Crave Me (The Good Ol' Boys #4)(52)

Hearing him say my name made my belly flutter again. It had the same effect on me at the door when he first said it.

I shrugged, smiling.

Silently hoping he would catch my expression in the air and place it near his heart, like he did when we first met.

He didn’t.

I shook off the sentiment, picking up all the bags and putting them away in my backpack.

“At least let me smoke you out,” he offered, setting the cigarette on the corner of his lips to grab the weed Mike left behind. He started rolling up a joint.

“I don’t get high off my own stash. Drug dealer 101.”

He grinned, glancing over at me with mischievous eyes before returning to his task at hand.

“But… umm… I can stay… I mean for bit... you know? Hang out.”

We locked eyes.

“I mean if you’re not—”

“I’d like that,” he interrupted, nodding toward the seat next to him.

I sat down. His fresh, clean scent assaulted my senses with a mixture of smoke, weed, and something else I couldn’t quite place.

Austin.

My body instantly burned all over, remembering how in my dreams his hands, his tongue, his body were all over me. I had to look away, my face turning a deep shade of red.

He scoffed out a chuckle and I had a feeling he noticed, but he was being a gentleman and not calling me out on it.

“I went to Washington,” he muffled with the cigarette still placed in the corner of his lips.

I hated smoking. I hated the smell and how the stench stuck to everything no matter how much you cleaned it. Most of all I hated the sudden taste of an ashtray assaulting your mouth when a smoker kissed you. There was nothing I liked about it.

Except, Austin…

He had a way of making it look so f*cking sexy, making me wish I were the filter that was pressed against his lips.

“What?” I replied, realizing what he just said.

He chuckled, vibrating against my arm.

“Washington. I went there.”

I didn’t know what to say, so I didn’t say anything.

“You don’t talk much, do ya?”

“Seems that way, huh?” I laughed. “There’s not much to see in Washington,” I brushed it off.

“I know. I didn’t find you,” he simply stated, catching me off guard.

As if what he just shared didn’t mean anything, when it meant everything.

He finished rolling the joint, took one last drag of his cigarette, stubbing it out in the ashtray in front of him.

“You looked for me?” I asked, needing to know.

He lit the joint, sitting sideways to face me. Our faces now inches apart.

“What if I did?” he blew the words out with the smoke from his lungs.

“Why?”

“Why not?”

“You only met me once. What would possess you to come looking for me?”

“I was backpacking, Briggs, and something led me to Washington when I left Miami. I didn’t realize it until I got off the train.” He smiled. “What can I say? When I want something, I go after it.”

Leaning in close to my lips, for a second I thought he was going to kiss me. For a moment, I thought I was going to get everything I had been dreaming about for the last year.

His lips.

His tongue.

His hands.

Him.

Instead he looked deep into my eyes and spoke with conviction,

“And… I want you.”





Chapter 15





<>Austin<>



Her phone rang before she could respond, breaking our connection.

I hated that she had to leave me to go deal more drugs.

I hated that she could be in situations that could quickly turn extremely dangerous.

And I f*cking hated the son of a bitch who had her doing this. Not caring about her goddamn safety.

I saw a shadow of man around the corner when she left. I assumed it was her protection in case something went wrong. I knew Briggs could take care of herself, but at the end of the day she was still just a girl. A hot-as-f*ck girl. Something told me that men appreciated much more than just the drugs she was supplying. For some reason the thought of her being with another man f*cking pissed me off.

She left the hotel room so damn fast. I didn’t have a chance to get her number. I knew Mike had it, but I didn’t want to call her on that number.

I didn’t want Briggs, the drug dealer.

I wanted Briggs, the girl I met on the balcony.

The one who danced like nobody was watching, but seemed to captivate her audience with each sway of her curvy hips. The girl who was shy and timid, the girl who blushed from just a few words from my mouth. The girl who would one day rip my damn heart out.

The girl I knew was hiding behind the tattoos and purple hair.

I hadn’t seen her in three days, three f*cking days and it felt like an eternity. Even the pills didn’t ease my anxiety. They only reminded me of her. It was Friday night and we had no plans. I sat on the bed racking my brain like I had done for the past three sleepless nights. Consumed with never-ending thoughts of her.

I lit my cigarette. The matches Briggs left behind were in my hands, I kept turning the box around.

They were taunting me.

There was a club logo on it with a website and phone number underneath.