“Hello, Mother,” I say loud enough that my voice carries in Ava’s direction while entering the office. The door remains open and I pull the phone from my ear, hitting the speaker button so I can scroll through my missed calls. It confirms my suspicions; she’s curious as to why I’ve been avoiding her. “Did someone die or did the house burn down?”
“Don’t get smart, kiddo.” There’s the sound of cutlery and then her sipping something. “Where are you? Are you working his case?”
There it is. She’s worried.
“Yes and no.” Walking around the desk, I sit and lean back, closing my eyes as the scent of fresh coffee infiltrates my senses. “I’m working but can’t share the particulars.”
“Are you being safe?”
“Always.” Knowing what’s coming next, I lean forward and access my laptop to check my email. With the way things are—how Perez and I agree that no one is to be trusted—I made a new account last night that only he has the address for.
“...the family business. You’re killing me, kid.”
“Not happening.” It’s a never-ending conversation. She’s always wanted me to run the publishing house she owns, one that’s been passed down from her grandfather, and it looks like my cousin will take over with my owning shares. They love it, love discovering new authors, but it’s not for me. My passion comes in protecting and serving the citizens of this city. Saving lives is fulfilling—a challenge I thrive on. “But I do have something that might interest you...” I trail off on purpose.
“Tell me.” It’s a demand, and I roll my eyes. She’s where I get it from.
“I’ve met someone.” She squeals so loud that I lower the volume on my phone. There’s some gibberish coming from her between the excited noises women tend to make. “It’s new, but—”
“I need to meet her and...”
I don’t hear the rest as I focus on the screen. More importantly, Ava’s email that for some reason is open and displaying nothing but emails from Jason. Three months’ worth, and each more threatening than the last.
What the fuck? Why the hell didn’t she tell me about these?
“...dinner on Sunday?”
“Mom, I have to go.” A part of me feels bad for cutting her off, but I can’t focus on anything past what I’m seeing. I’m angry. Disappointed because I thought we had established a mutual trust.
“What’s wrong, Elijah? What happened?”
“Work related.” I’m clicking on the first email on this page, reading through lines full of anger and desperation. It’s threatening. A psychotic love note. “I’ll call you later...love you.”
“Okay.”
I don’t wait for her to hang up before I’m standing, tipping my chair back in the process. It creates a domino effect; with the harsh push, it hits the edge of my shelves on its way down and a picture frame meets its demise. The crash is loud, but I could give a flying fuck.
The world around me could explode—shatter into a million pieces—and I still wouldn’t be able to focus on anything but her. The words he sent her. On the slapping of her bare feet on my floor as she races toward this room.
Everything starts and ends with Ava.
Don’t force my hand, Ava.
I’ll kill them all, Ava.
I’m going to break you, my pet. Fucking propel you to the edge of death, Ava, and then bring you back over and over again.
I love you, Ava.
“Christ, Elijah,” she hissed out, hand clutching her chest. “What’s going on? Why do you look like an angry bull ready to plow through a wall?”
“When were you going to tell me?” I know my tone is brusque, harsh, but her distrust hurts more than I ever thought it could. Feels like a betrayal after what’s happened between us: the confession at the pier and then our kiss. Because you love her. Motherfuck, I can’t think about that. Can’t focus on emotions that have no place where only rationality should exist. “Explain.”
“Hold up a second.” Ava holds both hands up in a sign of peace while coming closer. She pauses on the other side of my desk, concern on her features. “I don’t know what happened here, but don’t take it out on me.”
“Jason,” I spit out, flipping my laptop around for her to see, “has been contacting you and I find out by accident? Why are you hiding this?”
“I was going to tell you, Detective.” The use of my title cuts more than the lie. “To be completely honest with you...” at the raise of my brow, her eyes narrow “...I haven’t checked my email in months. Since the night before I found him—”
“Three months?”
