28. ZANE
ZANE
I rap my knuckles gently on the door, and a moment later, it swings open, revealing the smiling face of my girl. I bend over with a polite bow and hold out my hand. “Miss Diva, your escort to the Morgan family dinner is here.”
She giggles and takes my hand. “You’re so corny.”
I pull her in closer, wrapping my arms around her while hers go around my neck. “I blame you—I wasn’t like this before you arrived.”
She leans up on her tiptoes to peck my lips. “I plead guilty to all charges. I like this new you.”
I want more than the simple peck, so I walk backward until we’re inside her room, shutting the door with my foot. Turning around, I pin her against it, capturing her lips with mine. She moans, clinging onto me tighter as the kiss deepens.
She feels so warm, smells so good, and her kisses make me want to lock her in here and forsake dinner. My hands find their way under the cropped sweater she’s wearing to cup her breast. Instead of pushing me away, she pushes further into my palm, making me smile into the kiss.
I treat myself to a few minutes of making out with her as I caress her breasts under her clothes, like a couple of teenagers hiding away from their parents.
“We need to go,” I rasp out, realizing that taking this further will end with us having sex, which will be rude to the rest of the family.
I couldn’t care less about them, but I know she’ll be embarrassed to face them later.
“More of this after dinner?” she suggests with a hopeful smile.
“Absolutely.”
I help her set her clothes right before I take her hand and lead her out of her bedroom. She leans onto my side as we make our way downstairs.
“I missed you—I haven’t seen you all day,” I confess.
Last night I was occupied dealing with a horse that was foaling, so she spent the night in her room. It turned into a twenty-four-hour thing, and I only got off work an hour ago with enough time to shower and make my way here for her.
“I missed you too, but I had a good day with Ella,” she replies, but there’s a sad twinge to her voice.
“Did something happen?” I inquire.
She shakes her head and smiles. “No, it was a fun girls’ day in. I played a new song for Ella, and she cried.”
“El cries at everything.”
“True,” she giggles.
She might be laughing, but she can’t hide the sadness in her eyes. I don’t want to read too much into it, but I hope that she’ll come to me soon with whatever it is.
When we make it downstairs, it’s abuzz with activity. Tonight we’re celebrating my win and Beckett’s return after being away for six months. Speaking of the devil, he walks out of the kitchen gorging on a drumstick.
He gets one look at Ava, and I know it’s going to take everything in me not to beat the living daylights out of him when I note the mischievous look in his eyes.
“OMG! It’s Ava Noa, the famous pop star,” he exclaims loudly.
Ava, who hadn’t seen him yet, is startled but smiles when she recognizes him. “Beck!”
“And she knows my name,” he cheers before pulling her from my arms and picking her up.
He twirls her around, making her laugh while I stand there counting down from ten, reminding myself that this is just Beck being Beck.
Eventually he sets her down and holds her at arm’s length. “Hello there, Miss Diva. Long time no see—don’t you look delightful.”
“Don’t call her that,” I grumble, pulling her back to my side.
“Thank you, Beck,” she gushes.
Beck looks at my arm around her shoulders, his eyes widening as he points an accusatory finger at us. “Are you two—?” he asks, his voice trembling as if scared of the answer.
Why does he have to be so theatrical?
Ava blushes and nods in confirmation. “Yes.”
He claps dramatically, shaking his head in disappointment. “Oh wow. To be honest, I always knew you would end up with the Morgan last name, but of all four brothers, you just had to go for him,” he mocks.
“And you are the better option?” I scoff.
“In all ways, big bro,” he grins proudly, then turns to Ava. “I’m happy for you, but if you ever change your mind, an upgrade is right here waiting for you,” he declares, pointing at himself.
Ava giggles and nods. “Noted, but I think I’ll stick with him.”
“Good luck to you then,” he nods at her, then turns to me. “You’re one lucky motherfucker, big brother.”
“I know. Now get out of my sight before I send you back to a different kind of hospital than the one you just came from,” I threaten.
He points the half-eaten drumstick at me but runs off when I lunge at him. When he’s a good distance away, he turns around and walks backward, giving me a mock salute before disappearing into the living room.
