Chapter Sixteen THATCH I’d been on edge ever since Austin ran away from me like zombies were chasing her and threatening to eat her brains if she stopped. So I said the only thing I knew I could say in order to see her again, because I was a sick man, or maybe because I knew that my addiction for her was getting worse, and like a true addict, I told myself, just one more taste and I’d quit. One more look at her body and I’d leave her for good. One more taste of her lips and I’d really delete her phone number. Just one more. By the time I made it back to my apartment to shower and get dressed, I was in a really shitty mood. What the hell had caused her to panic like that? She survived a tarantula bite without passing out—so why was she so pale after watching a breast augmentation? There were literally fewer stitches for that than most surgeries, it wasn’t like I was chipping away on someone’s nose and doing some reshaping or a tummy tuck. I shoved my key in the door lock and froze. “Dad
Chapter Seventeen AUSTIN Wine with Thatch. Everything between us had started with wine. Wine and then pizza and then a silly little line where he asked if I wanted to see his comic-book collection. I knew he’d been full of shit, but his personality had been magnetic. I was helpless, caught in his delicious web of sex. And I’d been a willing victim. But the guy I’d stumbled into bed with—and the guy I was currently having a nice adult glass of wine with? Two totally different people. Gone was the heart-stopping smile he usually chose to hide behind, and in its place, he looked stripped bare. As if he were finally about to lay all the joking aside and reveal some sort of truth. “So, you wanna talk about it?” I asked, swirling the wine in my glass a few times before taking a slow sip. “About?” He didn’t make eye contact. “Tits.” He spit out his wine in his glass and glared at me. “Sorry, I couldn’t help it.” “Try.” His eyes narrowed. With a laugh, I nodded my head toward the door. “All bo
Chapter Eighteen AUSTIN The cursor kept blinking at me. My new blogger site mocked me. Because the only stupid words I could think to type were things like, His hands were smooth as they cupped my breasts, his thumb an inch from my nipple as he measured. He was warm. I gulped. Large. And every time I typed those words, I had to delete, you know, because I wasn’t writing an erotic novel. I leaned my head down against the computer and sighed. After the trauma of feeling a piece of glass stick out of my cheek, I decided to go to bed and wake up early to write my first post before class. And there I was, an hour before I had to leave. Still staring at the blank screen where no words were present, and wondering how I was going to sound professional when every single touch had me nearly jumping out of my skin and ready to maul the good doctor. The difficult part—I knew what his mouth tasted like. I knew what his touch felt like. So, my body couldn’t help itself—it craved him. “Be professiona
Chapter Nineteen THATCH “I’m in fucking hell.” “Cheer up.” Lucas slapped me on the back. “It can’t be that bad.” “That. Bad,” I growled. “Did you not hear what I just said? How the hell did you do this? Work with Avery without using whatever power you had as her boss to make her—” Lucas grinned. “No, keep going. I’ll just beat the shit out of you rather than offer you whatever wisdom I was going to bestow.” Groaning, I finished my burger and wiped my hands. “I’ve worked with her four days. It’s Thursday, Lucas, and I’m ready to lose my mind.” “Don’t forget you still have to fake an injury or sickness so you don’t have to go riding with her dad tomorrow.” “Helpful,” I said through clenched teeth. “I’m not sleeping, I’m constantly hard as a rock around her—yesterday, a middle-aged grandmother came in for Botox, Austin watched and kept sucking on her lower lip, and I literally had to excuse myself like I was ready to shit my pants—and go take care of business.” Lucas burst out laughing an
Chapter Twenty AUSTIN “He’s turned me into a stalker,” I whispered into the phone while I slumped down behind the wheel of my car and waited. “Why are you whispering?” Avery said on the other end of the phone. “And who are you stalking?” “Because stalkers whisper, and I’m stalking Thatch.” “Okay, that’s it, intervention time, you can’t keep just hoping he’ll come back, sweetheart. Ugh, I knew it was a bad idea for you to hang out with him for your final project—you’re going to get attached, then get hopeful, and then, boom, I’m going to find you buried under a pile of MoonPies.” “What a good way to go, though, you know?” “No, Austin!” she yelled. “Not a good way, not even a normal way! You need to get over him, and you can’t get over him if you’re still pining for him. This is my fault. I told you to dress sexier in hopes that he’d snap out of it, but when we walked in on their conversation . . .” Pain sliced through my chest. “Yeah, I don’t think that conversation bears repeating, it
