The Way the Story Goes Read online

Suddenly, food was the last thing on Austin’s mind. Tossing the half-eaten slice down, he carefully wiped his hands on his napkin before tossing that aside too.

  Wordlessly, he stood and held out a hand to Mia, and when she took it, he led her back over to the couch. Neither said anything; words weren’t necessary. With his arms around her, Austin lowered them both to the cushions as his lips touched hers. After that, there was nothing slow about anything they were doing and he wasn’t sure if he was the one being ruthless and claiming her or if it was the other way around.

  Mia’s hands raked through his hair, gripping it in her fists as her tongue dueled with his. Aggressive women were never his style, but with Mia, he would definitely make the exception because…damn. She was incredibly sexy like this. The mild-mannered author she was during the day was a direct contrast to the vixen in his arms right now and he wanted more.

  Wanted all of her.

  As if of one mind, Mia was beneath him—wrapped around him—and when Austin let his body rest fully against hers and nestled between her thighs, he swore nothing had ever felt this good.

  “Is this crazy?” she breathlessly asked between kisses. “It’s only been a few weeks. We shouldn’t be this frantic for each other.”

  Austin gently bit her throat before running his tongue over the spot. “I’ve been frantic for you since I carried you into the house. It’s killing me waiting for you to finish this book.” He kissed her until they were both gulping for air.

  “Who cares about finishing the book? We could…oh, I love when you do that…” Her back arched and her breasts were firmly pressed up against his chest. “We could go inside right now. We both want to. Why wait?”

  Why indeed?

  She forced his lips back to hers and kissed him until he could barely remember his own name, and this time when they broke apart, Austin looked down at her and knew he had to be the voice of reason.

  Sometimes having a conscience sucks…

  Resting his forehead against hers, he sighed. “I would love nothing more than to pick you up and take you to bed and keep you there all weekend,” he said gruffly.

  “But…”

  “But…you and I both know you need to put all your focus on finishing this book.”

  “Well…not all of my focus,” she said lightly, but he heard the regret there.

  He kissed her softly. “I’m greedy, Mia. Once we take this into the bedroom, it’s not going to be something quick. I’m going to take my time and give you so much pleasure you won’t be able to think about your book, your characters, or anything. When we make love, I want your full attention.” Another kiss. “Because I plan on giving you mine.”

  “Oh,” she said, her voice filled with a hint of wonder. “I, um…I guess you’re right.”

  And for the first time in his life, he hated hearing that.

  “If that’s the way you feel,” she went on, “then I’m going to have to work really hard. Like…no distractions until I send this book to Jillian on Monday. And if you come over at all, I’m going to be seriously distracted.”

  “So…I can’t see you until Monday?”

  She nodded solemnly. “Unfortunately, yes.”

  “Damn.”

  But then her smile turned a little wicked and her hands gently gripped his hair again. “We need to make this night count then—even if we keep in it fairly PG-13.”

  Doing his best to settle more comfortably on top of her, he agreed.

  “And just know this, I’m going to expect to be greatly rewarded for this Monday night for all my hard work,” she told him. “Both with the book and for not being allowed to get us both naked.”

  This girl…

  “Sweetheart, I promise I will make it all up to you and reward you until we both pass out.”

  “I’m going to hold you to that.”

  As he lowered his head, he replied, “I hope you will.”

  6

  Threats were being made.

  Alliances were being formed.

  And yet for all her strong feelings about the entire situation—and how much she agreed with her neighbors in the beginning—Melanie was having second thoughts. Somewhere along the line, blackmail had turned to passion, and that passion was making her either blind and stupid or giving her the ability to see clearly for the first time.

  Maybe Austin wasn’t the enemy.

  Maybe his gruff and arrogant attitude was hiding something else.

  Like the fact that the people of this little subdivision treated him poorly. There was a strong possibility he was lashing out in the only way he knew how, because so many of her neighbors thought they were better than him.

  Herself included at one point.

  But now? Now she wasn’t so sure, and if she didn’t do something to turn things around, Austin was a dead man.

  Literally.

  There wasn’t a doubt in her mind that any one of them was capable of murder—especially when pushed to the breaking point. But when she thought about the man who had given her hours of pleasure and worshipped her body like it had never been worshipped before, Melanie had a hard time reconciling which was the real Austin.

  And with the way her neighbors were carrying on, she didn’t have long to figure it out.

  Mia glanced at the screen and frowned.

  Again.

  Somehow, this campy little murder mystery was turning into a romance and for the life of her she didn’t know why.

  Liar.

  Okay, she kind of had a clue, but…Mia Kingsley didn’t write romances. She wrote thrillers and mysteries. Her readers would pitch a fit if suddenly she was writing happily-ever-afters.

  Wouldn’t they?

  Now wasn’t the time to be thinking about that. She had sent in the manuscript for Twisted Deception this morning, and because she needed a distraction, Mia opened the file on this book and decided to put a little work in on it.

  “Should probably be putting a little work into doing something with myself,” she murmured.

  Honestly, the day was already eventful and it was barely after lunch.

