He opened his eyes and smirked. “Not a chance in hell, hon. Rule number one. You’ll always come before me.”
Her eyes widened. “That’s a lot of pressure. You can’t lay that kind of stress on a woman. I’ll fail miserably.”
His smirk turned into a grin. “If you don’t come, then I’m doing something wrong. Trust me. Now hold your sweet ass still while I make you see reason.” He circled her clit and then pressed his thumb against it.
Her vision blurred. She tried to pull his hand away again. “Xavier, I want to watch you this time. It’s only fair. Please.”
“Huh-uh.” He shook his head. His thumb rubbed over her clit with maddening precision until she couldn’t sit still and lost the ability to continue arguing.
She lowered her head to his neck and let the sensation build. Maybe she could come a third time. Unbelievable.
“That’s it, hon. Give it to me.”
A whimper escaped her lips as she came less than a minute after telling him it wasn’t possible, her channel gripping his length, making her aware of how tight she was around him.
The next thing she knew, he had a hold of her hips again, and she was lifted and lowered over him. Xavier did all the work. He chose the speed and the amount of thrust. It was a good thing because her body wasn’t able to take orders from her brain so soon after her own orgasm.
Xavier sucked in a sudden sharp breath and then shocked her by lifting her abruptly off his shaft and lowering her onto his thighs so that his length was pinned between their torsos.
She was about to question his actions when he grabbed his erection, squeezed it, and then came. She watched as long spurts of his come jutted out onto both her stomach and his.
It was amazing to watch, and she reached between them, dragged her finger through a line of his semen, and lifted it to her mouth to suck it off. “Mmm.”
“Shit, Ava. That’s hot.”
She jerked her gaze to his, unaware he had been paying attention. “Why did you pull out?”
He lifted a brow. “We were lacking a condom, hon.”
“Oh.” Her eyes widened. How the hell had she been so careless?
“Don’t worry. I was well aware the entire time.”
She swallowed.
“I got a clean bill of health two weeks ago before spring training.”
She nodded, trying to calm her racing heart from the oversight. “Maybe I should go on the pill.”
He cupped her face and kissed her forehead. “If you want.”
It warmed her that he left it up to her. Didn’t most men want to have sex without a condom?
“Let’s get in the shower. You made a mess.”
She giggled at the teasing tone of his voice. “Me?”
“Yep. The entire thing was your idea. You wanted to be on top.”
“I don’t think that’s how this went down. I wanted to use my mouth. You interrupted me. And, I don’t really think my being on top kept you from being any less bossy.”
“Caught that, did you?” He chuckled as he lifted them both off the couch, grabbing her ass to hold her plastered to him.
She wrapped her legs around him and let him carry her up the stairs to his bathroom. Let. She laughed in her head. As if any woman had ever let Xavier do anything. Xavier did what he wanted on his terms. Always, apparently.
And she was not complaining.
Chapter Nine
At seven o’clock Xavier pulled out a chair for Ava and waited for her to get situated before he scooted her in. She had never dated a more doting man with such manners before.
They had muscled their way through a few photographers out front who had honed in on the fact that three players for Miami were currently dining at that restaurant, but luckily the staff didn’t allow the paparazzi to enter the building.
Lily eyed Ava suspiciously from her view on the other side of the round table they were seated at in the restaurant. It looked like her sister was biting her tongue to keep from asking a thousand questions that weren’t appropriate in front of Xavier or Zia and Brett.
Ava was glad her sister’s questions would be thwarted, at least for the day. She wasn’t ready to field them. She didn’t have all the answers. She was having the most amazing time of her life with Xavier, but there was no way she would go so far as to define their relationship to someone else yet.
For one thing, she didn’t think Lily was interested in a list of all the reasons why Xavier was the best lover on the planet. And for another thing, Ava and Xavier hadn’t discussed anything that extended beyond dinner as far as their relationship status was concerned. Unfortunately, that included what happened with his father. Since she’d arrived in the afternoon, they’d spent every second having sex, not discussing anything important.
