Chapter 4
Chapter Four
I climb the final rung with Ava’s cries on replay in my mind.
Fuck, I love hearing her come. But I knew I would. Because Ava Greely isn’t someone who lets her guard down very often. That she’s just done so in the most intimate way with me is such a gift.
I need more.
I lay her down in the center of the bed. She grips the back of my neck, her eyes finding mine in the darkness for an instant before we kiss. I savor the warmth of her mouth and her soft little tongue flicking with mine. Ava caresses down my chest, taking her time, her touch lighting up my skin.
She strokes me over the fabric of my pants, drawing my cravings to an urgent knot inside me. Her delicate fingers work the buckle on my pants, and I help her shuck them to the floor. When I climb between her thighs and we kiss again, her touch on my skin sends heat prickles down my spine. She strokes me over my briefs, uttering a groan.
“You like what I have in store for you?” I nip at her ear.
“Depends on how well you use it,” she replies .
An ache to please her tightens behind my breastbone. Talk about high stakes. “Again with the challenges, huh?”
“Gotta keep you on your toes.” He eyes flash with mischief.
I break from her lips and kiss my way to the curve of her neck, then slide her T-shirt up. Sweet mercy, her tits are a dream. Full and soft, her nipples dark and tight with need. I cradle her and tease with my tongue. She arches to me, her fingernails gliding through my hair. When I suck her into my mouth, she makes a needy little groan.
I tear myself away with the promise I’ll be back, and continue down, mapping her curves with kisses. I love the dip of her waist and the flare of her hips, the tiniest little hollow of her navel, the smooth plane of her belly. I love her warmth and her softness and the way she’s touching me, like it’s part of her pleasure too. I kiss to the apex of her thigh and keep going, kissing down to her knee, then up the other side.
I step to the floor and tug her by the waist to the edge of the bed. Her eyes flash with surprise, but then her look of yearning is back. I settle on my knees and kiss her inner thigh and stroke up her tummy and over her ribs, to her breasts, where I caress and stroke. She props herself up on her elbows, like she wants me closer.
Or maybe she likes to watch.
Desire races through me, filling my mind with all the ways I want to make her come. I slide her T-shirt up above her breasts so I can scissor her peaks with my fingers while kissing the scoop of her belly, savoring her little whimpers. I lift her thigh over my shoulder and kiss my way to where I’m dying to taste her.
I stroke her with my thumb, circling her tight little clit, and part her open with my tongue. She jolts, sucking in a gasp. Sweet fuck, she tastes good. Like raw desire. Like surrender.
“So needy for me, aren’t you, sweetheart?” I say.
“You have no idea,” she replies.
With a smile, I kiss her inner thigh, sucking on her skin just a little, making her squirm. Then I settle in for my feast, memorizing all the little cues her body is giving me. Her quickening breaths, her soft whimpers, the way she hugs me tighter with her heel against my back, the rocking of her hips to match my pace. The heat of her body radiates through me, making me crazy and hungry all at once.
“Oh god,” she whispers, her fists tightening in the covers.
I glide two fingers inside her. She’s so plush here, so incredibly soft. That she’s trusting me like this unlocks a part of me I don’t yet understand. It’s painful and raw and fleeting. I want more, yet what if I fail her?
Ava arches to me, her breaths sharp in the quiet room.
I give her what she needs, moving with her body. She tightens around me, her whimpers turning desperate. When I graze her clit with the edge of my teeth, she unravels, her beautiful cries filling the room.
If I loved her song before, I’m now completely hooked. I ride her climax until she melts into the bed, panting. With a groan, I suck my fingers clean and kiss up her body.
She combs through my hair as I go, her breaths easing. I pause to lavish her soft tits, gentle at first, circling with my tongue, then taking her into my mouth until she’s squirming beneath me.
“No fair,” she pants. “I haven’t even touched you yet.”
She gives me a gentle push, rolling me to my back, and straddles my lap, creating an almost unbearable pressure against my throbbing cock. Her dark hair falls in silky waves around her gorgeous face as she takes me in.
It’s not like I haven’t been admired before, but from Ava, my normal confidence feels a little fragile. Is it because of anyone I’ve ever been with, hers is the only opinion that matters?
“What’s that look?” I ask her.
She gives me a shy smile. “Just enjoying the moment.”
“Take your time,” I say with a smile.
She smiles and shakes her head at my cocky tone.
“But not too long,” I say, and rock my hips, grinding into her.
Her eyes flutter closed for an instant, and the moment turns sensual and charged.
Fuck do I want her.
