Make Me Stay II: A Second Chance Romance

by Avant, Amarie

  “Really, damn twice in one breath of air?”

  Her eyes popped closed. The defense mechanism of closing her eyes and not hearing Alexander’s words helped ease her mind. Avery had just attempted to make a case for the Carlsons and against her mother, but her dad had veered past all that—and her desire to ensure that Junior had a good life the best way she knew how! After a few cleansing breaths, Avery returned her attention to Alexander.

  “Are you and Donavan getting along?” she asked, which was the reason she had sought him out. He’d been standing at the fireplace with Donavan while she gave Junior and Maggie a quick dancing lesson. Something was off between the two men in her life.

  He scoffed. “Can I catch a break?”

  “Are you getting along!”

  “Of course. You are aware of my stance on family. For example, how I’ve regarded your mother since finding out what she did. I would never do a bad thing to our blood . . .”

  Avery’s gaze trailed away from him for a moment. When she was young, diamonds and trinkets were her father’s go to. Now, it seemed like her mother’s sins made for the perfect scapegoat. Besides, he was now “Team AC and Donnie.” She had to guess that his selfish actions were warranted because she couldn’t imagine any other reason why he’d say such things otherwise.

  With her family, it always felt like everything was a challenge, almost a conspiracy. There were times when her mind got the best of her, like when she had thought that Alexander had drugged her tea, causing her to lose her baby. I get a little crazy during times of stress, and this is a time of stress.

  She had to believe her dad. He was a vulture if given the opportunity, but this was blood! She raked a hand through her freshly ironed hair, shaking her head. There was a time when Avery took her mom’s word over her dad’s. After everything that had happened, Avery had to believe that he wouldn’t have jeopardized the relationship she had with Donavan if he had known she was pregnant with Junior all that time ago. When she had finally told him, Alexander had provided Avery with the best medical care money could buy. And he sure as hell was playing nice now that they were on the verge of making everything official.

  It was times like this when the quiet felt the heaviest for Avery. Alexander sat down next to her, placing his hands on his knees, deep in thought. When she looked at him, her father spoke.

  “I remember the four-carat diamond charm bracelet I brought you for your eighth birthday. I’d spent the entire plane ride from Japan having it customized—I put so much thought into each trinket. You saw it, you thanked me—”

  “Then I walked away.” Avery gave a triumphant grin, recalling just how polite she was when responding to his gift.

  “I was in for a rude awakening the day I learned that my daughter preferred my company over a gift that cost a poor man’s fortune. I started to come home more after that, but you and Donavan spent every hour with each other.”

  “I know.” Avery squeezed softly at the plush cushion of her seat.

  “I’d heard about the boy from your mother. She’d told me that he’d knocked you down on his first day of school. I was in an outrage. I had a mind to deal with him then, and you know I am a more than capable man.”

  “I know,” she mumbled again, almost feeling like squirming. So far, their trek down memory lane hadn’t been welcoming.

  “But by the time I returned home from my business trip, you had forced the boy to be your best friend.”

  She pressed her shoulder against his and laughed. “I love Donavan.”

  When Alexander met her eyes again, he added, fumbling somewhat with his fingers in an attempt to sign the words: “Then understand that I’m doing my best when it comes to you marrying him.”

  “All right, Dad.” Avery stood and started out of the room with her father behind her. Though there were people mixing and mingling, Avery’s gaze found Donavan through the crowd. He downed the champagne in his hand and offered her a wink. Before she could reach him, Junior and Maggie were standing before her. Her son tugged at her dress. “Mom?”

  She glanced down at him.

  “Will you dance with me?”

  His request stunned her. For the first time in her life, Avery was self-conscious. They both wouldn’t be able to hear the song let alone a change in tempo. Then her mother was standing beside her. “Hey, how about you and I dance, so your mom and dad finally get a chance to enjoy themselves as well?”

  Declining was on the tip of Avery’s tongue. Her mother’s dark gaze searched hers for a moment of truce.

  Perceptive, although unaware of their differences, Junior looked to his mom.