Chapter Twenty-One THATCH My only goal had been to apologize to Austin for treating her like shit and being distant; anything beyond that, I wasn’t sure I could stomach. But now that my dad was in the hospital, I figured the truth was getting closer to being exposed, and I’d rather she hear it from me first. God, my parents were so good at ruining my life, weren’t they? And now they were going to ruin hers. Fantastic. My nose throbbed. Luckily, I didn’t think the bastard broke anything, though it hurt like hell to the touch. When I’d texted Lucas for Austin’s location, he hadn’t said jack shit about her being on a date. So I wasn’t prepared to see another man touching her hand—my hand. I still felt those hands slide down my skin at night when I fought back the anxiety over our breakup. I still dreamed of the woman attached to those hands. My nose pulsed—yeah, life wasn’t fair, not by a long shot. “We’ll pick up your car tomorrow.” Austin finally stopped the silent treatment as we pulle
Chapter Twenty-Two AUSTIN Thatch kissed a woman as if he knew her body better than she did. It was like his lips could sense the perfect amount of pressure to apply in any given kissing scenario. Moaning, gasping, begging for more weren’t just options; they were necessary. It was survival. I’d been a victim of his kisses. Just like I’d been a victim of every inch of his sexual prowess, and I knew, if I didn’t stop the kiss, I would be a victim again. But my body begged me to just linger a bit longer. It told me to wait until I felt his tongue sliding across mine, until he tugged my lower lip and did that thing where he sucked it between his teeth just long enough to get me to gasp and open my mouth wider, where he’d slip in and take advantage, plundering my mouth until his air was mine. My body trembled beneath his heated touch; he knew exactly where I needed him, where I always craved him, and he took advantage of it, stealing any sort of no that I wanted to speak, and turning it into
Chapter Twenty-Three THATCH “The hell you are!” I spit. “You can’t come in!” I was seriously minutes away from calling the police on my own father. He’d been out of the hospital for three hours—and was already completely wasted. “I’m your father!” Amazing that he wasn’t even slurring his words, although his body swayed a bit. Damn it! I had Austin. Austin in my bed. My Austin. And I had to deal with this shit! “Give me your keys.” I held out my hand. Dad shrugged. “I left ’em.” “You left them,” I repeated. “Where?” “No idea.” He burst out laughing. “Stay here,” I said through clenched teeth while I ran back into my apartment, grabbed the spare key, and tried not to break it in half while I stomped back to my dad and then across the hall. When I opened his door to let him in, he, naturally, tripped over his own feet and stumbled against one of his entry tables. Swearing, I slammed the door and began doing the usual. Make a pot of coffee, search his house for bottles of whiskey, put a gl
Chapter Twenty-Four AUSTIN My morning was not starting well. I had three missed calls from Avery that I ignored because I still smelled like sweaty Thatch and was in the process of gathering my clothes so I could run home and shower before class, when my father decided, “Hey, let’s make sure my daughter is alive and breathing.” Lunch. He wanted me to go to lunch with him and my mom. And of course he just had to text me that early to ask! So basically, he had something to tell me—that was the only reason for his lunches, and of course he
couldn’t be a normal parent and have those types of talks at the house, because nobody would see! I texted him back yes only so I’d stop getting messages from him with a question mark, and went in search of my underwear. I found it in the living room, which was odd since I was pretty sure I was stripped naked in his room. I quickly put on all of my clothes and grabbed my purse. Luckily it was still early, so nobody would see me sneaking out. I made it a
