Chapter 12
Ella
Ella couldn’t explain why her anger melted away the moment Austin grabbed her hand. It just did. He seemed sincere when he said he was sorry, and if he were going to be an asshole and treat her like just a one-night stand then he wouldn’t have gone out of his way at the speed-dating event to talk with her.
“Thanks for getting me out of there,” Ella said. “I had no desire to sit through all of that.”
Austin let out a loud laugh. “I was going to get out of there whether you were coming with me or not. You coming with me was an added bonus.”
Ella smiled. They walked up to the path near the ocean and Ella leaned down to take off her heels so she could walk in the sand. Austin stood behind her and watched her bend over.
“Way to just stand there and check out my ass,” Ella laughed.
“I can’t help it, it’s a nice view.”
Ella stood up and playfully hit Austin’s shoulder. She grabbed his hand and dragged him closer to the ocean. “So, what’s your story?” Ella asked. “Why did you get dragged here with your clan?”
“That is a long rabbit hole I don’t really feel like going down,” Austin said.
Ella’s face fell. Great, so he is one of those guys that hates opening up, Ella thought. Ella turned her head to the ocean to hide her disappointment. She should have known that he wasn’t going to be different than the rest of them. The sun had started to lower itself into the horizon. The night sky began to cast out from the sinking sun with hints of oranges and yellows. Ella let out a long sigh.
Austin walked up behind her and reached his hand to her chin, pulling her face back towards his. She looked deeply into Austin’s brown eyes.
“It’s just that I don’t want to burden you with a sad story,” Austin said. Ella looked deeper into his eyes. She could see the sadness that he was trying to hide. Ella wanted to be the one to help him, to take away his sadness. Austin pressed a hesitant kiss on Ella’s lips. Her body instantly melted into his, and she felt her heart reach out to him.
Austin broke their kiss and took Ella’s hands in his, and they started to walk down the beach again. Maybe if I open up to him, he will eventually do so with me.
“Well, I can tell you why I’m here,” Ella said. Austin looked over at her and smiled.
“I had been dating this guy Gavin for a little while and he never really treated me right.” Ella felt the muscles in Austin’s hand tense. “No, no, it was nothing like that. I was just not his top priority. He blew me off for a lot of things, and I feel like he probably cheated on me a few times.”
Ella felt Austin tense again. She squeezed his hand to try and show that she was alright.
“He would always call me late, and several times there were muffled sounds of music and people around him, and my trust in him disappeared. The week before we came here, he blew me off again. We had made dinner plans and he just never showed. Finally, when I called him he answered, and it sounded like he was in the middle of a dance party. So, I ended it. The next day I was telling my friends about it and they brought me here, thinking it would make me feel better, getting back into the dating scene. But I think it just made me feel worse.”
Ella was surprised how good she felt after telling Austin why she was there. She never had opened up to a stranger like that before, but for some reason she felt comfortable around him.
They walked up to a private cabana and sat down on the fluffy, round lounge chair. Austin had been silent while she explained why she was here, and now he was staring at her. Ella leaned back and sighed. She hoped she hadn’t shared too much with him too quickly.
“I don’t understand how a guy could ever not make you his top priority,” Austin said honestly. “If you were mine, I would make sure you knew that every day.”
Ella felt butterflies dance in her stomach. Under Austin’s tough exterior there was a sweet guy. Ella pushed her body up on the pillows and gently kissed Austin. They leaned back and Ella nuzzled into Austin’s large chest. She was comforted by his strong heartbeat. Austin wrapped his arms around her tighter and held her close. They laid there in comfortable silence for several moments.
“My ex-girlfriend, Callie, was killed by a drunk driver,” Austin said. Ella slightly inhaled and looked up towards his face. “Since her death, I have not been the same man that I was. I blamed myself for it because I should have been there with her, and I let the rage and anger consume me. ”
“I’m so sorry, Austin,” Ella said honestly. Ella couldn’t imagine losing someone she loved like that. That explained why Austin’s tough exterior when it came to women and she understood why he left her in the library. She wouldn’t really want to start up anything with anyone either if she were in his shoes, and since this whole resort’s focus is to hook everyone up, she couldn’t blame him for thinking that was her intention.
“You know,” Ella said. “The night in the library, I wasn’t expecting—”
Austin cut her off with a kiss to her lips. “I know you weren’t,” Austin said. “Which is why you are so different from every woman here.”
They laid together in the lounge chair, Ella wrapped in Austin’s muscular, tanned arms. The sun finished setting, caressing the sky as it slowly dipped below the gentle curve of the ocean. Ella let out a long sigh. She had to admit that this resort was beautiful.
Lying on her side, Ella nuzzled deeper into Austin’s chest and inhaled his addicting scent. It was musky, and it reminded her of being outdoors. She loved it. She slightly moved her left leg over his and he quickly grabbed it and pulled it up over his waist.
His fingers glided slowly up from her ankle to her kneecap and then up her thigh. When he reached the hemline of her dress he teased her by slowly moving his finger back and forth. Ella wanted nothing more than his hand to move farther up her leg. She lightly rolled her hips against him. His fingers slowly moved underneath her hemline of her green dress, diving into the depths of her inner thigh. Her smooth skin suddenly rippled with goosebumps. His fingers lightly grazed over her sex above her thong and she let out a slight moan.
“So, did you enjoy dinner?” he asked with his smirk as his fingers continued to explore her underneath her dress.
