Page 42 of Forever & Always You
Austin furrows his eyebrows, like the answer is obvious. “Because the money left for me should really have been yours and Zach’s? And maybe you’d be angry at your dad for that? I don’t want you to feel like I stole something from you.”
“I don’t care about money, Austin,” I say, shaking my head. I feel weird and I try to dial in on what exactly it is I’m feeling. I don’t feel betrayed by Dad, because I really don’t care how he chose to divide his assets, but am more hurt that he felt the need to keep it a secret. The only explanation I land on is that Mom would have never stood for it. She would have contested it for all she’s worth if she knew where that money really went.
“You thought there was something unethical about me, for how quickly I’ve built this company,” Austin says, “but it was all thanks to your father. It would have taken me a decade to reachthe point of being able to funnel cash into creating my own firm, but he gave me a head start that I will forever be grateful for.” He sits back down on the edge of his desk and drags my chair forward so that I’m positioned between his legs. He reaches for my hand, twisting his fingers around mine and locking our hands tight. “I don’t want your dad gifting me that money to taint your memory of him, and I don’t want you to resent me for receiving it. But at least when you leave today, you know I’ve told you the truth. We still have trust, okay?”
I nod, but my mind is spinning at a million miles an hour. “So, this is what your parents were referring to? The money my dad left?”
“My parents think—and, fuck, Gabby, I promise I don’t believe this too, but .?.?.” He bites his lower lip and flinches before confessing, “My parents are convinced he left me that money as an apology.”
“An apology .?.?. because of me?” I whisper.
Austin doesn’t even need to confirm it. The flicker of remorse in his eyes is enough.
And oh, how that stings. The world seems to collapse around me, because what if that’s true? What if Dad knew how badly I’d treated Austin and was trying to apologize for his daughter’s mistakes? If he did know, he certainly never addressed it with me. What if the embarrassment was too much? What if he was quietly disappointed? Dad always fixed things silently in the background, and maybe this was another one of those times.
“Hey,” Austin says, squeezing my hand harder to pull my attention back from my ghostly stare at the wall. “I think he just had a soft spot for me. The kid with nothing across the street who he’d mentored for years. He just wanted to make sure things turned around for me, that’s all.”
I glance up at Austin, tears burning the corners of my eyes. “Do you think he knew how awful I was to you?”
“No,” Austin says firmly, leaning forward and cupping my face in both hands, like I need reassurance physically shaken into me. “How could he? I certainly never told him, because I was way too obsessed with you to ever risk losing you.” He draws his face level with mine, hands still on my jaw, eyes holding my gaze. “This is why I know you’re a good person, Gabrielle, because you were raised by one.”
My heart swells and I can’t fight the overwhelming mix of emotions for a second longer. I break into an ugly sob as my body heaves, and I fall forward into Austin’s chest, smothering my face into his T-shirt.
Gently, he places his hands on my neck and guides my head up to look at him. “I only like it when you cry over shelter dogs,” he says, brushing away my tears from my cheeks. “This, I don’t like. Why are we crying, Gabby? Everything’s okay.”
My lips continue to quiver as I blubber, “Because I don’t deserve it when you’re this nice to me, and I don’t know how much my dad left you, but I wish it was more, and I wanted to go home to my apartment, but I don’t think I do anymore. I want to stay right here with you.”
Austin touches my lower lip with the pad of his thumb, gaze memorizing the curves of my mouth. “Then stay,” he whispers.
I stare up into his ocean blue eyes, pulled in by their protective warmth, and it suddenly all clicks why I’ve felt so drawn to him the past few days. Austin feels like a safety blanket, exactly how my father felt. He held my hand in the hospital, took care of my parking boot, made sure I had enough clothes for the weekend, and helped me get my car fixed. All things I can absolutely do myself, and I’ve had no choice but to pull myself together the past few years and grow up, but sometimes it feels nice to have someone else looking out for you. I’ve missed how that feels. I think I may even have forgotten.
Shakily, I stand from the chair. With Austin perched on theedge of his desk, our heights are level, and he clasps my waist and tucks me neatly between his legs. Our gazes never shift, our eyes locked. And I can’t wait a single second more.
Slipping my hand around the nape of his neck, I tug him close and press my lips hard against his. My cheeks are still stained with tears, but all I want is his mouth against mine, and that I get. Austin’s hands dig wildly into my hair as he kisses me fiercely, the moment fueled by heightened emotions and an overwhelming desire to share them together.
I push my body against Austin’s, raking my hands down his chest and undoing the button of his jeans as his cock bulges against the zipper. “I want you,” I whisper. “All of you.”
Austin groans against my mouth. “You have no idea how much I wantyou,but I don’t have—”
“Are you clean?” I cut in, biting the soft skin of his neck as I slip my hand beneath the waistband of his boxers and take him in my hand.
“Ah, fuck, Gabby,” Austin mumbles, tilting his head to the side and allowing me better access to his neck. His hands grip the edge of the desk, his eyes closed. “Of course I am.”
“Me too.”
Austin reaches for my wrist, forcing me to pause as he opens his eyes to look at me. “You’re emotional. Think about it first, please. I want you to be comfortable with this.”
I trail my lips along his jaw until I come to a stop at the corner of his mouth. “I want to feelyou.”
“Fuck, okay.”
In one swift movement, Austin drops his hands to my ass and lifts me straight off my feet. He spins us around and sets me down on the desk now instead as my legs instinctively wrap around his waist. The craving fully creeps in now, all boundaries accounted for, and Austin’s kiss deepens as his hands wander more eagerly. He rakes my top up over my head, then his, ourbare chests pressed together as he pulls my shorts down my legs so that I’m only left in my underwear, propped up on the edge of this huge desk.
As Austin slips a finger inside of me, I press my face into his shoulder and breathe in his scent, body relaxing in pleasure.
“You’re soaking, Gabby,” he hisses against my ear, the seductive heat in his voice sending me spiraling. His fingers circle my clit until my legs start to uncontrollably flinch in response, and then he reaches for my hair and gently pulls my head back from his shoulder. “See for yourself.”
I part my lips as Austin slides his fingers into my mouth, and I suck on them, tasting myself on him, confidently holding his gaze as his eyes roll back in his head in arousal.