Chapter Twenty-Five THATCH I didn’t text. I didn’t call. I didn’t chase. Not because I didn’t want to do all of those things—but because I knew that it wouldn’t be enough. Austin had woken up to an empty apartment and assumed the worst—who wouldn’t? But it wasn’t like I wanted to tell her about my alcoholic father. Because she’d ask questions. And I’d tell her, because I’d been carrying all of the stress for so long; I knew it was only a matter of time before I blurted everything out. I eyed the clock in the corner. She was supposed to come in today by two. It was two thirty. I closed my eyes and waited for my office door to open, and when it didn’t, I went over to it and jerked it open myself, looking up and down the hall for any sign of her dark-brown hair or long legs. Hanging my head, I was just getting ready to turn back around when I saw a flash of dark hair down the hall and then, she was walking toward me. Her face in a tight smile, her body hugged by a beautiful black wrap dre
Chapter Twenty-Six AUSTIN My mom. In Thatch’s office. Why was my mom in Thatch’s office? Why was this happening? Had I just walked into an alternate universe, one where my mom used words like “nipple”? I loved my mom, don’t get me wrong, but, this? Did Dad know? As far as I was concerned, she’d never even discussed a boob job or anything like it. Besides, her boobs, unlike mine, were basically perfect, like every part of her! I closed my mouth and shared a horrified look with Thatch, who looked like he was ready to puke, though I wasn’t sure why. It was his job! And it wasn’t like he was touching his own mom’s boobs. Too far, Austin. Too far. “What are you doing here?” Mom and I said at the same time. “Austin’s shadowing me for one of her classes,” Thatch answered, saving me from having to explain myself. I would not be thankful for the save. I would not let his kindness in this moment minimize his rejection this morning. Spine straightening, I faced my mom. “So? Why are you here?” “I
Chapter Twenty-Seven THATCH “I didn’t leave you,” I said hoarsely. “So stop taking your anger out on everyone else! I wouldn’t do that to you.” “But you did,” she argued. “I woke up alone!” I ran my hands through my hair and tried to think of a way to explain without giving her all the details. “This morning, I didn’t leave the building. I wasn’t abandoning you or trying to get out of the awkward morning-after part where you wonder if you’re going to get more sex or if the person’s going to make a run for it.” She sighed and looked down at the ground. “Well, aren’t you curious which it would have been?” “Yes.” My body ached for hers. “Too bad.” She marched over toward the door and placed her hand on the knob. “If you didn’t leave the building, where were you?” “Does it really matter? I didn’t leave you.” “It matters to the girl you slept with and then abandoned most of the night, yes.” “I was with you until five o’clock this morning.” “Did you want a prize for cuddling?” she countered.
Chapter Twenty-Eight AUSTIN “So I’m just going to come out and ask.” Avery’s eyes narrowed in on me and Thatch as we sat across from her and Lucas, holding hands and basically groping each other under the table. “Are you guys together?” “Clearly they’re sleeping together. Austin’s neck has ten hickies. Who gives hickies anymore?” Lucas frowned into his glass. “Sucking on someone’s skin, not natural; now, sucking on a woman’s—” Avery shoved a piece of bread into his mouth. “Hungry?” With narrowed eyes, he pulled half of it out and chewed. “Starving.” “That’s what I thought.” Her deep blush said more than I’d like to know about my best friend and the guy sharing her bed, but whatever. Lucas Thorn wasn’t a cheater anymore, and I was happy for them, especially now that I had Thatch back. I shivered in response. I’d spent the last week in his bed. A full week of bliss where we argued over who made the coffee in the morning and which late-night TV show to watch. It was bliss. It was exactly
Chapter Twenty-Nine THATCH The paper from my office was burning a hole in my pocket. The paper on which Austin’s mom had written her cell number and circled it a few hundred times. I suspected that she wanted to know what I knew. Which was a hell of a lot. But I wasn’t going to say anything. Maybe I had it wrong; maybe she was seeing how it was possible that I wasn’t saying anything to Austin or going to the press. Then again, I could be wrong about every damn thing and her mother didn’t even know. Hell. Cheating. You don’t cheat by accident; your dick doesn’t just slip into another woman, the same way a woman doesn’t trip over her own feet and lock lips with another man. Damn it. I didn’t call the number. Austin was snoring lightly next to me. She was the only good part of all of this, and I had to trust that she loved me enough to weather any kind of storm. I lay awake, staring up at the ceiling, my thoughts going back to that night when I realized my parents weren’t who I thought th
