Chapter 32
THIRTY-TWO
I hadn’t been sure at first, but I was certain now. Ava was avoiding me.
It had started when I came back to Meadowbrook after my week with Drew only to find out she’d gone to Dunridge to visit him. She’d made excuses for the past few days, but I was tired of missing her.
The distance was slowly driving me crazy, especially since we were in the same fucking town.
Which was why I decided to come to the dance studio when I knew for sure she’d be here. Her last class of the day was about to get out. I waited until the last student left and then got out of my truck.
The studio looked the same as it always had, although the paint looked a little more faded, and it was barely cooler inside than outside despite the AC unit running loudly.
The front area was empty when I walked in, but I could hear her voice drifting from the back office.
I followed the sound until I found her behind the desk, phone pressed to her ear, her back to the door.
She was still in her dance clothes—a white cropped tank top over a longer cami and dark bike shorts that made her legs look a mile long.
Her hair was piled in a messy bun on top of her head, a few strands escaping to curl against the nape of her neck.
God, she was beautiful.
“I really appreciate you thinking of me, Deirdre. I know it’s a lot of responsibility.”
I stood in the doorway as she listened to whatever Deirdre was saying. It was probably Deirdre MacAfee who ran the historical committee for the Seeley Mansion, named after the family who founded Meadowbrook.
“No, I totally understand,” she continued, nodding even though the person on the other end couldn’t see her. “Two weeks. I’ve got it. Just send me the schedule, the keys, and the alarm codes—”
I leaned against the doorframe, content to watch her for a moment. She hadn’t noticed me yet, too focused on whatever Deirdre was saying. But I wasn’t content to just watch for long. Not when I’d spent days starving for her.
I crossed the room silently and slid my hands onto her shoulders.
She jumped, spinning in the chair, eyes wide—then relaxing when she saw it was me. She held up one finger, mouthing one second as she turned back to the phone.
“Yes, exactly. I totally understand what you’re talking about.”
I bent down and pressed my lips to the curve of her neck.
She stiffened, but her voice stayed steady. Mostly. “I-I can handle letting the caterers in.”
I smiled against her skin and let my hands slide down from her shoulders, tracing along her collarbone, dipping just beneath the neckline of her top. Her breath hitched, but she kept talking.
“The dancers w-will need somewhere to store their stuff during the event.”
Her attempts to hold it together were impressive, but I was eager to taste more of her and had no intentions of waiting.
I kissed along the column of her throat, while my fingers traced lazy patterns across her chest. When I reached that sensitive spot below her ear—the one that always made her shiver—she actually swatted at my hand.
I grinned and dropped to my knees behind her chair, spinning it so she faced me.
Her eyes went wide. She shook her head frantically, still holding the phone to her ear.
“Mm-hmm. That sounds great.”
Without breaking our gaze, I hooked my fingers under the waistband of her shorts and tugged. She grabbed my wrist, but there was no real strength behind it. Her pupils were already dilating, her chest rising faster.
I arched my brow, silently asking her if she was up for the challenge. She nibbled her lip and I could practically see her good girl tendencies battling with her desire.
But then she lifted her hips just enough for me to slide the shorts down her thighs, and I pulled them off her legs, leaving her in just a pair of pale pink underwear that were already damp in the center. The sight made my cock throb against my zipper.
“That sounds perfect, Deirdre. Don’t worry about a thing; just focus on helping your dad recover.”
I pressed a kiss to the inside of her knee, then higher, trailing up her inner thigh with open-mouthed kisses that had her squirming in the chair. Her free hand came down to grip my hair—not pushing me away, but holding on like she needed it to anchor her.
“Um, uh-huh. I’ve been there before.”
I nosed aside the fabric of her underwear and dragged my tongue through her folds.
Her whole body jerked. The hand in my hair tightened to the point of pain, but she didn’t make a sound. Just a sharp inhale, her thighs trembling on either side of my head.
“Okay. Yes. I’ll call if anything comes up.”
I licked again, slower this time, savoring the taste of her. Salt and musk and something sweet that was uniquely Ava. God, I’d missed this. Missed the way she responded to every touch, every lick, like her body was an instrument and I was the only one who knew how to play it.
I circled her clit with the tip of my tongue, light and teasing, and watched her bite down on her lower lip so hard it went white.
“Mm-hmm. Talk soon. Bye.”
She dropped her phone on the desk and her eyelids flickered as pleasure washed across her face.
“You are evil.”
“Missed you too, Sunshine.” I pulled her underwear off completely and spread her thighs wider, settling in between them, making myself at home in my favorite place in the world. “You have no idea how much.”
