Chapter 8
Avery
I kept telling myself this wasn’t a date, but that was what it felt like. We had dinner in the dining room, with wine and candlelight. Soft music played in the background, and Ali had a bouquet of roses waiting for me when I arrived.
While we ate, we shared facts about ourselves and got to know each other.
I told him about how I was the youngest of two and that my parents were still alive and married.
He already knew I was from Memphis and that I was a journalist for The Force.
He shared a few details about himself as well—that he was an only child, which was probably why his imagination was so wild from a young age.
Only children, or the youngest child, usually had to learn how to entertain themselves.
That was the case for me. My sister was ten years older than me, so she was out of the house while I was still super young and like a third parent more than anything else.
We talked about our likes and dislikes, our hobbies and interests, goals for the future.
The only time it seemed like the light in his eyes dimmed was when we talked about marriage and kids.
While I was excitedly waiting for that to happen in my future, Ali wasn’t sure if he’d ever experience that.
Not because he didn’t want to, but because his heart had been hardened by people he trusted would keep it safe.
I urged him to try love again so it could help him heal, and he didn’t completely reject it, so that was a plus.
When I took the last bite of my ice cream sundae, because he just so happened to have my favorite thing for dessert, I looked up and noticed him staring at me.
“What are you thinking about?” I asked curiously.
“How much I like spending time with you,” he confessed, making me blush.
“Good, because I like spending time with you.”
Ali chuckled. “I got something else you’d like too.”
Since I wasn’t expecting him to flirt with me, I almost choked on my wine. He leaped from his seat to pat my back, but I was too busy laughing to care.
“I’m sorry,” he muttered, leaning down to look into my watery eyes. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” I assured him as I laughed and tried to catch my breath. “I just wasn’t expecting you to say that.”
“Clearly.” Now that he was sure I was okay, Ali allowed himself to release a soft laugh as well as he sat back down.
“You’re dangerous,” I realized.
Or maybe I always knew and was just now starting to accept it.
“How so?” he asked, getting back comfortable in his seat.
I didn’t respond right away as I watched him take a small sip of his wine.
“I’m starting to think the only boundary you have with me is professionally.”
Ali didn’t deny it. In fact, he smiled, and that was all I needed to see to know there was a 99 percent chance that I was going to let him have his way with me before I went back to Memphis.
Because I was the one who said nothing romantic or personal could happen between us, not him.
And there was no doubt in my mind that if I changed my mind, he wouldn’t object.
“Is that a bad thing?”
My mouth twisted to the side as I weighed the options: have sex with my high school crush, who just so happened to be fine as hell and the number one urban and thriller author right now, or keep my legs closed and be his friend.
The more time we spent together, the less I cared about the interview, but I didn’t want to tell him that.
Hell, I could barely accept that truth myself.
That was the whole reason I’d come here, and now, I was having candlelit dinners with the man.
“I haven’t decided yet,” I replied.
“Let me know when you do. Until then, I’ll behave.”
“What if I don’t want you to?”
Those already lazy eyes lowered as he licked his lips. “And I’m the dangerous one?”
The laugh I released was soft as he stood and grabbed his empty plate. I did the same, following him into the kitchen. After I emptied my plate, he took it from my hand, his fingers grazing mine.
“Go sit down somewhere. You’re my guest,” he ordered.
“So? I still want to help.”
“Nah.” Ali’s hand went to my waist, and he gently guided me toward the living room. “It’s truly my pleasure to serve you. Go sit down, honey.”
Honey.
That was a first.
Smiling, I bit down on my bottom lip. Even if I knew a response to give, I wouldn’t.
Between the soft firmness of the command and Ali turning and taking care of the dishes, I had no choice but to leave.
I made my way to his home theater, and as I scrolled and looked for something to watch, I allowed my mind and heart to accept the fact that this was real.
That it was actually happening. That after all these years, Ali and I were finally in the same space, sharing the same feelings for one another.
Even without the official declaration of this being a date or a title between us, I couldn’t stop myself from smiling, no matter how hard I tried.
When Ali made his way inside, there was a small gift bag in his hand. I assumed it was for me, which made my heart race in anticipation. He chuckled as I sat up in my seat and clapped softly before reaching for the bag.
“You don’t even know what’s inside and you’re excited already,” he teased, sitting next to me.
“I don’t care. It’s a gift from you, so it’s already perfect in my book.”
