Chapter Eleven Ava
A fter nights out clubbing, I was used to waking up to all kinds of pain. Aching head. Sore feet. Tense muscles.
A throbbing pussy wasn’t normally one of them.
Normally that feeling would mean I wanted sex, but in my case, I desperately needed Advil and an ice pack. The sexual frenzy I’d experienced with Dare had left my vagina absolutely wrecked but in the most delicious way. As an X-rated reel of images flickered through my mind of the previous night’s escapades, I bit down on my lip to keep from moaning.
Turning my head on the pillow, I glanced over at Dare. He slept on his stomach, his handsome face turned towards me. His face appeared younger in the light of day. Maybe it was because he didn’t have the weight of his business empire on him while he was asleep.
Reflecting on his empire, more than just Dare’s face appeared different in the light of day. He was a rich, successful businessman who lived in an ostentatious penthouse with a housekeeper and bodyguards. One Google search would probably reveal images of the models he’d dated and the expensive overseas trips he’s taken.
None of those things applied to me. I made a decent six-figure salary as a corporate accountant while living in a townhouse in an upper class neighborhood. All of the cleaning and cooking that got done in my house was by my hands. While there were no bodyguards, my parents and brothers were quite overzealous in their concern for my safety.
In my early twenties, I would’ve waited it out and let Dare wake up. I wouldn’t have believed he would be any different in the morning. He wanted me last night, so he’d want me this morning. But I would soon realize how stupid I was. Awkward moments would pass while he waited for me to get with the program and get the hell out of his place.
Maybe he would throw me a bone by getting me a number and alleging he would call. But he wouldn’t. They never did. Then I would partake in the walk of shame out of his building and back home.
At thirty, I was older and wiser. I would save myself the humiliation by getting the hell out of there.
Slowly, I began inching my way away from Dare and over to the edge of the bed. When I reached it, I threw my leg off of the mattress. Once it touched the ground, I pushed the rest of my body off the bed.
Thankfully, Dare didn’t stir. It probably had something to do with the two whiskeys he had during and after our slow table fuck.
Once I was upright, I glanced around the somewhat darkened room for my dress. When I found it, I slipped it over my head. A few feet away from where I stood I found my heels. I grabbed them up and then hurried across the floor.
When I reached the door, I threw one last look back at Dare. An ache spread through my chest at the sight of him. I quickly shook my head. “Get a grip, Aves,” I whispered.
I then eased open the door and stepped out into the living room. I made it halfway across the living room when a voice caused me to jump out of my skin. “Good morning.”
Whirling in the direction of the noise, I found a man sitting at the kitchen table–the same one Dare had eaten me out on. It appeared he was in the same chair we’d had the slow fuck in. Upon further reflection, I realized he was one of the bodyguards who had defended Dare from me.
“Um, good morning,” I replied in a half whisper.
“Going somewhere?”
Jerking my thumb at the door, I replied, “Uh, yes, I need to meet my friends back at the hotel where we’re staying. We’re going back home to Gloucester this morning.”
His brows furrowed. “The boss didn’t ask me to get you a ride.”
“Maybe because the boss didn’t know I was leaving,” I suggested sheepishly.
“Cutting and running?”
“I’m not running.”
With a shrug, he replied, “Whatever you say.”
When he started to grab his phone off the table, I rushed forward. “No! Please don’t wake him up.”
He shot me a look. “I’m having the car brought around to take you to your hotel.”
Warmth flooded my cheeks. “Oh. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay.”
“It’s just he’s sleeping so soundly that I’d hate to wake him.”
He didn’t reply. Instead, he kept eyeing his phone. After a few awkward seconds, he looked up. “The car is downstairs.”
“Thank you so much…”
“Niall.”
I nodded. “That’s right. We were introduced last night.”
“Yes, we were, Ms. Carras.”
“Well, anyway, it was nice seeing you again.”
As I started to the door, his voice stopped me again. “He doesn’t normally bring women home.”
I threw a glance at him over my shoulder. “That’s not what he said last night.”
“I’m not surprised.” Niall rose out of his seat. “I can ask the car to wait if you’d like to say goodbye.”
After nibbling on my bottom lip, I shook my head. Motioning around the room, I replied in a whisper, “I’m not all this.”
“He doesn’t give a shit about that.”
“But I do.”
“Don’t let your fears hurt your future with him.”
“Do you double as Dare’s relationship guru along with being his bodyguard?” I snapped.
“While he might be my boss, he’s also like my family. He watches out for the men who work for him. I can’t help but look out for him as well.”
“That’s admirable. You know Dare, and I know myself. I’m fully aware of what last night was and what it wasn’t. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a ride waiting.”
And without another word from Niall, I walked out of the penthouse.
I don’t know if it was from being hungover or sleep deprived or on sensory overload from all the sex, but I cried the entire way to the hotel. From time to time, I caught the driver glancing at me in the rearview mirror. “I’m fine,” I said more for me than for him.
And I was fine.
I had an amazing life and family to go back to. I had my post-Preston future to embrace. A one-night-stand with a millionaire wasn’t going to change me.
