Teach Me To Live (Teach Me - Book One) by Alannah Carbonneau Read Free Book Online Page B

up from the grass to look deeply into my eyes, his face only inches from my own.
    “Believe me, the day my hurt becomes clear to you, all this—us—whatever we are, will go up in a cloud of smoke.” His intense azure eyes darkened on my face, the ebony frame of his lashes narrowing around their brilliant orbs. “I’m really liking this whole—us—whatever we are, thing. So, what do you say we leave the messy-bound-to-destroy-us bits out of it for just a little while longer?”
    “You know, Austin, you really are a conundrum.”
    He tipped his head. “How so?”
    “Because, I think you’re the first person on the planet who can convince me, that their keeping something from me, is for the better.”
    “Believe me, sweetheart,” he tucked a stray strand of hair behind my ear. “It’s for the better.”
    Austin pulled his bike up to a small, but tidy looking mobile home that was surrounded by thick trees that stretched impossibly high into the sky. We passed only one other trailer from where we’d been parked by the river, on our way here. It was about a two minute drive from Austin’s house. Between the two homes was a thick patch of trees that offered the necessary privacy one who lived in such a secluded place would surely require upon purchasing the land.
    As I pushed myself from the bike, I glanced back to the trees in the direction of the other home.
    Obviously seeing me looking, Austin explained. “It’s my parent’s place.”
    “Oh,” I couldn’t help the surprise that sounded in my voice.
    I don’t know why, but I sort of expected Austin to be, well, estranged from his parents. I mean, if I looked like Austin; skin covered in tattoos, icy eyes, and black leather on a fast bike, I was certain Mom and Dad would disown me, no questions asked.
    Quirking the grin I was beginning to think was his signature, he replied. “All you’ve got to say is ‘oh’?”
    “Is there something wrong with ‘oh’?”
    His eyes scanned my face. “In a conversation with anyone else, ‘oh’ wouldn’t be an issue. But with the girl who has an opinion for everything, ‘oh’ comes off as a bit unusual.”
    “Well,” I blushed. How could one person read me so well after only just meeting me, when those who have known me for years probably couldn’t decipher a blatant fib masked as truth?
    “Well?” He prompted.
    I toed the gravel beneath my feet. “You just don’t look like a family man.”
    “Never judge a book by its cover, sweetheart.” His eyes were teasing, but his words and tone were serious.
    Lifting my chin, I said, “Everybody does.”
    “Then everybody misses out on some truly great stories.”
    When I didn’t reply, he reached out to take my hand into his. “Come on inside. You’ve got to be starving. We’ve been at the river for hours.”
    At the mention of the river, I could suddenly hear the therapeutic rushing sounds of the water as a faint constant to the background. I knew then, that his trailer backed onto the river.
    Smiling, I followed his lead to the front door. “As a matter of fact, I am starving. Are you planning to cook for me?”
    “Damn straight, I am.” He winked.
    I giggled. “The cover of your book really is very deceiving, Austin.”
    He chuckled. “Don’t get ahead of yourself, darlin.’ I plan on making a box of KD.”
    “Mmmm, a classic,” I moaned. “You realize there’s an art to KD, right? You’ve gotta get that perfect balance between cheesy cream and too much milk.”
    Austin laughed a full-throated laugh that made my flesh pebble with goosebumps of awareness. They prickled my skin making every inch of my flesh hypersensitive. I could feel every thread of my clothing against my pebbled body and it was all I could do to keep from shivering.
    “I think you might just be the perfect woman.” His words had the shiver I fought rocketing through me.
    I mean, when Austin talked like that, shivering came as natural as breathing.
     

 

     
    I opened