Page 40 of Tethered

I look over at him and frown.

“The others have a nickname for you. I want one too.”

I shake my head at the subject change. “You sound like a perturbed toddler.” Though I suspect he’s only trying to distract me. “She should know, right? His ex-wife, I mean.”

He doesn’t say anything for the longest time. Long enough for something to shrivel up inside me.

“I don’t know if it will make a difference. I don’t know if it will make you feel better, but I can’t see it helping her any. Perhaps if they were still together. But she’s finally free… I’ll never tell you what to do to heal. If that’s what you need, then I’ll fly you out there myself.”

The air rushes out of me, the relief so stark I almost choke on it. “I don’t know. Maybe it’s best to leave things alone. I don’t want my healing to come at the expense of someone else’s,” I tell him.

He offers me a small, understanding smile before changing the subject again. “So last up is Jackie Andrews. Wait, isn’t that Sheriff Andrews’s wife?”

“Ex-wife. They were separated before he died, apparently. She used to order from me before I went to prison and picked right up afterward. Not sure how the locals found out I was back in business so fast, but I’m assuming it was Jen.” He tenses at her name, but I just shake my head. “I already know it was you who found her for me. She told me, and when she found out why I wanted nothing to do with you, she made a dartboard with your face as the target,” I tease as he winces.

“She was the best I could find. I saw the useless public defender you were assigned to, and I knew the shit was going to hit the fan. I really wanted things to turn out different.”

“Me too. But maybe things turned out exactly how they were supposed to in the end. And just saying, I’m not sure I’d have made it without Jen, so thank you.”

“You know she fired me, right? Which is really not how it’s supposed to work. I don’t know who was paying her?—”

“Nobody. She did it for free because she believed me, believedinme, and now I pay her.”

“I’m glad you had that.”

“Me too.”

This time, when we pull up, I jump out before he can come around to open the door, mostly just to fuck with him. When he stalks around to me with a scowl on his face, I have to bite my lip to stop myself from laughing.

“I get the door.”

“I get it. You’re a big, strong man, and I’m just an itty-bitty woman. But believe it or not, I’ve managed to open doors all by my lonesome for years. Though there was that one time I tried to open it from the bottom…” I tease.

“Smart ass,” he growls, pinning me against the car.

Okay, so maybe I should have thought this through better. “Austin I?—”

“Fuck it.”

Oh shit. I heard that from Shepard right before he—All thoughts slip from my head as Austin yanks me closer and covers my mouth with his. There is nothing soft or sweet about this kiss. It’s rough and unyielding, a clash of teeth and tongue as whatever has been pulsing between us detonates, leaving chaos in its wake.

I lose myself in him, my thoughts scattered and fragmented. All I can focus on is the slide of his tongue over mine, the taste of him on my lips—coffee, mint, and a hint of something I can’t place. Whatever it is, it’s delicious, and I can’t get enough.

By the time he pulls back, I feel like putty in his hands—hands that are thankfully holding me up because my legs feel like Jello. I press my fingers to my lips, which feel swollen, and try to corral my thoughts and feelings into something manageable. But that seems impossible right now.

“Holy fuck. What was that?”

“Well, if you have to ask, I’m obviously not doing it right.” He chuckles, moving closer again. I’d back up, but the goddamn vehicle is in the way.

“Okay, slow your roll there, mister. You are not supposed to be kissing me. I have someone to kiss me—two someones, possibly. Maybe. Ugh, I keep messing everything up.”

“I’m not sure I can stop, now I know what I’ve been missing.”

“Try.”

“Never was great at following orders either. I like giving them, though,” he says, his voice dipping low.

I shiver, which makes me scowl. “Stop using your sex voice on me.”