  After sending the book to Jillian, she called Sydney, who cheered and screamed with glee at the work finally being done. They talked about meeting up for lunch and then getting pedicures, but Mia was a little too keyed up and asked for a raincheck. Once she hung up, she changed the sheets on the bed and cleaned the bedroom and master bathroom. And when she should have taken a nice hot shower and relaxed, instead she pulled up Deadly Renovation and an hour later, here she was.

  Maybe turning down the chance to go for a pedicure was a mistake. Although…looking down at her toes, Mia had to admit they didn’t look too bad. Nothing a quick coat of polish to freshen up wouldn’t help. Then her mind wandered to what she was going to wear, how did she want her hair to look, and…

  That’s when the reality of it all hit her.

  They’d never made plans.

  Other than the fact that they were going to get together—and sleep together—nothing else was planned!

  “Oh, crap!” Jumping up, she began to pace and wasn’t sure just what she was supposed to do. Did she go shopping and prepare a dinner for them? Make reservations? But…what if Austin already had plans in motion? And what if he wanted to surprise her? Wouldn’t calling him ruin that? Groaning, she hung her head and shook it.

  Walking into the living room, she glanced out the window toward his house to see if he was outside.

  He wasn’t.

  With no other choice, she had to text him.

  Mia: Book is officially in my editor’s hands

  Austin: Be ready at 7

  Staring down at the screen, she was more confused than she was a minute ago.

  Mia: Ready? Are we going out? Should I order dinner?

  Austin: Not going out and I’ve got everything else under control. See you at 7.

  Swallowing hard, she said, “Well alright then…” And immediately sprang into action.

  Sliding her shoe
s on, Mia was down in the garage and in her car while making a list in her head of everything she needed to stop and get.

  First was breakfast food. She was a little obsessed with omelets and anything with bacon, and even though she rarely indulged when it was just her, knowing that Austin would be with her in the morning meant she could treat herself.

  Next was wine.

  Chances are he might have that covered, but an extra bottle or two wouldn’t hurt.

  And lastly, she was going to Henderson’s Bakery to pick up a few sweet treats. Normally she would just bake like she had with the brownies the other day, but there wasn’t enough time and somehow, she didn’t think her focus was particularly there right now.

  Pulling into the one shopping center in town, Mia parked and fortunately two of her three stops were right here.

  So was a nail salon.

  Climbing out of the car, she let out a long breath. “Screw it. I deserve a little pampering.” And refusing to feel guilty about it, Mia walked over to Glitter Girls and smiled when they took her right away.

  An hour later, with pretty red toes, she went into the grocery store and bought all the makings for a fabulous breakfast, and after putting those bags in the car, she strolled into the liquor store and grabbed two bottles of her favorite wine.

  Once she was back at the house and everything was put away, Mia opted to take a long, hot bath to help her relax. It seemed crazy to be this nervous about seeing Austin and being with him tonight—especially after all the nights she willingly climbed on top of him on her sofa—and yet…she was.

  There wasn’t a doubt in her mind that sex with him was going to be amazing. With some guys, you just knew. What worried her was that he was going to be disappointed in her. Mia knew she’d had good sex, some not-so-good sex, and only one guy fit into the amazing category.

  Chris LaRosa, and that was back in her junior year of college, so…it had been a while.

  After a few disappointing partners, Mia thought it was just a common thing—not all guys were good in bed. But the more she talked to her friends, she began to worry that it was her.

  So yeah, she was more than a little nervous about tonight because she desperately wanted things to be good with Austin. Putting pressure on herself certainly wasn’t going to help anything, but…she couldn’t seem to help it.

  Sinking into the tub, Mia let her head rest back on the tub cushion and sighed.

  This is exactly what I needed…

  This relationship with Austin wasn’t destined to go anywhere. Neither lived here and even where they lived the rest of the year wasn’t anywhere near each other so…maybe that is what she should focus on since this was really more of a casual thing.

  Only…it didn’t feel casual.

  At all.

  Her first reaction to him was anger—a strong emotion. Her next was attraction, and that was pretty damn strong too. And now? Now she found that she thoroughly enjoyed his company. She loved talking with him and just being around him. They had similar tastes in food and wine and music. They didn’t quite agree on movies—and considering the only books he admitted to reading since high school were hers, she couldn’t really say they agreed there, either. If the sex ended up being good with him, Mia didn’t know what she was going to do because…she had no idea how to do a casual relationship. Hell, she didn’t even know how she was doing this relationship with Austin because he was so different from any other man she’d dated.

  Growing up the way she did and having the parents she did meant she dated a lot of guys who were also academic types. Studious. Stuffy.

  Boring.

  If anything, her parents actively encouraged it and were constantly introducing her to men they considered suitable for her.

  None of them made her feel even one-tenth of the things she felt for Austin.

  He was incredibly smart and an amazing architect—he showed her multiple pictures of homes and buildings he’d designed—but he was a little more…earthy and laid back. He worked with his hands and cursed like a sailor and he had little patience for books, poetry, history, or anything she normally discussed with the men in her life.

