Hailey's Truth (20 page)

Hailey closed her eyes and bunched her fists at her side, powerless to do anything but feel. The tug and throb was back, deep in her center, stronger, as Austin continued, relentless.

Small, throaty purrs escaped her throat. Unable to be still, she slid her fingers through his hair, traced his ear, lost in the sensations Austin brought.

He moved to straddle her thighs, his hands spanning the sides of her waist, his touch sending her system raging. Bending, he nibbled her stomach, around her bellybutton, down her hips. She moaned as his fingers snuck under her panties.

As excitement built, as their intimacy increased, Hailey tensed, waiting for Mother’s words, certain they were just a thought away.

“Look at me, Hailey.”

The gentle demand in his voice left her no choice. She met his eyes as he pulled her panties down her legs. Everything but Austin vanished. He sent the black fabric to the floor, snagged her foot in his hand, skimmed her arch with his fingers, started his way back up, stopping at her anklebone, his mouth exploring. His tongue and teeth left her reeling as he teased the back of her knees. Her breath came in pants as his eyes promised more.

He stopped at her thighs, caressing her trembling legs. She was ready for madness, pulsing, waiting, wanting him inside.

“Austin, I’m ready.”

He flashed her one of his killer grins. “Let’s see.” He ran two fingers over her scorching flesh, missing both marks. Her brows furrowed as she groaned her frustration. She needed him to
touch
her. Her body ached from the agonizing wait. “Austin, please.”

The pad of his thumb found her, then began to trace, to rub in slow, torturous circles.

She gasped, grabbed the sheets, fisting them in her hands as a flood of electric heat built, filling her with sensation. Whimpering, she begged, ready to burst.

He added more pressure, keeping his lazy pace. Her hips gyrated out of control as she grasped for the peak, just out of reach. Husky moan after husky moan filled the room, as she climbed higher until white-hot flames careened through her center, through her core, and sent her over the overwhelming edge. A long, loud cry escaped her lips as she quivered, shuddering with the shock that swept her body.

She was sure she couldn’t take anymore until Austin brought her a new sensation. His tongue flicked and she arched to meet it. “Austin. Austin,” she moaned, losing her thought as he slipped, slid, suckled, probed over and over until she tensed, convulsing against his mouth.

When Austin relented, Hailey sat up, craving one thing only—to feel his body cover hers, to feel him moving inside. Her gaze trailed over him, stopping at the bulge in his shorts as he undid his button, as he tugged at the zipper. He yanked off his pants, pulling his boxers with them.

Hailey stared. Holy dear God, he was huge. She swallowed as he crawled toward her.

He met her in the center of the bed and took her lips. As tongue played against tongue, she moved her hand, touching him hesitantly at first until he groaned. “Wrap your hand around me,” he said against her mouth. She did, and he tipped his head back on a rough sigh. Hailey slid her hand up and down, slowly, until he panted and his stomach muscles quivered.

Bringing Austin to the edge left her heady with power. She sped up, sinking her teeth into his chin as he shuddered.

He pushed her back on the bed, covered her with his body, leaving hurried, hungry kisses along her neck, her jaw, as he nestled himself between her legs. He pressed at her center. Shivering, she came to her senses. “Wait, Austin.” She pushed at his shoulders. “ Do you have anything?” she asked, struggling as he ravaged her mouth. “I’m on birth control, but I only started it a couple months ago. I’m a little nervous about free diving.”

He sat up, breath heaving, reached for his shorts. He dug into his wallet and removed a gold-foiled package. “I made a quick stop off while we both showered and changed for dinner—thank
God
.”

She smiled, flattered that he had thought ahead to this, that he had been wanting her as much as she wanted him.

Austin ripped the package open and took the rubber from the foil.

“Let me.” She nibbled her lip as his gaze shot to meet hers.

He handed her the condom. She grasped him and he clenched his jaw. Her eyes stayed on his as she rolled the condom over him.

He pushed a strand of hair from her face. “Hailey, I need you, right now.”

She’d never heard anything better. She held out her arms, welcoming him.

Their mouths met and he laid her back. His weight pressed against her as he settled himself between her legs again. He suckled at her bottom lip before his tongue sank deep, leaving her breathless. She played with his hair, reveling in the feel, as the kissed turned hungry.

