The Nanny

by Llmav

One eventful summer.

4. Chapter 4

A/N; Ok, here's the next chapter.

Finally.

I know that the updates are not that frequent, and I'm sorry, but at least this is longer than the bible so I hope that makes up for the wait.

This is mostly dialogue based, as I wanted you guys to get to know Austin a bit better. It's kind of slow and painful. Writing dialogue really isn't my thing.

This chapter marks halfway through the story. I think.

There will be smut soon. I think.

Nobody will die. I think.

AS YOU CAN SEE I KNOW EXACTLY WHERE I'M GOING WITH THIS STORY.

L.O.L.

Your support means the world to me. This is my most reviewed story (per chapter) so far, and I appreciate each and every single one of them.

Thank you all so, so, so much.

I hope I can continue to entertain you.

This took me for fucking ever to finish.

I'm never, ever, ever writing anything this long ever again.

But hey, Auslly...

Her back was pressed against the too hard wall, her pulse beating irregularly and wildly, as if it had been instantly kick-started by the fear-induced adrenaline that was now surging through her.

She still hadn't said a word, somehow not able to do so, her tongue as numb from shock as the rest of her body.

Mr. Moon was moving his face towards hers, in what seemed like slow-motion, and she felt as if she was stuck in a daytime nightmare, one where she was desperately trying to run, but was physically unable to move.

One of his too big hands had moved from its position next to her shoulder to uninvitingly grabbing her cheek, the minimal skin to skin contact enough for her blood to almost literally freeze in her veins.

Ewwwwwwwww.

She could feel his breath on her, as he was breathing hard and her not at all, and he was turning her face towards him, inescapably making her look at him.

His eyes were dark, colored with anger and determination and quite possibly a big sprinkle of desire.

She immediately realized that he enjoyed the fight.

Crap.

She swallowed hard upon the thought that there probably wasn't really going to be a fight, though, but rather, a slaughter. A blood bath, albeit probably and hopefully not literally so, but her becoming the unimportant, nameless, soon-to-be-forgotten victim nonetheless.

Mr. Moon wasn't smarter than her, she instinctively knew he wasn't, but he was undeniably bigger, stronger, angrier.

Hungrier.

She couldn't really recall ever feeling as helpless before, and that freighted her more than the person in front of her himself.

She had just met the pathetic excuse for a man a few hours ago, yet she was somehow certain that the current situation wasn't as new to him as it was to her.

Her cheeks were burning, most likely an inevitable result of her current humiliation, as he was once again moving towards her in slow motion, or maybe it was just that her mind was slow, like there was too much going on and she didn't quite know how to process it all.

Various methods of escaping were flashing in front of her eyes, like too rapid snippets from a survival movie, but her almost panic-stricken mind came up with...nothing.

She had laughed, literally, when Trish had suggested a self-defense class a few years back, probably mostly so because she had never, not once, been in a situation where she had been needing it.

Ever.

She had been in more compromising situations over the last 24 hours than she had during the rest of her life combined.

And they said that Miami was dangerous.

Maybe she should scream.

Loudly.

Her mouth still wasn't really working, though, and she wasn't entirely sure that the housekeeper would hear her though the thick, closed door.

And even if she did, she wasn't entirely sure that the lady would come to her rescue. After all, her loyalty to her boss was probably stronger than that to some nanny that had just arrived there a few weeks ago.

She must have seen plenty of nannies coming and hastily leaving from the household.

Perhaps Cassidy was home? She instantly realized, though, that she didn't want the blonde to find her in the current situation, pressed into a wall by her intimidating husband as somehow, she was pretty certain that she would be the one Cassidy would blame.

Maybe she could kick him between the legs?

Yeah.

That's what she should do.

Kick him in the balls.

Hard.

If he had any.

She was about to do so, moving her legs to aim as his mouth was now mere millimeters away, when a small, squeaking sound signaled that the big office door was opening, and he instinctually moved away from her.

Slowly.

Everything seemed to be moving so slowly.

And then the door was suddenly wide open, revealing Nelson's small body that looked almost ant-sized in the much bigger door frame, and she couldn't help but to be instantly impressed that he had been able to open the large, wooden door all by himself.

He stood there and looked at the two of them, with huge eyes that almost seemed to be popping out of his small head, and Mr. Moon instantly moved even further away, jerkingly so, almost as if it was by reflex.

So the man-monster did have some boundaries.

Good to know.

"I'm hungry." Nelson sounded more like a mouse than an ant, almost as squeaky as the door, but it was still one of the most beautiful voices she had ever heard.

She was genuinely surprised that he was talking, seemingly to her as he was looking at her, and she got the uncanny feeling that he was the type of child that spoke only when absolutely necessary, and that he had somehow sensed that the current situation called for it.

"We will continue this discussion at a different time." Mr. Moon's voice sounded distant, despite him still standing close, way too close, like far-away but loud thunder in the suddenly stormy night.

She needed to get out of there.

Quickly.

She desperately wanted to avoid getting struck by lightning.

Funny, though, how he considered the very limited, one-way conversation a "discussion".

As if she had been able to say anything.

And as if he would have listened if she had.

She nodded slightly, still unable to move despite now being free, like a previously caged bird that was dying for freedom, but had forgotten how to fly.

She took a first wobbling step, then another, soon picking up speed and then almost literally flying down the huge stairway, pulling Nelson along as she heard the large-sized office door slam shut behind her.

She was amazed that her legs managed to carry her downstairs, as they were wiggly, like they were made out of the jello that she had never once seen in the luxurious kitchen that she was currently heading towards.

She dropped Nelson off with the housekeeper, excusing herself to use the bathroom, before running into her suite, soon slamming that door shut behind her, and for the first time since she had arrived there, she desperately wished that it had had a lock.

She stumbled towards the bed, throwing herself down on it, her body feeling like a sack of potatoes, her organs wobbling around while she was trying to capture her breath as her thoughts were still running wild.

Holy hell.

The ant had taken down the wolf.

She was never going to step on another one again.

The bed was soft and nice underneath her, yet she felt uncomfortable, her head relentlessly spinning.

It had been an intense few days.

She was exhausted.

Life in the luxurious community was exhausting.

Clearly, she was the lamb in a town full of starving wolves, and even if she managed to get away from one of them, it was as if other, new ones just kept on popping up, as if it was wolf hunting season or something.

That, or maybe mating season, as they seemed to be multiplying.

And they were all in heat.

Suddenly, there were tears in her eyes, tears of anger, and she rose and started to fumble around the room, looking for her bag to get her phone, a difficult tasks as her eye sight was blurry, her pulse still working overtime, and she realized that she wasn't just mad.

She was also kind of scared.

She had escaped the wolf's cave, but she was pretty certain that said wolf was more than capable of escaping from there once he was hungry enough.

She needed to call her dad.

She needed to leave, she needed to go home, back to her own herd of sheep, back to were people didn't seem to think that she was an innocent, gullible, tasty lunch.

She found the phone, catching her breath and letting the last tear trickle down her warm cheek before dialing his number.