Chapter Thirty THATCH “Let me get this straight.” Lucas pointed at my black eye. “A panther ran out in front of you and you crashed a bike.” I bit out a curse. “Yes.” “A bike with training wheels?” “Yes.” Clenching my teeth hurt like hell. “And this”—he held up fake air quotes—“‘panther’ escaped from the zoo.” “YES!” I yelled. “Look, all I’m saying is, I was having a nice leisurely training session with Austin, and she had to go to class, so I thought then why not practice on my own? So I grabbed my helmet—” Lucas choked on his coffee. “Whatever, why am I even defending myself right now?” “A lot of good that helmet did. You still managed to get a black eye.” “I fell against the handlebars!” I showed him with my hands, not that it was helping. Swear it really was a panther or the largest cat I’d ever seen in my entire existence. “And you’re a jackass—why did I even call you?” “Oh, I don’t know, because I’m one of the only ones who wouldn’t make fun of you and take pictures?” “You got ou
Chapter Thirty-One AUSTIN “I’m impressed.” My professor actually said those words. They came out of his mouth, and I could have sworn he was smiling; I mean, his teeth were clenched, but the point? He said the word “impressed.” “Thank you.” I grinned, feeling lighter than I had in weeks. “It’s been really interesting.” Images of Thatch on his knees in front of me, his hands clasped around my hips as he pressed hot kiss after hot kiss against my skin, flooded my head until a burning heat erupted like goose bumps all over my body. “Has it, now?” He eyed me up and down. Yeah, I didn’t like that look. I quickly put all images of Thatch on lockdown. The last thing I needed was for my professor to think I was hitting on him. “I have an idea of what you could do to make it better.” My eyes narrowed. If he said sleep with him, I would take an F and then punch him in the face. Hands shaking with nerves, I put them behind my back and took a deep breath. “Okay, what’s your suggestion?” “Get one.”
Chapter Thirty-Two THATCH I was just finishing up with my last patient when I got the call from Austin. I started running the minute she said “hospital.” My heart had nearly stopped. The fact that she was actually conscious and talking to me told me that she was alive, but that fear, that sinking feeling of loss, still clung to me with every step into the ER. I felt sick to my stomach. Nauseated. I couldn’t lose her. Just the thought of not having her—of her even being injured—hell, it was a glorified paper cut, and I was ready to scrub in and save her life. “Sit still,” I scolded. “Or you’re going to have zigzags on the side of your hand.” “Sorry,” Austin hissed as I tugged the needle a bit harder, threading the sutures together. “It just feels funny.” “Don’t puke,” I said without looking up at her. “It’s never the pain that gets people, it’s the tug they feel when their skin’s getting pulled and pinched together.” Austin sucked in a breath and whispered, “Yeah, I’m going to need you
Chapter Thirty-Three THATCH “Just what do you think you’re doing?” I asked a guilty-looking Austin as she drank directly from the chocolate-milk carton. She froze and then slowly put the carton on the kitchen counter and wiped her face with the back of her bandaged hand. She had no idea how cute she was. Or how aroused I was by just watching her drink out of the damn milk carton. The light from the fridge cast a sexy glow across her smooth skin and nest of dark hair as strands fell across her face and long neck. She smiled, busted. “I was thirsty.” “And all the glasses were dirty?” I approached slowly, crossing my arms over my chest so I wouldn’t reach for her. Again. Because a man needs sleep. And ever since the day before—I’d been kissing her, taking her in the shower, and making sure that every single space in my apartment was christened with her presence. Including the kitchen counter. It still had remnants of chocolate sauce on parts of the granite. My blood heated at the memory.
Chapter Thirty-Four AUSTIN Things were going too well. And suddenly, that morning, I had that weird feeling where I could almost taste the tension in the air. Something felt wrong as I got ready for my last class to turn in my final assignment and found Thatch gone. I got the sense that the universe was shifting again and not in my favor. It was the same feeling I’d had the night of our breakup. He never left before me. Except for that one time when he was helping his neighbor. Concerned, I sent him a quick text and checked the time. The last thing I needed was to get docked points for being late to my final class, even though I’d completely killed that assignment. Five hundred people had started following my journey into plastic surgery—though I think most of it had to do with Thatch just being that good-looking. I’d have been addicted to the blog too—and Thatch being Thatch, he didn’t care that I added pictures of him to a few of the posts, as long as patients weren’t part of them. N