I rise up, lifting the hem of her shirt. She raises her arms to help. I toss the shirt to the floor and cradle her against me. The soft fullness of her breasts meeting my chest makes me groan. I brush back her hair and kiss her, my tongue lashing with hers, swirling into her mouth. Ava starts to rock in little pulses against me, obliterating my ability to think. I caress her ass and cradle her, savoring the feel of her heat wrapped around me.
Ava gently urges me back, her eyes edged with that same yearning. Like she’s hungry for me, too. She slips between my thighs and kisses down my chest. I comb back her hair, sweeping it to one side. Her soft kisses are full of tenderness and care, and it’s so sweet and pure, just like her. Does it mean what I think?
A part of me is longing for it, while the other part is silently retreating, to where it’s safe.
She kisses along the waistband of my briefs and strokes me over the fabric, making my cravings spiral tighter. I comb back her hair again and rise up on my elbows.
I might like to watch, too.
She tugs my briefs down and slides them all the way off. Her eyes flutter closed as she swallows the tip of me. Fuck, her mouth. Her soft, wet lips. I hiss a breath as she glides lower. Watching her swallow me is sexy as hell. Decadent and sensual. It takes everything I have not to rock deeper, to fill that little mouth with every thick inch of my cock.
She glides back up, tightening around me.
“That all you got, Greely?” I ask, even though if she keeps this up, we’re going to have a very early intermission.
She gives me a heated glare from under her lashes, finishing with a slow stroke from her fist. Instead of answering, she takes me inside again, deeper this time, her plush, wet lips stretching around me. Hot fucking damn. I try to hold onto my sanity as she strokes and glides, but it’s not long before I have to roll up and reach for my wallet and the condoms stashed there .
“Can’t take the heat, huh?” she says with a sassy twist to her lips.
I slip out one of the condoms and peel the wrapper open, then slide it on. “I’m saving it all for you.”
The competitive gleam in her eyes softens, and she cradles my face and kisses me. I tug her close again, her strong thighs sliding next to mine and her plush warmth exactly where I want it. With one hand on my root and the other on her lower back, I urge her up and down my length, her wet pussy so plush against me, until she’s trembling. In one motion, I lock into place between her thighs. Slowly, she sinks onto me, taking me inside.
Everything is tight and hot and slick around me. I groan into her mouth as she lowers, her body welcoming me so perfectly. With one final thrust of my hips, I’m home.
Her hips give a little quiver.
I caress the hair from her face. “You okay?”
A look of pure longing crosses her face before she presses her lips to mine in a sensual, tender kiss. I kiss her back, cradling her waist. We move together, kissing, touching, our breaths quickening in the darkness. I trace her jaw with kisses to the back of her ear, savoring her body’s warmth and the easy weight of her against me.
“You feel so good,” I say on a groan.
I lower to her breasts to caress and tease her with my tongue. Ava sucks in a shaky gasp, her body tensing for release.
“Let me hear you,” I say, and give her a gentle tug with my teeth.
Ava’s cries erupt as she comes, her tender warmth so tight around me. It takes everything I have to hold on. Panting, she comes down. I kiss up her neck and whisper, “Come on, one more.”
She goes limp against me. “I can’t.”
I laugh and caress her back. “Never knew you to be a quitter, Greely.”
She laughs through a soft groan.
I cradle her hips to set a slow, firm pace. She gazes at me with a look of such delicious tenderness that I have to close my eyes and kiss her, before my heart splinters to pieces. Her nipples brush my chest as she rises and falls against me. I stroke her with my thumb as she rocks. Her breaths quicken and her face softens in surrender.
“How can you do this to me?” she whispers, like a plea.
A lump tightens in my throat because isn’t she the one turning my heart inside out?
Ava closes her eyes as it all comes undone. This time, she’s completely lost to her pleasure. No inhibition. No witty comeback. No doubt. And no fear. It’s like catching her lost in sleep or in a rare moment of stillness. Right now, she’s not studying or planning ahead or problem solving. She’s not even thinking. She’s right here, with me.
How can you do this to me?
With a shaky exhale, she buries her face in my neck. I hold her close as my climax peaks and I let everything go.
The bed feels barren when I wake, the sunrise sending golden light into the room. I sit up, my heart racing. “Ava?”
A muffled sob coming from the floor hits me like a bucket of ice water. I follow the sound to the far side of the bed, where Ava is sitting, her knees pulled against her chest and a blanket wrapped around her.
I scramble to the floor next to her. “Ava, sweetheart, what’s wrong?”
This only seems to make her cry harder. She buries her face in her hands. “Don’t call me that.”
“Okay.”
I caress her hair. Just like last night, it’s smooth and silky. But it’s cold, like she’s been down there for a while. The idea of her crying on the floor alone is sending alarm signals through every part of my body. I need to fix this. But how? I don’t know this version of Ava. What happened?