  “C’mon, you and Margaret, that is such a beautiful name,” Verdrena cooed.

  “Eh.” Maggie, wearing black and gray Converses, which matched her dress, and blond hair pulled into the tightest of buns, began shuffling her feet. It was clear she was playing polite, though she wasn’t comfortable with the compliment.

  Avery chuckled. “Um, okay.”

  Reluctantly, Avery watched for a moment as the three began to move their knees while holding hands. It wasn’t dancing, but a professional photographer caught the perfect candid moment.

  “What’s wrong?” Donavan asked, sweeping her into his arms.

  “I . . . I just almost told Junior that we can’t dance together.” Avery glanced away in shame. There were things that she wanted to do differently for her child, such as, not be so crass when it came to other folks not knowing she was deaf. Avery had gotten so good at reading lips when she was young that she’d shocked not only Donavan during their first encounter but so many people. But for Junior, she’d rather he only used this mechanism if he wanted to. Not to please anyone like she did for her dad.

  “Hey, sorry.” She grimaced. “I’m bringing down the mood. I love you, Donnie.”

  He tipped her chin softly, and Avery rose on her tippy toes to kiss him. They had started to sway with the music; Donavan leading Avery in a dance. Donavan’s hands trailed down, tingling the nerves of her spine and over her hips. He gripped her ass. Their dancing was nonexistent now with the fierce way his tongue dominated hers. The deep passion forced a smile on her face.

  “Damn, you kiss me like that and we can go home now.” Avery giggled against his lips.

  Holding her at arm’s length, he continued the conversation. “I couldn’t have my girl feeling down.”

  She giggled. The taste of Donavan’s mouth had been a love drug, sending his happy pheromones into her bloodstream.

  Watching his lips move as he spoke, an electric lust zipped through her body. “Good, ‘cause those sweets taste sweeter with you happy. The entire world stops when I’m here with you, sweetheart. I reckon if anybody had something to say about you and Junior dancing to your own tune, they’d answer to these fists.”

  For a brief moment, Avery stopped swaying and smirked. “Okay, don’t be such a beast.”

  His hand skimmed her ass again, this time clutching. “Eh, you like it.”

  Avery’s eyes sparkled. Her brown orbs darted left to right to see if anyone was watching. “Be good—”

  “Oh, this is me being good.” He let go of her. “Your old bedroom. Ten minutes. Meet me there.”

  Lips bent into a solid grin, Avery tried to argue, grabbing his hand. “That’s a hard no to your proposal.”

  “Ten minutes.” He easily unlaced her tiny fingers from his. “Read my lips: ten minutes.” He enunciated every syllable just as their fingertips finally parted ways.

  Warmth crept up her cheeks. Donavan had plans—bad plans for her—and she couldn’t wait. She watched his broad shoulders as he walked away. Using x-ray vision, she saw the colorful tattoos on his beefy arms. Her palms itched for a touch. Gulping down her desire, Avery turned toward her mother, who looked happier than she had in ages. Verdrena mouthed her thanks as she held both Junior and Maggie’s hands. The trio were still doing the same knee bend bounce. Without responding to her mother’s gesture, she headed toward and thro
ugh the three-arched entryway. Going to her left led to a dual staircase and to her right was the massive double front doors with wrought iron scrolled along the frosted glass. Baby Anya began to somersault in her abdomen matching her mother’s anticipation. All the past events where Avery snuck up to her room to meet an uninvited Donavan flashed through her mind. Her lips curved into a giddy grin as she moved up the stairs, taking deep breaths to counteract the fact that her lungs didn’t have much space these days.

  Upon opening the door to her old bedroom, a gasp fluttered past her thick lips, and it wasn’t because her parents had converted the room into a second gym. Her four-poster bed stood on a platform with a silk-curtained canopy. Almost everything had stayed in its designated place. But tonight, there were big bulb lights laced along the silk and the charm didn’t stop there. The double doors leading to the balcony were open, and the same lights from back in the day adorned them as well.

