An Education in Business: A Somerset Novel (Somerset Series Book 3)

by Heather C. Myers

  He took his time. He loved kissing her, it seemed, because he was slow and sure about it. Her hands found his hair and she ran her fingers through it, loving the softness against her skin. When her nails found his scalp, he let out a pleased moan and his hardness pressed against her thigh, letting her know just how much he craved her touch.

  His lips trailed kisses down her neck, sucking and biting. She was absolutely certain he would leave even more hickeys on her, since the ones from before had yet to disappear. She didn’t care. If it was making her feel this good, why would she ever complain?

  When he reached her nipples, he took his time. She could feel her thighs moisten and had to spread them even more lest they become so wet, it caused chaffing. He took her free hand and slowly brought it down to her clit.

  “Touch yourself,” he instructed. “Touch yourself for me.”

  She didn’t hesitate. She was familiar with her body; she knew how to make herself come, but she had never had a partner before. Perhaps that was why her orgasm came unexpectedly, fast and hard. She cried out his name and her entire body froze for that one pivotal second before she fractured everywhere.

  “Don’t stop,” he murmured is a husky voice. She wanted to; her body was too sensitive to even breathe on, but she forced herself to ride this out because she needed to know what it felt like, what it would feel like when he was finally inside of her.

  When she finished, he placed soft kisses all over her brow. “Should we,” she managed to say. “Should we talk about…” She couldn’t bring herself to finish because she needed to catch her breath.

  “I’m clean,” he said, “but I have some in my wallet if you feel more comfortable.”

  “I trust you,” she told him with a tired smile.

  He smiled, placing his hands on the insides of her thighs, pushing them even more apart and positioning himself so he was just about to push through.

  “I feel compelled to ask you one last time,” he said, “if this is okay for you. If this is what you want.”

  She nodded and looked at him with imploring eyes, biting her bottom lip. “Please, Lucas,” she told him with a pout. “Give me all of you.”

  That was all he needed. In fact, Avery noticed that it took a lot out of him to keep his control. He was gentle when he first thrust inside of her, and he groaned in her ear upon impact. She sucked in a tight breath, trying to get used to the sensation of being completely stretched out by another human being. Her nails dug into his flesh and his muscles tightened under his touch – she couldn’t tell if it was because it genuinely hurt or if he liked it that way.

  When she finally felt her body adapt, she loosed a shaky breath and nodded to him. He gave her a warm smile, brushing tendrils of hair out of her eyes before slowly starting to move.

  Her body sucked him in, and every time he went to pull out, she tightened her hold on him.

  So this was what it felt like, she thought to herself. This is what the big fuss is about.

  She understood. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head, and soon, Lucas couldn’t control himself any longer. What was supposed to be a slow, intimate first time for Avery was getting faster, and harder, and somehow, even with him being on top of her, his cock managed to hit her very core. Over and over and over again.

  “Let me claim you as mine, Av,” he murmured against the flesh of her neck. “Be mine always.”

  “Yes,” she agreed, her eyes closed. He nuzzled her neck and she craned her neck away from him, allowing full access to her bare flesh. “Yes, please. Take me. Take all of me. It’s yours. I’m yours.”

  That was all it took, and suddenly Lucas leaned forward and sank his fangs – when had his teeth turned into fangs? – into her flesh. She felt her eyes slip closed once more, and before she knew it, she was shattering into a million tiny pieces all over Lucas. He continued to thrust, even as he met his own release. She had to hand it to him – there was something in the way he held onto her like she was his, like she always belonged to him even before they met, how he maintained his thrusting at a steady rhythm. She had to mask a sob by biting Lucas on the shoulder – it was a slow build, an explosive release, but each shock wave was steady because of the utter control he had over himself.

  Control she couldn’t seem to take. Control she wanted to banish.

  His mouth was kissing her neck, over her fresh bite. His tongue licked at it, almost as though he were attempting to seal it shut. That, or he was wiping the blood from her neck.

  Which was a strangely erotic thought, if she was being honest.

  Actually, she couldn’t think much right now. Not much of anything mattered to her. Her mind was in a haze, her thoughts dozing with a soft, comfortable hum. She was content; she was satisfied.

  Then, Lucas wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her to him so her head hit his shoulder and their legs were entangled. At first, Avery resisted. She didn’t like sweaty body upon sweaty body. She thought she wanted her own space. But somehow, Lucas proved her wrong. His cheek rested on the top of her head and he held her silently, pulling her as close as he possibly could, getting a hold of his breath.

  “There are no words,” he told her in his low, smooth voice. “You have left me speechless.”

  Avery’s eyes were still closed and she could muster nothing more than a smile. But she still smiled and she squeezed the arm that held her. She hoped he would understand what she meant in her touch.

  “Thank you.” His voice was low, a ghost against her ear. She got goosebumps all over as it wrapped around her naked body and blanketed it in velvet.

  “For what?” She managed to open her eyes to look at him, at his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down.

  “For trusting me with you,” he told her.

  She smiled and blushed and burrowed her face into his neck. She could have sworn she felt him smile, but before she could say for sure, she was already fast asleep.

