Chapter 38
VALEN
Ava is not acting like herself.
She’s trying to put on a facade of normalcy, but it isn’t working. I know her better than she thinks, and it pains me that she’s hiding her feelings.
It’s been a few days since we returned home, and if anything, she’s continued to recede farther into herself. I try to spark conversation and get her mind off things, but she gives simple responses in a way very unlike her. Her normally vibrant aura has been dimmer.
Sighing, I lean back on the couch and throw my forearm over my eyes.
What can I do to help?
Something butts into my leg, and I look down into wide brown eyes. Pom Pom stares up at me, eyes shining with love and tongue lolling out of his mouth. His little tail wags a mile a minute, and once he realizes I’m paying attention, he tries to climb up my pants, but his stubby legs won’t let him.
“Uppies?” I hold my hands out, and Pom Pom practically catapults into them. “Are you sad about your mom too?”
Animals are emotionally intelligent creatures, and the familiar has taken notice of Ava’s behavior.
I’m curious whether, now that she’s unlocked her powers, she’ll be able to communicate with him like Jade said.
When I brought it up, she immediately shot the topic down and scuttled away.
Anything relating to magic is a no-go at the moment.
She’s scared, and I get that, but I wish my mate would talk to me. I don’t like that she’s shutting me out.
Pom Pom paws at my chest, and I know what he’s asking for since he’s been doing it since we got it.
“Hang on,” I soothe and reach for the item he desires beside the couch. Pulling the carrier over my head and setting the straps, I settle Pom Pom into it. “Comfy?” I ask, and he rests his head against my chest to gaze up at me.
The television in the background switches to another song on the playlist I put on earlier, and I stand. “Shall we dance?” The familiar yips, and I hold his two front paws, bopping them to the beat.
Just as we’re getting into the rhythm of the music, the door unlocks and Ava walks in. Her pink hair lays faded around her face, slightly limp. Normally one to dress up and style her hair, she’s been leaving it as is. Dark circles ring her eyes, and my heart constricts at the sight.
She hasn’t been sleeping and thinks she has me fooled on the matter since she keeps her eyes shut and her breaths even.
“Am I interrupting something?” She muses and clicks the door closed behind her. Her tone lacks any sarcastic bite.
“My dance partner wasn’t here, so Pom Pom had to jump in. Will you join us?” I hold out a hand and Pom Pom pants in excitement at her arrival.
Ava seems to wage a mental war, and I swear I see her hand twitch toward me. I try to tug on the mating bond that flickers between us, not fully formed yet, but she pulls away.
“I can’t. I have to do that thing,” Ava trails off, spinning a finger through the air, and I narrow my eyes.
“What thing?” I ask, inching closer, trying to push her to just talk to me.
She slides farther away and attempts to circle around me to scurry to her room. “The thing that needs done,” Ava stutters. “You know, the thing.”
Her light blue eyes dart from me to the bedroom door, a plan formulating. Too bad for her, she’ll never get past without me intercepting. I set Pom Pom down in preparation.
“Try it,” I taunt, and a small spark of determination flares in her.
As soon as I see her foot lift off the floor, I’m in front of her, caging her in the corner of the kitchen and placing my hands above her head on the cabinets. Running my nose along her cheek, I breathe in her sweet scent.
“You can’t hide from me, Starlight.” Ava shivers beneath me and my inner predator preens at his prey being caught. “Let’s play a game.” I drag my nose along the column of her neck. She shivers and the smell of her arousal fills the air.
“Wh-What?” she stutters. “What kind of game?”
“A fun one,” I tease. “You give me an honest answer, and I’ll make you feel good.”
“Are you trading sexual favors for information?” she asks teasingly.
“Yes, absolutely, if that’s what it takes to get you to talk to me.” I hold her gaze.
“Valen … I…”
“Please,” I beg and lower my head, pressing an open-mouthed kiss to her neck. “Talk to me, love. I don’t like you locking me out.”
“I have vibrators,” she exhales breathlessly. “I don’t need you.”
“Mmm,” I hum. “Is that so?” I brush my lips over her ear and she shivers. “You don’t want my mouth on this sweet cunt?”
She practically chokes. “Cunt?”
“Zavier was right. Those bodice rippers are very insightful. A vibrator, though…” I say slowly, dragging my tongue down the column of her neck and nipping her skin when I find the spot where her pulse flutters.
“I am very curious about what that does. We still haven’t played with the one you got for Christmas. ”
“I’ll show you sometime.”
I lower myself to my knees. She’s wearing tights beneath her dress, and I reach under, slowly working them down her thighs. Her small intake of her breath has me grinning in satisfaction.
“I’ll kiss you right here,” I say, pointing to a spot high on her inner thigh, “if you tell me in one word how you really feel.”
I keep my finger in that spot, drawing small circles. She shivers and her hand reaches down to grip my shoulder.
“Scared,” she answers.
I lean in, inhaling her scent before I kiss the spot I promised. Looking back up at her, I ask, “Why are you scared?”
Her head falls back against the wall. “Are you sure you’re not doing some kind of weird vampire mind magic on me that’s making me want to spill my guts?”
“No,” I chuckle. “But we’re mates, and it’s been a few days since we’ve been … intimate. Your body is craving mine as much as I am yours.”
“Hmm,” she hums. “What are you going to do if I answer?”
I wet my lips with a swipe of my tongue. “I’ll kiss you right here.” I glide my finger over her slit that’s covered by her underwear.