“Liam… we’re in the studio… anyone could—”
“Door’s locked.” I kissed her inner thigh, nipping at the soft skin. “I flipped the sign to closed when I came in.”
I lowered my head and licked from her entrance to her clit.
“Fuck—” she whispered before her hips started rocking, rubbing her pussy against my face.
I did it again, slower, letting my tongue get reacquainted with her. We couldn’t go this long without each other again. I was going to make it a new rule.
She was so responsive, hips rolling to meet my mouth, fingers twisted in my hair, and little gasping breaths falling from her lips with every pass.
“Liam, please—”
“Please what?” I flicked my tongue against her clit. “Tell me what you want, Aves.”
“More. I want—I need more.”
I sealed my lips around her clit and sucked, sliding two fingers inside her at the same time. She cried out, her back arching off the chair, and I felt her walls clench around my knuckles. So fucking tight. Her core clenched around my fingers like her body was trying to pull me deeper.
“That’s it,” I murmured against her. “Fuck, Aves, you’re so goddamn sexy when you’re close.”
I curled my fingers, searching for that spot I knew so well by now, and when I found it, she made a sound that was a mix of a sob and a scream.
Her thighs clamped around my head, but I didn’t stop.
I worked her with my mouth and my fingers, alternating between long licks and tight circles around her clit, building her up and backing off until she was practically writhing.
“Don’t…don’t tease—”
“Not teasing.” I added a third finger, stretching her in that way I knew she loved, and felt her flutter around me. “Just want to make it good. Want to make you feel how much I missed you.”
“Liam—”
“You have no idea what it’s been like.” I kissed her clit.
“Lying in my room at the hockey house, thinking about you. Remembering every sound you make.” Another kiss, harder this time.
“Every face you make when you’re close.” I thrust my fingers deeper, rubbing that spot inside her.
“Couldn’t stop thinking about this perfect pussy and how badly I needed to taste it again. ”
She was shaking now, her whole body trembling on the edge. I could feel her orgasm building in the way her walls rippled around my fingers, the way her clit throbbed against my tongue.
“Let go, Sunshine.” I curled my fingers and sucked her clit.
She shattered.
Her cry echoed off the office walls as she came apart, her pussy clenching rhythmically around my fingers as wave after wave of pleasure rolled through her.
I worked her through it, gentling my touch but not stopping, drawing out every last tremor until she sagged back in the chair, boneless and gasping.
I pressed one final kiss to her inner thigh before pulling back and wiping my mouth with the back of my hand. She looked wrecked in the best way—flushed skin, glazed eyes, and chest heaving with each ragged breath.
“Hi,” I said, grinning up at her.
She laughed, weak and breathless. “Hi yourself.”
I rose from my knees and leaned down to kiss her properly, letting her taste herself on my tongue. She melted into it immediately, her hands coming up to cup my face, holding me close like she was afraid I might disappear.
When we finally broke apart, I rested my forehead against hers.
“What’s going on with Deirdre’s dad?”
“He fell off a ladder while trying to clean his gutters.” Ava’s voice was still a little unsteady. “She has to go to Helena to help him, but needed someone to run the events at Seeley Mansion for Seeley Days.”
Seeley Days was an annual event in town. There was a parade down Main Street, a ton of food vendors, and then a gala and auction held at the Seeley Mansion. There were also usually some dance performances that I knew Ava and her boss had always helped choreograph and organize.
“That’s a big deal.”
“It is.” She smiled, but it looked a little stiff. “But it means I’m probably going to be very busy for the next few weeks.”
“That’s alright. We’ll find time to be together.” I tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I’m proud of you.”
Something flickered in her eyes—there and gone before I could name it.
“Thanks,” she said quietly.
I pulled back slightly, studying her face. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah.” She nodded, but her smile didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Everything’s fine.”
I wanted to push—wanted to ask what was wrong, why she seemed distant—but she was already reaching for her shorts and pulling herself back together.
“We should probably get out of here,” she said.
“Yeah. Okay.” I stepped back to give her room, ignoring the unease that had settled in my chest. “Dinner at your parents’ tonight?”
“Dad’s grilling.” She stood, smoothing down her tank top. “He specifically requested you bring your appetite.”
“Always do.”
She smiled at that—a real one this time—and some of the tension in my shoulders eased.
Everything was fine. We were fine.
I’d just missed her, that was all. A week apart had made me paranoid, reading too much into every look and every pause. But she’d come on my tongue like her body had missed me too, and now we were back together, and everything was exactly how it was supposed to be.
I reached for her hand, lacing our fingers together, and she let me.
Everything was fine.