Romancing Austin Read online

  He couldn’t help smiling. He’d never forget her face. Sharp features, which included a long nose and huge pouty lips, but it was her eyebrows that completed the picture. Lana clearly did the female thing and had them shaped. They were too perfect to be otherwise. What struck him was how full they were. Lana was the type of a woman some Italian painter would have portrayed during the Renaissance.

  “You’re staring at me.” She set her glass on the bar and it made a large clink.

  “You’re beautiful. It’s easy to look at you.”

  She waved her hand as if to indicate the room. “Stare at someone else.”

  He looked around for no other reason than to appease her. She was a woman who needed a break. How badly did you have to be pushed to shove a bag and your job at your boss?

  He caught the gazes of two of his employees. They waved with a lot of gusto. He grinned. They’d be hung over in the morning. It was a good thing he’d given them a few days off to enjoy South by Southwest. Employees weren’t productive when they’d rather be somewhere else.

  “Nope,” he turned back to Lana, “I think I’d rather focus all my attention on you.”

  “Why? Don’t you want to gaze at Dexter adoringly?”

  “Let’s try a new refrain. We’ve had the Dexter back and forth already. I’ve registered it. You hate him. I don’t care one way or another about DBR. I listen to eighties’ punk. How about you?”

  She pursed her lips. Whatever she was about to say, he’d wager money she would shout it. He could feel it in his bones. In their short acquaintance, Lana liked to yell. God, she was really going to be an exciting person to know.

  So completely impolite on the street—and he had to admit, in the elevator. Yet, when she’d collided with him in her haste to get away from DBR, she’d apologized. Somewhere in all her bluster was a huge heart. He could see her light.

  “I enjoy listening to Broadway musicals.” She shouted the fifth word, exactly as he’d known she would. “And any other music found in New York City.”

  “Ah, I can feel an Austin dig coming on. And your criticism of my beloved city, I won’t take. Hate DBR all you want. Hate Austin? No, ma’am, no one with a soul can hate my city.”

  The full blaze of Lana’s temper turned on him and all straight from her eyes. What did it say about him that he got so fucking hard? Tonight would be an important turning point in his life; he could feel revelations buzzing in his bones. By the end of the evening, he would know himself better.

  Life was funny. The universe showed him truths at the most unexpected times. He’d known when he saw her on the street he had to purposely bump into her. She was a woman he needed to become acquainted with.

  “Have you ever been to Manhattan?”

  He smiled. “Sure.”

  “And you wouldn’t rather be there than anywhere else in the universe?”

  He threw his head back and laughed. “Right, Lana, baby.” He had to add the last bit to watch her color rise. “I’m right where I want to be.”

  Her grin twisted. “Hey, can I ask you a question?”

  “Sure.” Her query would be great, her mind had so far taken her mouth to really unusual statements.

  “If any of the bedrooms in here are unoccupied, would you want to fuck me? A really big quasi-anonymous romp in the sheets? Immediately?”

  Yowzer. He hadn’t seen her proposition coming. For a second, he forgot to breathe. A woman hadn’t hit on him so forcefully since college. These days, ladies were all about relationships.

  He wanted to get to know Lana and she asked for anonymous sex. Signals were getting crossed here. “I don’t know.”

  “Oh.” She stuttered, “Never mind. My question was ridiculous. I’m sorry. I’m actually not this girl.”

  “Maybe I need a taste first before I decide.” He pressed her against the bar a second before he gave in to the need to kiss her.

  She gasped and then her mouth softened. Before long, she kissed him back. He hadn’t been wrong. She had gorgeous lips and they were perfect for making out.

  His cock hardened and his balls ached. So close to him, she had to be able to feel how much he wanted her. His penis had made its presence very well known.

  Finally, he pulled back. “Okay. I’m game if you are, Lana.”

  Her eyes were glazed and it took a moment for her to answer. “Usually the second bedroom is empty.”

