Page 32 of Spreading Her Wings

I frantically motioned between us with my hand, the new ring sliding just slightly. “No, I meanthis.We have to tell the truth. We were neveractually together!” My voice was frantic as my heart pounded in my chest.

Auston climbed out of the bed, and when he moved towards me, I took quick steps backwards. The bathroom door was cold against my skin, and I gasped when he put his hand up and ran his fingers along my jaw.

“We can tell the truth if you want to. I’ll gladly tell them all I asked you to do was pretend you were my girlfriend, but somewhere along the way, this became very real. You and I both know it. Your heart speeds up the same way mine does any time our eyes meet across the room, and when I touch your skin like this, you get shivers down your spine that I can feel inmytoes. Your eyes were meant to get lost in mine, so don’t tell methiswas never real.”

I shivered when he brushed his lips against mine, whimpering. Was he right? At what point did this become a real relationship? I thought about the way he’d cleaned crap from my aunt’s gutters, and I relaxed my shoulders.

“Okay, but we can’t be married,” I said, emphasizing every word. “It’s a mistake.”

“Nah, babe. I don’t make mistakes. I make quick life decisions, andthiswas one of them.” There was a confidence in his voice that was intimidating but settling at the same time. I sighed. When he reached for my chin again, tilting my face to meet his, the look on his face was serious. “Do you trust me?”

I whimpered and rested my chin against his grasp. “Yes.”

He kissed me again. “Good.”

A girls’ afternoon at the pool sounded great in theory, but sipping half-melted margaritas was about the only thing stopping me from panicking as Simone sat giddy next to me. All day on the strip it had been “Mr. and Mrs.this”and “newlywedsthat,” and I was struggling to keep a straight face. Dread filled my stomach with every mention of our supposedly perfect wedding that was coming back to me in the form of gin-fueled Polaroids.

“Seriously, though, I never thought I’d see it.” Simone giggled and hummed, slurping the last of her margarita through the straw.

I looked at her briefly before scanning the pool for something that could be described as “only seen in Vegas.” All I saw were people in lounge chairs cradling drinks and adjusting the straps on their swimsuits to avoid tan lines.

“See what?” I fixed my sunglasses, shifting in my seat to look off to the side for anyone I’d missed seeing.

She looked at me like it was a stupid question. “See the day Auston would settle down,obviously.” I couldn’t stop the laughter that rolled from me; the kind of laughter that echoed around the pool and drew the attention of more than one person. “I’m serious!” She tossed her straw at me as if to emphasize her point.

I stared, trying to imagine Auston as being settled down. “I—”

“Auston has just always been the king of the fuckboys. A new girl every week, if not every day.” She giggled. “For a while, we all thought he and Sky would end up together. They had a lot of chemistry, but the two of you…”

“What about us?” I chewed at my straw, stifling my nerves and wishing the cup would refill itself.

“He’s just different around you. Like he’s smiling in ways he’s never smiled before, and the way he lights up when he looks at you. It’s justdifferent. He’s always been charming and great with women, but he’s justbetterwhen you’re around. It’s hard to explain.”

I thought about the way he’d stared at me this morning against the bathroom door, and the way his arms felt wrapped around me in bed when I woke up. He was gentle, despite the bad boy exterior. I smiled when I thought about getting back to the room.

“You seem pretty into him too, you know?”

When I looked up, Simone was staring at me with a smile on her face. Was I? “Yeah, I am,” I told her.But I couldn’t be married to him.

My skin was shiny from tanning oil and sweat when I walked into the room and came face to face with Auston. He stood with the small hotel towel around his waist, and I slowly trailed my eyes down the muscles in his shoulders and chest, the ridges of his abs, and to the “V” that half disappeared into the towel. When I ran my tongue along my bottom lip and bit down, he grinned.

“Hey, kitten. How was the pool?” He took a step towards me. “Enjoying the view?” He flexed his arms and chest, and when his muscles moved, my mouth dried out.

I hummed, blushing and looking away. When he continued to stroll towards me, he did his own once-over, focusing on the dark-blue swimsuit that pulled tight across my chest. Hiseyes darkened, and he closed his hands on my hips, tugging me against him. I giggled when the towel he had been holding dropped to the ground, and my body melted against his.

“I need to take a shower,” I whispered, the words catching when his cock grew harder against my hip.

Auston chuckled, darting his tongue across my lip. “I’ll go with you.”

“Wait, you just showered.” I giggled breathlessly. I didn’t bother to move, my feet remaining planted on the ground. The hairs on my skin stood on end with the electricity that buzzed from the contact of his skin with mine.

He chuckled. “Who said I was going to shower? I fully intend on just watchingyou.” When he winked, I whimpered. Any hesitation rushed out of me when he stepped back and pointed towards the half-open door. “After you.”

I walked ahead of him, untying the string on my back as I went and letting the small piece of fabric fall to the floor. I swayed my hips more than I naturally did, his breathing hitching behind me and bringing a smile to my face.

The tile on the bathroom floor was cold against my feet when I glided to the shower. Reaching past the curtain, I pushed my barely covered ass back, as if it would help me reach the knob. Auston groaned, and the water hissed, starting to fill the small bathroom with a thin layer of steam. When I stepped back and slid the bikini bottoms down my thighs, I dramatically bent forward until my hands touched the floor.

“Jesus.”

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