The whispered request sent pleasure shooting through him. He started to move, a slow, torturous rhythm that drew impatient little growls from Mari’s lips. As her hands clawed at the sheets, she hooked her legs around his waist and tried to bring him deeper.
With a chuckle, Austin indulged in a couple more languid thrusts, then began moving in earnest. When he reached between them to stimulate her clit, her hips shot off the bed and pleasure washed over her face.
Austin had learned to read her responses. He knew that when he applied more pleasure on her clit, she would start squirming. That when he moved his thumb in a circular motion over that swollen bud, she would cry out in delight. Sure enough, she did both, and the sexy responses made his cock go impossibly stiffer.
He moved faster, his hips thrusting and retreating, and when he felt that telltale tingle at the base of his spine, he knew he was close. But he waited, watching Mari’s glazed expression, refusing to let go until she did. And when she finally sucked in a breath and started to come, he was floored by how beautiful she looked.
With Mari writhing beneath him, he exploded like a firecracker, then went still as pulses of pleasure danced along his nerve endings. Christ, it was so good. It was always so damn good with her.
A while later, after they’d both recovered and Mari’s head was resting on his chest, she peered up at him with uncertain eyes. “I still haven’t made up my mind,” she whispered.
Yes you have.
Ignoring the ache in his chest, he threaded his fingers through her hair. “It’s okay, sweetheart.” He held her tighter, rubbing her bare shoulder with his palm. “C’mon, let’s get some sleep. We can figure it all out tomorrow.”
But deep down, he knew they had nothing to figure out. He already had Mari’s answer, and now there was only one thing left for him to do.
Chapter Eleven
When Mari woke up the next morning, Austin’s side of the bed was empty. The second she registered his absence, she got a queasy feeling in her stomach, though she wasn’t really sure why. He’d probably just woken up early and was downstairs eating breakfast. There was no reason for her belly to be churning and her palms to be this damp and—her thoughts died abruptly when she glimpsed the piece of paper resting ominously on Austin’s pillow.
Her heart started to pound, but not in a good way. Sitting up, she snatched the paper and quickly read Austin’s note.
Mari,
By the time you wake up, I’ll already be on my way to the airport.
We both know you need to take that job. You love Paradise. You belong here.
But me… I can’t be here right now. I don’t know if this place will ever feel like home to me again, but I’m glad it feels like home to you. I’m glad I met you. And I meant every word I said last night.
I’m catching an earlier flight—it leaves at 10:20 a.m. There’ll be a ticket waiting for you at the airline counter if you change your mind.
Love,
Austin
She read the note twice. Then a third time. And a fourth. But the multiple readings didn’t succeed in clearing the confusion that fogged her brain, or easing the unbearable ache in her chest.
He’d left.
She couldn’t believe it. Last night he’d told her he was falling for her, and this morning, poof, he was gone.
A multitude of emotions flooded her body. Anger. Sorrow. Disbelief. She blinked away the tears that welled up in her eyes and glanced at the alarm clock on the nightstand.
Eight thirty.
His flight was at ten twenty.
Swiping a hand over her damp eyes, she launched herself out of bed and hurried to the door. Maybe he hadn’t left yet. The airport was only thirty minutes away, so for all she knew, he was still in this house.
But the balloon of hope in her chest died with a pop when she burst into the kitchen a minute later and found Nate and Charlotte at the kitchen table. The pair was drinking coffee, wearing identical somber expressions.
“He already left,” Nate spoke up when she skidded through the doorway. His tone was hard and flat, revealing his precise thoughts on the matter. “Snuck out around seven without saying goodbye.”
Mari’s heart splintered in two. “He left me a note.”
“Yeah, he mentioned that in his message.” Nate’s mouth was set in an angry line. “He left me, Jake and Owen voicemails. You know, saying how he doesn’t belong here and how the tsunami victims need him a lot more than we do. That kind of fun shit.”
“Hey,” Charlotte said quietly, reaching across the table for her husband’s hand, “he’ll be volunteering when he’s over there. That’s admirable.”
“He’s running away again and you know it, Charlie.”
Mari listened to their exchange, feeling utterly numb. She couldn’t believe Austin had taken off without even saying a proper goodbye.
“—at least he went to see Della in person.”
As Mari caught the tail end of Charlotte’s remark, she glanced at the redhead in surprise. “He went to see Della?”