  “Come on.” He took her by the hand and led her through the crowd and then upstairs. A group surrounded DBR. He’d clearly moved on from being hollered at, which didn’t surprise him at all. The man had way too many narcissistic tendencies to hold on to any angst directed at him.

  All of the rock stars he’d met in his life, and there had been an abundance since he’d opened the club, were exactly the same way.

  “You’re turning out to be a surprising person.” She spoke up to be heard; even as close as they were, it was loud in the hallway. “Very different than the way I thought you’d be out on the street.”

  “Most people have to be careful with first impressions.”

  He knocked on the door to what he assumed was a bedroom before he opened it. The room was empty. A quick assessment told him it was a guestroom. He wouldn’t be surprised if, akin to every other rock star he’d known, DBR had paintings of himself all over his own bedroom.

  “Most people?” She closed the door behind them.

  “Correct. Most people don’t notice enough the first time they look at someone or something to really see it.” He pulled her against him. “Lana. What is your last name?”

  “Del Monaco.”

  “Pretty.” She smelled of cinnamon and he knew it had nothing to do with hair products. Lana lacked the stink of chemicals. She drank cinnamon in her coffee, he’d bet money on it. It stayed on her skin all day long.

  “Ah, thanks.”

  “You’re welcome.” He took another deep breath. The time for speaking was rapidly coming to an end. “Lana Del Monaco, I am going to fuck you right here. Up against the wall.”

  “Oh.”

  Jake had always been a man of his word. He pressed her backwards until she was against the wall. With nothing between him and the object of his attention, he kissed her. He was going to make her come. A couple of times.

  Then, he’d convince her she wasn’t going anywhere. Austin had a lot to offer her. And besides, she was going to want to see a lot more of him. Forget New York, it was a great city, only not where Lana belonged anymore.

  Jake Perry was a man who could make a fast, correct first impression.

  She moaned and he kissed her again. He demanded access to more with his tongue. Lana opened her lips and he let himself lose track of time. Who cared if there was a crowd outside, filled with some people who worked for him?

  The best part of Austin—people never gave a shit what anyone else did.

  2

  Lana couldn’t believe she was getting fucked against the wall in DBR’s apartment, in the room she’d ordered all the furniture for. Only a perverse need not to storm out of Dexter’s apartment completely defeated had her making a trip to the bar. And a bout of self-confidence, probably brought on by the half of a vodka tonic she had downed, made her ask for sex from a stranger.

  Well, she was sober again, and the way he stroked her clit through her soaked panties made her enormously glad she had acted so recklessly. He proved to be very different than the poser she’d accused him of being.

  The man could really focus and didn’t seem at all flighty.

  God, she needed this, wanted it, and oh God, she was getting wetter and wetter. He dropped to his knees and she quit breathing. Finally, when she could manage, she spoke. “Really?”

  “I’m going to taste you. I think I can make you come, hard, on my tongue.”

  He tugged her undies down and she really thought she must have fallen on her head. The gorgeous blond guy she had propositioned was going to go down on her? All her previous lovers required begging fo
r the favor.

  She gasped and her head tapped the wall. He bit down on her clit and her body vibrated. He was right, she was going to come and she was going to do it fast. He played with her, swirling his tongue until she couldn’t stand it anymore. Yes, this man was good. He certainly seemed to be able to…focus. He moaned against her pussy and it was her undoing.

  “Jake.” She squealed his name and she exploded fast.

  Panting, gasping…she saw stars. The satisfied male laugh from the floor caught her attention. She opened her eyes.

  “I think you liked my mouth on you.” He stood up. “And I think you’re going to enjoy what I do next more.”

  “Are you a sexual superhero or something?” She laughed. “Come here, I’ll return the favor.”

  “Sounds awesome.”

  She was having a sexual encounter with a guy who said awesome.

  “Maybe round two. I want to be inside the sweet pussy I got to taste.”

  “Oh.” Single word answers were going to have to do. How had she stumbled upon the only one-night stand in the universe who wanted her to come more than he wanted to get off himself?

