Page 68 of Always Yours

Austen’s brows come in, and she deadpans, “And that’s stopped you, when?”

I point to her. “You’re right,” I say, nodding. “I wasn’t a Boy Scout, but I’ve eaten a brownie or two.”

Her face doesn’t even change; she looks bored. “That is disgusting.”

I snort. “But funny.” Her lips twitch. “Just let it happen, Janie. I see your lips trying to smile.”

She can’t hold it back anymore, and soon, she is snickering.

I grin at her, enjoying how she looks when she laughs. “But for real, I enjoy you—a lot.”

Her eyes darken as she looks away, drawing in a deep breath. “Which is so bad because we live together.”

“Eh, some would disagree.”

She side-eyes me. “Why is that?”

I shrug. “Easy access, privacy.”

Plus, we already know what it’s like to live together,I think, but I refuse to say that out loud.

Her cheeks flush as she works her bottom lip between her teeth. “I need to be honest with you,” she says, but she doesn’t look at me, her gaze trained on the pond. “And it won’t be easy for me.”

“Austen…” I murmur before I reach out, taking her jaw in my hand. Her lips part and her eyes widen. “I need to look into your eyes, because nothing should be hard for you to be honest with me about.”

My words have my heart skipping in my chest, and I don’t know what’s fluttering in my gut, but man, it’s a weird feeling.

I feel her swallow, her eyes burning into mine. “Do you remember when I said I wanted to experience things with you?”

“I do.” I assumed she meant like relationship shit, and I mean, I’m down. Right? Shit, why is Shelli in my fucking head? Our earlier conversation comes at me hard, and I knock it out of my mind. I refuse to feel anything but what Austen is making me feel. Which is fucking good.

“I haven’t experienced anything.”

I bring in my brows. “I mean, I’m not the best at relationships, bu—”

“No, I mean,anything,” she says, a little break in her voice. I can see that she is struggling, and I’m completely lost.

“Anything?”

“Well, not anything I’ve desired.”

I blink. “I need you to be direct, because I’m confused.”

Her lips quirk, but it’s so fast, I almost think I didn’t see it. I can see the wheels working in her head as she searches for the words she needs.

I am lost in her beautiful honey depths, and softly, I whisper, “I know I shouldn’t kiss you right now, but I really fucking want to.”

Her lips part for two seconds, and then she whispers back, “I haven’t been kissed before.”

I pause, my body feeling like I was just tossed into the ice bath with no warning whatsoever. “You’ve never kissed anyone?”

“Not a guy. My family, of course, but not in the way I want to kiss you,” she says boldly, and the surprise of her own damn words is all over her sweet face. “Or have you kiss me.”

Well, fucking goddamn. My mouth goes dry, my chest feels like my heart is cracking its way out, and every nerve in my body is firing off in ways I’ve never experienced. I know she can feel how hard my heart is beating and how quickly my breath is coming out. She is practically shaking in my hold, and when she moves her tongue along her lips, I’m frozen in place.

In a low voice, she whispers, “Please say something.”

A nervous chuckle leaves my lips. “What do you want me to say, Austen?” I whisper, my voice so low, I almost don’t hear myself. I take her in my arms, pressing her sweet, hot body into mine. “I’m trying to figure out if I need to stretch.”

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