he found even more endearing the second time he saw it.
“Are you sure?”