  He reached into his pocket and pulled out a condom. She was glad he still had his head on straight. Protection, yes. Lana never forgot. What was the matter with her?

  He opened the foil and after rapidly discarding his pants and briefs, sheathed himself. “Foreplay should take a lot longer. The next time we fuck I’m going to have you panting for hours.”

  She doubted there would be a next time. When tonight was over, on what were sure to be wobbly legs, she would walk out of DBR’s apartment and away from Jake’s sexiness. Forever. Back to New York City.

  Never travel to central Texas again.

  “Hey.” He bit down on her shoulder, which brought her back to the moment fast. “Where did you go?”

  “Thousands of miles away.”

  “Well, let’s see what I can do to keep you present.”

  He picked her up and she gasped. Her quick screw was certainly stronger than she’d anticipated.

  With a little adjustment, he had her legs wrapped around his waist.

  “Good?” He raised an eyebrow, his mouth in an upturned smirk.

  “If what I think is about to happen, happens, then I am about to be really really good.”

  With a hard thrust, he pushed himself inside of her. She gasped. Oh yes. “Balls deep, huh?”

  “I had a feeling you not only could take it, baby, you might need it tonight.”

  He was right. She wanted it hard and she needed it fast. What was more, she required him to move. Pressing her muscles together, she urged him to give her his cock.

  With a laugh against her neck, he said, “Hold on, Lana.”

  He pulled out of her before all but slamming back into her. “Yes, like that. More. Just like that.”

  If she could barely form sentences when their encounter was over, she’d be fine with it. Mind-numbing, thought-deleting sex.

  She closed her eyes. Usually she didn’t enjoy looking at her partner during intimate moments. Too much to be seen, too much exposure on her end. And then God forbid they looked at all disappointed with whatever was going on. For a change, she found she craved his kind eyes, which was why she kept her own closed. Their encounter couldn’t mean anything; her one-night stand, a way to escape the day she’d had.

  Lana let her eyes drift open on a moan and the smile he rewarded her with made her gasp. He was really beautiful, almost seeming to glow, as if the light in the room moved around him. She leaned back a bit to regard him and the vision passed. Weird. She had no time to dwell on anything off.

  “Right on, Lana. I want to feel you come all around me.”

  She couldn’t believe how fast her pleasure amped. It usually took more time.

  “I think I found the way you want to be fucked, haven’t I?” His coarse wording made her hotter. The change in his mild-mannered decorum showed how turned on he really was. Somehow knowing he was feeling so passionate increased her own.

  “Yes. More. Please.” She couldn’t manage anything other than a single word from her mouth at a time.

  “Who’s turning you on, Lana? Who’s making you feel so hot?”

  He was a talker, and she couldn’t say she minded the gruffness of his voice as it spurred her on, adding to the moment. Everything they were doing should be so wrong. She was by no means a virgin and yet she wasn’t usually the type to proposition a stranger to fuck her in her ex-boss’s guestroom.

  She should be horrified by her own behavior. Yet, all she wanted was more Jake Perry.

  “You are. It’s all you,” she panted. God, she was close. Her body tightened. Any second she would orgasm—again.

  “Now. Come, Lana. You know you want to and I want to see it. Let me see your beautiful self lose it. Giving it up will feel so good.”

  She dug her hands into the back of his neck so hard she knew she’d leave marks. He practically growled when she did and the sound sent her over the edge. She came. Hard. Everything about fucking him had been so deliciously…rough.

  Lana closed her eyes and held on while he hissed his own pleasure. Stars danced beneath her shut lids. The room was quiet. Downstairs, she could hear the party continued.

  It dawned on her she must be getting heavy. The thought had her opening her eyes to regard him. His head was down, his face pressed into her shoulder.

  “Do you want to put me down?” She stroked the back of his neck where she had dug her fingers.

  “No.” He cleared his throat and raised his head. “Unless you want down.”

  “Aren’t I getting heavy?”