  Instead, they talked about everything and nothing, they laughed, they touched, and he showed her there was so much more to life than just keeping her nose stuck in a book.

  Even when it was her own book and she was writing it.

  But more than anything, he had listened to her talk about her work and helped her bring passion back to her writing after such a long dry spell.

  Weeks.

  It had only been a few weeks and yet it felt like so much longer—like she had been waiting for this night for months rather than twenty-one days.

  And that freaked her out too.

  “Okay, think of something else,” she softly chided herself. And instead of fixating on time, Mia opted to focus on little things like shaving her legs and using one of those sheet masks on her face. Once she was done in the tub, she slathered her favorite body cream all over and hoped Austin would like the scent.

  Next came her hair and picking out an outfit and by the time she was done it was barely five.

  “Great. Now what am I supposed to do for the next two hours?” Of course, there was always writing, but…Mia was fairly certain it would be pointless and her words would end up being gibberish. She could call Sydney but…her friend had a busy life of her own and at this time of day, she was probably making dinner with her family.

  Wandering around the house aimlessly seemed to be all she was capable of before she decided to go and sit out on the deck. Maybe listening to the sound of the waves would relax her so the time would pass faster.

  Not likely, but it’s worth a shot…

  But when she turned toward the back door, she gasped.

  Austin was standing on the other side of the glass looking fierce.

  Uh-oh…

  Sliding open the door, she said, “Hey, is everything okay?”

  It suddenly struck her how much bigger he was than her as he towered over her. He took one step forward and then another—effectively making her take a few steps back. Once they were both inside, he said, “No.”

  It was practically a growl.

  “Oh, um…what’s going on?”

  Mia saw him swallow hard as he took another step toward her. This time she didn’t move.

  “I can’t work. I can’t think,” he said. “Ever since I got your text.”

  His confession was more than a little thrilling, but she wasn’t exactly sure what to say.

  Reaching up, Austin caressed her cheek. “Tell me to leave, Mia,” he said, his voice so low and gruff she barely heard him. “Tell me to go and come back later.”

  “I can’t,” she replied, her own voice more of a breathless whisper. “I don’t want you to go.”

  “Good.” Then he was all around her—his arms, his scent—it was all consuming as he leaned in and kissed her. There was a wildness there that was stronger than she’d ever felt with him, and she knew it was because this was finally happening. No one was saying goodnight or goodbye tonight.

  Thank God…

  And just like the very first day they met, Austin scooped her up into his arms and carried her away.

  The whole time he was walking over to Mia’s, Austin cursed his impulsiveness.

  You’re going to scare her.

  You’re going to ruin everything.

  But now that he was here, and she was clinging to him like he was essential to her very being? He was glad, for once, that he acted on impulse.

  It was the truth—from the moment she texted him, he couldn’t accomplish a damn thing. After an hour of starting and stopping half a dozen different projects, he had simply given up and gone to shower and change into clean clothes. Once that was done, however, there was no way he could sit at home any longer.

  Luckily, Mia seemed more than happy to see him show up early.

  The master bedroom was on the main floor just like the o
ne over at Ryder’s place, and Austin was thankful for it. Slowly, he lowered them both to the bed and smiled against her lips as they both sighed with relief at finally being there.

  Smiling down at her, he felt like he could finally breathe. “Hey,” he said softly.

  “Hey, yourself.” One small hand reached up to stroke his jaw. He had grown a beard in the last year and now wondered if it was something she liked. The way she was touching him said she did, but…

  In his mind, Austin envisioned coming to Mia’s, hauling her into his arms and having her naked by the time they got to the bedroom. But now that they were here, he realized they had all night—and because he was here so early, part of the day, too. So…why rush?

  She had on another one of those long flowy dresses she favored, and he could tell she didn’t have on a bra. Gently, he caressed her shoulder and toyed with one of the thin straps. So many times while they’d been lying on the couch kissing like a pair of horny teenagers, she told him he could remove her top or slide her dress down, but he always said no. Why?

  For this moment.

  Mia’s gaze met his. “Do it,” she urged, and it was all the invitation he needed.

  Slowly, one strap slid off and he shifted so he could do the same to the other side. Mia helped by lifting her arms out and grinned at him as she let them rest above her head.

  Austin swore his hand shook as he lowered the fabric and uncovered her breasts. His breath hissed out because they were perfect and he couldn’t decide whether to touch or taste first.

  So he opted for both.

  One hand cupped her breast as he lowered his head and teased her nipple with his tongue. Mia’s back arched and she let out the sexiest little moan. It was his new ambition to have her making that sound over and over before they were done here.

  Her hands anchored into his hair, holding him close.

  As if he needed any help or encouragement there…

  “I’ve been wanting to feel your mouth there since that first night,” she said quietly before moaning again as he gently bit the swell of her breast.

  Her little admission turned him on more than he thought possible.

  Carefully, he pushed up so he could slide her dress off of her completely. Mia complied by lifting her hips and then pulled him back down once he tossed the garment to the floor. He never even got a chance to fully look at her, and when he lifted his head, she whined her displeasure.