Chapter 30
Ava
Owen flung a shoe at the floor as I entered the living room. He cursed as it missed the spider and lifted another shoe above his head.
“Owen!” I rushed forward, pushing him away from the spider. “You promised!”
He sighed and dropped the shoe. “Ava,” he groaned. “Just let me kill something.”
I glared at him, then dropped to my knees. A beautiful jumping spider was hiding behind the leg of the coffee table. The poor little thing pulled its legs tightly against her body, trying to make herself as small as possible.
Slowly, I lowered my hand to her, resting it palm open before her. “Oh, little one. This house is not safe for you. A brute lives here.” I gave Owen another glare. “Come now. Let me get a safer place for you.”
The spider only watched me. She did not move.
“It’s okay. You’re safe now. I swear on our Great Mother. You can trust me.”
The little jumping spider scurried forward onto my fingers. I held her up closer to see her beautiful colours. She wiggled a front leg at me, trying to communicate something I didn’t quite understand.
The hole in my chest felt a little wider, as my disconnection from nature haunted me. That ever-present feeling of something that was missing. Something more than my soul. Like a piece of me—a limb that had been severed. And I had been the one who’d done the severing.
With my soul snatched away, I had let the rest of me wither and die, rebelling against life.
It had been months since I’d felt in tune with nature, months of resisting the ebb and flow of her rhythms. And it had been months since my being had been stirred by the presence of the gods.
I had forsaken them. Raged at them. Had they forsaken me too? It felt like it.
“You’re so creepy, do you know that, A?”
I rolled my eyes at Owen, pushing past him to the front door.
“Tell it to not come here again!” Owen commanded from behind me. “And let him warn his friends too!”
I whirled on him. “It’s a she. And she will not be threatened like that. Shame on you!” I scolded.
I found a nice little crack between the bricks of the outside wall. “Will this do?” I asked the spider.
She jumped onto the wall, inspected the crack, then reversed into it.
Owen was waiting at the door, watching me. When I made it back up the steps, he brushed a finger across my cheek. “I’m sorry. We had a deal. No spider killing. And I broke it. Almost.”
“And I’m sorry for yelling at you.”
He smiled and pulled me against him. “Look at us. A bunch of sour grapes.”
I sighed and leaned my forehead against Owen’s shoulder.
“It was a rough couple of days.” Being utterly outwitted by the Apparitions to the point of humiliation had done a number on our moods.
The whole team had been at each other’s throats until Director Devereux stepped in, making us work in shifts for the following two days.
Everyone was fed-up and distrusting ever since Liam’s betrayal.
This blow was just as hard. Hopelessness had invaded our hearts, making us bitter and angry.
There was fear too. No one would admit it, but they were having second thoughts about being on this team.
Owen tightened his hold on me, kissing my hair.
His muscles were as stiff as mine. We needed to breathe. We needed to unwind.
I loosened myself from his grip. “We should get drunk. As drunk as skunks. And when we can’t remember all this shit anymore, we dance. Gods, I wanna dance.”
Owen’s body shook mine as he laughed. “That sounds fan-fucking-tastic.” He twirled me a few times, then pushed me through the door. “Go get ready. Wear a sexy dress, will you?”
A few hours later, I laughed with all my belly as Owen inconspicuously tripped a drunk man who was weaving through the dancefloor crowd to get to me.
Never missing a beat, Owen danced towards me again.
I felt light and giddy as I swayed to the beat of the bass under the strobe lights, Owen’s body moving with me.
I threw my arms around his neck, wanting to give him a quick kiss.
But my lips lingered against his as my attention was captured by what his hand was doing.
His fingers slowly trailed up the back of my thigh, pushing the hem of my tight emerald dress a little higher.
He caressed the exposed skin, just under my ass, using the sway of my hips to slip his fingers deeper between my thighs.
His fingers were so close, yet too far away to ease the ache he was creating.
I deepened our kiss, and opened my legs a fraction wider, hoping to feel his finger brush against my soaking underwear, just once.
