The Lawson Brothers: Love So Perfect Part 7

"Florida State."

"Rivals. Figures." She practically smirked at him. "Keep digging that hole."

"We both like animals."

"Really?" She glanced around. "Where's your dog?"

"Don't have one." He narrowed his eyes. "I was raised on a farm."

"Raised in the city."

He made a noise. "Holland Spring is a larger small town at best."

"Why are you arguing with me?" she asked, staring at him in confusion. "I'm only doing you a favor."

"By blitzing a play that hasn't even been executed?" He crossed his muscular arms over his chest. "C'mon, Harper, I don't give a d.a.m.n about how old you are, and you shouldn't either."

"Easy to say when you don't have to worry about people calling you a cougar."

"You're not forty," he pointed out.

"And you're not thirty." She tossed her head. "Why are you being so stubborn?"

"h.e.l.lo, pot."

"Oooh. You are infuriating."

He bowed a little. "I think you need some livening up."

"Is that another shot at my lack of a personal life?"

"Nope. I only said that because you're d.a.m.n gorgeous when you're all riled up." This time, he smirked. Except on him, it was s.e.xy and not stupid or c.o.c.ky.

"There is no way this is going to work," she said, stepping away from him.

He grabbed her arm, pulling her to him. "Hey... don't be that way. I was only teasing you to get your mind off... things."

"Like that I'm a cougar?"

"So you do want me in your bed." He winked.

She lightly punched at his chest. "That's not helping."

"Would it help if I kiss you again?" He dipped his head, bringing his lips dangerously close to hers. All she had to do was stand on her tiptoes, and she could- "No." Pulling away from him, she gave him her best teacher look and shook a finger at him. "Behave, or else."

"Else what?"

"Or else, I'll never let you in my bed." There. Let's see how he handles that.

"Try again."

"You think you're that good?"

"I think you think I'm that good, and you would be right."

She threw her hands up in the air. "You seriously have to stop this."

"Flirting with you?"

"Yes. It's... how will we work together on Tuesday if we can't go longer than five seconds without teasing one another?"

"It's called flirting, Harper. Say it with me. Flir-ting."

"Flirting," she said softly.

"Good girl." He dusted her bottom lip with his thumb. Her heart slammed against her chest. She wanted to suck on his thumb, take it between her teeth, and nibble it. "Flirting is what a man and a woman do when they're attracted to one another."

There was a sharp crack. A trio of women spilled out of the shadows of the trees, laughing and holding up their cell phones while taking selfies.

Abruptly, Austin stopped touching her and stepped back, the playful light in his eyes dimming. "I brought a couple of tennis b.a.l.l.s for Libby to play with, if you don't mind."

The wind gusted, sending a bone-chilling breeze through her clothing. It was almost as effective at extinguishing her desire as a cold shower. "I'm sure she'd love it."

Austin whistled for Libby, and the dog came bounded over. He rubbed her head and showed her the tennis ball in his hand before he gave it a good throw. Libby ran after it, barking like mad.

Harper sat down on a nearby bench and watched the two of them. A scene like this should have gotten to her in a good way, but she couldn't stop thinking about what would happen if everyone did find out about her and Austin.

Except... she and Austin weren't doing anything. Sure, they'd kissed and been on two dates, but that was hardly an endors.e.m.e.nt for a dating label. All she knew was what he told her, what he claimed to feel for her, and what he didn't care about.

Like their age difference.

Geez Louise.

She felt foolish for even admitting it to him in the first place, but the old habit of wanting to belong to that exclusive club of McCoy women hadn't died out completely yet. She still cared about what they thought. It was stupid and she knew it, yet she couldn't escape it.

There was nothing she could do except become completely professional with Austin. No more flirting. No more kisses. No more- Austin stretched, his t-shirt riding up to expose rock-hard abs and a thin, dark trail of hair that disappeared under the waistband of his athletic pants.

Dear Lord. How was she supposed to become professional when she got a glimpse of what he looked like under his clothes?

She lifted her gaze skyward, muttering, "Not fair, G.o.d. Totally not fair."

Apparently, G.o.d was in an exceptionally humorous frame of mind because when she brought her gaze back to Austin, he'd taken off his shirt.

Her world tilted.

Slamming a hand down on the bench, she attempted to keep herself upright and succeeded for the most part.

"Hope you don't mind," he said, muscles flexing. He had tattoos on his biceps, clear down to his elbows. How in the world had she missed that?

Oh, right, he'd been wearing long sleeves and had only pushed them up.

"Don't mind at all," she managed to say, once she unglued her tongue from the top of her mouth.

He flashed a grin at her, and then went back to throwing tennis b.a.l.l.s for Libby. His back muscles flexed with each throw, his narrow waist turning so that she could see those deep vees in the front that made her feel downright stupid. He was finer than any statue ever carved.

Why in the world should she care about what anyone thought?

New year, new you.

