Page 29 of Austin
Chapter Seven
Kristen didn’t saymuch as Austin drove through the snarled Salt Lake City traffic to the hotel he’d booked, but he had a pretty good idea of what was going on in her head. Had she made a mistake? Should she stay with him? Shouldn’t she? Which was why, after he parked in the long valet line, he turned to her and asked, “Still okay with this?”
“Yes.” Her chin tilted up and she was making a brave attempt to look certain in her decision, but he could almost see the mental battle continuing. He’d expected as much. He made her jumpy after all.
And he wanted to know why.
“Why did you decide to give me a ride home?” she asked as he inched the truck forward.
He took the rig out of gear. The valet line was long and slow-moving. “You mean what do I get out of it?”
“Yes.”
He debated degrees of honesty, then decided on the whole truth. “I guess I kind of want to see the real you.” Her eyebrows drew together in a slow frown. “You know…the person I woke up with this morning? No barriers?”
“Why?” The word came out on a husky note.
He gave a casual shrug. “I had this theory about the ‘real’ you back in high school. Of course, you blew it all to hell, but I’m beginning to wonder if I was right after all.” When he glanced over at her, she was staring at him.
“You’re doing research on me?”
He laughed and then reached out to touch her, even though he’d promised not to, lightly brushing the hair away from her cheek. For once she didn’t jump or jerk away. “I want to satisfy my curiosity.” His expression softened. “I want to get to know you. That’s all.”
“All right.”
Kristen intrigued him. She always had, and despite everything, or maybe because of everything, she still did. And maybe he needed to be honest about that with both of them.
“You’re free to call your sister at any time to come rescue you. I’ll pay for the gas.”
“Or I can stay for the event and then you can run me home, as promised.”
He smiled a little, then moved the truck forward again. “You’re saying you’re up for a little research?”
“As long as we take it slow.”
“Honey,” he said with a lift of his eyebrows, “I’m a master at taking it slow.”
Her lips parted as the meaning of his comment became clear to her and the air slowly eased out of his lungs as he focused in on her soft, lush mouth. A horn honked behind him and they both jumped. He put the truck in gear moved forward into the two empty car lengths ahead of them. A few minutes later they’d reached the front of the line. He surrendered his keys and hefted Kristen’s suitcases and his gear over the side of the truck. A bellman loaded it on a cart, then followed them into the swanky lobby.
Austin checked in and, since he’d won a good chunk of change in Reno, he splurged and got a premier room—two queen beds. View of the mountains. High floor. Rooms were in demand due to the bull riders being in town and the prices were jacked up accordingly, but he figured this was kind of a vacation for Kris, and he didn’t mind plush digs one bit.
He went back to where Kristen was now standing, hand shading her eyes as she studied the mountains through the tinted window. She dropped her arm as he approached and handed her a keycard.
“Hope you aren’t afraid of heights. We’re on an upper floor.”
“Good. I like looking at the mountains.” She met his eyes, her expression serene. Too serene. Faking-it serene. Which meant he’d rattled her in the truck and she was making an effort to cover—but she hadn’t crawled back into her shell. She hadn’t gone cold.
Once they were in the room and the bellman had been tipped, Kristen went to the window and took another long look at the mountains. Marshaling her defenses? Or admiring the view? When she turned back, Austin said, “Want to set some ground rules?”
She nodded. “Probably a good idea.”
“I’ll go first.” He folded his arms over his chest. “No hogging the bathroom.”
She smiled a little. “No gratuitous nudity.”
His eyebrows lifted. “I’ll keep my clothes on if you do the same.”
“I appreciate it. My roommate’s previous boyfriend never wore clothes.” She cleared her throat. “I…uh…got tired of being startled all the time.”