I couldn’t care who was watching, or how high my dress had gone.
And neither did Owen. We were lost in his exploration, the beat, and the lustful haze of the red ambient lights.
I liked drunk Owen. I liked his risky behaviour. I liked when he let go of that ever-present self-control. Yes, he was my safe place, my rock, but sometimes I needed a partner in crime. Someone who would throw caution to the wind and be wild with me.
And drunk Owen could be wild.
“Would you like to fuck me, Agent Becket?” I purred in his ear.
He grabbed my ass and squeezed. “I’m dying to fuck you, Miss Beaumont.”
I brushed my palm over the bulge in his pants, feeling a shot of satisfaction rushing through me. “It seems you are.”
He swivelled me around, grinding against my ass with the music.
I let my head fall back against his chest, enjoying the warmth spreading through my core at the feel of his arousal.
“You in this dress is criminal.” He grabbed a fistful of it, leaving my thigh exposed. “It has me battling a hard-on all night.”
I lifted my face to his ear, trailing my lips over his neck. “Then be a good agent and get rid of the criminal dress.”
Owen didn’t need another invitation. He pushed me through the crowd, up the stairs, and out the door of the club.
His hand was between my legs, making me come on his fingers as the taxi drove us home.
The driver had quite the show, but I could not find it in me to care.
By the time we reached the front door of his apartment, I couldn’t hold out any longer.
I wrapped my arms and legs around him, pushing my tongue past his lips, wanting to taste him.
He pushed me up against the door, using his body to shield my bare ass and thighs, where my dress had ridden up.
Owen pulled away from the kiss, his eyes finding mine. “I want you, A.”
“Then have me,” I said, pulling my fingers through his curls.
His eyes were weary as they roamed over my face. “Tell me you’re mine.”
My chest squeezed.
“Say it, Princess.”
I shut my eyes against the flashing memory of the full moon, and Bentley Cove’s twinkling lights in the distance.
I didn’t want the memory to sweep me away from this moment.
Besides, what Owen was asking of me, was not the same as what Grayson had wanted.
Grayson wanted me to swear myself to him, body and soul.
But Owen only wanted reassurance that I loved him, that I chose him.
“I’m yours. Always.” My own words to Grayson echoed bitterly in my mind. I might have sworn my soul away to Grayson, but he was the first to break promises. I didn’t owe him anything anymore. Besides, he threw me away.
I opened my eyes to study Owen’s face. He was kind and handsome and he wanted me. He loved me with all his heart. And I loved him. I could see myself growing old with him. It would be easy, simple—like love was supposed to be.
My heart felt light, and a smile curved onto my lips. “I’m yours, Owen,” I whispered, tracing my thumb over his bottom lip, letting the words settle in my heart. “Just yours.”
His body relaxed as he leaned in to kiss me softly. “Okay,” he sighed against my lips. I heard his keys jingle and then the lock sliding open while he kissed me slow. He pushed the door open and kicked it closed behind us, never stopping his slow exploration of my mouth.
He laid me down on his dining room table, his eyes roaming hungrily over my body. His fingers trailed softly over my legs to the backs of my knees, which he hoisted up. He slowly pushed my legs apart, his eyes trailing down the inside of my inner thigh.
I shivered as he pressed a soft kiss to the delicate skin on my inside thigh.
“How did I score such a beautiful woman?”
I smiled up at the ceiling, my heart feeling warm. “By having such a beautiful soul, Owen Becket,” I whispered into the dark.
“I’ve wanted you like this… It seems like forever now.”
I gasped as his tongue dipped between my folds, drinking me in like a man starved. He pushed my legs wider and grabbed my ass off the table, pulling me closer to his mouth.
His utter arousal at claiming me like this, pulsed in the air around us, caressing every inch of my too sensitive skin. It leeched into my body, overtaking my senses, my mind, pushing my pleasure into overdrive.