Her legs tremble. “You don’t play fair.”
“Not when it comes to you, Starlight. I’ve let you keep quiet and retreat into your mind a little too long. You’re going to talk to me now. Let me ask you again—why exactly are you scared?”
She frowns down at me, and I scent in the air just how badly she wants to keep the words to herself. Letting out a frustrated little groan, she says, “I almost killed Celine.”
I blink up at her, stunned. “Love, I would hardly call a broken arm close to death.”
She huffs. “You heard what Jade said about her mom. She killed her by accident when she came into her powers. I almost killed Celine. It’s pure luck it wasn’t more than a broken arm.”
I reach up and grasp her chin, forcing her to hold my eyes. “You protected us from the worst of the blast. Your love for us shielded us. Celine is just human, though, and therefore far more breakable than even you.”
“How can you know that?” She pouts down at me.
“Because you obliterated those vampires, Ava. They were nothing but dust, while the area around us looked completely untouched. Stop beating yourself up for this.”
“I can’t help it.” She whimpers when I kiss her core over her underwear.
“You were incredible.” I kiss her inner thigh, not waiting to pull more information out of her first. “You saved us. Stop beating yourself up. We’d either be dead or captured without you.”
She looks down at me, bottom lip wobbling. “I’d never forgive myself if they took you.” She exhales shakily. “You’re mine.”
“I am.”
There’s no denying the fact that I belong to Ava McGuire, heart, body, and soul.
“I’m sorry I haven’t been myself.”
“It’s okay, baby. Do you feel better now?”
She nods. “But I need you.”
I grin. “Have you missed my touch?” I stroke my hands along the back of her legs.
“Yes.” She grips my hair firmly.
I take each of her shoes off and remove her tights. Next goes her underwear.
Standing, I make quick work of ridding her of her blouse and the light pink bra beneath it. My eyes fixate on her breasts. Round and firm. The perfect fit for my hands.
“These,” I croon. “I love very much.”
She moans when I rub her nipples. “Who would’ve thought you’d be a boob man?”
“Why do you say that?” I ask, leaning in to kiss her neck before I drag my mouth lower and circle each peaked nipple with my tongue.
She shrugs, but it turns into a shiver. “I don’t know. I thought that since you’ve been a virgin for like a million years, you might not care. I’m kind of glad to know that you’re like most men.”
She squeals when I bite her neck. A small trickle of blood trails her skin and I lick it away.
The taste of her—sweet, like a sugar cookie—hits my tastebuds and I moan.
I’d give anything to sink my teeth into her and drink for real.
When I pull away, her eyes are heady and those perfect pink lips are parted.
“Bend over the kitchen table and keep the skirt on,” I command.
She obeys immediately and peeks over her shoulder, giving me a coy smile. “Those bodice rippers really did teach you a thing or two.”
“You have no idea.”
I slap her butt cheek and she jolts forward. A long, drawn-out moan leaves her and I smile in satisfaction.
Sinking to my knees, I bury my face in her perfect pussy. I lap at her center, relishing in the taste of her. I suck at her clit until her legs are shaking and she screams so loud when she orgasms that I have little doubt that Zavier and Celine heard if they’re home.
She’s still lost in the throes of pleasure when I unbutton my jeans and shove them and my underwear down just enough to free my cock. I give my length one hard stroke before I sink into her sweet, wet heat.
Ava claws at the table, her pussy spasming against my cock as she comes again.
“That’s it.” I rub the globes of her ass. “Take my cock.”
“Valen,” she gasps. “I…”
“I know, love. I know.”
She mewls in protest when I pull out, but I desperately need to see her when she falls apart again. I flip her over so she’s on her back and slip inside her again.
“Off,” she pleads, tugging on my shirt. “I want to touch you.”
I rip my shirt off—literally, because if my girl wants my shirt off, I’m going to get rid of it as quickly as possible.
Her fingers caress my stomach and drift farther down to graze the base of my cock every time it slides out of her perfect pussy.
Her breaths become unsteady, and her inner walls squeeze against me.
“I’m coming,” she gasps.
“Yeah, you are,” I growl, holding her hips so I can pound into her.
“Yes, yes. Oh my God, Valen!” she cries out, squeezing her eyes shut.
“Open your eyes,” I command. “You look at me when you come.”
It takes her a moment, but they flutter open, and the pleasure reflected in her blue eyes has me chasing my own orgasm. I grit my teeth. Close. I’m so fucking close.
“Wait,” she says, and I slow my thrusts. She gives my stomach a gentle shove.
I slip out of her, and she hops off the table and drops to her knees. Cupping her breasts, she pushes them together. “Come on my breasts.”
“Fuck, yes,” I gasp in surprise. She’s bringing to life a fantasy I didn’t even know I had. I rub my cock with firm strokes, and it doesn’t take me long to reach my climax. My cum splashes across her breasts and coats her in thick, white spurts.
Ava drops her breasts and proceeds to rub my cum into her skin. That visual has me coming again, and since I wasn’t expecting it, it hits her face.
She smiles up at me, unbothered, and takes her index and middle finger to her cheek to wipe away—no, she’s not wiping it away. Instead she brings those fingers to her mouth and sucks them dry.
My eyes zero in on her lips. “Ava,” I growl, and she giggles.
Without giving her warning, I scoop her up and toss her over my shoulder.
Before she can finish laughing, I’ve tossed her down on the bed and am slipping into her warmth once more.
After that tease, I’m going to fuck her until the sun rises tomorrow.