She was smiling through the tears at the picture of him that popped up on her phone screen as the signals went through. She missed him, and as she listened to the beeping sound, waiting for him to pick up, she started to think about the numerous things she was going to do once she was safe back home.

She hadn't realized how home sick she really was.

The last signal rang into her ear before the call was redirected to her dad's voicemail.

Huh.

That was odd.

Her father was generally very accessible, too accessible, mostly because he didn't have a whole lot of other things apart from her to keep him occupied.

She had tried to make him join all sorts of organizations, as well as a few dating services, but to absolutely no avail. He had gone to a couple of accordion conventions before giving up on that interest, and the only club he had ever really stuck with was the extreme couponing one, and that one met surprisingly sporadically.

She listened to the recording, missing him even more as she heard his grumpy voice, but didn't bother leaving a message.

He would call her when he got a chance.

He always did.

She sighed as she realized that she had to go back out there, into the wild, to finish the nighttime routine and get the twins to bed.

She quickly entered the bathroom, splashing her face with the medium-warm water that still felt cool against her burning cheeks, and she caught a glimpse of her own reflection in the mirror.

Was it just her, or did she look older?

Maybe she just felt older.

She felt like she had aged years in the matter of a couple of days.

She suddenly had a much better understanding for the apparent community-wide need for plastic surgery.

She took yet another big breath before reluctantly heading back out into the spotlight of the circus that was now her life in the big mansion.

The twins were in the kitchen with the housekeeper, the middle-aged lady smiling slightly at her as she returned.

The lady was nice, but not overly so, as if she was trying to keep her distance.

She didn't blame her.

The rest of the night passed in a blur, both the twins uncharacteristically quiet, and the dinner was consumed in almost complete silence.

She couldn't even really recall what they had eaten.

She didn't eat anything. Somewhere between a rock and a hard place, or perhaps between being pushed into first a tree and then a wall, she had lost her appetite.

Maybe that was why everyone was so freaking skinny around there.

There was too much anxiety floating around for anyone to be able to eat.

She tucked the twins into their beds before heading back towards her room, almost looking over her shoulder as she was walking down the hallway.

Yeah, so perhaps she was a tiny bit paranoid.

As she quickly and finally reached her room, closing the door shut behind her yet again, she sighed into the empty space as she suddenly felt very, very lonely.

She wanted her dad. And Trish. And her own, old, uncomfortable twin-sized bed.

She changed, quickly, as she was tired, so very tired, her whole body aching for rest, although she was pretty certain that she wasn't going to be able to go to sleep.

She went to close the curtains, surprised when she realized that she for once could see straight into the nearby pool house, as its heavy curtains were pulled aside.

She didn't know what surprised her the most, the fact that Austin was home or the fact that he was reading a book, a book that she couldn't really distinguish the cover of, his messy, blond hair peeking out from behind it, although she couldn't really see his face.

She could see his shirtless chest, though.

It was darkening outside, but he had a small table lamp turned on as he was laying down on a couch, his long legs hanging off of the edge of it, and his feet were moving in something that she could only discern to be some sort of rhythm.

She couldn't move her eyes away from him, even though she tried.

Several times.

For some reason, she felt like a spy, an intruder, yet she couldn't find it in her to feel bad about it.

He still intrigued her.

She got the very odd feeling that she was going to miss him when she left.

Which hopefully was going to be soon.

Very soon.

Very soon and yet not soon enough.

Her short peeping Tom session was interrupted by her phone coming to life on top of the nearby dresser.

It was her dad and she eagerly picked up.

"Hey honey." He sounded tired, or upset, or perhaps defeated, and it threw her off.

He may be grumpy, but he was hardly ever life-less.

"Hey Daddy. How are you? I miss you." So, so much. Too much.

He stayed quiet, as if there were many things that he wanted to say but was hesitant in doing so. Or perhaps as if he was searching for the right words.

She instinctively knew that something was off.

"What's going on?" She was scared again, much like earlier in the night, but it was stemming from very different reasons this time around.

"Remember that big business deal that I had been working on...it...it didn't go through."

Her heart dropped. He always tried to hide things from her, in misguided attempts to protect her, and the fact that he was being brutally honest with her meant it was bad.

Really bad.

"How...what does that mean, dad?"

"I think I might...lose the store."

She gasped. That store was her dad's everything, his life work, his proudest accomplishment after perhaps only herself.

He sighed. Loudly. Too loudly.

"Don't worry about it, honey. I'll figure something out. I'm just so happy that you got another job, or I don't know how we would be able to pay rent or your tuition this fall."

Gah.

Or maybe more like fuck.

How could she possibly tell him that she couldn't stay there any longer?

Now she was the one searching for the right words.

At least she had already made a nice chunk of money, she could just take her savings and...

Wait a minute.

Her heart dropped even a bit further as she recalled something.

She had signed a contract before leaving Miami.

She hadn't really had a lot of time to look it over, just skimming it as legal jargon really wasn't her thing, but one paragraph in particular had stood out to her. It had mentioned something about something something, the main point being that she would forfeit all the money she had already earned if she was to break the contract by leaving early.

She hadn't thought much about it at the time.

Panic rose through her once again.

She was screwed, although not literally.

At least not yet.

"I'm so, so sorry, dad, but..."

Her dad interrupted her. "Me too, honey, me too. But just imagine how much worse it would be if my bad business sense would have influenced your education. I could never forgive myself if that was to happen. Thank goodness for Mr. Moon."

That was one way of looking at it, she guessed.

He sighed again, and she knew what she had to do.

She had to stay.

There was no other way.

She couldn't drop out of school.

"Is everything ok though, honey?"

It wasn't.

Not even close.

But she was going to make it through.

She had to.

She reassured him that it was, because how could she not, before hanging up, the line going dead and she felt as if she might as well do the same.

Her thoughts were making somersaults in her too tired head, as she somehow made it back to the bed, desperately trying to make sense out of her own thinking.

She had been so set on leaving, she didn't even know what to do next.

She laid there for a few minutes, listening to her breathing that was not yet completely stable.

Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to stay, after all.

Come to think of it, Mr. Moon really hadn't been around much, or actually not at all until this god-forsaken day.

She could and would stay out of his way, because from now on, she was going to stay in her room or get out of the house whenever she wasn't with the twins.

She seemed to be safe around them.

She was only going to be there for a few more weeks anyways, and that was it.

A few more weeks and then blissful freedom.

She could do it.

She could handle it.

She decided to leave the curtains open, the small light that was still burning strong from across the courtyard from behind the now closed shut curtains functioning as her nightlight of sorts, keeping the dark shadows at bay and allowing her to drift into sleep, albeit an uncomfortable, nightmarish one.

...

She half-expected to run into Mr. Moon in the morning. After all, it seemed as if she had a tendency towards awkward run-ins in the ginormous kitchen.

She sighed in relief when she entered, fully dressed, and saw that it was completely empty.

Her head was pounding, but this time around it was undoubtedly due to too little sleep rather than too much alcohol.

Her dreams had unfortunately mimicked her recent real-life experiences.