I want to warm her up. Preferably with another orgasm. Or three. But something tells me that’s not what she wants. At least not yet.
“Did I hurt you?”
She wipes her face. “I need to go.”
“What?” I grab her hand just as she’s about to pivot to her feet. “Ava. Wait. Talk to me. What’s wrong?”
“This!” she says, her face tensing. She closes her eyes and turns away, like she can’t stand to look at me. “I’m so stupid.”
“You’re not stupid,” I fire back, my confusion turning to something I can’t control. Last night was incredible. Better than anything that’s ever happened to me. A little confusing maybe... I rub the back of my neck. But fucking awesome. At least for me it was.
“Let me hold you,” I say, my voice thickening in my throat. “I’ll get you warmed up and you can tell me what’s going on.”
She shakes her head. “That’s what got me into this mess.”
Wait a sec…she thinks last night was a mistake? I rack my brain for signs I missed that she wasn’t a fully willing participant, but I come up blank. “You’re scaring me, Ava. Did I do something wrong?”
“No. It was exactly as I’d imagined it. Better, actually.” She sobs into her hands again, her shoulders shaking. “It…was…perfect.”
“Then why are we here on the floor? Come back to bed so I can make it all better.”
With a mournful moan, she rolls away from me and stands. “The answer to this is not more sex.”
“Why not?” I wince as soon as the words leave my mouth. I didn’t mean it like that. My pride is starting to sting and it’s twisting my words.
Ava tightens the blanket around her, a look of determination on her face. Like she’s gathering her courage.
I jump up to block her from leaving, my skin prickling with dread. “Don’t go. Not until you talk to me.”
“Last night wasn’t supposed to happen, okay? We’re friends, Hutch. Friends don’t do…” Her face twists in anguish. “What we did.”
“We both wanted it,” I say. “At least that’s my recollection.” My cock gives an unhelpful twitch as memories flash through my mind. “Tell me I’m wrong. Tell me you’re scared. Fuck, Ava. Tell me anything except that you’re walking away.”
“It’s not your fault,” she says, grabbing her duffel bag from the floor. She swats the tear from her cheek, her pretty eyes so full of torment that my insides are quietly shredding.
“This isn’t making any sense!” I don’t mean to yell. I’m not a yeller. I never lose my cool. Especially not over a woman. Except Ava isn’t just any woman. She’s…
Fuck!
Ava darts for the ladder, her dark hair flashing in the rays of sunlight filtering through the window. How can the sun be shining right now when my world is unraveling?
“Don’t do this, Ava,” I call out, snatching my briefs from where they ended up last night and tugging them on so I can chase after her. “We can work this out.”
Ava stifles a tight cry. Below me, she’s pulled on a red sundress that shows off her strong legs. The same legs that were wrapped around my face last night as I pushed her over the edge.
“I know how this story ends, Hutch.”
I jump down the final rung just as she’s reaching for the door. “Then enlighten me, Greely. How does it end?”
She wheels around. “With you discarding me just like all the others.”
I hurry to the door and press it shut. “What if there’s another ending? Have you thought of that?”
For an instant, I feel like finally I’m getting through to her. She closes her eyes and releases a soft sigh, but then a tear breaks free and tumbles down her cheek. “You’ll only break my heart.”
So she’s going to break mine instead?
Ava cups the side of my face, her gentle touch like sandpaper on my skin because I know what she’s going to do and I don’t know how to stop her.
Another tear trickles down her flushed cheek. “I need to go.”
A sudden pain in my chest spreads to my shoulders and up my spine, pinching like a hot vice. It’s too much. Too…big. Inside myself, I close it all down. The laughter we shared. The joy. What felt like hope and a fragile love that’s grown there, a love only for her.
I shove it all down and lock it away as I step back from the door and let her walk through it.
The gust of cold air that hits me like a wrecking ball makes this all too real.
She’s leaving.
Feeling numb, I blink at the empty cabin. How could this be happening?
Am I really just going to stand here and let it?
I tug on a pair of shorts and race barefoot up the path, my tense breaths cutting the silence. I pass the empty wedding arch in the meadow, and the tent where we toasted our best friends, and the place we danced—each moment bringing us closer to the only way the night could have ended.
I got my wish, but this isn’t at all where I thought we’d end up.
At the edge of the parking lot, I catch a flash of Ava’s red dress. “Ava!” I call out.
“Oh God, he’s coming,” she says, like she’s talking to someone. “He looks even better in the morning. Shit. I gotta go.”
My brain tries to make sense of this as a car door slams and the kick of gravel alerts me to a departing vehicle.
I get there just as a black Uber with tinted windows pulls away.