  20

  Avery woke up to Lucas’s mouth on her mound. She felt her eyes roll to the back of her head and her lips curve into a grin as she spread her legs wider for him. She could most definitely get used to this.

  “God, I love the taste of you,” he murmured, his lips vibrating against her clit.

  “I’m glad,” she said, her voice still thick with slumber.

  Just as he brought her to that peak, he withdrew and flipped her on her stomach in a matter of a second – if that. She couldn’t even grunt in protest because he was filling her up with his member so quickly that she couldn’t adjust to his size. She wasn’t going to lie – it hurt just a bit – but somehow, that pain just emphasized the pleasure. He took his hand and gripped her hair, pushing her face in the pillow as his body took hold of hers and did whatever he wanted to with it. He was submitting her, she knew. It was a wolf ritual.

  To be honest, Avery never would have let anyone else demean her in such a way, but it didn’t really count as demeaning if she enjoyed it, right? She found she liked being hurt, just a little bit, and she trusted Lucas not to take it too far.

  Avery wasn’t sure just how long it took before she was on the brink of orgasm once more, but she was suddenly there and yearned for it more than she thought possible – probably because Lucas had nearly given it to her before and then took it away. Without warning, he took his hand and spanked her butt, just hard enough for her to feel the quick, sharp pain.

  And then, she lost it.

  She twitched and tingled all over him, coming with a force she couldn’t control and didn’t want to. She gave herself over to him like a sinner gave themselves to God and her moaning and breathing somehow coincided so sharply together that it set off Lucas. He growled, his grip on her tightening, and he lost himself inside of her, never stopping with his thrusts for one minute. She loved the way it felt, loved the way they came together, like lovers dancing.

  When he finished, he rolled off of her, but kept his arm around her waist and made sure to pull her to his chest. Sex was primal for him,
she knew, for the most part. Once they finished, he was back to being gentle and sweet and warm. Avery found she didn’t mind the contradictory nature of their relationship. In fact, she thrived. She liked knowing she could be anything to him at any moment and he would accept her for exactly the way she was.

  She wanted this, with Lucas, for the rest of her life.

  And with that thought, she drifted off to sleep.

  ---

  The day consisted of sex and sleep. It was one of the best days of Avery’s life. Avery never knew how many different ways she could orgasm nor did she know how many ways she could bring Lucas to orgasm. She was a quick learner and silently observant, picking up things about her lover that he, himself, might not be aware of. Like the way he loved when she scratched his scalp. Like the way he lost it when she breathed his name when she came. Like the way she looked when he was about to take her from behind, with her ass in the air and her body forward, telling him, “Take it from me, papi, take it.”

  She noted all of those things and more, so as the day went on, she furthered her education by taking things into her own hands. The first time she rode him while playing with her clit as he fondled her breasts, she experienced the most powerful orgasm yet. And while she could not have reached it without his cock inside of her, stretching her to her limit, she realized she had been in control of that. Completely, one hundred percent in control.

  Avery learned she liked being in control. But she also liked being vulnerable. Like when he took her on her table in her office, pumping in and out of her like a jackhammer. It wasn’t necessarily the sensation that caused her orgasm, but of the feeling of being used for nothing more than pleasure.

  Lucas showed her the million ways to have sex, to make love, to fuck, and no matter what happened in the bedroom, afterward, he would always pull her close and murmur sweet things in her ear, reminding her that he cared about her.

  They hadn’t said love just yet, which was okay. Avery wasn’t sure if they were there yet, but she was absolutely sure they would get there at some point. There was no need to rush it.

  When hunger hit late in the evening, Lucas called a Chinese place and paid them a hundred dollars to deliver even though they most certainly did not deliver. It was one of the most romantic things anyone had ever done for Avery, especially considering Chinese food was her favorite.

  “So,” he said, his mouth full of Orange Chicken. Avery smirked and leaned over so she could wipe the sauce from the corner of his mouth with her thumb and stick it in her mouth. “Stop doing that. You’re distracting me.” She continued to smirk and he perked his brow – a challenge. “Don’t make me take you on this table.”

  “That’s not much of a threat,” she said before putting a whole bite of noodles in her mouth.

  Lucas gave her a wolfish grin. “Careful,” he said. “With your appetite, you’re more wolf than human.”

  “Is that what” – Avery gestured at the mark on her neck, where Lucas bit her during their first time together – “this is about?”

  She didn’t think she’d ever see the day, but Lucas Cruz was blushing. “No,” he said. “If I were an Alpha, it would be different, but that mark just lets other people – other wolves, really – know you’re mine and not to be messed with. You’re under my protection, so to speak.”

  “But if you were an Alpha, you’d be able to sense me, right?” Avery asked. She read about the odd coupling of Marcus Sterling, Alpha to the Sterling pack, and Bridgette Barker and how upon meeting her for the first time, Marcus was compelled to bite her neck. She learned from her studies that when an Alpha meets his mate, instinct took over and biology reacted – meaning biting someone he barely knew. She didn’t know what that bite did, but Avery did know it forged some kind of connection between the two.