She started to set out two small bowls for the twins now daily breakfast cereal, when an enormous feeling of unease came over her.

Weird.

Where did that feeling come from?

Wait...

Were there cameras in there as well?

For some reason, she felt like there might be.

She shook her head.

Maybe she was just still being paranoid.

And who knew if it was even true that there were security cameras outside?

She didn't really know Austin at all, why should she believe anything he said?

She was pretty sure her new motto was going to be "trust noone."

Either way, though, she didn't quite know why she felt so uncomfortable.

Even if there were cameras, it wasn't as if she was breaking any rules.

At least not that she knew of.

She heard someone enter, and her heart was instantly beating faster, but she was hesitant in turning around to see who her too early morning company was.

She waited a few seconds before she finally turned, slowly so, her gaze landing on a sight for her very sour eyes.

It was Mr. Moon, alright, but the younger version.

The pleasant one.

Or at least pleasanter.

She sighed in relief, almost audibly so, but her heart was still beating fast, albeit now for a completely different reason.

He wasn't yet looking at her, as he seemed preoccupied with looking at the screen of the phone he was currently holding in his hand, a small smile on his face and she couldn't help but to let her tired eyes rest on him for a few seconds too many.

He looked...nice.

Those arms, gosh, she couldn't stop looking at them, as they were on clear display underneath his seemingly ever-present tanktop, the nicely suntanned muscles almost lick-worthy, the blond hair messy, and she wanted to run her fingers through it, untangle the messiness, tug on it a little...

He looked up and saw her, interrupting her extremely inappropriate, sexual daydreaming, an almost intoxicating smile immediately forming on his face, as their eyes met and then she instantly looked away.

She suddenly felt sick.

He was his father's son, she just wasn't quite sure as to what degree.

They didn't necessarily look alike, but there was a resemblance, and she was scared that all she was going to see when looking at him was his overly creepy father.

"Hey there." He sounded happy, carefree, but she still couldn't bring herself to look at him again.

"Hello." She could tell that it sounded a bit hesitant.

"What's wrong?" His tone of voice had instantly changed.

Amazing. She had said one word and he already knew something was up.

As if he had a built-in radar that could sense her mood, or something.

She didn't answer as she didn't know what to say.

She wasn't sure "your dad is a huge creep" was considered a good conversation starter.

Or good manners.

"Did...did I do something?" He almost sounded worried, as if he really cared if he had.

That was kind of odd.

She shook her head as she still refused to look at him.

It was true.

He hadn't.

He kind of surprised her when he walked over towards her, soon standing close, so, so close, before he lifted his hands and touched her chin.

It wasn't forceful, but rather, encouraging, and she lifted her face up against him, their eyes finally meeting, and it reminded her of the very similar situation she had been in, upstairs, less than 12 hours prior, but her feelings were completely reversed.

She was trying to ignore the fact that he was touching her, even if the point of contact was just between the tip of his pointer finger and the soft skin under her chin.

Although, it almost felt as if his eyes were physically touching her, too.

Funny how his touch made her ache for more.

So much more.

He was staring at her, into her, as if he was trying to figure out what was going on by reading her mind through her eyes.

She was both relieved and not that all she could see was him.

And only him.

She wasn't scared, she wasn't worried, just...kind of turned on.

She could no longer even try to deny, not even to herself, that she was physically attracted to him.

And she realized that the only person she didn't trust in their current twosome was herself.

His eyes were deep pools of worry, mud colored, but she didn't mind getting dirty as she wanted to drown in there for the rest of the night, possibly longer.

Crap.

What was wrong with her?

She had never been the type of girl to fall for the bad boy, the forbidden fruit, but then again, she didn't necessarily have a lot of experience falling.

For anyone.

She wasn't even sure that she really was, though.

Maybe it was just extreme physical attraction.

She hadn't really experienced that before, either, though.

He didn't move, but just looked at her with the same worried expression. "You can talk to me."

He sounded different, almost caring, his voice completely void of the sexual innuendos that she had come to expect from him, as if he knew that she was upset, although he obviously didn't know why.

A minute of them just looking at each other passed.

And then she remembered something. "Cameras?" She mouthed it in a whisper, as she wasn't sure where said possible cameras would be located. If there were any.

He shrugged."I'm not sure, but I don't give a fuck. Now, tell me what's wrong with you."

Maybe the last few days had messed up her head, had made her go slightly insane or something, becuase all she could think of, all she could focus on, was him, him and his god damn smell that hit her nostrils like refreshing swifts of clean air.

He looked concerned, worried, real, and for a second she contemplated telling him.

But there was no way she could.

Who knew what he would say. Or do.

She couldn't risk it.

She needed the job.

She needed the money.

And she didn't know him well enough to dump all her problems on him, especially since quite a few of them involved his very own family members.

She just shook her head as she cleared her throat. "I'm fine. Really. Just a little bit homesick."

Their impromptu eyesex session was interrupted by the twins entering, hand in hand, looking sleepy, and she couldn't help but to notice the small smile that formed on his face when he turned away from her to look over at them, both of them with matching bed heads and still clad in some character pjs.

He looked over towards the table, scanning it, as if he was looking for something.

"I want one too, please." He was smiling now, his regular personality slowly returning.

"One what?"

"A bowl."

"You're going to eat cereal?" Now she was smiling, too.

He shrugged. "Why not?"

He sat down by the table, next to Nelson, as she handed him a bowl, him filling it up with first the cereal and then the milk.

He ate a spoonful before he spoke.

"Ohhhhh, Lucky Charms, my favorite. I haven't had these for years."

He was making noises of what she assumed to be culinary fulfillment, and she just shook her head at his childish excitement, the excitement that seemed to be rubbing off on the twins as they were growing increasingly louder as well.

She sat down across from him and continued to observe him as he devoured the breakfast.

Watching him eat was crazily enjoyable.

He looked sweet, edible, just like said cereal.

He was the one eating something sugary and delicious, but somehow, she was the one drooling.

She noticed that he was picking out some of the cereal shapes, saving them in a small pile on the table, and as she leaned over to see, she realized that it was the half-moon shaped ones.

She looked at him with what he must have interpreted as an inquisitive look, as he answered her unspoken question.

"I'm saving the best for last. My mom always used to say that these would bring me good luck."

He smiled, seemingly more at himself than at her, as if he was momentarily lost in memories.

He fisnihed the bowl before she was ready for him to do so, soon standing up and walking over towards the sink while still chewing on the lucky half-moons.

"Austin? Are you coming to the beach with us?" Tilly sounded so hopeful that it almost broke her heart a little. She clearly loved having her big brother around, as if she was physically craving the family company that she clearly wasn't getting from either of her parents.

He nodded. "Maybe, Tilly. We'll see."

"Are you sure everything is ok?" He was looking at her now. Right at her.

She just nodded, because now it kind of was.

And her ability to form coherent words had mysteriously evaporated at the same quick rate as his cereal intake.

He nodded. "Good. I guess I...see you around."

And with that he exited, the large area suddenly feeling oddly empty, despite the expensive large-sized kitchen furniture taking up most of the space.