“It was good,” she replied as she turned to look into his eyes. “But I think I could go for another nibble or two.” Her lips pressed into his, smiling as their tongues danced together in the dull light of the tiki lamps near the cabana.
“Oh, I think I could bite me off more than just a nibble.”
Austin’s hand rose from her supple depths, landing on her midriff and pushing Ella down into the lounge chair as he rolled over on top of her. He kissed her again, pulling her hips into his. She wrapped her hands around the back of his head, her fingers intertwined into the brown curls of his hair.
He playfully bit her lip, then moved on to her neck, the crest of her collarbone. He pushed her up on the cabana so that he had more room and moved down to kiss her legs. Ella leaned her head back in pleasure as he slowly kissed his way up to the hemline of her dress. He pushed up the fabric of the dress and trailed kisses up to the edge of her thong. He grabbed the elastic with his teeth and pushed it to the side, holding it in place with his right hand.
With his left he lightly trailed his fingers down her folds and slowly pushed inside. Ella felt her whole body contract as she let out a loud moan. Austin pushed his fingers in and out and teased her clit with his tongue. His warm mouth on her was enough to almost push Ella over the edge, but she held on, letting the pressure build up inside her.
“Oh God,” Ella moaned.
Austin started to flick his tongue faster as he moved his finger inside her. He slipped them both out and put two of them back in, which caused Ella’s legs to tighten around Austin’s head. She tangled her left hand in his hair and held on with the right to a pillow just above her head.
“Austin,” Ella moaned. “I need you inside of me.”
While keeping his fingers inside of her, Austin sat up and started to unbuckle his belt. He took his thumb, pressed it on her clit and slowly rubbed her as he unzipped his pants and slid them partly down his legs. Ella was still in her dress and Austin was still in his dress shirt, but Ella didn’t care. She needed him.
“How much do you want me, Ella?” Austin asked
“Oh God, so fucking badly.”
Ella sat up and pulled down his boxer briefs. She grabbed hold of his full length and pushed him inside her. She arched her back up as he entered her and let out a loud moan. Austin pushed up her dress around her waist and Ella heard the rip of her thong, but all she could think about was how Austin filled her completely.
Austin started to pump his hips and Ella held on to his broad shoulders. Austin was about to push her over the edge and all she could do was hang on and let him take her.
“Oh God, Austin, don’t stop,” Ella moaned.
Austin grabbed her hips and guided her harder down on him. He moved his hands underneath Ella’s ass and lifted her hips on the lounge chair. Austin leaned his torso up so he was on his knees while Ella remained on her back, her hips in the air. His movements became faster as Ella’s moans got louder.
“Oh! Yes!” Ella moaned. The pressure inside her exploded, and she felt warm heat radiate throughout her body. Ella tightened herself around Austin and he let out a low growl as he released inside of her.
Ella’s body fell back onto the cabana in ecstasy. She had never believed sex could be that good. Austin pulled back up his boxer briefs and pants and crashed beside her. He pulled her body next to him and wrapped his arms around her. The rhythmic sound of the waves crashing on the shore gently lulled Ella to sleep.
***
The sun shone brightly behind Ella’s eyelids. Ella stretched her body out and smiled to herself when she felt Austin’s hard chest behind her back. She rolled over to face him.
“Morning, beautiful,” Austin said.
Ella smiled. “Morning.”
Austin reached his arm around her and pulled her closer to him. “I like waking up next to you,” he said.
Ella’s heart skipped a beat. She liked waking up next to him, too. She lightly kissed his lips.
“As nice as this is,” Austin said, “we should probably get back to our rooms before someone finds us out here.” Ella smiled and nodded.
Austin walked her back to her bungalow, holding her hand. A comfortable silence fell between them, and Ella smiled to herself. This was the first time she was actually comfortable being silent around someone. With Gavin she always felt she needed to fill in the gaps with conversation, but with Austin she could happily walk in silence, holding his strong hand.
In the short amount of time she had known Austin, she was starting to fall for him. She was nervous about falling too quickly, but there was something about Austin that made everything feel right. She felt a powerful force between them that she couldn’t fully explain, but she loved how it felt.
They reached her door and Ella slowly turned to face Austin. He reached up and lightly brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. Ella bit her lip and smiled. Austin leaned in and gently kissed her lips.
“I would like to see you later,” Austin said. “If you are interested.”
“I’d love to,” Ella said honestly.
Austin smiled. “I will come by this afternoon, and we can skip the rest of the mandatory activities together.”
Ella smiled and nodded. She turned to her door and inserted the key. She gave Austin a slight wave and walked inside.
Once the door closed behind her, she leaned against it and let out a long sigh.
“Well, I see you have been having some fun,” Sierra said. Ella jumped at her voice.
“Sierra? What are you doing here?” Ella asked.
Sierra walked out of Ella’s bedroom. “I was worried about you,” she said. “You know me, always the protective one.” Ella walked up to Sierra and gave her a hug.
“Thanks for being protective, B.”
Sierra moved over to the couch and sat down. “So, tell me about him.” A huge smile spread across Ella’s face. She sat down on the couch next to Sierra and told her about the night at the library and her night on the beach.
Sierra let out a laugh. “And you were so upset when you first got here. See, a fling like this is going to be great for you.”
Ella smiled. Meeting Austin had made this vacation worth it. Ella knew she was already in trouble, though, because she was falling and falling fast for the sexy clan leader.
This can’t be just a fling, Ella thought.