Crave Me (The Good Ol' Boys #4)(54)

And I always brought the party.

I was sitting at my usual spot, the best table in the club with random partygoers drinking off the bottles in front of us. Nothing had changed in almost four years.

Same scene.

Different faces.

‘Young and Beautiful’ blew through the speakers and I began to let the music take over. An unexplainable desire came over me, pulling and pushing me to walk toward the balcony. I didn’t know what I was looking for. An unfamiliar feeling settled in my stomach, in my heart, in my f*cking soul, until I locked eyes with the man I had been losing sleep over for the last three days. For the last year.

Austin.

My lips parted and my breathing hitched. I don’t know how long we stood there staring deep into each other’s eyes, as if the hundreds and hundreds of people around us disappeared. Everything faded out, the music, the lights, the crowd.

It was just him and me.

No one else.

I watched him make his way toward the stairs, our connection never breaking. Each step he took brought him closer to me.

Five…

Four…

Three…

Two…

One.

The bouncer at the end of the stairs immediately put his arm out across Austin’s chest, denying access. He didn’t have a VIP band on.

I lunged into action. “Jon, he’s fine. He’s with me!” I shouted over the music.

Jon eyed me cautiously. Never in the past four years, not even once, had I ever said someone was with me. He nodded, letting Austin through and went back to standing guard.

“How did you find—”

He took my hand, interrupting me, and placed the matches I gave him the other night in my palm. Before I realized what was happening, he grabbed my wrist and pulled me toward him, engulfing me in nothing but his whiskey, cigarette, and fresh, clean scent. Wrapping his arms around me, pressing me close to his solid, muscular frame.

“Fuck… I just wanted to make sure you were real,” he breathed out into my ear, causing shivers to course throughout my entire body.

My heart pounded against his chest. I knew he could feel it. I could feel his too.

“You are so goddamn beautiful, Briggs. Do you have any idea how f*cking breathtaking you are?”

My eyes widened. No one had ever said those words to me. No one had ever held me in their arms like I was their entire world. My hands touched his back lightly.

I was feeling so much.

Yet not nearly enough.

He pulled away just enough to caress the side of my face with his calloused thumb, still holding me close with one arm. His eyes told me he wanted to say so much, though nothing came out.

The club was partying all around us. The bright lights flashing. The DJ was killing it with the music, but none of that existed to us right then.

We were too caught up in each other to care.

“What’s your name?” he asked again with a knowing expression.

“I already told you. Briggs.”

“No…” He shook his head. “What’s your name?” he repeated, emphasizing the last three words.

I didn’t know where he was going with his question, and I wasn’t sure how to respond.

I licked my lips, my mouth suddenly becoming dry. His eyes gazed over as he followed the movement of my tongue. He wanted to kiss me and I so desperately wanted him to. He was causing all sorts of feelings deep within me, and the son of a bitch knew it.

“Why are you here, Austin? You know what I do. The truth’s out. Why are—”

“Is that why you left that night? The night I met you on the balcony? Because you’re a dealer?”

“Yes.”

His hand moved to the nook of my neck, gripping it a little too hard but not hard enough.

“I’m here for you,” he simply stated, not caring about what I’d just admitted. “So, I will ask you one more time. What’s your name?”

“Oh shit!” a girl giggled, running into the side of us, breaking our connection.

He immediately held her up with a firm grip on her upper arm. His other arm still firmly wrapped around my waist.

“You alright?” he asked, trying to steady her.

She nodded, barely realizing she was drunk as shit. Austin glanced over at me and I knew what he was asking. I stepped aside, so he could help her sit down on the couch. He filled one of the glasses with ice water, handing it to her.

“Drink some water,” he told her.

With shaky hands, she brought the glass to her lips, took a sip and gazed up at him, like she had just fallen in love. He was taking care of her like a knight in shining armor. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t jealous, when I had no right to be.

At that moment I realized that Austin had a good heart. He was not only charming, but he was loving, caring, and genuine. I wanted to get to know more of him. I wanted to get to know everything.

And that scared me more than anything.





Chapter 16





<>Briggs<>



I leaned back against the railing and he followed suit.

“You really are a Southern gentleman, huh?”

He grinned with a mischievous gaze in his eyes.

“She will be fine. She’s notorious for being a hot mess.”

“I’ve seen worse. Shit, I’ve done worse,” he confessed, rubbing the back of his neck.