The twins ate, once again in semi-silence, both of them clearly moping over their brother's departure.

But a couple of minutes later, Nelson smiled at her.

Good. They were making progress.

Cassidy entered not even ten minutes later, and once again, she sighed in relief.

Anyone, anything, would be better than the evil king of the castle.

But she had never expected that she would be so happy to see its plastic queen.

Said queen didn't believe in neither small talk nor morning greetings, but it didn't really bother her as she was used to it by now.

She watched in silence as the plastic fantastic downed her regular morning shake, swallowing it all in one big gulp, before turning towards her.

"Mike is back." Her voice was cold, as if she was an even icier version of herself this morning.

It took her a second to process. Right. Mike. Mr. Moon. She preferred to think of him as the latter, as the formal title somehow made him less human and therefore fit him perfectly.

She nodded. "We've met." She was impressed that she managed to sound neutral.

She could tell that that surprised the blonde, her face unreadable (but what else was new), yet her whole body language suddenly becoming nervous, and perhaps a bit mad, as if such information was something she should have known already.

She recovered quickly, however.

"Well, he won't be in your way much. He's only in town for a couple of days. And he usually spends most of his time in his office, anyways."

It almost sounded as if she was trying to reassure someone, perhaps even herself, a reassurance that seemed oddly misplaced considering she was talking about her own husband.

That was the best news she had heard all week, though.

He was only going to be around for a couple of days.

Good. Great, even.

That she could handle.

That she could survive.

...

She was pretty sure that she had never gotten ready for the beach as quickly before, scurrying around to gather all their numerous things, almost as if the house was burning down and she needed to get out, which was kind of true although so far, there was more smoke than actual fire.

The golf cart was squeaking under their combined weight as she sped it down the small hill, the created breeze dancing around her face, as they made it there in what must be record time.

She scanned the beach while the twins were running across the sand, looking for nobody in particular and especially not him, no no no, not at all.

Good thing too, since he wasn't there.

She realized that she had kind of hoped that he would be, and the disappointment that washed through her almost made her mad.

Crap.

She really shouldn't care so much.

She soon located two familiar faces, or rather, bodies, propped down on a pair of beach chairs close to he water.

Brooke and Piper.

She hadn't seen them since the bonfire.

She probably should say hi.

She walked up to them, her arrival being met with the customary squealing sounds that made her feel like she was part of a pre-school cheerleading squad, a squad that was initially cute but quickly grew annoying.

They spoke for a few minutes, catching up on the last few days.

"So, the other night was fun, huh?" Brooke sounded like she genuinely meant it.

Fun.

Not really.

Unless being pushed up against a tree and watch Austin beat someone up was something to consider fun, and she didn't.

"I can't believe Elliot went home with you." Piper was shaking her head, as if to emphasize said disbelief.

Elliot.

She almost shuddered at the mere thought of him.

Douchebag.

She truly wished she wouldn't see him around.

And that Austin wouldn't, either.

"I told you I'm not interested in him. And actually, he didn't." She realized that she sounded defensive, probably too defensive, and she wasn't sure how much she should disclose. Her and the girls were friendly, but far away from friends, and for all that she knew, they were probably much closer to Elliot than to herself.

She decided on keeping it simple.

"In fact, Austin ended up walking me home."

The other girls exchanged a quick look that she couldn't help but notice.

"What?" She was curious and annoyed all at once.

"Nothing. Just...he likes a challenge. But he's also always looking for new challenges. Austin gets bored easily. Just be...careful." Piper manage to sound both caring and not all at the same time, and she wasn't completely sure she liked the way the blonde said it, as if the only reason Austin would be interested in her was because he had not (yet) concurred her or something.

It reminded her about what Elliot had said a few nights prior, about her being the shiny, new toy.

It was as if all everyone could see was her surface, her outside.

None of them knew her.

Come to think of it, neither did Austin, though.

After the kitchen interaction earlier in the morning, however, she was starting to think that perhaps she wasn't that much of a challenge, after all.

So maybe, perhaps he wouldn't be interested either way.

Not that it mattered. She didn't want him to be interested in her. Did. Not.

She excused herself, playing with the twins for a few minutes before taking a few seconds to look out over the nearby ocean. It was yet another perfect day, no surprise there, sunny, with just a perfect breeze, and so beautiful that it made any troubles easy to forget, and for a few minutes she felt...content.

She felt free, the nice air filling her lungs, replacing her anxiousness with peacefulness, and she took several deep breaths, as if being out of that house made it a million times easier to breath.

She was still standing by the shore, the warm water teasing her feet, when a familiar voice startled her.

"Nice."

She turned her face and realized that he was looking straight at her, and she wasn't entirely sure if he was talking about her or the view, but she was leaning towards the former.

So he was back. The flirty, almost impossible to resist version of himself, the version that oozed sex and was shirtless and already just a little bit sweaty.

How the heck had he managed to sneak up on her? She really needed to strengthen her senses.

She shrugged. "Eh. I guess. I don't really like the beach, you know."

Not even a full second passed before he was laughingly embracing her, dragging her into the water, her kicking and screaming, but more for show than for actual resistance.

He carried her a few yards out before diving underneath the water surface, still with her closely wrapped in his arms, the warmish water soon mimicking his embrace as it engulfed her entire body.

They resurfaced, both of them gasping for air, him no longer holding her but still laughing and her still pretending to be mad, although pretty unsuccessfully so.

It was hard to be angry when he was wet and shirtless just a few yards away.

The small ocean waves were now hitting her mid waist where she stood, and the midday sun rays were reflecting off of the blue surface from the clod-free blue sky above.

He was right.

It was nice.

"Not bad, huh?" He was still looking right at her, and she once again wasn't completely sure what he was talking about.

He was smiling, intoxicatingly so, the ocean water still drizzling down his bare chest and she just nodded.

She had to agree.

Not. Bad. At. All.

"Why did you do that?" She was moving the soaked strands of hair away from her face as she was trying to snap out of the by now too familiar state of mental drooling.

He shrugged. "You looked so hot."

She was blushing, and there was no way of hiding it, but she was silently praying that perhaps he would think it was due to the slowly building sunburn rather than her body's immediate response to him.

There were some other bodily responses, too, but those she could always blame on the water.

"I mean, like you needed to cool down..." He laughed and splashed her with water, and she knew that that was not at all what he had meant.

The drops hit her in the face.

What was with his penchant for making her wet?

They spent a few minutes riding the small waves together, side by side, before returning to the beach and the twins, spending the next few hours playing with them, also side by side.

It was kind of difficult to keep her eyes from constantly wandering over in his direction, and she wasn't oblivious to the fact that there were numerous other pairs of eyes following his every move, even if it seemed like he was.

It annoyed her how she apparently, in the matter of a few weeks, had gone from despising his hoard of admirers to becoming one of them.

One in the small crowd.

He decided to go surfing, and she sat down in one of their beach chairs, pretending to tan while keeping one eye on the twins and the other one on Poseidon riding the small waves like a god damn professional.

She was snapped out of her staring slash drooling session by Piper, who approached her with a tall, brown-haired guy by her side.

