against his mouth as he deepened the kiss.
He breathed her in. She smelled like apple blossoms and vanilla. He stroked her face and threaded his fingers through her silken hair. His tongue nudged her lips, and she opened for him, allowing him to sweep his tongue inside her mouth.
He plunged deep, stroking his tongue over hers. She whimpered softly, melting against him.
Oh, God, he was going to lose himself in her. This was too sweet. This is what he wanted so badly.
Slowly, he drew back, forcing himself to pull away. His groin was tight and his cock hard, but worse, his heart ached in need.
Damn, he was still in fucking love with this woman.
He didn’t want to be. He knew how incredibly foolhardy it was. But he had no control over his heart.
He did, however, have control over his head.
He walked back to his chair and tossed back his drink, then grabbed his jacket.
“I have to check on something,” he said, then strode from the room.
* * *
Austin stared at the door. Well, that hadn’t worked out quite the way he’d hoped.
April still stood in a daze, staring after Quinn. Austin stood up and walked to her side.
“Do you think we should go after him?” she asked.
“No, he’ll work it out. How about you? Are you doing okay?”
She glanced his way. “Yes, of course.”
He smiled, not believing her. That kiss had rocked both of them.
“Good.” He nudged his head toward the sitting area. “Why don’t we sit down and relax until he comes back?”
“Sure.” She walked to the couch while he poured them both another drink, then settled down beside her.
He swirled his drink, watching her. “It was Quinn, wasn’t it? The first man who kissed you?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“So tell me about your relationship with Quinn back then.”
She turned her gaze to him, her lips pursed. “You ask a lot of questions, Austin.”
Austin grinned. “Yeah, I know. It’s my most endearing quality.”
She laughed, but even though he’d been joking, he knew that to her it probably was. She wasn’t used to people taking an interest in her.
“But I hope you’ll answer,” he continued. “Quinn’s my best friend, and I want to understand.”
She sighed and kicked off her shoes, then curled her legs beside her on the couch. Unfortunately, the move reminded him of her lack of panties.
The arousal that had been raging through him ever since Quinn had told him about this special arrangement had finally settled to a slow simmer, but now it flared back to life again. His cock strained uncomfortably in his pants.
He urged his body to relax.
“What do you want to know?” she asked.
He wanted to know what it would feel like to stroke his hand along her soft thigh … then up under her skirt …
Calm down, man.
“What was it like when you were with him?”
“It was … wonderful. Quinn really saw me. Really listened to me. I was important to him, and that made me feel important.”
He took her hand and squeezed it. “You are important, April.”
Her lips pursed, and she nodded. “That’s very nice of you to say. It’s what we always say.”
Her gaze turned to his, and the depth of pain in her shimmering blue eyes tore at his heart.
“But when you don’t feel it inside yourself, it doesn’t matter how much someone tells you it’s true. When everyone in your life who is supposed to care has abandoned you without a thought, it’s hard to believe otherwise.”
She leaned forward and picked up her drink, then took a sip.
“But with Quinn, I could feel it.”
She stared silently at the contents of her glass. At her long hesitation, Austin leaned forward, watching her teeth tug on her lower lip.
“What are you not saying, April?”
She sucked in a deep breath. “Just that it also made me afraid. If I let myself believe I was special to him, that he really cared, and then he left…” She frowned. “I didn’t know how I would deal with that.” Her words were hushed, as if she didn’t want to say them out loud.
He wanted to pull her into his arms and tell her he cared about her. That he would never leave her if she wanted to be by his side.
Fuck, what the hell was he thinking?
“So you pulled away?” he asked.
“No. I loved being with him. I loved how it made me feel. Especially at the beginning when he was very attentive. Spending every day with me. Calling or texting when we were apart. But then