Chapter 29
Eli
I must be dreaming.
Ava was there, in my bed. Nothing but smooth, tan skin, wild hair, and perfect curves. I was as hard as rebar when she’d knocked on my door. Even after the cold shower.
Life didn’t usually give me the things I wanted. Like her mouth kissing mine, her fingers in my hair, and her naked body pressed against me. She wanted me too. She said so. And that felt best of all.
Her legs wrapped around my waist, and we almost got to the point of no return.
“Wait.” It took everything not to detonate. “Let me get a condom.”
I hated prying myself away and leaving her alone on my bed.
This felt too good to be true. What if she changed her mind?
Why the hell did I keep the condoms in the bathroom?
I snagged a row of foil packets from under the sink and rushed back to Ava’s welcoming thighs.
She smiled, stealing them outta my hand.
And just when I thought I couldn’t get harder, she ripped one open with her teeth and used her long, lean fingers to smooth it over me.
Jesus Christ.
The woman undid me. She was smart as hell, with big dreams that made me wanna think bigger. Screw what Ryan said. That housebroken crap wasn’t real. Just some bullshit we cooked up when we were kids. I wasn’t a dog. Besides, some things were worth staying for. And I was looking right at her.
Ava fell into my sheets, and I followed, lining kisses up her neck to her jaw.
Making her giggle. We coulda been on a tropical island the way her hair smelled.
Long, warm days in the sun and sand. Longer nights, burning off the margaritas.
Did she like to travel? I could show her so many places.
White beaches in Southern California. Red sunsets in Sonora.
Golden forests in Massachusetts. I’d give her all the colors.
The tip of my erection grazed between her legs.
She mewed. Like a cat.
My blood hammered through my arms and legs. It buzzed. It burned. I couldn’t remember wanting anything so badly as wanting her.
“Eli,” she moaned, squirming under me. “Stop teasing.” Her hips flexed, pulling me in.
“I like seeing you go crazy.”
“Yeah?” She snaked a hand between us, grabbing me before I could pull out of her reach. God damn, she was pushing all the buttons in the elevator, but we weren’t getting there the scenic way. “Don’t make me beg,” she begged.
Ava in my bed? I should’ve been the one begging.
I met my forehead to hers, every muscle tight, holding back. Holding on. To give her something memorable, so she’d stay with me. “Ava. I don’t know what to do with you.”
“I think you know exactly what to do with me.” Her purr slid with her legs around my waist and locked me in.
I didn’t want it to be over. But the finish line was getting closer. I was only human. With one ripe nipple between my teeth, I eased in, enjoying how she ran her greedy hands over my body. If only I could record every gasp and groan. She closed her eyes, arched her back, fisted the blanket–
Fuck me.
One sharp thrust, and I buried home. She consumed me. Cried out my three little letters. But one single word abducted my brain.
Yours.
I’d been test-driving the label since our horse ride.
Having her there, in my bed, proved that no other title would do.
I never thought of myself as belonging to anyone, but if she asked, I’d belong to her.
Be her home. Wall off storms, keep her warm, give her memories.
A family. All of it. If she asked me to.
As long as I could be hers. Was it more than I deserved?
Maybe. But only an idiot would forfeit a chance this good.
Maybe it was my cock talking. Maybe Ryan’s incessant texting had a point. Maybe in the morning I’d come to my senses.
Delicate fingertips traced my traps, my biceps. Heavy eyes trained on where our bodies joined. This was what she looked like when all her walls were down.
Who was I kidding? I needed all of it. This, and more. Homemade dinners at the big-ass, chewed-up table Dad insisted on buying. Horseback rides at sunset. Lazy afternoons on the porch with a beer. Ava in my truck. Ava in my bed.
I moved inside her, hypnotized by the way she drew me out.
Long dark lashes against rosy cheeks. The way light skimmed over her chest, how her collarbone looked so fragile.
So kissable. I sank my teeth into it, listening to the sounds she made.
Like an archeologist, I’d figure out her mysteries.
Find the Ava not hiding behind all the work she had to do.
Her body kept rising, and so did our speed.