Dominic ordered two bottles of Chardonnay, which Ava knew was her sister’s favorite, and Zia pulled out her phone to pass around some pictures from their honeymoon.
Dinner was calm and perfect. The manicotti Ava ate was delicious. The wine was wonderful. She couldn’t think of five people she’d rather spend the evening with.
Throughout the two hours they sat there, Xavier touched some part of her nearly constantly, which kept her squirming. It shocked her to think she could be that aroused after everything they’d done all afternoon in his apartment. A fourth orgasm in the shower was three more than she would have thought herself capable of a week ago.
Her face heated every time he set his hand on her thigh and rubbed his pinky against the sensitive skin so close to her center. Several times she grabbed his fingers in an attempt to get him to stop the maddening torture, but she was wasting her time.
He was much stronger, and he ignored her efforts entirely.
How long could this heat between them last? Days? Weeks? Months?
Lily and Zia were in the middle of laughing at something Zia said when a shadow fell across the table and two hands slammed down hard next to Xavier.
Ava lifted her gaze to find his father looking him in the eye, a furious expression on his face. “Qué es eso, Xavier? Que estás haciendo con esa blanquita? Tienes novia. Embarazada. Tienes obligaciones allá en Puerto Rico. Por qué estás jugando con esa chiquita, dejándola pensar que es alguien especial?”
Ava sucked in a breath and froze. Her mind spun as she absorbed everything Xavier’s father rattled off in rapid Spanish.
There were a million things she didn’t know about Xavier. She had only been seeing him a week, and most of the time they had spent together had been in bed.
There were also a million things Xavier didn’t know about her. One of them—the most important one at the moment—was that she minored in Spanish and understood every word.
Xavier released his grip on her thigh and jumped to standing so fast his chair fell over backward and hit the floor with a loud thud. His face was explosive as he met his father eye-to-eye, inches separating the two of them, and spoke through gritted teeth. “If you have something to say to me, do it outside. There’s no call for you to burst in on a dinner I’m having and attempt to ruin it with your shit.” He pointed toward the front of the restaurant and stomped in that direction. His father followed, his steps in perfect sync behind Xavier.
Ava was shaking so badly she thought she might hyperventilate as she ran through everything the older man had said. His words screamed in her head. His obvious disgust with Xavier dating a white woman… Obligations… A fiancée in Puerto Rico… A pregnant one.
She jumped to her feet, grabbed her purse, and ran in the opposite direction toward the back of the restaurant.
Lily shouted after her. “Ava?”
Ava hoped they would all assume she had gone to the bathroom and let her walk away. But she had a completely different destination. She raced past the restroom, relieved to see an exit that led out the side of the building. Two seconds later, she was outside, gasping for oxygen and glancing toward the row of taxis lined up along the front.
Praying Xavier would be too i
nvolved with his father to notice her, she calmly shouldered her purse, made her way between the cars, and stepped up to the first car in the line.
“You need a taxi, ma’am?”
She nodded, ducked into the back seat, and shut the door.
The man pulled away from the curb. “Where to?”
“Just drive. I’ll think of something.” Tears were already falling down her face as he pulled into traffic. She couldn’t think. Her brain kept jumping from one piece of information to another. He was engaged? And his girlfriend was pregnant?
She gripped her head with both hands, fighting the growing headache that consumed her.
“Are you okay, ma’am?”
She nodded. “Just got some bad news is all. Give me a minute.”
“Okay. Let me know when you decide where you want to go.”
Ava closed her eyes and leaned her head back, still gripping her temples. How had she fallen so hard for someone she obviously knew so little about?
Fuck Xavier for taking advantage of her. What an asshole.
Did his friends know nothing about him either? There was no way Dominic or Brett would’ve kept Lily and Zia in the dark and allowed Ava to date someone with that much laundry if they knew. Hell, Dominic set her up with Xavier.