“Yes.” My anger deflates at the sight of Ava’s bottom lip trembling. I feel like the world’s biggest asshole. “My phone and laptop...everything electronic I could use to check my accounts was confiscated to be monitored in Lubbock. I have no clue who has it now or if I’ll ever see those devices again, but more importantly, I wasn’t hiding this from you or anyone. It actually scared me yesterday when I used your laptop to get—”
“Why check yesterday?” I ask quietly, carefully. I’ve done enough already and don’t want her to become afraid of me.
“There’s a folder in my GDocs account with cake recipes, and I wanted to surprise you.” No sooner has the last word slipped past her lips that I’m around the desk and pulling her against me. She struggles a bit as tears gather at the edge of her eyes, but I don’t let go. Instead, I bring her closer and lift her off the floor, feet dangling and chest against my own.
“I’m sorry.” And I am. More than anything. “Please forgive me, sweetheart. My head is running in a million directions, and that’s no excuse.” Laying my forehead on hers, I breathe in her small exhales. Take her essence into my lungs. “Seeing his words angered me, and I should never have talked to you that way. It’ll never happen again.”
“Can I kick you if you do?”
“Would you like to do so now?” I’d take anything she did; I was an ass.
Ava shakes her head, lips still sad. “No.”
Instead of talking to her, I jumped the gun.
I’m anxious because this sick son of a bitch is still out there with a missing girl and getting help from those that wear a uniform like mine. Because the woman I love is in danger, and they are forcing us to sit here like sitting ducks.
There’s no denying how I feel. How consumed by her I am.
I’m getting her out of here. Have to, no matter the cost.
Lifting her chin with the tips of my fingers, I give her lips a chaste kiss while wiping a lone tear with the pad of my thumb. “I’m going to make this right. I promise you.” Another small peck and I pull back, releasing her from my hold, and once she’s found her footing, I turn to leave. “My Mom’s house in Colorado will do until I can figure out our next stop—”
“Don’t go.” Her choked words stop me. They make me turn to face her, and the crestfallen look on her face guts me. “I forgive you. I know we’re all under so much stress...just please.”
Turning to face her, I give her a reassuring smile. “Ava, I’m just going to make a phone—”
“I need you.”
Chapter 12
Elijah
Her plea to not leave breaks me in two.
It makes me feel like a king one second and an asshole the next. I did that to her. Brought the worry from that first night back into her eyes when all I should do is be the reason she smiles.
Why she lives again.
I can’t fight this pull any longer. I’m done.
In two quick strides, I reach out for her hand and pull her against my chest, holding tight. She trembles but never pulls away. Instead, she moves closer when a deep rumble climbs its way up my throat and our eyes meet.
It’s there in her stare. How those succulent lips part and a tiny gasp leaves her throat.
We’re hungry. Longing. Needing the other.
She’s mine.
“Baby, I need to know what you need? I need you to be very clear with me.”
“You. I just need you.” It’s breathy and oh so sweet. “I want to be yours. I’m done fighting this between us.”
My reply is just as honest. Without thinking twice, I take her mouth with mine. “Fuck,” I groan against her, almost shaking as that pure decadence that is Ava hits my senses. I’m gone, metaphorically lying at her feet as I take what will always be mine. Because after all this is over, I’m keeping her. I’ll do everything I have to do to convince her. “Are you sure? Because there’s no going back after this.”
“Yes.” She pulls back slightly, looking at me with so much tenderness. “I love you, Elijah. And while I know it’s fast and crazy and the worst timing ever…it’s the truth.”
“I love you, too.” My hands shake on her skin as I press my forehead to hers. “I’ve been yours since the moment I opened my door and saw you there.”
“Ditto.” Her smile is blinding, a serenity I’ve never seen before crossing her features. She’s relaxed and happy.
How I always want her to be.
Our lips meet once more, a renewed desperation taking hold of me. My fingertips dig into her flesh, holding her still as she tries to roll her hips—Ava’s just as overtaken as I am, clinging to me. She claws at my shirt, pulling it over my head in her need to feel more of me.
To get closer. Skin on skin.