As he handed me the bag, Ali said, “I had my personal shopper pick it up as thanks.”
My brows wrinkled in confusion as I paused my attempt to open the bag. “Thanks? For what?”
“Reminding me that my heart still works.”
“Oh,” came out quietly, softly, as my eyes watered. “I’m honored to.” My head shook as I tried to give him the bag back. “I don’t need thanks for that though. Just getting to be here with you is more than enough for me.”
“That makes me want you to have it more,” he countered, removing the black box from the bag. I watched as he opened it, breathless at the sight of the sparkly diamond necklace with a heart pendant.
“Wow. It’s beautiful, Ali. Thank you.”
“Turn around. I’ll help you put it on.”
With a smile, I turned in my seat and lifted my hair so he could wrap the necklace around my neck.
The feel of his fingers on my shoulders caused me to shiver.
And when he kissed the side of my neck, then my shoulder, my eyes fluttered and lips parted.
I wanted to remind myself having sex with him would blur the line drawn in the sand, but I was starting to care less and less about that.
Craning my neck slightly, I looked into his eyes, then looked at his lips as he licked them. No longer able to deny myself, I leaned forward slightly and kissed him. When he pulled away, shame was about to fill me over his rejection until he said, “You said you didn’t want this.”
“I changed my mind.”
Ali smiled with a shake of his head. “Just about the kiss? Or us altogether?”
My eyes closed briefly as I pulled in a courageous breath. “I want everything we can have.” My hand slid down his chest. “I want us to go as deep as we can go.”
“Mm,” he moaned, using my neck to pull me close. “We can go deep, honey. Trust me on that.”
That time, when our lips connected, neither of us pulled away.
I was so deep in the kiss, in him, that I barely registered him picking me up and carrying me to his bedroom until he broke away from my lips.
Before I could whine for more, the sight of him pulling his shirt over his head silenced me.
When I tried to undress myself, Ali stopped me with, “Uh unh. Let me do it.”
Since I had absolutely no problem with that, I relaxed in his bed and enjoyed the show.
My wildest dreams were incomparable to the real thing—the real sight of him.
The muscles, the tattoos, the smooth caramel brown skin.
Tugging my bottom lip into my mouth, I bit back a moan of desire.
I thought I was crazy about the teenaged version of Ali, but the grown man version had the ability to drive me absolutely insane.
He made his way between my legs, and my heart pounded in anticipation.
The moment he touched me, though, I felt at ease.
Ali took his time undressing me, but the patience he exhibited slowly started to fade away by the time I was naked.
A gentle urgency led his movements as he kissed, licked, sucked, and touched all over my body.
By the time Ali made it between my thighs, my mouth hung open as I breathed raggedly.
I’d never wanted a man more than I wanted him right now.
A soft sigh escaped me when his mouth latched onto my clit.
He alternated between licking, nibbling, and sucking, sending me over an orgasmic edge in what felt like no time.
His large hands kept my thighs spread as he continued to feast on my pussy as my walls throbbed and leaked.
One finger, then two, breached my hole, and my back arched off the bed.
Ali fingered me at the same pace that he licked and sucked my clit, making me cum again.
He lifted himself as he continued to finger me and kissed up my body. As I massaged and tweaked my nipples, he commanded, “Feed me,” and as soon as he licked and bit down on my nipple, I came a third time.
It was in that moment I realized this man was going to engrain himself on my body and in my brain.
He was already deep in my heart.
By the time he finally lined his thick head up at my opening, I was whimpering for relief and for more.
I held my breath as he stretched me, making his way inside.
My nails dug into his back as that burn that reminded me of how long it had been quickly turned into warm pleasure.
His strokes started slow, and long. Then they grew deep, and swift, and hard.
All that could be heard in his room were our moans and heavy breathing along with the sound of his dick stirring my wetness with each stroke.
His arms slid under mine, hands gripping my shoulders as I bit down on his.
His gaze, his moans, those chains dangling, the tightening of his abs—his pleasure, his presence, his . . . him . . . made my walls tighter and wetter.
“You said you wanted me to go deep?” Ali moaned, taunted, before licking and biting down on my neck.
“Mhm,” I moaned.
“Hold on.”
Tightening my legs around him, I held Ali close as he drilled me deeply.
Anchoring me and keeping me steady, he alternated between kissing me and whispering about how good I felt against my ear as he gave me long, deep strokes that I was sure would have my pussy and legs tingling long after the night was over.