Said guy was smiling at her, and as she stood up, she realized that he reminded her of something.

Right.

A wolf.

"Ally, this is Dallas. Dallas, this is Ally." Piper had a small, almost teasing smile on her face.

"I'm Dallas. Nice to meet you."

He extended his hand to greet her, and she was just about to reach out and grab it when she felt a thick, wet arm tightly wrapping around her shoulder, pulling her close, almost possessively so, and she didn't have to look to see who said arm belonged to.

The arm was generously sharing its water drops with her chest, as Piper was giving her a look, the "I-told-you-so" one, while Dallas looked utterly confused.

"Hows it going, Dallas?" Austin sounded friendly, overly so, fakely so, and the tall brownhead just nodded in response, his hand still hanging in midair, and the tension could probably be felt on the other side of the beach.

Or perhaps on the other side of the ocean.

The four of them stood there, awkwardly, maintaining an all but comfortable conversation for a few minutes before Dallas and Piper excused themselves and left.

He let go of her shoulder and turned towards her. "It's like I can't leave you alone. Stay away from that guy."

She started to get annoyed. And mad."Is there anyone I'm allowed to hang out with?"

He wrinkled his forehead, as if he was really thinking about it, then shaking his head.

"No."

"Gee, thanks. As if you have a say in who I hang out with, anyways."

She turned and walked away, but he grabbed her hand before she had made it more than a couple of feet away from him.

He looked kind of mad, too. "Im just trying to...just trust me, you're better off. That guy is an ass."

He looked so concerned that she kind of couldn't be mad anymore.

It seemed like he meant well.

Sort of.

They spent the rest of the day tanning, swimming, eating, enjoying, and before she knew it, it was already afternoon.

"Time flies when you're having fun" had never seemed more accurate.

She kind of wanted the day to never end.

...

The twins and her returned to the house around dinner time, perhaps a bit later than usual, as she had insisted on staying at the beach for as long as possible.

She was exhausted. The long day at the beach in combination with an all but nice night of sleep was making her head jumbled, disorganized, and all she could think of was Austin and chests and dimples.

She clearly needed to rest.

She was planning on a quick dinner followed by a lengthy date with her bed.

She entered the kitchen, and for once, she was surprised to see him there, as he usually stayed away from the main house in the afternoon. Or at least from what she knew.

He had left the beach before them, and he had clearly freshened up as his beach attire had been exchanged for a plaid button down and jeans outfit.

Tilly and Nelson were giddy, perhaps from exhaustion or perhaps from having him around yet again, and she felt the exact same way for the exact same possible reasons.

He greeted them before playing around with the twins for a few minutes ,while she was trying to set the table, unsuccessfully so as, even on her tippy toes, she was unable to reach the plates she needed.

Suddenly, he was behind her, his fingers running along her bare arms and his body pressing into hers ever so slightly as he reached for the porcelain from the top shelf, easily grabbing the plates and handing them to her.

"Here you go." He smiled.

"Thank you."

"I'm happy to give you a hand whenever you want. All you have to do is ask."

"Will you stay for dinner, Austin?" She was grateful that Tilly interrupted the inevitable staring contest that followed his all but innocent statement.

Sometimes, or frequently, she wanted to hug Tilly, closely, as she often seemed to speak not just her brother's but also her mind.

He looked hesitant.

"Ally says that if you don't eat, you won't grow taller." Tilly was looking at him with big, expectant eyes.

He nodded and smiled. "Is that so? Then, I guess I better listen to Ally, huh?"

All she could do was shake her head as his eyes were piercing hers.

He was already a good size.

Perfect size.

Perfect.

"Ok, fine. Let me...I'm supposed to be somewhere, but...hold on."

She just knew that he had a date, or whatever it was that he did.

"I'll be right back." He was looking at her now.

She managed to shrug, as if to say that it didn't really matter to her whether he came back or not, although it kind of did.

He walked out of the kitchen as she could hear him dial a number.

She moved closer to the open doorway, not at all because she meant to eavesdrop.

Ok, so maybe she did.

She couldn't really hear anything but mumbling, him talking lowly and fast, and she could only make out a few fragmented sentences.

"You know what this is."

"Look, I'm sorry, something else came up."

"I don't think so Kira, I..."

She suddenly heard him hang up, and she quickly moved back to her seat by the enormous dining room table.

He reentered a few seconds later.

"Ok, plans have been officially canceled. Let's eat."

"You didn't have to do that." But boy, was she happy he had.

"I know. But there is absolutely nowhere else I rather be."

She nodded. It made sense. Of course he wanted to hang out with his siblings.

Funny how he had been looking straight at her while speaking, though.

They ate, the dinner probably as tasty as usual, she couldn't really remember as she was to busy trying to pretend that his foodgasmic faces didn't turn her on.

They finished and he helped her put the twins to bed, offering to read them a bedtime story, and she had to admit that he was doing a fantastic job, animated voices included.

They returned to the kitchen, and he helped her to clean up the few things still left before turning towards her.

"You're really great with them, you know." He sounded really sincere.

"Thank you. And likewise." She almost felt shy, suddenly acutely aware of the fact that they were alone.

He smiled. "There are a few things that I'm good at."

That was it.

It was time for her to leave, primarily because she was currently picturing him doing said other things that she was pretty certain that he would be better than just good at.

As if he knew that she was planning on leaving, he walked towards the giant freezer. "Let's have some desert."

She shook her head.

She shouldn't be alone with him.

No trust in herself and all of that.

"Why the heck not?"

She didn't really know why not, or she did but she couldn't tell him, so she shrugged as he pointed towards the nearby barstool, and she sat down on it, compliantly yet hesitantly.

He served her, a big bowl of ice-cream, then sitting down next to her, his arms kind of rubbing up against hers.

But none of them moved.

The fruity mint swirl ice-cream tasted better than she could remember, maybe becuase she hadn't had it in a long time, or perhaps because it was her favorite.

Or, more likely, it was due to the sweet company.

They ate in silence, and she was almost finished with the delicious treat when he spoke again.

"What is it about you?"

She wasn't sure what he was talking about, but then again, that was nothing new.

"What do you mean?"

"It's like you attract trouble, or something. And for some reason, I want to protect you. Make sure you're ok."

He had no idea how correct he was. In reality, he only really knew half of it.

Maybe it was the exhaustion or his intoxicating presence, either way she was too tired to think, so she just blurted out whatever came to mind.

"Do I attract you?"

She regretted it almost immediately.

She didn't really care whether he was attracted to her or not.

He stayed quiet and she started giggling, as she didn't know what else to do. He made her so damn uncomfortable, it was kind of annoying and amazing at the same time.

He nodded. "Unfortunately, I'm included in trouble." He wasn't smiling.

She stopped giggling.

"And a lot, by the way."

"What?" As he was looking at her, she could no longer recall exact what it was that they were talking about.

"You attract me. A lot."

She swallowed hard and wondered if he could hear it.

"But I'm also included in things that I kind of want to protect you from."