That's what you said last year.

Last year, I didn't have proper incentive.

But now she did.

Austin raised his arms above his head and did some stretching move that left her breathless.

She really did have the best incentive ever.

Later that afternoon, Austin ran around his neighborhood, hoping to blow off some steam and get rid of the s.e.xual tension building in his body. He had Harper to thank for that. Never in his life had he wanted a woman so badly, not even the coach's daughter in high school... and he'd been a h.o.r.n.y teenager then.

No, this kind of wanting went much deeper. The kind that he was afraid meant more or would mean more if he continued to see her.

Slowing to a walk, he placed his hands on his hips and breathed deeply.

If he were an a.s.shole, he'd hit and quit it, get her out of his system and move on. Tell Finley that she could put on her big-girl panties and save her own d.a.m.n job. But that wasn't him, that had never been him, and he wasn't about to start now.

Plus, he wanted to see Harper again. "d.a.m.n it," he breathed.

By the time he made it back to his house, his body was cooled down, but his mind was restless.

Grabbing his phone, he texted a few buddies, asking them to come over Sunday night. Right away, they each replied with a firm yes.

Smiling, he strode to the bathroom and cut on the shower, then tossed his phone on the counter. Sure, it would take a while for everyone to get here, but late nights were nothing in the off-season. Besides, he needed the distraction from Harper.

He needed to be able to go into her cla.s.sroom on Tuesday and act normally, not like some infatuated fool.

As steam began to rise, he toed out of his running shoes and stripped off his clothes, then stepped under the stream of water. He leaned against the cool tiles and let it run over him.

Immediately, his mind went to Harper. He started to picture her hands on his body, her sweet mouth licking at the water. His c.o.c.k started to harden at the thought.

Worse, his mind now had her on her knees in front of him, her hands wrapped around his erection while she licked the tip of- Austin groaned, and his c.o.c.k jumped.

With a frustrated growl, he grabbed a bar of soap and lathered up, trying in vain to ignore his aching b.a.l.l.s as he washed his body. But his erection wasn't going down any time soon.

"Son of a b.i.t.c.h," he growled.

Finally, he took matters into his own hands.

Chapter Six.

"You want to explain to me again why you're so upset with the images on your Instagram?" Finley asked Austin over the phone.

He took a deep breath and leaned against the countertop of the bar. "Because Harper didn't consent to them, that's why." Plus, they hadn't been taken by him, but by those random women in the park. As soon as he'd seen them, he'd backed off, but it was too late.

"Does she have Instagram?" Finley asked.

"Shouldn't you already know that?" he countered, grabbing his phone and searching for Harper's name on the site.

"Honestly, I was too excited about her lack of stalker tendencies and criminal record that I didn't bother with social media beyond Facebook. That account is on lockdown by the way. Settings are way private."

"That's because she likes her privacy" he said. Coming up empty with his search, he put the phone down and took another drink of scotch. "How in the h.e.l.l am I going to explain this to her?"

"Try the truth."

"I asked her to not look me up on the Internet," he said. "While I can't control what the media says or speculates, I can keep the reason away from her."

"You mean to tell me that she still hasn't seen the video?" Finley asked, her voice incredulous.

Austin pulled at the collar of his shirt. "Not that I'm aware of. d.a.m.n, it's hot in here."

"Look, I think you're making a mountain out of a molehill. So what if images of the two of you show up on the Internet, or on any of your social media accounts? She has to know that in some circles, you're pretty d.a.m.n famous," Finley said. "It's not like you lied about who you are-oh Good Lord, Austin, please tell me she knows who you are."

"How stupid do you think I am-wait, don't answer that. Yes, she knows who I am. We're from the same town. Our families are from the same town. Kinda hard to hide out here." Except today at church and again at lunch, he'd avoided answering every single question his mother had thrown his way when it came to his love life. Fortunately, it was rather easy to distract his momma with news of how long he planned on being back home. Both of his parents loved having everyone home. Well, not everyone was home with Elijah gone, but he traveled with their blessings, and that did help... a little.

"Exactly," Finley said, pulling him out of his head. "Which is why it should come as no shock to Harper Bell-don't you just love that name?-that people want to know what you're up to. You're the all-American dream. The hometown guy who made it big, yet who didn't forget about the little people. Get the byline?"

"Yeah, I get it." Didn't mean he liked it though. "I'm worried that she'll get hurt."

"Then make sure she doesn't."

His brother's words. .h.i.t him hard in that moment. "Brother, as much as I think you're a good man who would rather die than break his word, there are some things in life you cannot guarantee."

"I start volunteering at Jessamine Elementary on Tuesday."

Finley seized on that like a dog after a bone. "Excellent. That will be just what the image booster doctor ordered."

"Thought you'd like that." He glanced up as the first of his teammates and their dates walked into the ma.s.sive living room that doubled as an entertainment room. "Gotta go. Spending time with my boys tonight."