Chapter 18

The next morning, I woke up, feeling the bright rays of the sunshine on my face which made me squint my eyes. I turned to my side to feel the warmth of his naked chest but it was empty. That’s when I noticed that I was all alone in the bed.

Fuck, was everything a dream?

I sat up with a jerk and realized that I was indeed in his house. I sighed and pulled the sheets closer to cover my naked self. Last night’s memory came rushing to my mind in flashes and I grinned like a fool. I couldn’t remember the last time I was happy like this. He made me feel so complete but there was this big question that was looming over my head and as much I tried to ignore it, I needed an answer. What were we? Were we back to casual fuck buddies or were we more than that? I had no idea and honestly, I was scared of his response. I wanted more. I wanted all of him and not just his body. I didn’t care how fuck up or complicated he was, I wanted him so much. I decided to talk about this to him later and got out of his bed. I tried to find any piece of clothing but there was nothing around.

That’s when I took a good look at his room, which was a complete mess. The walls were painted grey and a king-size bed dominated the room with back and white bedspreads. There was a poster of Elvis Presley on the wall.

Interesting.

The corner of the room, near the window, had a small bookshelf with old, worn-out books and some notebooks. I wanted to have a look at it but didn’t want to pry. Next to the bookshelf, on the wall, hung a guitar which made my eyes go wide.

Damn, who would have guessed? He was really something else.

I made my way towards the bathroom and looked at myself in the mirror. My skin was flushed and there were red marks all over my neck and chest. I traced them with my fingers as a small smile played around the corner of my lips. He does know to pleasure a woman, I'll give him that. God, he was so fucking addicting, like a drug and I couldn’t get enough of him. I thought about all the women who had a share of him and felt a pang of jealously.

Letting out a huge sigh, I washed my face and did my business. I found a light blue shirt in a basket. It smelled of him which made me drool instantly. I wore it immediately and noticed that it reached till my thighs. After throwing my hair in a bun, I went down the stairs to find him. He was nowhere in the living room and the kitchen. I saw a door on the left, next to the window in the living room, slightly ajar, and made my way towards it. I peeped inside and saw him, standing behind his desk, going through some documents, wearing thick-rimmed glasses. Oh, wow. He was shirtless and his hair was disheveled, pointing in all directions. I noticed his sharp jawline which made my fingers itch to trace it. I realized that I was staring at him for a long time and finally knocked on the door to get his attention.

“Hey,” He looked up, smiling widely and walked over to me. I walked inside and he took me off guard by smashing his lips to mine, deepening the kiss. Damn, I wish I could wake up to this every day.

“Good morning,” I blushed, pulling back out of breath. I just fucked this man all night and yet I was blushing like an idiot. What was wrong with me?

“Now, it’s a good morning.” He sighed, his arms still around my waist.

“I didn’t know you wore glasses, it looks sexy on you,” I said, biting my lips and traced his perfect jawline.

“Is it now?” he smirked, his eyes going dark with desire. My eyes fell on the files and I looked at him in confusion.

“It’s Sunday, right? What are you working on?” I asked out of curiosity. He let go of me and placed his palms on the table.

“Nothing, I just need to head out for a while,” he gave me a tight smile and I frowned at the change in his tone.

“Where?”

“Just business stuff, I’ll be back soon and don’t you go anywhere.” He kissed my forehead and removed his glasses.

“Ummm...okay,” I said in a low voice, disappointed that he had to leave. He walked past me while I sighed and dragged myself to the kitchen to make some coffee. He got dressed and came down, buttoning his shirt. I got a glimpse of his tan chest and quickly diverted my eyes from his body.

“Coffee?” I offered him as he came over to say goodbye. He shook his head and pulled me in for a kiss. It was so rough and aggressive that I could sense the need and urgency in it. He tightened his grip on my waist and I let out a low moan, feeling his cock poking my stomach.

“Ow,” I chuckled as he bit my lip.

“My clothes look good on you,” he said in a deep voice as he traced my lips, "Eat something," he pecked my lips one last time and I nodded, giving him a small smile before he walked out of the door. I started to make some breakfast and halfway through whisking the eggs, I heard the loud ringing of my phone and went to find my bag in the living room. I took out my phone and looked at the caller ID.