He stood up, the chair making a screeching sound against the tile as he grabbed her empty bowl, putting it down in the nearby sink and effectively signaling the end of their...whatever it was.

"I'll walk you to your room."

She nodded as she stood up. She was pretty certain that he was doing it not so much to be a gentleman, but because of the need to protect her that he had mentioned just a few minutes prior.

It was ridiculous, her room was not at all far away from the kitchen, and yet he probably had no clue as to how much she appreciated it.

They were almost there, passing the huge stairway, when he suddenly pulled her in into the small area underneath it.

The space was crammed, and dark, their bodies pressing in against each other's, and although she couldn't really see him, she could hear him, as they were both breathing in unison. And she could definitely feel him, feel his presence, feel his breath on her neck where he was standing, way, way too close to her, as he leaned down and whispered something in her ear.

"Today was one of the best days I have had in a very long time."

She nodded in agreement before realizing that the dark space was making it hard for him to see her. "Me too." Her voice was a whisper as well.

She could sense rather than see that he was smiling, and then his nose was rubbing up against hers, and then it was rubbing up against her neck, him breathing hard, as if he was smelling her, inhaling her, and she could feel him grow hard against her leg almost immediately while he let his lips softly run down the sensitive skin.

She involuntarily moaned and he turned around and left.

He freaking left.

She kind of wanted to scream out loud.

Was he playing some sort of twisted game, trying to figure out how many times he could leave her hanging before she would turn absolutely insane?

Because if that was the case, he was surely well on his way to winning.

She returned to her room, once again alone with her thoughts.

What a day. Week. Month.

It had been a good day, though.

She hadn't even thought of Mr. Moon.

Clearly, staying out of his way was easier than she had expected it to be.

She changed before lingering by the window, the light in the opposing house burning just as strong as the night before.

She waited for it to turn off.

But it didn't.

So he was staying in.

Again.

Good.

Or whatever.

She fought back an urge to walk over there, sneak a peek into his house and possibly into his life, before smartening up and deciding to go to bed instead, oddly comforted by the thought that they were going to sleep at the same time.

So close but so far away.

...

She didn't see him the next day.

She didn't at all look for him in the kitchen, or at the beach, or out in the backyard that she could readily see through her large bedroom window.

Ok, fine.

Maybe she looked for him once or twice.

She missed seeing him more than she cared to admit.

It was funny how she was playing an elaborate round of hide-and-go-seek, hiding from one Mr. Moon while desperately searching for the other.

Luckily, she hadn't seen the older one either.

It was late, and she was in her suite, already getting ready for bed, when she heard a small knocking sound coming from over by the glass patio door.

Funny enough, it didn't scare her.

For some reason, she was more worried about what was inside of the house than outside of it.

She walked up and spotted a familiar figure outside, his light hair almost fluorescent in the ever increasing darkness.

She saw that he was holding up a small note, and she had to walk even closer to the window to be able to read it.

"Meet me at the beach. Take the short cut."

She nodded in confused confirmation and he walked away, quickly, as if he couldn't,or shouldn't, linger too long.

She quickly threw on some shorts and a tanktop before sneaking out through the same glass door.

He was waiting for her by the entrance of the tiny forest, nonchalantly leaning up against one of the tree trunks, a bag dangling equally nonchalantly from his hand as he had a small smile on his face.

"I thought you said to meet you at the beach?" She sounded as teasing as she meant to.

"I didn't want you to walk by yourself." He didn't, as he was very serious.

She almost physically flinched at the unpleasant memory of what had happened the last time she had walked along the same exact path, albeit in the opposite direction.

Ewwwwwwwww.

They walked quickly, side by side, soon reaching the quickly darkening beach.

She watched as he set up a small bonfire, then spreading out a couple of blankets around it, sitting down on one of them and gesturing for her to sit down on the other, opposing one.

"Ahhhh, that's better. Now we can talk."

Ironically, they both stayed quiet for a few minutes after that, both of them staring into the fire, until she eventually killed the silence.

She had to clear her throat to speak. "So...do you come here often?"

He nodded. "All the time."

She quietly wondered if he usually brought company. Making out under the stars on an otherwise abandoned beach was about as cliche as it got.

Yet she wouldn't mind. At all.

She looked around. The beach was such a different place at night.

Intimate, very silent, and almost romantic.

The fire was flickering, the heat engulfing her in the darkness as the small flames reflected off of his face where he was sitting across from her, but she couldn't determine whether he looked serious or perhaps determined, or maybe both.

Regardless, talking was suddenly the last thing on her mind.

She was digging her now bare toes into the cooling sand, pretending to look for constellations in the star-sprinkled evening sky above as she was unsure of what to say, the quietness almost vibrating, only briefly interrupted by the sparkling noise created by the wood being consumed by fire.

She was feeling strangely hot, almost as if she was the wood, but consumed by a different type of fire.

"So, yesterday...last night...I...I had a good time." She could see that he was smiling now, almost shyly so, and she felt weak.

But in a good way.

She was still kind of confused about how he had acted the night before, though, and she was surprised that he had even brought it up.

"Really?"

"Of course I did." He sounded surprised that she would question it, almost as if hanging out with her should automatically be something to be considered fun.

"Well...you left kind of abruptly."

He looked embarrassed and she had never seen him at loss for words before. "I know, I'm...sorry...it's just, it wasn't the right time to...I mean, I wanted to, I just..."

She couldn't help but to smile at him.

It was completely beyond her how someone could be adorable and so freaking sexy all at once.

Luckily, he changed the topic. "So, are you still homesick?"

She shrugged. She was, just not as much. "I guess so. But I like it here, too."

She did.

As long as his dad remained absent and he remained present.

Their eyes met and lingered on each other's, not just a second but a minute too long, and she was eventually the first one to look away.

"I guess I just miss my dad a lot."

He laughed, bitterly. "I wish I cared enough about my father to miss him when he's gone."

Oh.

Right.

Tension.

So much tension.

"You guys are not...close?"

He laughed again, as if she was telling a funny joke. "If you knew him, you'd understand. My father is not...I mean, you should stay away from him. As far away as possible."

So serious.

"Actually, we had a...meeting in his office today."

That was all she was going to say about that.

She could see him tensing up, his whole demeanor changing as it seemed like he was grinding his teeth, and she could see his knuckles turning white from fisting them so hard that she thought his nails might make blood marks inside of his big hands.

"Did he..." His voice trailed off, almost as if he was to angry to speak, "...do...anything?"

How was she supposed to answer that?

Other than pushing her into a wall,and breathing on her, and saying things in an inappropriate manner, he had done nothing.

His father hadn't done anything.

She pushed away the "Yet" that inescapably popped up in her mind.

So she decided to not answer. It was probably easier that way.

She didn't have a great poker face, maybe due to the lack of plastic surgery, but he didn't seem to think anything of it, as he interpreted her silence as a negative answer, and she could see his whole body relax almost instantly.

"It's probably only a matter of time before he will attempt something. He always does."

"But I'm the nanny, I mean..." She wasn't sure whether she was trying to convince herself or him. Maybe both of them.

