Pulling into the driveway, I parked, then turned off the car. Looking over at Avalon, I asked, “Are you okay?”
“Nope,” she replied, not looking at me. “Not at all.”
“Baby-”
“Who else lives here?” she asked, and no wonder she wasn’t okay. Avalon probably thought my parents were inside or something traumatizing like that.
“Avalon, my parents aren’t here,” I told her, and her shoulders immediately relaxed. “It’s just me, Easton, and Severus.” Before she could ask, I explained, Severus is our…keeper, I suppose.”
Her brows shot up. “Keeper?”
“He’s been with us since we were born,” I explained. “He’s our guardian when our parents can’t be bothered.”
She snorted. “No offense, but your parents sound horrible.”
“They are,” I confirmed. “Though my mother isn’t as bad as my father. I don’t think she’d be that bad if she had the power to stand up to my father.”
“To be honest, I’m not sure how I feel about them,” she said. “They sound awful, and I can’t say it’s a good feeling to know how they played with our lives like that.”
“Avalon, I don’t want to talk about my parents,” I told her.
She finally looked over at me. “I’m nervous,” she confessed.
“I can work with nervous,” I replied. “I just don’t want you scared.”
“Are you nervous?” she asked, and I knew I had surprised her when I had admitted to being a virgin. And even though the conversation had taken place in front of her parents, I hadn’t been embarrassed. Her father needed to know how serious I was about her. He had to know what she meant to me. I hadn’t care about a man card or male ego.
“No,” I answered honestly. “Even though you’re the first girl I’ve ever touched, we had sex-ed in school.” She blushed. “Plus, my dad made sure there’s be no questions left unanswered when the time came. He knew we were going to need all the help we could get when the time came for us to claim you.” I scoffed. “Make no mistake, Avalon. My father knew how badly he fucked us. He just didn’t care. His experiment mattered more.”
“And did it work?” she asked. “Do you know?”
I tried not to wince. “I honestly don’t know,” I admitted. “Obviously, our bond is nature-derived since it’s so strong, but with Easton and Neve not feeling as overwhelmed as we do, I’m not sure if the experiment worked. If their bond is severed or severable, then that implies our bonds are nurture-derived also, and my father fucked us all for nothing.” Avalon didn’t comment, but then what was there to say.
“Come on, baby,” I said as I pulled the keys out of the ignition. “Let’s go.” When Avalon reached for the door handle, I quickly corrected her. “You can unbuckle your seatbelt, but I always open the door.”
She looked surprised. “That’s rather…chivalrous for someone so young.”
“It’s really not,” I replied. “It’s how thing are done in Rýkr.”
I got out of the car, then made my way to passenger side. I opened her door and waited for her to get out before reaching towards the floorboard to grab her overnight bag.
I laced her fingers in mine, and we walked towards the front door, and I inwardly cringed at how her family and mine knew what we were going to be about. Now, while that wasn’t going to stop me, I imagined it was playing havoc on Avalon’s modesty. We were losing our virginities tonight, and that wasn’t anything that should have been broadcasted, but had needed to be.
As soon as we entered the house, we were greeted with Severus waiting for us in the living room. I had texted him as soon as we had gotten in the car to let him know that Avalon was going to be spending the night with me.
He had texted back a thumbs-up emoji.
“Ms. Stallard, it’s a pleasure to meet you,” he immediately greeted.
Avalon didn’t disappoint. “My last name is legally and personally Lively, sir,” she replied.
I noticed Severus’ lip tilt in appreciation of her spunk. “My apologies, Ms. Lively,” he said. “I hadn’t given it proper consideration.”
“It’s okay,” she graciously allowed. “This entire thing is rather…unconventional.”
“Indeed, it has been,” he agreed. “Well, I’ll let you get on with your evening, as I imagine there is still much to talk about.” And while he wasn’t wrong, we all knew what was really happening here.
“Thanks, Severus,” I said before heading to my room.
“What can he do?” Avalon asked in a whisper.
“He can manipulate the weather,” I answered. “With Easton having the same gift, Severus trained him well in how to hone that particular ability.
“Neve can read minds,” she divulged.
“I know.”
“How do you know?” she asked, and there was no mistaking the annoyance in her tone.
We got to my room and I opened the door, ushering her inside, before I answered her. “Avalon, my father has had someone watching you and Neve from the moment that stupid experimental idea popped in his head.” She turned to look at me, her arms crossed over her chest, and she didn’t look happy. “When he told us what he had done, he has presented us folders on both you and Neve. Even though we weren’t certain who was bonded to whom, the folders had pictures and reports on your lives.”
Her arms dropped to her side. “That is so fucked-up, Griffin,” she cried. “This whole thing is super fucked-up.”
After making sure my bedroom door was locked, I walked to her. “I know,” I agreed. “But it changes nothing, Avalon. None of it changes what is happening between us.”
“I don’t even know you,” she whispered sadly. “You…you own all these pieces of me, and I don’t even know you, Griffin.” Her blue eyes were beginning to water, and I hated that. “Everything you told us at my house means I’m just supposed to trust you without even knowing you. How does a person do that? How am I supposed to just…accept all this? Accept you?”