She screamed sharply in the back of the taxi to let off some steam. Then she righted herself in a moment of clarity, gave the driver Xavier’s address, and hoped to God she beat him there so she could get her car and be gone before he managed to realize she wasn’t in the restroom.
Another lucky break? She hadn’t taken her overnight bag into his condo from the car. Nothing of hers was in his home. She paid the driver, slid into her car, and drove away from this nightmare undetected.
Gripping the steering wheel, she fought the tears that wanted to fall. She wasn’t even sure why she was crying. He wasn’t worth it. But her emotions were out of control already from the rollercoaster that had defined their relationship from the first date.
She knew she couldn’t drive all the way back to Miami. It wouldn’t be safe. And she was exhausted. So she simply put some distance between her and Jupiter and then pulled off the highway at a random exit and found a hotel.
Fifteen minutes later, amazed by her ability to avoid behaving like a lunatic while checking in, she entered her room on the second floor and dropped her bag on the floor. She didn’t bother with the lights or the curtains. She simply tugged the covers back, kicked off her sandals, and slid between the sheets.
She curled into a ball and let the dam loose.
Yeah. Her life was officially a hot mess. And she had no one to blame but herself. Who allowed themselves to be so thoroughly sucked into such an intense relationship with a man they hardly knew in such a short time? She deserved everything karma tossed at her.
She’d known he had issues with his father. He’d told her himself. But she hadn’t suspected this insanity. No wonder Carlos was fit to be tied. His oldest son was running around cheating on his pregnant girlfriend in Puerto Rico.
Her phone was on vibrate in her purse, and it had started buzzing a long time ago, but she had no interest in talking to anyone. Not even her sister.
She needed to wrap her mind around everything first before she could make a coherent thought. That included shutting Lily out for the time being.
She sucked in a breath between sobs and gave up the fight. A good pity cry would ease the pain. She indulged in the ugly cry for over an hour before declaring herself done. She dragged her body from the bed, took off her dress, and stumbled to the bathroom.
After washing her face and brushing her teeth, she felt slightly more human. At least enough to go to sleep. And that was exactly what she did.
Exhaustion from the long day made it possible for her to climb back into bed and let sleep take her under. She didn’t even care that she wore nothing but her thong. No one was there to see her, and the comforter was heavy enough to keep her warm.
* * *
Xavier was frantic. When he returned to the table to find Ava gone, he immediately rushed through the restaurant in search of her, not giving a shit that he burst into the women’s room to do so.
But she wasn’t there. She wasn’t anywhere. And the other two couples at the table hadn’t realized she’d left, either.
Lily was concerned. Every one of them asked a dozen questions about the man who had interrupted their dinner. But Xavier fielded none of them. He needed to find Ava.
He dropped several bills on the table to cover his and Ava’s meals and rushed out the front door to head back to his condo, praying she would be there waiting on him. Maybe she simply didn’t want to deal with the outburst from his father in front of so many people. He could hope.
Dominic and Brett had met his father before. They surely remembered who the man was and would fill in the women, but Xavier had never told any of his teammates about the man’s temper.
Usually when Xavier was playing baseball, his father was on his best behavior. But lately, the man had been behaving more erratically than ever. Not that Xavier was surprised. Carlos Monreal had a full plate dealing with Xavier’s brother. And Carlos had never handled family matters well when the shit hit the fan. That was why his mother eventually couldn’t take it anymore and divorced him.
When Xavier pulled up to his condo, he saw that Ava’s car was gone. “Fuck,” he shouted into the car, slamming his hands on the steering wheel. “Son of a bitch.” If that motherfucker messed things up with Ava, Xavier was liable to kill him with his bare hands.
His father had always been a loose cannon, but this time he had gone too far.
Xavier parked in the garage and raced into the condo, pulling out his phone. No message from Ava. Not shocking. He sent off a text.
Ava. Hon. Please call me.
He paced the kitchen while he stared at the phone. Nothing.