“Hey, Ash,” I chirped as I picked the call.

“Hey, is it a bad time?” she asked doubtfully.

“No babe, tell me.”

“Well I have some bad news,” she breathed out and I started to panic.

“Is--Is the baby okay?” I stuttered in fear.

“The baby is fine, Em. It’s about Dan.”

Dan?

“What about him?” I asked with confusion, lacing my voice.

“You need to sit down for this,” she said in a distressed tone.

“Well, Dan was behind the break-in at our house and he was the one who framed me and caused problems between us,” she stated, making me jump from my seat.

“What the fuck? Are you serious? But how? Why?” I yelled in anger as my mind was trying to understand why he would do such a thing. He was their best friend.

“Jeez, calm down, Em.” She uttered as I kept pacing around, “He slipped up about knowing how to hack and he had access to our house earlier. Jake put two and two together and confronted him. Apparently, he was jealous of Jake and how well things worked out for us. He messed up his business and I don’t know, Emma. It’s all so fucked up. They have him under custody now,” she said in a heavy tone. Fuck, this must be so hard for her and Jake. Dan was their best friend, at least that’s what they thought.

“Do you need me to come over?”

“No, it’s okay babe. Jake and Austin are going down to give their statement. Did you know that Dan was a partner in Austin’s company?” She asked in surprise.

“No,” I mumbled silently. So that’s why he had to leave this morning. Why couldn’t he tell me that? I knew nothing about what was going on in his life. It pissed me and my mood was completely ruined.

“I just hope he wasn’t messing around with Austin’s company too,” she sighed and that’s when it struck me.

“I have to go, Ash. I’ll call you back soon.” I cut the call and called Liam immediately. He picked up in two rings.

“You do realize it’s Sunday right?” He spoke in a sleepy voice and I rolled my eyes at his tone.

“Wake up, Liam. It’s important.” I yelled through the phone.

“Woah! Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed,” he grumbled and I heard some rustling in the background.

“Listen, about that lawsuit against Willams Enterprises, we closed the case because the person was using a fake identity, remember?”

“Yeah, what about it?” he replied in a lazy tone.

“What if it wasn’t for money and someone had hired her to sue the hotel. She did say that she wouldn’t hesitate to go public about it, remember?” I asked, wondering if Dan was behind this whole lawsuit.

“Why would someone do that?”

“I’ll explain it later, just send me the details of that person as soon as

possible,” I rushed out in a hurry.

“Alright, I’ll mail it to you.”

“Thanks, Liam.” I cut the call and sank on the couch, holding my head in my hands.

Fuck, this was bad.

I never liked Dan from the beginning but I didn’t think he would be so evil and disgusting. Unknowingly, he was the reason I misunderstood Austin too. This must be the reason why Austin was acting weird this morning. It must have been hard for him too. I let out a huge sigh and decided to take my mind off this stuff for a while. I lost my appetite completely and decided to take a shower.

After an hour going flipping through the channels on the TV, I was bored out of my mind, and just when I was about to text him, I heard the door open and he walked in. He looked so tired and exhausted. I walked over to him and he hugged me immediately. I hugged him back, running my hands through his hair, loving the feel of his arms around me. Neither of us said a word and remained silent.

“Why didn’t you tell me, Austin?” I asked, pulling myself back. He had a pained expression on his face and let go of me.

“Tell you what?” he asked, clearly knowing what I was talking about.

“About Dan. Ashley told me,” I said in almost a whisper. He didn't respond and walked away from me.

"I'm just trying to be there for you because I care about you,” I spoke which made him turn around. He pulled me closer to him and rested his forehead against mine, breathing heavily as if to control himself. He kissed me, roughly just like the way he did this morning and I pushed him away. My eyes filled with unshed tears.

“I--I feel like I’m just a distraction for you, Austin.” I wiped my tears angrily and walked away from him.

“Where are you going?” he shouted behind me.

“Home,” I replied, taking my bag and was about to open the door when he slammed it shut.

“Please...Don't leave me too,” he spoke as if he was in pain and I turned around to see his eyes bloodshot, almost in tears.

Holy fuck!