  Lucas smirked. “Something like that,” he admitted. “Would that be something you want?”

  Avery made a face. “I’m not sure,” she said, meeting his eyes. “Is it mutual or is it something only the male of your species get to experience?”

  “Wolves aren’t patriarchal,” Lucas said. “We get a bad rap because of romance writers and movies portraying us as jealous animals but the females are just as jealous, if not more so.” He laughed and Avery chuckled along with him. “But really, males and females see each other as equals. When a wolf takes a mate, whether he’s Alpha or a lone wolf, that’s his mate for life. The decision has to be mutual, but a lot of the times, it is. Wolves have this innate ability to sense who they’re destined to be with for the rest of their long life.”

  “Have you felt bonded like that with anyone?” Avery asked. She shouldn’t have, really, because it was a leading question and it also touched upon his past; two big dating no-no’s. But this new Avery was more confident and didn’t seem to give a shit about dating rules.

  Lucas shot her a smile. “If I told you, I’m afraid you’d run away,” he said.

  “Try me,” she teased because she wanted to know, more than she realized.

  Lucas opened his mouth to respond when both of their phones went off simultaneously. They gave each other a confused look but checked their messages.

  “An evite,” Lucas said. “To that Masquerade Gary and Marcy are throwing.”

  “That’s right,” Avery said, picking her eyes up so they locked with Lucas’s. “They’re going to announce our partnership to the world.” She looked back down at her phone and realized the event was less than a week away. “We should probably start talking about a plan.”

  “Business?” Lucas asked.

  “Personal,” she corrected. “We should probably plan something regarding you and me.”

  He raised a brow before taking a sip of his Diet Coke. “What do you mean?” he asked, tilting his head to the side. He almost looked like a puppy there, with his wrinkled brow and cocked head. He looked so adorable, Avery had to curl her fingers into fists to keep herself from reaching out and ruffling his hair.

  “Well, are we together?” she asked.

  “Oh.”

  His face suddenly got serious and she felt a sliver of frustration course through her veins. Did he really not want to have the monogamy talk just yet, even after his speech on werewolves being proprietary creatures and how they didn’t like to share their things?

  “That’s a” –

  “Forget it.” She didn’t want to have this conversation right now, not when he reacted the way he reacted. She closed her eyes and shook her head, trying to rid herself of the worrisome thoughts that started to plague her mind. “What I meant was, we need to figure out if we’re going with one another or not.”

  “I didn’t think that would even be a question,” Lucas said, running his fingers through his hair. “And before you say anything, we are together, Avery. I claimed you. That means you’re mine and I’m yours.”

  “Yeah, but you don’t get a mark on your neck,” Avery pointed out. She didn’t like to admit it but she felt her body relax at his subtle reassurance that his feelings for her ran deeper than their physical connection.

  “You can give me one if you want,” he said with a wolfish grin. His eyes intensified as he continued to stare at her. “What do you think, though?”

  “Of course I’m with you,” she said, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

  “Not about that,” he said, chuckling. “About going together.” He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back against his chair. “What’s on your mind, Av? You wouldn’t have brought it up if it wasn’t.”

  “I just.” She started playing with her hair and then caught herself before shoving her hands in her lap. Her eyes met his effortlessly. “I just really want to be taken seriously as a business woman. It doesn’t matter that I graduated cum laude and got my Master’s degree in business. It doesn’t matter that business is something I grew up with practically my whole life. It’s still a male-dominated field and…” She looked down at her hands. “People see me and they see my father�
�s daughter. If I showed up with you, on your arm, as much as I want to more than anything, I worry they might think…”

  “They might think you’re sleeping with me as a form of networking,” Lucas finished for her.

  Avery nodded. “Exactly,” she said. “I just think maybe it would be best if we didn’t tell anyone about us just yet. Until I establish myself.”

  Lucas smiled as he reached out and cupped her cheek in his palm. “Of course,” he told her.

  He said the right thing, but Avery couldn’t help but notice that his smile didn’t quite reach his eyes.

  21

  The next day, Lucas and Avery both called in sick to their respective businesses and allowed themselves one more day to enjoy each other. They were still at Avery’s place, where sunlight was bled into the place much easier than at Lucas’s, which lined the border of the Black Woods. Avery had to remember to close all the blinds in the house because Lucas had no problem walking around naked and she was not about to tell him to stop anytime soon. Not when he looked so stunning.

  It didn’t surprise her when she started getting frantic texts from her mother about her breakup from Rick. Apparently, good news traveled fast, and her mother asked for every detail imaginable – from whether or not she initiated it to tell her to see if Avery could apologize and try to win him back. As though the breakup was somehow her fault.

  What about the Masquerade? her mother asked. Then, Perhaps you could go as friends.

  Avery rolled her eyes and decided to ignore her mother’s messages. It wasn’t a stretch, considering she tended to ignore her mother on a daily basis.

  “You okay?” Lucas asked, pushing his brow together. He didn’t make it a point to look over her shoulder and try to read her texts like Rick would have done. Instead, he sat patiently, rubbing her forearm and waited for her to share. And even if she didn’t, she knew he wouldn’t take it personally.