Chapter 25 #2
“That's not selfish. You're a good dad, Owen.” Ava sat her glass to the side and turned to face him, a frown on her face.
“I don't say this to bash Madeline, but I can't imagine wanting to be away from my kid.
Avery's still so young. I'd want to be there for every moment.” She paused, looking toward the lake in the distance.
“I know my dad wished he could've had us for more than the summers.”
Owen put his hand over hers where it rested on the blanket between them, giving it a squeeze until she looked at him again.
“I know she loves him. When Maddy got pregnant, she thought this would be her only shot at having a kid naturally, but I don't think she ever dreamed of being a mom.
We were twenty-two, and she wanted a life of freedom and adventure.
I didn't want to take that away from her, not at the expense of Avery having an unhappy mom.”
Ava bit her lip but didn't stop him. This was why he wanted to take her out tonight. They had to discuss Avery and Maddy and what that meant for their future together. If they had a future at all.
“But I always knew I wanted to be a dad. I was ready, mentally, after what happened with us.”
Ava tried to pull her hand away, but Owen held tight, not letting her put distance between them.
“I can't pretend to know what it's like to be Maddy, because I agree with you. I want to be there for every moment with Avery. The good, bad, hard, rewarding, uncomfortable. I wouldn't trade it for the world. Because of that, I have to be careful who I bring into Avery's life.”
Ava closed her eyes, understanding washing over her features. “There can't be a repeat of last night unless this is serious. Between us,” she said softly.
Owen nodded, refusing to loosen his grip on her hand. “Avery is the one thing in my life I'm not willing to compromise. I have to put him first, always.”
Ava gave him a smile, moving closer to cup his cheek with her other hand. “I would expect nothing less from you.”
Relief coursed through Owen, a tension he didn't know he’d held releasing from his shoulders. He didn't date because Avery was his life. Not every woman would understand his son came before them, even if that woman was the love of his life.
“I can't make you any promises. Not anything I don't know with a thousand percent certainty I can keep,” she said.
Owen's heart stuttered to a stop.
“But I want to try this again. I'm here for another six weeks.
Can we take it slow? Spend time together, the three of us, and see where this takes us?
There are some financial matters I need to clear up with dad's estate with my brothers, and I still have my final Board of Directors interview scheduled for August, so I need to take this one step at a time.”
It wasn't the perfect answer, but Owen appreciated her honesty. Ava didn't commit to anything without thought. He couldn't expect her to leave her job, her life in New York. As much as he might want her to.
“One step at a time. I can handle that,” he agreed. “What do you say, Birdie? Take a second chance with me? Me and Avery?”
Ava gave him a blinding smile, nodding hard enough to make her curls bounce behind her headband. “Let's give it a shot.”
At her words, Owen closed the distance between them and pulled Ava to him, sealing their agreement with a deep kiss.
She moaned into the kiss, and he parted her lips to explore her mouth.
When she shifted closer, Owen grabbed her around the waist and hauled her to straddle his lap.
She ground down on the erection through his jeans.
He clamped his arms around her hips to hold her still.
“Birdie,” he said. Her eyes stayed closed, a shiver coursing over her. “Look at me.”
Her hazel eyes shot open. He took in her puffy lips and the brightness of the green in her irises.
“Owen,” she breathed.
“Before this goes any further, I need you to understand one thing.”
She nodded before he even finished his words. Owen suppressed his smile at her eagerness. This was important.
“If we do this, you’re mine. There’s too much at stake here if you walk away from me again. We'll take it slow. One step at a time. But by the end of your six weeks, we're deciding. Until then, you're mine in every way that matters.”
“I won't walk away. Not unless we both agree.” She pressed a brief kiss to his lips but didn't move away. “Now make me yours,” she murmured against his lips.
Owen wasted no time, gliding his hands up her legs and under her dress until he cupped the curve of her hips.
“No panties? You're killing me,” he groaned.
She widened her eyes in an attempt to look innocent. “You stole my panties earlier. Figured I’d save you the trouble this time.”
He cupped her sex and circled her clit a few times. “Already wet for me?”
She moaned, grinding down on his fingers. “Always. I'm always wet for you.”
“That's right.”
He slid a finger inside while working her clit with his thumb. When she tossed her head back, he kissed down the swell of her breasts begging to break loose of her dress.
“That’s it. Come all over my fingers.”
He added another finger and increased the pressure on her clit. She fell apart, her legs trembling. Owen waited until she opened her eyes before slowly removing his fingers, drawing out her pleasure. A delicious flush had crawled up her chest. He was addicted to seeing how her body craved him.
Holding her stare, he drew his fingers into his mouth, savoring the taste of her on his tongue.
“Holy shit, that's hot,” Ava breathed.
She pulled him into a greedy kiss. His cock strained against his jeans as she raked her fingers through his hair and fisted his bun like she couldn't get enough of him.