  She eyed the pure white flowers mixed with sprigs of lavender in the center of the bed, shaped into a heart. “Oh my god, Donnie . . .”

  A look of astonished joy glowed across her face. From the corner of her eye, she saw him leaning against the closet, a confident grin on his beautiful face. He came close to her, reached past, and closed the door. Avery was stuck between her rock and the wall as he dominated the space between them.

  “Damn, you couldn’t wait.” Donavan’s hand stroked her cheek. The entire act was hypnotic as her eyes begged for him to pull her close and kiss her. His thumb continued with a slow caress across her lips. Then his mouth descended on hers as if by some powerful magnetic force. They’d loved each other for ages, and somehow, he was kissing her like it was their very first time. When he stood back, Donavan repeated, “Damn,” again. “Little Bird, you just made my day.”

  Her straight row of top teeth raked over her bottom lip. “How did you . . .?”

  “If you mean how did I fix your room so quickly? When I said ten minutes, less than five minutes ago, I knew there was no way in hell you’d wait. I snuck off a couple of times tonight to get the room ready. I reckon I’ll never know what good I’ve done—out of all the bad shit—to deserve you, Avery, but the look on your face as you walked into the room . . . Whatever it is, I promise to never stop.” Donavan groaned, leaning down to taste her mouth.

  “And where did you get this stuff,” she murmured, unable to finish her sentence, glossy eyes widened in shock. Though her hormones were whacked out, this truly was like standing in the midst of a fairy tale.

  “You keep everything, AC.”

  A smile blossomed across her lips. She placed her hand on her hip. Her sex began to rain just at the sight of the sexy, cocky grin on Donavan’s face. “Oh, so you went into my closet, arrogant bastard. What if you saw old love letters from another guy?” she joked.

  He brushed a thumb across her cheek. “First, burn the letters. Second, kill the guy for sending them to my girl—my woman.”

  She couldn’t stop the smile that brightened her mouth to her eyes if she had wanted to. “I said old letters.”

  “You were born for me, AC. Kill the guy. Third,” he began, pausing as she chuckled. “I would fuck you so good that every memory you ever had of that guy was banged out of your brain and replaced with none other than me. Now, I distinctively recall the first time I gave you head. It was Valentine’s Day. I snuck in your room—as usual—while you and the fam were out to dinner. I laced these lights, thanks for keeping them by the way, around your bed.”

  She couldn’t take her eyes off his lips. Something in her imagined just how friggen erotic he sounded. Avery didn’t notice they had moved until Donavan had her pressed against the pillar at the foot of her bed.

  “AC, you knew exactly what you wanted. We can reenact that night about you telling me just how softly you want me to lick your pussy . . . how deeply, to the left, to the right. I can do that.”

  “Uh, yeah,” she murmured, her heart working in overdrive. Her silky brown skin began to pepper with goose bumps just at the thought of his breath gliding over her nether regions and his powerful tongue slithering and sliding until it slammed against her g-spot. Avery gulped in anticipation.

  “You taught me well.” He pressed her legs wide. “When you showed me that sweet little thong you were wearing earlier today, all I could think about was eating you.”

  She softly pushed away from him. “And I am going to return the favor tenfold. When we get home tonight.”

  “Now,” he growled.

  “A quickie?” She squeaked. “This was thoughtful. I can do a quickie . . .”

  Her gaze was glued on Donavan’s mouth. The walls of her valley jolted as his teeth sunk down on his bottom lip. She waited for him to speak. “I see. You don’t want everyone downstairs to hear you, sweetheart. You scream loud enough to break champagne flutes when I’m going to dinner on that sweet little cunt of yours or loving you slowly. So I guess a quickie makes sense.”

  “Donnie.” She pressed her hand against his chest in an attempt to feign disinterest. He was right. She knew the moment Donavan’s mouth touched down on her second set of lips she’d be hollering and moaning to the high heavens. Hell, on a few occasions, Avery could have sworn she heard her own voice crack an eight octave. She had to postpone that.

  The devilish mischief in his eyes had them glowing as hot as liquid amber. She knew good and well that he wasn’t about to consent to a quick screw.