And I’m all too happy to solve this issue.
My hands wander lower and down to her legs, taking one in each hand and lifting her up, wrapping those sexy thighs around my waist. Ava holds tight against me, her hands in my hair as our tongues dance—twirling together as I walk us in the direction of my room.
I’m almost delirious with hunger and I stop midway, backing her up against the wall to rock against her core. Pleasure rolls down my spine, her heat searing me through our clothing. She’s hot and her thighs are shaking, lips parted as a moan escapes her.
“Take me to bed, Eli. I’m ready.”
Those words cause me stop. My eyes close at the implication. “Sweetheart, are you a virgin?”
Because if she is...motherfuck.
Nothing changes, except for the fact that I’ll be her first and last. The only.
A thought that makes me want to beat my chest like a fucking beast.
“Yes and no.”
“Explain,” I grunt, rolling my hips once more as my teeth embed themselves in her chin. “Because your reactions tell me you’ve never had a man between these thighs.”
“No. Never.” Another whimper, desperate to move, but the way she’s pinned against the wall leaves little to no room. “Just the use of a toy.”
“Christ, Ava. You...fuck, baby.” A heady haze of lust overtakes my senses then—the knowledge that this beautiful girl played with her pretty pussy back home is too much. One minute we’re in the hall, and the next she’s on my bed, bouncing twice before I crawl over her body.
For a quick second, I take her in just as she is...
Hair splayed across my white sheets, chest heaving rapidly and eyes dilated. Her small tongue comes out then, and she swipes it over her bottom lip. “Are you going to just...shit!” she squeals, a noise that quickly turns into a low, keening sound as I rip her shirt straight down the center, exposing her breasts.
They’re perky and encased in a delicate lace bra two shades darker than her skin tone. So sexy.
“You’re perfect.” This time I’m the one who’s breathless. Barely holding onto my sanity.
“Come here.” Ava beckons me with the crook of her finger. “Kiss me.”
“Where?” That blush I love sweeps across her cheeks and down over the column of her throat. “Be specific, love.”
“Let’s start here,” she says, pointing to her mouth. And I do as I am told, happy to be her slave.
My mouth slants over hers, tasting her natural sweetness and swallowing her moans. She’s soft in my arms, yet just as hungry—starving for my touch.
Each whimper settles on the tip of my cock like an electric shock of bliss. I’m hard and pulsing, pushing against the thick cotton of my joggers.
“Fuck, Ava,” I groan, loving how she nips my bottom lip, taking the flesh between her lips and sucking before traveling lower to my chin. Tiny bites litter my chin and neck as I close my eyes, savoring this moment.
I want her like this always. Wild and free. Beautiful in her agony.
A desire only I can satiate.
“You feel so good,” she whimpers then, hips rising to meet mine. There are only a few pieces of clothing separating us, and yet her heat sears my skin, feeding the fire blazing between us.
Her entire visit here has been torture—a literal challenge I was never going to win. Since that very first moment when our eyes met, I’ve been lost to her.
And now it’s my turn to return the favor.
Mark her. Savor her. Cement my ownership of her heart.
“Patience, sweet girl. Let me enjoy you.” Embedding one of my hands in her hair, I tilt her head further back and kiss her once more while my other hand pins her hips to the bed. Her tongue yields to mine, massaging with each flick.
My body covers hers from head to toe. I can feel each shiver as it runs down her body, the way her nipples tightened into stiff, sensitive peaks beneath the thin lace.
“Please,” she moans, spreading her thighs wider to accommodate my hips—my throbbing cock—as I press forward.
Beads of pre-come slip from my slit, rolling down the underside and onto my pants. I deepen our kiss, moaning into her mouth. “You’re perfect, Ava. My perfect.”
“Yours, Eli. I’m all yours.”
“Tell me again. Say it.”
“I love you.”
“Fuck, I love you too,” I say against her lips, rubbing my thick length against her pussy once, twice, and a needy sound leaves her throat. I press harder, grunting as the pleasure escalates. Burning me. Consuming me.