She moved away, shifting down further and working to unbuckle his belt. Owen leaned back on his hands, letting her get to work. He'd be lying if he said he didn't want to feel her mouth on him. She freed his cock, licking her lips as she fisted his length and toyed with him.
“Let me show you what it means to be mine,” she said. Then she lowered her head and took his cock into her mouth. The first glide of her tongue was almost enough to make him come. His mind raced to think of unsexy thoughts to keep from coming too soon.
Call the contractor tomorrow. Create the shift schedule for the café. For the love of God don't come in her mouth in less than a minute, come on, man.
She sucked him into the back of her throat, swallowing around the length.
He could see the outline of his cock in her throat.
He shifted his weight to one hand, using the other to trace the length of her throat in awe.
When she pulled off his cock, he cupped her face to stop her from going back down on him.
“Give me a minute. I don't want this to end too soon.”
She grinned, her red lipstick finally smudged. She looked debauched.
She's perfect.
She turned her head to kiss his palm, then crawled up his body until she straddled his waist once more, then without warning, she sank down on his cock.
They both groaned at the contact.
“Shit, Ava. We forgot a condom,” he said, alarm shooting through him at the lapse in judgment. He gripped her hips to keep her still.
“I'm on birth control,” she said. “And I'm clean. Went to the doctor before coming here.”
“I'm clean too. It's been months,” he said.
She nodded, her eyes glazed over in pleasure. “I need to move,” she breathed.
Owen released her hips and gathered up her dress, bunching it in his fist. He wanted to see where their bodies joined. She rode his cock, grinding down on him over and over as she chased her pleasure.
“Need more,” she whined.
Owen found her clit and worked her over, adding the stimulation she craved to bring her over the edge. He inhaled the citrusy-sweet smell of her hair and committed to memory the sound of their skin slapping together.
“Almost there, Owe–,” she cut herself off, her orgasm washing over her. “Oh, oh, oh.”
She strangled his cock, and he stopped fighting the urge to come.
The base of his spine tingled and overrode his senses as his orgasm overtook him.
Ava captured his groans in a kiss, tangling her tongue with his.
He came so hard, he swore there were fireworks exploding in his vision.
He broke their kiss, blinking his eyes open.
The sky behind Ava lit up in a shower of red and blue sparks, raining down on the town of Cedar Falls.
“Am I hallucinating or are there actual fireworks going off right now?” Ava asked.
Owen laughed, tugging her into his chest and laying back on the blanket.
She turned her head to rest her cheek on his chest, looking toward the sky above them.
Eventually he slipped free of her warmth and used one of the cloth napkins to clean them both up, tenderly wiping between her legs and then tucking his cock back in his pants.
They lay back on the blanket, Ava cuddled against his chest as they watched the fireworks over Cedar Falls.
“Tell me about your tattoos,” she said, tracing patterns over his heart.
He debated what to tell her before deciding on the truth. They were giving this a real shot, which meant no secrets.
“After we broke up, I always thought about how you were the one to get away. My bird that flew away. I had the idea of migrating birds, how they fly from north to south for the seasons, kind of like you did between South Carolina and Maine. The idea stuck.”
Ava pressed a kiss to the underside of his jaw.
“Then Avery was born, and he was perfect.
Maddy and I were friends, so in those first few months I wasn't sure what kind of custody agreement we'd have, but I knew he was the best thing to happen to me. I wanted him close. So, I got his name across my heart, where your birds end. My two greatest loves. You and Avery.”
“Owen,” she sighed. She pushed up to her elbow, looking down at him.
Tears filled her beautiful hazel eyes. The light of the fireworks made them shine even more.
“I'm so sorry about how things ended. I never meant the words I said. We were young, and I was scared. So scared of disappointing my parents.”
Owen brushed his thumb under her eye, catching a tear as it fell. His heart ached seeing her cry, but they needed to have this conversation. The unspoken ghost between them. Their breakup.
“I'm sorry, too. I never meant what I said. And then they were too late to take back, and you were gone. I never should’ve told you to not come back. Before I could even process, Maddy was pregnant and my whole life became about Avery. Being a parent. I had to put his needs above mine. And I did until you came back to town again.”
She gave him a watery smile. “So you and Maddy haven’t since…” she trailed off.
He shook his head. “She has no interest in me or my cock. Trust me. It was a drunken mistake out of heartbreak on both our parts. It never happened again, and it never will.”
Ava bit her lip as she considered his words. “Okay.” She laid her head back on his chest, wrapping an arm around his waist. “You really are a good dad, Owen,” she murmured against him.
He kissed the top of her head, and they relaxed together, watching the fireworks over Cedar Falls in contented silence. As the show exploded into the finale and night fell over the town, Owen didn't want his time with Ava to end.
“Come home with me,” he said against her ear, pressing a kiss to the side of her head. She snuggled against him, rubbing her head against his chest like a cat seeking attention. “I'll go anywhere with you.”