My body shuddered at the force of it, and Owen pulled me tighter, his mouth desperate.
It was my undoing. I arched off the table as the orgasm rushed through my body like a wildfire, leaving my limbs a shaking mess.
“Gods, Owen,” I panted, trying to reel my mind back into coherency.
He chuckled. “That was fast.”
I blushed a deep red, pushing at him. “It’s you! It’s your arousal. It—”
“You can’t blame me.” He climbed on top of me, ignoring the groans from the table. “You taste like sin,” he whispered against my lips.
I chuckled, wrapping my arms around his neck, pulling him into a kiss. “You flatter me, Agent Becket.”
“I hope to do a lot more than that, Miss Becket.” His body stiffened and I couldn’t help the laughter bubbling up my throat. “Did I just say that out loud?”
“Mmhmm.” I nodded. “But bold of you to assume I would be the one taking your last name.”
He huffed a laugh. “You’re right. Owen Beaumont has a much sexier ring to it, don’t you think?”
I giggled and pulled his abdomen down against mine, wanting to feel his weight on me. “I think, you should fuck me already, Agent Beaumont.”
He swept his tongue over my lower lip, before trailing soft kisses over my neck, then my chest, pulling down my dress as he went.
His tongue swirled around my nipple, and I couldn’t help but arch into his mouth, desperate for more pressure, more friction.
I unfastened his pants and pushed them down, feeling his cock spring free. He moaned against my breast as I closed my fingers around it. I stroked it once before he caught my hand and pinned it above my head.
“I won’t last very long if you tease me like this, A.”
My stomach flipped and I pulled his ass down with my free hand. “Then let me have you, Owen. Please. Make me yours.”
He shifted, positioning himself at my entrance. His eyes were on my face when I looked up—soft and warm, making my heartbeat flutter.
Slowly, he pushed into me, the feel of him inside me, heating my blood, the warmth settling onto my cheeks. He stayed still, buried deep inside of me, just watching my face with utter adoration shining in his eyes.
I reached up and softly traced the curves of his face, basking safely in the warmth of his stare. “Have I ever told you how handsome you are?” I murmured, brushing my fingers over his soft lips.
His cock twitched inside of me and my breathing hitched. It felt so good, my core tightening painfully with need.
Owen’s eyes fell closed as he pushed harder, deeper into me. “You feel amazing, Ava.” He slowly pulled out and pushed back into me, making us both gasp. “Fuck,” he moaned.
My body was trembling with want. He kept a slow, steady rhythm while he kissed me and whispered sweet praises into my ear, into my heart. His hands roamed my body, touching me, loving me like I was a precious treasure as his name fell from my lips in trembling sighs.
I could feel him straining to keep control, his breathing fast and jagged. It egged my own pleasure on. With each deep thrust, my orgasm was building, pulsing, stealing my breath away.
“Owen…” I whimpered, all the muscles in my body tightening in pleasure, my heart beating frantically in anticipation.
“Jesus, Ava.” He swept a hand over my hair, staring at me in awe. “Are you glowing? I swear you’re glowing.” His fingers trembled over my face.
My back arched off the table as the first wave hit me, consuming me.
I clung to Owen as he continued to drive into me, slowly sending wave after wave of pleasure through my body.
The edge of the wooden table groaned in his grip as he battled to keep his own orgasm at bay.
Until he couldn’t. He cursed and thrusted into me, two more times, the muscles in his abdomen tightening gloriously, before he collapsed onto me, a trembling mess, just like me.
We held each other tightly as our ragged breaths echoed through the dark, quiet room.
My heart felt like it was going to explode.
Owen pushed up onto his elbow, smiling down at me. “You’re magnificent, Ava.”
My heart sputtered out and I quickly looked away.
He cupped my cheek and guided my eyes back to his. “I love you, Miss Beaumont.”
I closed my eyes, letting his warm smile and words seep into my heart, making it start back up again. The embers in me glowed a little brighter. “I love you too, O.”