Austin pushed himself forward, slowly entering her. She gasped, clamping her fingers around his powerful forearms, holding on as twin spears of pleasure and pain catapulted through her. She whimpered from his size with each gentle thrust.

“Hailey, oh my God, Hailey,” he said on a strangled gasp. “You feel so good.”

She sucked in a breath, sure she couldn’t handle him.

“I’m trying to be gentle.” His voice was strained.

“I know.”

“Just relax, Hailey.” He pressed his forehead to hers, moved his hand down, finding her. He stopped thrusting, concentrated on her, until she no longer felt the tight fit of having him inside.

Her fingers tensed and relaxed against his shoulders, in time with his rapid circles. When her breath shuddered in and out, he plied her with kisses. Her hips moved, urging him on, as the tingling heat traveled deep inside, through her stomach, making her shudder.

Austin began to move again, slowly at first as she gasped. She tried to speak but words failed her as she let out a strangled cry of pleasure. Dear God, what was he doing to her? How was it possible to live through something like this? As his finger sent her over, he quickened his thrusts.

She arched her head back and called out for him. She clutched around him in spasms, her body trembling uncontrollably. Each time he thrust, she contracted, shuddering on an endless moan.

Her hands grasped his shoulders, his arms, as her shattering orgasm consumed her entirely.

Austin took her mouth, once, twice, in between her gasps and his. He mumbled something unintelligible before he rested his head against her shoulder and thrust himself deep, tensing with a strangled groan.

Chapter 14

A
USTIN KISSED HAILEY’S SHOULDER, WATCHING the pulse pound in her neck. Her breath still shuddered in and out as his did. He lifted his head and stared at her. Hailey’s eyes were closed, her cheeks rosy, the hair around her forehead damp. She was beautiful.

Austin touched his lips to hers and her lids flew open. He smiled as he settled his weight on his arms. “You gonna make it?”

“I’m not sure. That was…insanely amazing.”

He grinned. “That doesn’t hurt my feelings.”

She beamed back. “Doesn’t hurt mine either.” Hailey pulled his face to hers and kissed him.

“I have to get up.”

“No, stay here.” She wrapped her arms around his waist.

“I’ll be back. If I don’t get to the trash, the whole purpose of the condom will be null and void.”

“Oh, yeah. Right.” She released her grip, and he pulled himself free.

“Be back in a second.” He went to the bathroom and came out to find Hailey snuggled under the covers. “You’re cold?”

“Mmm. I just had a
major
workout. I did a lot of sweating. Now I’m chilly, a little weak, a little shaky. But it was definitely worth it.” She wiggled her brows, smiling.

Damn, he couldn’t get enough of her. “I see.” He crawled under the blankets, and pulled her closer, needing to touch her skin.

She snuggled in, sighing.

Austin looked down as she closed her eyes again. “Are you ready to call it a night?”

“Hmm?”

He shut off the music pouring from the television and her lids fluttered open.

“I wouldn’t mind watching TV. Maybe there’s a movie on.”

“In a minute.” He was curious about the little hiccup in their evening. “Hailey, what happened a while back?”

“What do you mean?”

He played his finger over her cheekbone, over her ear. “I’m trying to figure out what I did to make you uncomfortable.”

“You didn’t do anything to make me uncomfortable.”

“For a couple minutes there, I wasn’t sure.”

“You did everything right.” She picked up his hand, played with his fingers. “This is the first time I actually feel normal afterwards.”

He frowned. “I’m not following you.”

She slid her hands along his arm, but wouldn’t meet his eyes. “I can count the number of times I’ve had sex on three fingers. This is the first time I actually enjoyed it.”

Austin’s frown deepened. Another layer to Hailey he hadn’t expected. She was stunningly hot, so incredibly outgoing and confident. He noticed the way other men looked at her. He’d just assumed her more experienced. Thinking back, he remembered her covering herself as she told him she couldn’t relax. “How come?”

She shrugged. “Some people aren’t very good at sex.”

He tilted her face until she met his gaze. “Do you hear me complaining?”

“You’re too much of a gentleman.”

“I promise you that the thoughts I’m having about you right now, about what I want to do to you this very second, are anything but gentlemanly.”