He interrupted her by laughing, but it wasn't a happy one. "Trust me, it's not like that would stop him."

"What do you mean?"

"Cassidy was my nanny once. Well, more like a housekeeper, but whatever."

Oh.

"Really?"

He just nodded, as he was no longer looking at her. "Just be...careful. Once he sets his eyes on something, he doesn't give up. It's one of the too many traits I have in common with him."

That made her kind of mad. "You're nothing like him, Austin." She really meant it.

"Not yet. That's what he wants, though. A miniature copy of himself. Did you know that at my age, he had already made his first million?"

She wasn't surprised. Nor impressed. It seemed to her that in this town, the quality of the peoples personalities were in reverse relation to the size of their bank accounts.

"So? You don't have to have the same dream as your dad, you know."

He nodded as he was looking off in the distance.

"I know. I just wish I was more like my mom."

She nodded in understanding. "Where is she, anyways?"

"She's dead."

It shocked her, and he shocked her, not necessarily just by his over-exaggerated bluntness, but even more so by how colored with bitterness his voice was.

She immediately felt bad for him.

Her mother wasn't dead, per se, but she saw her so infrequently that to call her absent wouldn't be a stretch.

Maybe they had more in common than she had initially thought.

"I'm sorry." She was.

"Me too."

She waited for him to elaborate, but he didn't, and she didn't dare to ask any further questions.

It obviously seemed to be a very sour topic.

She suddenly felt cold, and she wrapped her arms around herself in an attempt to keep warm.

He reached for something out of his bag as he noticed, soon throwing something on top of her lap.

A sweater.

She pulled it over her head, the thick fabric that kind of smelt like man soon hugging her, and she felt cozy, almost as if he was hugging her, the shirt completely engulfing her as it was not just a couple of sizes too big.

And then she realized what logo was of the sweater, as it was a very familiar one, and she stared at him in disbelief.

"Why do you have this?"

"What?" He seemed genuinely clueless.

"This shirt?"

"Oh...I've always wanted to go to that school. It was actually a gift from my mom. Why?"

"That's my school. Thats where I go."

He laughed out loud. "Right. Miami. So you're living my dream, huh?"

She kind of couldn't believe it.

Why did he want to go there?

It was a performing arts university.

She was studying songwriting.

Maybe for acting?

He did, after all, have the character of spoiled playboy down to a tee, although she was starting to see that perhaps it was more of a role and less of a complete lifestyle than she had thought.

"So...why don't you go there?"

She immediately felt bad. Maybe he hadn't gotten in.

"My father doesn't support it. He says it's a waste of time."

Nice.

"What do you want to study?"

He shrugged. "I want to sing. And write. I think. I don't really know."

She couldn't quite believe that they kind of had the same dream.

He continued. "It's funny, really, because the one person who could help me figure it out is the one person I refuse to work with."

She took a wild guess. "Your..father?"

He just nodded. "I can't stand him."

She already had that much figured out.

She was afraid to ask, but did so anyways."Why?"

Part of her kind of wished that he hadn't heard her.

He waited a minute before he spoke again.

"He killed my mother. I mean, he didn't actually, but..." He was shaking his head, as if he wasn't sure of how much to share with her.

"You can talk to me."

"My dad's recipe for a successful marriage has always been to add a new mistress per year."

Oh.

She stayed quiet.

"My mom...she died from heart break. Not literally, she swallowed pills for that, but it was his fault. He had had many affairs, but when he got Casssidy pregnant, that's when she finally left him."

Oh.

He continued, as if he couldn't stop once he had gotten started.

"She never really got over it, and when he married Cassidy a few years later she decided to..." His voice trailed off.

"I'm pretty sure that marrying my father had been Cassidy's plan all along, though. But it took her longer than she had expected, the twins were already a few years old when they finally got married. And he hasn't been faithful to her for even a day since then. Seriously. He got drunk and had sex with one of the bridesmaids in the guest bathroom after their ceremony, and she spent their wedding night trying to seduce me for the very first time."

Her heart was beating so, so, so fast.

Crap. Crap crap crap crap crap.

She really didn't want to hear anything else.

"Unsuccessfully so."

Could he hear the breath of relief that escaped her?

"And every time after that has been unsuccessful as well, which is probably part of the reason for her bitterness towards me. And towards life."

Woha.

That was kind of a lot to process.

And it wasn't even her life.

"So, I guess I can kind of understand why you've become the cliche badboy who doesn't believe in love." She laughed a little, as to let him know that she was joking, although she kind of wasn't.

He shrugged.

"For others, maybe I do. I mean...I don't know. I just know that I don't want to get married."

He had picked up a small driftwood stick, drawing small doodles in the sand while avoiding her gaze, and she suddenly realized that they were sitting oddly far away from each other.

"What are you doing all the way over there, anyways?"

"I'm trying to keep my distance." His voice was low, serious, and she could barely hear him over the sparkling fire.

She almost laughed. "Then why did you invite me here in the first place?"

He shrugged. "I guess I like self-torture." He was smiling, but it didn't look real.

"Come on. I won't bite you." She patted the space next to her.

She wasn't sure why she was being so persistent.

It wasn't like she wanted him close or anything.

Not at all.

He shook his head as he rose, walking around the small fire in a few quick steps, then sitting down on the blanket right next to her before turning his face towards her.

"Maybe it's not biting that I'm worried about."

He looked sad and she realized that she had been wrong. He wasn't a wolf, at least not a dangerous one.

Perhaps more like a broken one, a limping one, probably hungry but not dangerous.

The fires, both the actual and figurative one, kept on burning as the conversation continued, now jumping effortlessly from one light topic to the next, talking about school and her dad and Trish, and she had absolutely no idea of how much time passed.

Not that she cared.

"Do you surf?" They were talking about non-musical interests, and he sounded hopeful.

She shook her head, vigorously. "No." He clearly didn't know her.

He laughed. "I'm going to teach you."

She nodded, as in that moment, there was nothing in the whole wide world she wanted to learn more.

"I would love that."

He was turned towards her, his face suddenly so, so close to hers, the air between them sparkling, as if it was trying to imitate the now slowly dying fire, and for a minute she thought he might finally kiss her, but he didn't and it bothered her, a lot.

He stood up. "Ready to head back?"

She nodded although she wasn't sure she was.

She kind of didn't want the night to ever be over.

Him, her, them, there on the beach, with absolutely nobody watching, was the happiest she could recall being since she had arrived there.

But she guessed all good things must come to an end.

They packed up and walked back through the forest, their hands periodically slamming into each other's as they were walking to close, side by side, until he simply just grabbed hers and held it once they were about halfway there.

He stalled and stopped her right before they were about to re-enter the huge property that he called home and she called crazy town.

"Thank you, I...I had a great time."

Before she knew it, he was pulling her into a hug, his one arm reaching all the way around her, his heart beating against her chest and gosh, did he smell good.

"I did to."

He loosened the hug a bit, and suddenly, they were looking at each other again, his face slightly bent down towards hers, and she kind of couldn't breath despite him generously sharing his breath with her.