  As she tried to push him away, his mouth descended on hers. Donavan’s welcoming lips were soft, his tongue sweeping into her mouth for a savage kiss. He nibbled her bottom lip, working his way down her neck to her chest. She ran her fingers through his hair. Pleasure welled so intense inside of her that she sighed in relief when Donavan scooped her body up and placed her onto the bed.

  Donavan undid his bowtie. She found herself gulping, staring into his eyes. The twinkling white lights, along with the entire room, disintegrated around her, leaving just the fiery passion building between her thighs.

  He climbed up onto the bed. “I’m going to eat those panties off you, sweetheart,” he murmured, “But I’ll still fuck you later. Happy Valentine’s day.”

  Head falling back, Avery giggled as his mouth found its way between her legs. He pressed her thighs wide, his tongue darting in and out in quick succession before licking up her juices. Avery pressed her pelvic bone down, forcing as much of herself as she could into his mouth.

  “Oh, shit,” she grumbled, concentrating on Donavan’s assault on her spot. He licked and stroked until she forced her legs around his shoulders, hoping to God above that she wasn’t suffocating him.

  Like a driving force, his tongue speared inside of Avery until she clutched the sheets. The silky Egyptian fabric was no match for her nails. Clawing like a lioness, Avery held steady, biting down on her tongue. The orgasm was climbing through her, forcing her to tense, to focus.

  Donavan lifted. “Tell me just how much you don’t want me to stop.”

  Tongue tied, she scoffed, and finally got the words out. “Please, Donavan, oh my god, please don’t stop!”

  “Not with words, sweetheart,” he said, his fingers tormenting her core. “The louder you cry for me . . .” He paused, their gazes locked on one another. She worked her hips against his fingers. Her eyes were glued to his mouth, watching his every word. “The better I eat you.”

  Donavan licked his lips before getting back to work, leaving her entire body tensing until a moan crashed through her.

  “Donavan . . .” His name hurled past her lips as waves shattered over her.

  After some time, with him coming back up to lay next to her, she asked, “How loud were we?”

  “I wasn’t loud at all, sweetheart, but you were.” He winked.

  She scrambled over toward Donavan as he hopped out of bed. “I can’t stand you, Donnie!” She swiped out at him as he turned around to grin.

  Reaching down, he kissed the frown off her lips. “Doesn’t matter, long as you
still love me.”

  3

  Donavan

  The dream always began the same.

  Donavan on a convoy with the rest of the sharks. He was the one who went straight to the gunner turret at the top of the Humvee. He’d be shielded in a 360-degree turret, but that couldn’t stop a lone sniper rifle or blast from causing him harm. With the 120-degree weather, the sun beaming down on him, and a M240 at the ready, Donavan would stand watch as Trayvon drove below. The first time he had chosen the turret as opposed to riding shotgun it had been an opportunity to get away from his crew. For every single second of his life since being deployed, his mind was on Avery. But within seconds, he took the job seriously, kept a keen lookout for insurgents, and watched the locals like a hawk as they traveled across the terrain.

  And like a film, one scene faded into another . . .

  He was back at base. Tripp was hogging the sat phone while Brown played videogames, having already made the call to his old lady.

  Donavan sat on the top bunk, earphones in his ear. Trayvon completed his last rep on the bench and got up with a growl.

  “Y’all can’t see me!” Trayvon’s shouting broke through the Country music crooning into Donavan’s ear. The music was a downer. He was heartbroken, but his face was never less than stoic.

  “You the shit, Tray.” He pulled his earphones off. “Now, respect Tripp while he chats with his entire family.”

  Trayvon’s thick lips pulled into a smile. “What about you, Hardy? You ain’t ever got anybody to call.”

  “I reckon he got his “Dear John” letter the day he told his girl he in listed,” McIntosh said from the bottom bunk before getting up.

  Trayvon held up his hands in mock apology and walked away. McIntosh’s lean forearms pressed against Donavan’s mat. “You really don’t have nobody to talk to?”