“Because I’m not even touching you, but you feel me,” I replied. “You know I’m not lying.”
“It’s not that I think you’re lying,” she explained. “It’s that…what if you turn out to be a horrible person? What if I find myself in the same situation as my birth mother?”
My hands came up to cradle her beautiful, beautiful face. “Baby, I’ve had to live eighteen years feeling broken and lost. I’ve lived my entire life with this ache of loneliness that never went away, no matter what I did.” My hands slid down over her neck and back up again. “Do you honestly think that I’d do anything to jeopardize our relationship now that I finally have you? Now that I finally feel complete, and that fucking ache is gone?” I shook my head. “The only way I’ll ever be happy in life is if you’re happy, Avalon. Please, believe that. Believe me.”
“They’re going to know,” she quietly whispered. “Everyone’s going to know.”
I nodded. “Yes, they are,” I agreed. “But I don’t care.”
“But-”
“Avalon, you can move this entire house and I wouldn’t care,” I told her. “I care about nothing but you.”
“You can’t see it?” she asked.
I shook my head. “Our powers don’t work on each other,” I told her. “It has something to do with the bond, but I can’t see your future and you can’t move me. I also can’t move you or hear you if you’re far away.” I grinned. “Those are my other two powers. I can move things like you can and I have sonic hearing.”
“Jesus,” she muttered.
Ignoring her muttering, I said, “I’m going to kiss you now, Avalon.” Her eyes fell to my lips. “I’m going to kiss you and I’m not going to stop until you’re a naked, sweaty, convulsing mess underneath me, baby.”
Avalon didn’t say anything, but when she grabbed my shirt in her fists, I took that as consent.
Chapter 24
Avalon~
This was it and I was beyond nervous, but that drugged feeling w
as pushing my nervousness into a dark corner somewhere. I had no idea if I was always going to feel this way with Griffin or if this was something I was experiencing because we’d been kept apart.
Now, while I’d know a little of what he had told us at my house, I was still confused about where we were going to go from here. He had told us a lot and had answered a lot of questions, but I still felt like there was so much I didn’t know. Still, I knew I couldn’t go back to that emptiness Griffin had described earlier.
No matter how confused and ignorant I was about all this, I couldn’t deny the truth that touched everything Griffin’s been saying. For eighteen years, I’ve felt like something was missing and that something has been Griffin. There was no denying that obvious fact.
The second his lips touched mine, I knew this was different. The first time he kissed me, shock, fear, and confusion had mixed in with the sensation of his touch, none of it being anything that I had understood. The second time had me still confused and shocked, but no longer scared. This time had me still confused, but no longer scared or shocked. This time, Griffin wasn’t catching me unaware. He wasn’t running roughshod over me.
This time, I was here because I wanted this.
I leaned into the kiss and Griffin’s arms came around me, one hand tangling in the back of my blonde hair, the other grabbing a handful of my ass.
I didn’t care, though.
My hands fisted tighter, and I had Griffin tangled up and pulled as close to me as possible with our clothes still on. I kissed him back with confidence instead of shock. I kissed him back resigned to the truth of what this all was.
“Baby…” he rushed out as he broke the kiss.
“Griffin…” I mewled.
“Open your eyes, Avalon.” I did as he asked. “Are you still with me?”
I nodded. “I am, but…but I can feel it, Griffin. I can feel it hovering, you know. Like it’s just waiting to be unleashed.”
“Can you limit it to this room?” he asked. “Like at school?”
I answered him honesty. “Maybe right now,” I said. “But I don’t think I’ll be able to once you’re inside me.”
His forehead dropped on mine and he groaned. “Don’t talk like that,” he grumbled. “I can barely control myself as it is, Avalon.”
I didn’t say anything. Instead, I reached for the hem of his shirt with shaky hands, and when Griffin realized what I was about, he straightened, then helped me removed his shirt, and oh, my Sweet Baby Jesus.
The boy was shredded.
“Like what you see?” he smirked, and I could feel my entire face heat with embarrassment.
I was proud that I was able to maintain eye contact when I said, “Don’t make fun of me.”
His face immediately softened, and his hands came up to cradle my face again. “Baby, I’m not making fun of you,” he lied. “I’ve waiting my entire life for this moment with you, Avalon. The last thing I’m doing is laughing at you.” Okay, maybe he wasn’t lying. “I’m thanking God that you like what you see, that’s all, baby.”
A couple of books flew off his desk and I knew that was me. His eyes were still an ocean-blue while mine were clouding over. “Don’t let me change my mind,“ I said. “Don’t let fear change my mind.”
Griffin reached for the hem of my blouse and pulled it up over my head. “Avalon, if you say no, I can’t keep going,” he replied. “There’s no way I can’t hear that word and not react.” My chest was heaving as I watched Griffin’s eyes flare at the sight of me in my bra. “Christ, you’re perfect.”
I started kicking off my sandals. “Convince me not to say no,” I challenged. The fear of creating a tornado in this his house was a real concern. Even though I knew Severus and Easton were aware of what was taking place in here, they didn’t need to feel what was happening in here.