"I really wanted to kiss you back there, by the fire."

Gah. "Then why didn't you?"

"You didn't ask me to."

She appreciated his need for permission, perhaps even more so after the last few days, she really did, but crap, how could he not know that she wanted him to kiss her.

Funny how the spoiled brat was the most polite man she had met since she had gotten there.

"Please kiss me." It sounded more demanding than she had anticipated, perhaps because she desperately wanted to taste him.

He didn't wait, his lips finally and quickly on hers.,

The kiss was soft, less urgent than she had anticipated but better, god, so much better, and it surprised her, not because it was good but because she liked it too much.

His well-defined chest was pressing into her, his arms wrapped around her, his mouth now traveling down her neck as he was nibbling on her skin, small bites interspersed with soft kisses, until his mouth returned to hers and they continued to kiss in the dark night.

They weren't a wolf and a lamb, but more like a pair of cats, equals, not engaged in a fight but in a playful, sexual dance, exploring, and definitely in heat.

She had been correct.

It clearly was mating season.

He suddenly moved away. "I don't...I don't want to get you into trouble, I shouldn't have done that, I...I'm sorry."

She wasn't.

The only regret she had was that they were no longer kissing.

He walked away, of course he did, and as he was soon out of her sight, she leaned back against the nearby tree, trying to catch her breath before she slowly walked the short distance back towards the mansion, soon sneaking back in through the glass door as the taste of him was still gloriously present in her mouth.

She realized that she was still wearing his sweater.

It still smelled good.

So good.

She changed before she lingered by the window, waiting for the usual light to turn on, but it didn't.

So he had gone out.

Probably to hunt.

And not for her.

It hurt her, but she realized that what he did was absolutely none of her business.

They had shared one kiss.

That was it.

She didn't care.

Or at least, she shouldn't.

She went to bed, her head once again spinning, as he was now making somersaults in there.

A couple of hours later, and she finally fell asleep, with the curtains open.

She wasn't ready to say goodbye to him, even if he wasn't home.

...

At first, she was annoyed, as she thought that it was her alarm that had woken her up, and she cursed out loud.

How was it even possible that it was morning already?

Then she realized that it wasn't her alarm, but rather a small, knocking sound.

A small, knocking sound that was coming from the glass door, and was growing louder with each passing second.

She walked over there and opened it, letting the blond noise-maker in while letting the butterflies in her stomach out.

"Took you long enough."

"I'm sorry, I was, you know, sleeping."

Lub-dub, Lub-dub.

What was that noise?

Right.

Her heart.

He laughed as he embraced her, pressing her into him once again, and he was too close for comfort but she didn't mind.

"What are you doing here?"

At first, he didn't say anything, as he started to walk them backwards, towards her enormous bed.

"I missed you."

Lub-dub, Lub-dub.

"I'm sorry I left like that, I...I didn't really think you wanted me to fuck you up against that tree,and I'm pretty sure I would have, so..."

She ran her fingers through his hair, and she noticed that it was a bit damp, and that the alcohol on his breath that she had kind of expected was noticeably absent.

"You...went out?" She tried to sound neutral.

He shook his head. "No, I went night surfing. I needed to clear my head."

"Clear your head?"

He sighed. "Yeah. It didn't work, though. You're still in it."

Oh.

"I'm trying to escape you, I'm trying to find distractions, but yet all I can see is you."

Lub-dub-Lub-dub-Lub-dub-Lub-dub-Lub-dub-Lub-dub-Lub-dub-Lub-dub-Lub-dub-Lub.

He was running his finger over her cheek, soon outlining her lips with it, as if his digit was a lipstick, and she couldn't help herself from opening her mouth, letting the tip of his finger slip into it, slightly sucking on it, and he moaned before he removed it and leaned in, his lips covering hers thoroughly and completely.

The kiss was not sweet.

At all.

It was mouth sex and tounge sex and very, very rushed and wonderful and literally breathtaking, his tongue massaging hers in rapid licks, making her desperately crave that same tongue on other parts of her body.

How long did they make out for?

She had no clue.

Minutes?

Hours?

He was the one who moved away first, gently pushing her down on the nearby bed, then standing there, hovering over her with one arm on each side of her body, but not laying down.

"What are you doing?" It was kind of hard to speak as she was still breathing hard.

Minutes-hours of making out would do that to you.

"Waiting." So was he.

"For what?"

"I told you that the next time I'd be in your bed, it would be because you had invited me."

She laughed. He was cute. "Austin, please come into my bed."

And then he was on her, not a full second later, his large body pressing her much petiter one into the luxurious mattress, his hips perfectly aligned with hers, his weight slightly offset by him resting some of it on his elbows, caging her in, but she had never felt more free nor comfortable.

The kiss was even more urgent now, as they undressed each other, both of them soon down to their underwear and her fingers were gliding over his hard abs, she could feel the muscles move and contract under her touch, and she couldn't have enough.

Small, humming, approving sounds were escaping from his mouth, and turned her on so much that she might as well could have been drunk, as it was absolutely impossible to think straight, and her head was once again spinning, but in a nice way, making her feel light-headed and wonderful all at once.

His large hands were traveling over her body, and she could almost physically feel him move inside of her by him just simply touching her, his fingers running against her bare hips, her legs, and soon in between them.

Oh, he was go(o)d.

He was burying his nose in her neck, his teeth lightly digging in to her skin as she let her hand run over the front of his now seemingly very tight boxers.

"Fuck."

She could feel his now limited restraint slipping away by the second, and hearing him curse did absolutely nothing to increase hers.

She could feel him, pressing into her, almost where she wanted to feel him, and she worked hard on trying to keep quiet as she wondered if someone could hear them.

Another thought quickly crossed her mind and made her freeze.

...or see them.

Her mouth moved away from his, her whole body protesting her decision.

"Are there cameras in here?"

He shook his head. "I dont think so."

And then he kissed her again and she could no longer care.

He reached for the waistband of her underwear, about to pull them down, when he suddenly froze and moved off of her, quickly and quietly collecting his clothes off the floor before he walked away, the glass door almost vibrating from him closing it shut behind him.

All she could do was lay there, half-naked, still breathing hard.

What the crap?

Why did he leave?

She had been wrong, after all, because he was the most dangerous predator of them all, as while the other ones where just after her body, he was well on his way of stealing her heart.

Her very alive heart that was hurting in her chest.

...

She woke up, startlingly so, but she was pretty much used to that by now.

It was still dark.

Why was she awake?

Right.

The door had opened.

She instinctively knew she wasn't alone, although she couldn't see anything in the darkness.

She felt panic slowly rising through her as her sleepy mind processed the fact that the intruder had come from inside the house, and she moved to sit up.

Whomever was there still hadn't said anything, and the eerie quietness freaked her out.

It took a few seconds for her to pick up on it - the too heavy breathing that sounded too familiar although she hadn't heard it for a few days.

"Austin?" Her voice was trembling, a bit too much, reflecting the current state of the rest of her body.

It was quiet for another second or two, and then all she heard was a low, almost evil laughter, that made her skin literally crawl.

"You wish."