Fuck, I need her. All of her.
She might not be a virgin, but she’s never had a man between her thighs. She’s innocent. Mine.
Trailing my lips to her ear, I flick the lobe with the tip of my tongue. “I’m going to enjoy you—every single inch of you. Slowly,” I say, trailing nibbles down her throat and marking her soft skin. “Love you until you beg me to let you come, and then, I’ll fuck you until my name is all you know.”
“Please.”
“Sweeter words have never been spoken.” Slipping a hand beneath her, I undo her bra, baring her to me.
“Eli,” she gasps, begging me softly for more, arching her back in offering. And I do. I take, wrapping my lips around a perfect, rosy nipple, tugging on the sensitive tip as she writhes beneath me. Her hips rise up with every inch of her skin I taste, how I cup a breast in each hand—weighing and squeezing the firm flesh. My teeth tug and pull on the tight little peaks, taking turns. Each bite borders on painful—something she likes, if the way she’s moaning below me is any indication.
Ava, my girl, likes the pain. Likes the slight sting of my mark on her flesh.
With one last flick, I travel lower and toward the dip of her stomach. The muscles quiver the lower I go, anxious and wanting.
Her scent swirls around me like a siren’s song, and I can’t stop myself from skimming my nose across the waistband of her shorts. Can’t help but lick a path from hip to hip as I pull the cotton down her thick hips.
They rise of their own accord, making it easier to take the offending clothing off and toss it somewhere behind us.
“More. Everything.” She’s panting and beautiful and absolutely perfect. My eyes traverse her body, lingering on the small wet patch of lace between her thighs before flicking back to those baby blues I love. “Please.”
“Where do you want my kisses now?” My tone is rough, gravelly and full of the all-consuming lust I’m drowning in. “Tell me where?” Ava brings a hand between us and lays her fingertips right over her mound. She’s blushing, hand trembling but not holding back, and yet, I need more. “No,
baby. Don’t be shy. Tell me.”
“Kiss my pussy and make me come,” she whispers on a moan, eyes on mine. They’re full of lust—heavy lidded as she arches up against the hand I’ve placed over hers. Pulling us lower. Right over her trembling bundle of nerves. “Oh, God...that’s...more.”
“Are you going to be a greedy girl?” Together we rub her slowly, light little circles over her clit. Her wetness seeps through and onto my fingers, and I press my hard cock against the mattress to ease the pain—my desire to drive deep into her pussy and fill her with my come. “Answer me.”
“Want you too much, Detective.”
At her words, I skim a finger over her covered lips, tapping two fingers over her clit before possessively cupping her. “And you’re driving me past the point of reason. I’m crazy for you.”
“Then make me yours.” Silly little thing has no idea how wrapped around her finger I am. How I’ll do anything for her.
I settle between her thighs, pushing them farther apart with my shoulders. My nostrils flare and my mouth waters at being so close; I can almost taste her in the air. Can see the wetness coating her skin.
Turning my face, I scrape my teeth against her inner thigh and bite down just hard enough to sting a tiny bit. “You already are.”
And just like her shirt, I tear her panties off, leaving her bare to my eyes, exposed with her pretty cunt mere inches from my lips.
She’s smooth and wet and the loveliest shade of pink. Pure perfection given as a gift to me by God himself.
“Please, make the ache stop.”
I’m done. Have no self-control left in me.
I bury my face between her legs, eating her sweet little pussy like a crazed man. Licking. Nipping. Devouring every drop of her arousal as she cries out, body bowing off the bed as I fuck her with my tongue.
She should always be like this:
Lost in her pleasure.
Riding my face.
Coming on my tongue.
Ava’s natural sweetness explodes on my senses, and I pull my pants off with one hand. My cock springs free, bouncing against my abdomen before I grip it tight with my fingers, pumping it in time with each lick. I twist my wrist on each downward stroke as she cries out my name.
Keeping Ava Page 9