I turn to Ava, my arms crossed over my chest. “Stick with me, huh?”
She nods bravely. “You heard him—I have options.”
“You do, huh?” I challenge as I stalk toward her.
She takes a few steps back and ends up trapped between me and the wall behind her. Her courage wavers and she chuckles, lifting her hands up in surrender. “Okay, I give up. You’re my only option.”
“And you will do well to remember that,” I assert as I take both her hands into one of mine and pin them above her head.
Pressing my body against her, I pinch her chin to make her look up at me before slamming my lips on hers. She groans at the intrusion but slacks her jaw, opening her mouth to welcome me. This kiss isn’t meant to be sweet—it’s to assert dominance, to let her know who she belongs to.
When I pull away, her lips are red and bruised. Perfect.
“You’re mine,” I growl, kissing her forehead.
“Yours,” she affirms with a satisfied gleam in her eyes.
I take her hand and lead her to the dining room where everyone is gathering for dinner.
It’s been a while since things were this lively in the Morgan household, and honestly, I’m happy to see it.
The only one missing is Ryder, but he did send me a message earlier congratulating me on my win and apologizing for missing today’s celebration.
I’m just glad to know that he’s alive—with him, you never know.
“If I knew it’d take Ava being back here to drag you back to some sort of normalcy, I’d have asked Ella to invite her here years ago,” Jace says as he settles down next to me.
Ava’s attention is on Ella, who is seated on the other side of her, so she’s not privy to our talk.
“Normal?” I question.
“You’re right—nothing about you is normal. I should have said happy. You look happier with her here. She’s good for you. Have you thought of what’s next? She only has about two weeks left,” he points out as if I’m not already painfully aware that my Ava’s time here is winding down fast.
Has it been three months already?
“Not that it’s any of your business, but I’m working on it.”
Now that I’ve already made the decision to propose, all that’s left is to buy the ring. I’m running out of time, so I need to do it fast.
“I sincerely hope that you are because I’m not looking forward to the version of you that doesn’t have Ava in his life.”
“Yeah, me neither,” I concur, knowing just how much Ava being back here and us fixing things between us has changed me.
I know I was a pain to be around before, but I’m trying to be better—for her, for my family, and most importantly for myself. Previously, I was existing and not living. It feels good to have something to look forward to each dawn.
When everyone is settled down, Daisy leads us in saying grace, and we’re all invited to dig in.
Over dinner, I notice that something is definitely off with Ava. She’s back to picking at her food, something we’ve already worked on and overcome. She keeps getting distracted and is unlike her usual cheery self.
“What is wrong with you? You’ve been acting odd all night,” I ask, done with pretending that I can’t see it.
“I’m okay,” she replies with a fake smile.
“No, you’re not. Tell me before I find a way to force it out of you,” I grit out.
“I’m okay, really.”
“Ava,” I growl.
She looks at me defiantly, refusing to talk. I’m about to push further when Ella drops her fork noisily onto her plate. “Tell him or I will.”
Ava shakes her head, eyes wide in panic.
“El, tell me,” I demand.
She looks at Ava and gives an apologetic look. “I’m sorry—he deserves to know.” She then turns to me. “Earlier today, we found out that Estevan is the stalker who has been harassing Ava for the past year.”
Ava looks down, head bowed in shame, now that the cat is out of the bag.
“That fucker,” I rumble in anger.
“Language,” Jace warns.
“Sorry,” I apologize to Daisy, then turn to Ava. “Why were you hiding that from me?”
“I was going to tell you tomorrow. I didn’t want to ruin dinner,” she explains.
“I’m going to really kill him this time.”
“Please don’t—let the police handle it. There’s already a warrant out for him,” she pleads.
She looks so scared, so I wrap my arm around her shoulders and pull her closer. Beckett looks at me questioningly, and I give him a look to let him know that I’ll explain everything later.
“It’s going to be okay. You’re safe here,” I assure Ava.
She nods, her grip on my arm tightening. I don’t say anything because if I tell her that I won’t do anything to Estevan, I will be lying. He better pray the police get to him before I do!