I dragged a palm down her stomach. Smooth and warm. Lower, where her hips dipped. Lower.
She moaned, and I put it on my “Ava-likes-this-list.”
As my fingers played, her breathing got short and pitchy. She coiled so tight all I could do was hold on. Power through. Watch her lose control and roll like waves on the beach over my bed, into me. She turned me inside out.
And I saw stars. Actual, fucking stars.
Something was wrong with my eyes. They wouldn’t open.
The lids were glued shut. If someone had told me I’d fall asleep with Ava curled into my chest, I woulda bet against them.
I had no idea how long we’d been out, but our feet were stuck together in the sheets at the bottom of my bed. Damn. She fit perfectly into me.
I pried my eyes open to watch her sleep. Took a deep breath to memorize the way she smelled so I could bury it like a bone. When I slid my fingers through her hair, her shoulders tensed. But a kiss to her forehead had her settling again, humming, skating her hand up my arm to my neck.
Something almost painful panged in my ribcage. Painful and addictive.
“It’s not even fair,” she whispered. “I’ve always been an arm girl.”
My laugh came out low and creaky. “I thought I was a leg guy. But honestly, I love every part of you.”
I drew a slow trail with my finger down her sloping side, across her stomach, up to one dark, round nipple. She gasped and leaned into the touch.
Don’t have to ask me twice. I retraced that same path with kisses and teeth until she crushed her body into mine.
“I guess you kinda like me,” I said.
She hummed a “yes.” Good thing we had condoms left. I moved my palms over her curves in worship. Followed her gasps and groans, giving her what she asked for. An easy task, ‘cause I wanted it, too.
The clock next to my bed said 3:21.
Ava yawned and stretched, grinding all those addictive body parts into me. “I should go,” she said.
I locked an arm around her and stuck my nose in her hair. Pretended we were still on that tropical island. “Why?”
“In case Nina wakes up.”
“I can go check on her, if you want?”
“It’s okay.” She tried to pull away, but she wasn’t stronger than all those arm exercises I’d been doing.
My ribs weren’t even that sore.
When she laughed, the vibration traveled all the way down to my cock. Holy crap, the woman was a witch. She made me insatiable.
“I have to get ready for work in a few hours,” she said.
I frowned. Work. She shouldn’t be in a stuffy, dark trailer. She should be on the ranch with me. With the wind making her hair fly around her face, and her smile tipped to the sun. A far-fetched dream, seeing as she had her own ranch, her own people. She’d been working so hard for it.
Her eyebrows dipped as she studied me. “What?”
“Nothing. I just don’t wanna let you go.” I tightened my arms, pulled her closer.
She chuckled. “You’ll have to, eventually. I can’t survive on orgasms alone. Although after tonight, I wish I could.”
My smile returned. “Fine. What if I bring your breakfast here? And make sure Nina gets hers? What time does she wake up?”
Ava’s giggles were injection fluid, cleaning out all that gunk I’d been living with. I felt fresh. Hopeful. My semi pressed against her stomach as I kissed the side of her face. Her neck. Her collarbone.
“I appreciate your effort,” she said into my mouth. “Really, I should go. But I promise to come back.”
I sighed, pushed up on an elbow, and stared down at her. All I ever wanted blinked up at me. “Okay, fine. You want me to walk you home?”
She grinned, tossing that sexy, shiny hair over her shoulder. “I think I’ll be okay. This is a pretty safe neighborhood.”
That smile.
I watched her sit up, admired her in the dim blue light coming off my TV. I didn’t realize it was still on. “I’m really glad you came.”
“Me too.”
“I’d like to make you come some more.” That made her laugh. “Maybe Friday? So, you can sleep in?”
She scoffed as she shimmied her shorts up over her hips. “Nina doesn’t care what day it is.” All too soon, her shirt covered those lovely breasts.
Ryan accused me of being totally whipped. Joke’s on him. I didn’t care. I walked her to my door. “See you in the morning?”
Ava flashed me a tease of a smile and tapped my nose with her finger. “It’s already morning.” She padded down the steps into the dark garage.
I fought the urge to follow her. She’s not gone, I told myself. We were still under the same roof. And Friday was only two days away.