Griffin groaned as his right hand slid down my neck until he held my left breast in his hand. The second his eyes started clouding white, I felt a little bit of victory in that. I didn’t want to be the only one out of control. “Fuck,” he hissed out.
“What are you doing?”
He knew what I was asking. “My hearing,” he answered. “I can hear your heartbeat as if my ear was pressed up against your chest.” Accepting his answer, I was a little jealous that he had other options while I didn’t.
Removing his hand from my breast, Griffin went to unbuttoning my jeans, and he held my gaze the entire time. I wasn’t sure if he was waiting for me to change my mind or not, but he took his time. He made sure the choice was still mine to give.
I closed my eyes as he knelt before me, pulling my jeans all the way down my legs. I dutifully stepped out of them, and I knew he could hear my heart threatening to beat out of my chest. If he was using his hearing to channel all his sexual energy, there was no way he could miss the erratic thump hitting painfully against my ribs.
My hands latched onto his shoulders as his fingers wrapped around the waistband of my panties, and he began pulling them down over my hips. I was bare, except for a small, trimmed patch right over my sex, and I knew he was going to be able to see the evidence of my arousal without any hair to hide it.
My face bathed in flames when he said, “Fuck, you smell good.” I let out a small moan as my fingers curled into his shoulders.
Griffin stood up as I stepped out of my underwear, and when he reached around my back to unhook my bra, his eyes were completely white, and I no longer cared if we shook the house down around us.
I wasn’t alone in this.
Griffin might know more about what we were and where we were going, but he was just as green with this experience as I was. Even if he knew what to do, the emotion he was feeling matched the same newness that I was feeling.
As my bra slid down my arms to join the rest of my clothing on the floor, Griffin said, “I’m going to worship every inch of your body, Avalon.”
“Griffin…”
He grabbed my hips, then turned to toss me on his bed. I bounced once and my entire body was as red as fresh blood when he demanded, “Spread your legs for me, baby.”
“I can’t d-”
“Spread your fucking legs, Avalon,” he almost roared, his eyes as white as snow and I did it. I opened my legs for his viewing pleasure as a lamp went flying across the room. I couldn’t help it.
Griffin dropped to his knees near the edge of the bed, and hooking his arms around my thighs, he yanked me to the edge of the bed, his tongue tasting me before I even knew what he was about.
My body arched painfully, and my hands fisted in the comforter underneath me. “Oh, God…”
His hands spanned the inside of my thighs and when I felt his thumbs open my pussy lips apart as he licked me everywhere, I no longer cared about what I could or couldn’t control. All that matter was the heat fanning out all over my body. My nerves felt like they were on fire and I wouldn’t be surprised if I melted on the spot.
When I felt myself being stretched, Griffin intensified the sensation by saying, “I’m going to cum as soon as I get inside you. You’re so fucking tight.”
My hips started moving on their own, my body instinctively knowing more about what was happening here than I did. “More,” I begged. “I need more, Griffin.”
In between fingering me and manipulating my clit with his tongue, Griffin said, “You need me, Avalon. You don’t need more. You need me.”
I didn’t have in me to refute that statement because, soon, my body was no longer my own. It belonged to Griffin as a medley of mind-blowing sensations wracked my body, and I was experiencing a life-altering emotion at the hands of the very first boy to ever touch me.
“Griffin…” I wasn’t sure if I screamed his name or not, but everything in his room was a victim of my uncontrollable need for him. It wasn’t until he shot up and his hands slapped against his ears that I remembered he’d been channeling his energy on his hearing.
His eyes blue again, he said. “I’ll go with trying to picture you i
n my future.”
Still high from my orgasm, I just laid there, doing nothing, as Griffin climbed over my body. It wasn’t until I felt hot steel up against my thigh that I realized he’d taken off the rest of his clothes while I’d been wrapped up in what he’d been making me feel, but that was okay.
That was okay because I was ready.
Chapter 25
Griffin~
Nothing I’ve ever imagined had prepared me for the moment Avalon exploded on my tongue. I knew what to expect as far as the mechanics were concerned, and I’ve already gotten a glimpse of what it would be like the first time I kissed and in the linen closet at school, but I had been a fool to believe that I could control my feelings once we got to this point in our relationship.
I wasn’t stupid, either.
I knew our bond was pushing Avalon to make this decision. There’s no way this girl would be giving her virginity up to a boy she just met if our souls were not forcing the issue. Avalon’s orgasm was magnified by what we shared. All the movies and romance novels led you to believe that connection was what made all the difference, and they weren’t necessarily wrong. The chapters and movie scenes where the main characters look each other in the eye while making love, it was that connection that was supposed to make all the difference in the world. That connection was what was supposed to tell you that you were in love and was what made you different from all the rest.
Well, Avalon and I had that connection in spades.
With my hips nestled in between her opened thighs, I wasn’t sure focusing on the future was going to help me. However, I wasn’t sure I had a choice. The hearing backfired when Avalon’s orgasm started destroying my room, and I couldn’t add to that by channeling my energies into my telekinesis gift, so all that left was my ability to look into the future. The only drawback to that was that I didn’t want to be anywhere but here.
The Rýkr Duet Page 11