  His smile glowed. “Makes me feel kind of manly how I can hold you up. Besides, you’re tiny.”

  He leaned forward and it dawned on her he was going to kiss her. She caught her breath. Not only had he locked lips with her at the bar, but they’d had really hot sex. So why did the heated look in his eyes right before he kissed her feel so much more intimate?

  She didn’t try to stop him. Her lips tingled to feel his. When he finally brushed his lips to hers, he was so gentle. The sweetness melted what little tension remained inside of her.

  She hadn’t realized she was about to cry. Maybe she should have. Quitting her job had almost brought on tears before. Having shattered in his arms, she should have known her emotions would be so close to the surface she’d be powerless to stop the tears if they wanted to come.

  “Oh.” She pulled away. Embarrassed by the moisture running down her cheeks. “I’m sorry. I’m actually not outwardly emotional. Every bit of tonight is very un-me.”

  He finally set her back on her feet, and despite the disgusting mess she was making of both her face and his shirt, he didn’t let go of her until she’d found her knees again. Jake Perry seemed a kindhearted man.

  “Lana Del Monaco, we all get to take out the parts of our personality we don’t often let others see and allow them dance in the wind sometimes.”

  When he backed off to remove and dispose of the condom, she grabbed a tissue and dabbed at her face. It didn’t take much to straighten herself. They’d barely discarded her clothes. In fact, he’d taken her with his pants down by his ankles.

  He straightened himself out and walked over to her. With his thumbs, he wiped under her eyes and she could only imagine how gross she must have looked for him to help fix her.

  “Sorry. I’m not a crier.”

  He shrugged. “I am.”

  “You are?” She laughed despite herself. His response startled the sad right out of the moment.

  “Sometimes life is so beautiful, I can’t help but tear up. Sadness has a kind of glory to it, don’t you think?” He extended his hand. Did he want her to take it? “Come on, let’s go find some food.”

  “It’s South by Southwest. Everything is going to be a zoo.”

  He shook his head. “I heard you say you hated Austin before. I can see why, if you don’t know where to go at eleven o’
clock at night during South by Southwest where there won’t be a line out the door to eat.”

  She took his hand in her own. “I’m going to fly out of town as fast as I can.”

  “Yeah. Good luck getting a plane ticket.”

  Lana laughed again. The man she’d fucked was pretty damn amusing.

  —

  Jake buzzed as if he’d drunk way too much tequila. He was feeling downright giddy. The woman was truly amazing. God, to be inside of her had felt like coming home. He grinned at the thought.

  She’d wanted it hard. Would she ever need it soft? He bet she would, when she let some of her glorious misplaced guard down.

  They walked downstairs where the party was still going on full force. In fact, a quick look told him the size of the crowd seemed to have grown to three times the amount present earlier. DBR stood surrounded by a large crowd and, if he wasn’t mistaken, at least two more bodyguards. He no longer held the bag Lana had shoved at him.

  Lana stopped moving in front of him. “I don’t think a quarter of these people are on the list.”

  He whispered in her ear, mostly so he could smell her hair again. “Not your problem anymore.”

  “I know.” She shook her head. “I’m wondering who he’s going to find to fix the mess.”

  “Would you have swept up?” He took a strand of her hair in his fingers and wrapped it around his pointer. It was so soft. He’d love to see it spread out over his pillow.

  “No. I would have called a service to come.”

  “An assistant who knows whom to call. Priceless.”

  “Jake…”

  He didn’t know what she would have said because immediately their host, DBR himself, shouted out her name.

  “Lana.”

  She groaned. “I’ve been spotted.”

  “You must have wanted to be, right? I mean otherwise you wouldn’t have stopped at the bar on your way out. You’d have left altogether.”

  She put her hands on her hips. “You enjoy pointing things out, don’t you? Couldn’t let me exit here without discussing my obvious reluctance to leave a good-paying job in the industry I love despite the fact of my hating my boss and the city he’s currently choosing to reside in?”