After we arrived at the Ritz, I thanked the driver. Although we weren’t normally Ritz hotel clientele, Nick had insisted that we stay there. We’d cut costs by the four of us sharing a room.
When I entered the hotel room, Dani and Lexie were still bundled in the covers in their queen sized bed. What would’ve been Nick’s and my bed was empty, but the shower was running in the bathroom.
Embracing the mother hen within me, I went over to the bed. After grabbing the duvet from the bottom of the mattress, I jerked it off.
The moment colder air swirled around them they both started grumbling. “Come on. Get up. We have to get back home before the festival starts at noon.”
“Fuck the festival,” Dani mumbled into her pillow.
Sweeping my hands to my hips, I demanded, “Would you say that to Pappouli and Yaya?”
Dani raised her head. “Yes, but I would blame it on being hungover.”
I laughed. “What time did you guys get in last night? Or should I say this morning?”
“Two,” Lexie replied with a yawn.
“How many other clubs did you hit?
“Five.”
“Damn,” I murmured.
“Yeah, at the second club after Bandia, Nick charmed this promoter, and he showed us around a few.”
“Is the promoter with Nick in the shower now?”
Lexie snickered. “No. They had a quickie in the last club’s bathroom.”
“Good for him,” I remarked, as I grabbed a hoodie and a pair of leggings out of my bag along with a thong to replace the one Dare shredded.
“What about you?” Dani asked as she smoothed down her bed hair.
“What about me?” I questioned coyly as I slid the thong up my thighs.
She rolled her eyes. “Did you end your sex drought?”
“Yes. Many times.”
Lexie clapped appreciatively. “Go Ava!”
With a snort, I replied, “I can’t believe you’re clapping for sex right now.”
Dani nodded. “Especially when you haven’t even heard if it was good or not.”
Lexie grinned. “Oh, I know it was.”
“How can you be so sure?” I asked, as I motioned for her to unzip my dress.
“You wouldn’t have done it many times if it sucked.”
I laughed as I pulled the straps of my dress down. “Good point.”
After stretching her arms over her head, Dani asked, “Just how many times are we talking about?”
“How many times or how many orgasms?” I teased as I hopped in my leggings.
Her dark eyes bulged. “You lucky bitch!”
“I have to give credit where credit is due, and Dare is a very giving lover.”
“Once again, you lucky bitch!”
Sweeping my hand to my chest, I replied, “Why thank you.”
“Did he give you his card to contact him again?” Lexie asked.
“Not exactly,” I replied as I threw my hoodie on without a bra.
“What do you mean?”
“I left before he woke up.”
Dani’s screech caused my eardrum to throb. “You did what?”
“I had to meet you guys, and I hated to wake him up.”
“Liar,” she proclaimed.
“Excuse me?”
“You were saving your feelings in case he didn’t want anything more.”
“For your information, it had everything to do with my feelings but not like you think.”
Dani crinkled her brows. “What does that mean?”
“It means that I know who I am, and that person doesn’t belong in Dare’s world.”
“You don’t mean that.”
I threw up my hands in frustration. “The man has a posh penthouse, a housekeeper, and bodyguards. He is ridiculously out of my league.”
“He never acted like that, did he?”
“Well, no. It’s all me and my hangups.”
“Well, no. He’s a down-to-earth millionaire with a wicked sense of humor.” Tapping my forehead, I replied, “It’s all me and my hangups.”
“So confront them by giving him a chance,” Dani suggested.
“Once he wakes up and finds I’ve bailed on him, I don’t think he’ll be interested in giving me the time of day.”
Lexie shook her head. “You might be surprised. He seemed like a decent guy.”
Snorting, I argued, “You met him for all of two seconds.”
“But he was so nice. And he offered us free booze, which was very considerate.”
“He owned the club.”
“He still didn’t have to give us anything. It was your snatch he was after,” Lexie challenged.
When I opened my mouth to argue, Nick came striding into the bedroom, fully dressed and looking refreshed. Glancing between the three of us, he replied, “What happened?”
“Ava ran out on Dare this morning without a goodbye or giving him her number,” Lexie replied.
Nick’s eyes bulged comically wide. “Are you insane?”
Sweeping my hands to my hips, I countered, “You’re questioning my sanity when you don’t even know if he was good in bed or if he treated me like dog shit?”
“I read him the first minute I met him.”
Groaning, I ran my hands over my face. “Not you with the reading thing.”
“Let me guess. You could read him too.”
“Yeah, I could.”
“And you still ran out?” Nick huffed.
“Once again, I think it would do you all good to remember that my husband cheated on me with a teenager. That’s something you just don’t wave a wand and magically get over. It fucks with your head. Then add to that fucked up mix that the first man you get back in the game with is a sexy millionaire with a good heart.”
“And Dare’s sexual healing is what you need.”
“Can we please just drop it and get on the road? The last thing I need right now is Mom and Dad blowing up my phone about why we aren’t at the restaurant.”
“Fine,” Nick said.
When I eyed the girls, they nodded in unison. “Good.”
Without another word to them, I grabbed my bags and headed out the door.