Page 72 of Austin

“No. It was only Beckett. He was always in trouble, and my dad unleashed on him to the point where it became expected. Beckett didn’t leave the house until I went to Davis, and we haven’t been back since.”

“Did you ever think that maybe he was protecting you?”

Her head pops up, and her hair falls in front of her face. “How so?”

I brush the strands behind her ear. “Maybe he got in trouble on purpose, so your dad would hit him and not you?”

Her mouth purses as she contemplates my words. She lies back down and curves her body right back against mine.

“Eva says I protect Beckett too much. I stayed close to home instead of choosing an East Coast school. I followed him to San Francisco, paid off his gambling debt when he was betting on football games, called in sick for my job so that I could drive to Reno to have him back in time for his job after he missed his ride from partying too late. I’ve held him back from numerous fights at bars, and once, I spent an entire weekend convincing him that the life of a gigolo was not as appealing as it was in the movies.”

“Well, HBO had a pretty convincing show on that even had me thinking I could have a pretty glamorous life as a male escort.”

“Hung definitely tainted the minds of the impressionable.” She yawns. “I told you, you had a lot in common.”

Wrapping my arms around her, I pull her tightly into me and kiss her forehead. “Jalynn …”

She lets out a tiny yawn.

“What you said to my family tonight …”

“I’m sorry if I overstepped—”

“Thank you.” I sigh into her hair and place a soft kiss on her temple. “No one’s ever stuck up for me like that.”

“I was just being honest.”

I chuckle from deep within my chest. “Well then, I’m glad you met my family on a day you were happy with me and not when we met a few weeks ago. Your honesty might not have been as flattering.”

I hear a slight giggle escape her lips as she curls into me more.

“Go back to sleep, baby. You’re tired.”

She arches her back with another yawn. “I’ll stay up with you.”

“No, I’m good. I’m gonna close my eyes, too,” I say and feel her body slowly lull to sleep.

* * *

She snores.

Of course, the girl who has worked her way into my heart has a respiratory problem. She has to be a pain in the ass, even in her sleep.

After my nightmare last night, I had a hard time falling back asleep, so I lay with Jalynn resting on my chest as I brushed my fingers through her silky, dark hair. Her hand wrapped around my waist while little vibrations echoed out her throat with each breath as she pulled deeper into her sleep.

I should have been annoyed, but the more I thought about it, the more I thought it was the cutest sound I’d ever heard in my fucking life.

We lay like that all night. She slept and I sat in the dark. I couldn’t help but notice the odd sense of calm.

Being with Jalynn is the most content I’ve felt in years.

The draw I feel toward her is primal. Either I’m fighting with her or fighting others, so they stay away from her. Is it a douche-bag move? Hell yeah. But she brings out the beast in me that needs to be tamed. And, right now, it’s happily hibernating in her bed with her nestled into me, purring like a lion.

“Austin,” she breathes against my chest.

I look down to see her eyes are still closed and fluttering with the dream she’s having. I smile to myself, knowing she’s dreaming of me.

It’s been a while since I let someone in. Jalynn’s seen the surface, and after last night, she’s gotten a taste of what lies beneath. I never thought I’d be ready to share my life, but I want her to know me. The whole me.