Her eyes widened and he smiled. He drew her bottom lip into his mouth, traced her top lip with is tongue. “I’m not always a nice guy, and I’m definitely not always gentle. You make my blood run plenty hot, Hailey. Remember that.”

“I—I…” she let out a whoosh of breath. “What am I supposed to say to that?”

He chuckled. “Nothing. It’s simple truth. Maybe the man you were with was a dick.”

“Men, Austin. I’ve been with two different men before you. When you can’t get into it with either, you have to start looking for common denominators. That would be me.”

“Sometimes there aren’t any common denominators.”

A small smile ghosted her mouth. “Maybe.”

There was more to this story; he wanted it. “You’re a puzzle. Just when I think I have you figured out, I find another piece.”

She shrugged. “I’m not that hard to figure out.”

“For the most part, no. But then we get back to those pieces. I want them, Hailey.”

“Why?”

“Because you fascinate me.”

Her brow winged up. “I’m not that fascinating.”

He rolled on top of her. “We’ll have to disagree there.” He brushed the hair back from her face, trailed his fingers along her jaw, her neck. He couldn’t stop touching her. “Tell me your story, Hailey.” He pressed his lips to hers. “You trusted me with your body; trust me with the rest.”

“You’re asking a lot.”

He kissed her again, drawing out the wave of contentment that came from holding her close. “I know.” Something changed as he lay over her, looking into her honey eyes. This was no longer about
wanting
to know—he needed to.

Hailey closed her eyes and, pressed her lips together, took a deep breath. “After I left Jeremy in the hospital, I went to my temporary foster house. I can’t say it was a home; it was just the place where I ended up stuck for three years. I hated it there as much as Mother Frazier hated having me.”

He curled a strand of her hair around his finger. “She was your foster mom?”

Hailey opened her eyes. “She was my foster parent. Loraine was my mom.”

“Sorry.” He kissed the tip of her nose.

“No, I am.” She sighed.

This was painful for her, but he pushed, wanting to understand the deepest parts of her. “Why do you think Mother Frazier disliked you?”

“I don’t
think
, I
know
. And she didn’t simply dislike me. She hated me. She made that point clear from the beginning. I was a sinning slut like the whore who made me.”

The embers of rage burned low in his belly as he listened. Her body, relaxed moments ago, grew tense beneath him. He was about to stop her, but she continued.

“I’d always loved school growing up. I was involved in
everything
. But then my parents died. After, I wasn’t allowed to stay and participate in anything, but the six-and-a-half hours I was there, I relished. I didn’t have to clean the house or take care of Mother Frazier’s biological children and her two other foster kids. I didn’t have to get down on my knees and pray for hours to ‘wash away my sins’. But most of all, I didn’t have to listen to Mother Frazier’s rants about my sinful beauty or slutty body.”

“For Christ’s sake, Hailey.” He could hardly stand to listen to what she’d lived through. “Did you tell someone?”

“No.”

“
Why
?”

“Because there wasn’t any point. The State would’ve done an investigation—maybe—and it would’ve made my life more of a living hell when they found nothing substantial. I was fed, clothed, and sent to school every day, where I made top marks. They weren’t going to take me away from the Fraziers’, and, she would’ve made me pay.”

He rested his forehead against hers and clasped their fingers together. The woman he held was a miracle. How did someone who lived through that stay so sweet and kind? It would’ve been so easy to be eaten up by bitterness. “I’m so sorry, Hailey.”

She shrugged. “There’s nothing to apologize for.”

He took her face in his hands. “Yes, there is. I’m apologizing for the social workers who let you down, for that Frazier bitch who didn’t see you for who you are.”

Her eyes filled. “Please, Austin.” A tear slid into her hair as she sniffed. “It doesn’t do any good to get upset about something that happened so long ago.”

He shook his head, still seething. She pressed her palms to his cheeks, a gesture of soothing, when he should’ve been the one providing comfort.

“It wasn’t all bad. One of my teachers—I think she must’ve known what was going on—made it so I could take accelerated classes during the summer months. When I left Redding behind, I took my high school diploma with me. If I hadn’t had Ms. Berry looking out for me, I would’ve left a dropout. I think she knew I was biding my time, waiting. When I turned eighteen, I was leaving one way or the other. I’m lucky I got to leave the way I did.”