Page 60 of Just Business

“Don’t you dare get shy on me now.” A mind reader, this one.

And then he’s pulling my leg up and draping it over his shoulder leaving me exposed to him.

“Austin.” I tug his hair, forcing him to look up. “You don’t have to do that.”

He drags his thumb up the inside of my thigh all the way till it reaches my center. There he circles with just enough pressure that my breath hitches.

“You’re right, but I want to. I’ve wanted to taste you for days now,” he rasps.

“Okay, well. Just—just don’t have high expectations. I’ve never come from that.”

“There’s a first time for everything,” he murmurs against my thigh as he kisses up to the juncture of my hip.

He parts me, licking up my center and my legs nearly buckle. I grab for anything to hold myself up with, but come up empty. In one fluid motion he’s turned me and we stumble over until we’ve landed in his bed.

“Quiet, remember?” Austin places a finger over my lips, and, in a burst of bravery, I suck his finger into my mouth, swirling my tongue.

He’s slack-jawed, momentarily stunned. But then he goes feral. I should have known he’d be good at this. He lowers back down, pressing his tongue flat against my clit, licking and humming at the same time he hooks one finger inside me. I buck against his mouth, squeezing my eyes shut.

It’s taking everything I’ve got to keep quiet, so I fist the bed sheets in both hands. He reaches up to circle my nipple and a slow wind starts at the base of my spine. I grab a fistful of his hair again and he pushes a second finger in, sucking while swirling his tongue against that pulsing bundle of nerves. That white hot thing I’ve been chasing unspools lightning fast and I feel my release as I cry out his name. He puts a hand over my mouth, muffling the sound, while continuing sucking and licking while I ride out my orgasm.

I’m lying there, a heap of nothing, panting with my eyes still squeezed shut.

“I should have known you’d be good with your mouth,” I say through shallow breaths.

Austin’s laugh vibrates against my stomach as he peppers it with kisses.

I look down at him, and he’s wearing a self-satisfied expression.Cocky asshole.

I’ve helped Penny back into her pajamas, and now we’re lying in the dark, her head on my chest while I trail my fingers up and down her back. The full moon coming in through the window sheds enough light to see my surroundings.

It’s well past midnight, and I have to be up early, but I’m still keyed up. Something new and completely foreign began to stir in my chest today, watching Penny interact with my family. She inserted herself right in the middle of things like she was always meant to be part of it. I’m starting to realize there’s going to come a time when I have to give her everything. Up until now, she’s been the strong one, trusting me with small and large pieces of herself.

“You awake?”

“I am.” Her answer is barely above a whisper.

“It’s my turn to tell you something real.”

Several seconds pass, and I can hear her swallowing. Finally, she raises up on an elbow and I reach over to my nightstand for the framed photo that’s been there since I moved here. It’s an old photo of my sister and me, sitting on our mom’s lap. I was probably five or six in it and my sister a toddler. I’m looking up at my mom with a huge smile on my face, and she’s looking at the camera wearing a tired smile.

I rise, resting my back against the headboard, and Penny does the same.

“That night that I had the nightmare, I told you I wasn’t ready to talk about it. I’m not sure I’m ready even now…I might never be ready. But I’m telling you, regardless.” With a fortifying inhale, I begin. “You’ve earned my whole story, but it’s a lot. It’s a hard story to tell, and I’m sure it’ll be hard for you to hear. Do you want me to go on?”

I cut my eyes to Penny and she nods. “Go on.” Her words are barely audible.

“I wanna preface this story by saying, I do have some good memories of my dad. I realize it sounds like I’m making excuses for him or something, but he had a good side. He might still have a good side, for all I know. But something would inevitably happen, and he’d start drinking. And not like a couple drinks in the evening after a long day at work. He drank a lot. And he was a mean drunk—mean as shit.”

Penny’s eyes are heavy on the side of my face, but I can’t look at her. So I go on.

“Even though we made some good memories, they’re all overshadowed by memories of him coming home drunk and turning on my mom. Sometimes he’d find the smallest reasons, but usually I think he did it because that’s the kind of person he is. I’d take Cassie and hide in my bedroom closet and cover her ears.”

She sucks in a breath and reaches over to clasp her fingers with mine, giving my hand a single squeeze. That small action steadies me. Telling her this feels right. I glance over and see that her eyes have glassed over, and she’s blinking furiously. I look back at the photo in my hand.

“You know I was raised by my aunt and uncle. Cass and I moved in here when I was ten. But moving in with them was hard on me. My mama was my favorite person on earth. If you looked up mama’s boy in the dictionary, you’d see my face beside the definition.” I chuckle, thinking about how I’d follow my mom around. “There was this one time I’d been glued to her side all day and she looked at me and said she bet if I could, I’d live in her skin with her, just to be closer to her.” I pause before continuing. “But there’s a lot of things I witnessed that no child should have to see.” My voice breaks, and I pause to take some deep breaths.

“Austin, you don’t have to tell me all this. This is hard for you.”

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