Dammit.
He sent another five minutes later.
That was my father. He can be a dick. I’m sorry he interrupted our dinner. Let me explain.
No response.
Xavier was confused now. He could understand why the drama was upsetting, but he couldn’t comprehend why she wouldn’t speak to him. It wasn’t his fault his father was an asshole.
Sure, it had been disturbing to say the least, and several patrons had realized they were dining with three Miami ballplayers when all the attention centered on the table. Nevertheless, that didn’t explain why Ava took off.
He sank onto the couch, set his elbows on his knees, and held his head. He tried to remember what Carlos had rambled on about when he first arrived. It didn’t matter though, because it had all been in Spanish. A long run-on sentence with no stops for breathing. The man spoke perfect English. The fact that he’d screamed at Xavier in Spanish had been calculated.
Had the man mentioned Eliza and the baby? Maybe. But again, who cared. No way would Ava have gleaned a single word about his brother’s girlfriend or her pregnancy.
When his phone buzzed next to him, he jerked it off the couch to find a text from Dominic.
Everything okay? Lily’s worried.
Ava must have gone back to Miami. She isn’t at my place.
He tossed the phone back on the couch and leaned back to stare at the ceiling. “Fuck.”
Several hours later, Xavier was even more frantic. Why wouldn’t she pick up the phone or return his texts? He made his way upstairs and got ready for bed with no other recourse. There was nothing he could do until she answered him.
Probably he should call Lily. Maybe Ava had a habit of taking off like this. But he didn’t want to start a dialogue with her sister if he could avoid it. If Ava wasn’t speaking to Lily either, there was a good chance calling her would only make her as distraught as Xavier felt.
He went to bed, tossing and turning half the night with his phone on the pillow next to him, the pillow Ava’s head should be resting on.
It was nearly dawn before he fell into a fitful sleep o
nly to wake up what seemed like ten minutes later at the sound of his alarm. He groaned, knowing he had no choice but to get up, take a shower, and pull himself together. Today’s game was half an hour away at Port St. Lucie. Skipping it to chase after his girlfriend wasn’t an option.
Playing his best ballgame under the circumstances also wasn’t an option.
By the time Xavier was done warming up on the field, he had been cornered by both friends. But he knew nothing. Both Dominic and Brett seemed as concerned as him. Apparently, they knew nothing, either.
Lily and Zia were in the stands, but Xavier didn’t glance up at them.
After the game, Lily was beside herself with worry, and Xavier felt like a world-class asshole while she shot him daggers he wasn’t sure he deserved. “Where the hell is she?”
He shook his head. “If I knew, I would tell you. She won’t answer my texts or calls.”
Lily demanded that Dominic take her back to Jupiter as fast as possible so she could get her car and go find Ava. The idea gave Xavier the slightest peace of mind. He didn’t have the ability to take off looking for her himself, so he was glad her sister could. He had to hope she would at least fill him in when she found Ava. And he told Dominic as much.
“I’ll call you as soon as I hear from Lily,” Dominic said as he jogged away.
Chapter Ten
Ava opened the door of her apartment to her sister, knowing she would have to face her eventually. When she saw her through the peephole, she realized she couldn’t continue to leave her sister to think she’d crashed into a ditch and died.
Lily’s shoulders sagged the moment Ava opened the door. “Oh, thank God.” She stepped inside and shut the door behind her. Then she switched her tone. “Where the hell have you been? Why did you leave without saying something? And why haven’t you taken my calls? I’ve been out of my mind.”
Ava took a deep breath and wandered over to her armchair to sit down, curling her legs beneath her. She’d had all day to think about what she would say to Lily. It was rehearsed. The last thing she wanted was for Lily to realize what an idiot Ava had been and how totally stupid she felt. So she’d opted to keep her story simple. “I’m sorry I didn’t call you. I wanted to think. And I didn’t want anyone to influence me.”
Catching Ava (Spring Training Book 3) Page 9