Her family – rather, her mother – held a very strong bias against wolves. It didn’t matter that nocturnal species had successfully integrated with humanity. Somerset had two wolf packs – the Sterlings and Cruz’s – and there was even a wolf pack on the outer edge of the city – the Summers. The NDS – the Nocturnal Defense Society – was the bridge that kept each community – the vampire, the werewolves, and the humans – from killing each other. There were rumblings that there was another species beyond the Outer Edge, south of the city. A dark species that wanted to rid the world of everything else, which was why they wanted this app created in the first place – to keep track of the different species. Avery always believed those were lies parents told their kids for misbehaving.
There was no way anything was going to happen between them. Seriously, anyway. Besides the fact that she was with Rick, her family – rather, her mother – would not approve. And while Avery didn’t particularly care one way or the other about her mother’s opinion, she didn’t think she wanted to deal with her mother’s snide comments about Lucas’s heritage – to his face, no less – every single time there was a family function that required her presence. She also wouldn’t want to subjugate Lucas to that.
“Av?” Rick asked, furrowing his brow and shouting over the music. His hand rested on her should and she had to blink at the touch. It was almost as though she didn’t recognize it, which was odd, considering Rick had been touching her for years. “You okay? You look upset.”
“I’m just ready to go,” Avery replied, forcing a smile. If Rick had been paying attention to her at all during their relationship, he would know she was lying. She was a terrible liar. She didn’t have any semblance of a poker face.
But Rick furrowed his brow and started playing with her hair. “Ah, come on, babe,” he said. “We just got here and you like to go out.”
Avery pulled away from him sharply – too sharply. She didn’t know if Lucas was watching them, if he could see Rick touching her, but the last thing she wanted was any unnecessary trouble brewing because of her. Rick was allowed to touch her – he was her fiancé, after all – but that didn’t necessarily mean Avery wanted him to touch her. It felt wrong and…
She shook her head.
They needed to leave. Now.
“I wanted to talk to you about something,” Avery said, forcing herself to take his hand. Rick might have been scrawny but he was sturdy enough to control his weight if he didn’t want to leave. As such, Rick held firm in his stance and Avery nearly toppled forward. She threw him an exasperated look on her face. “Rick, come on. Please?”
“What’s your problem?” he asked, his tone taking on slight anger and frustration. “You want me to come here, now you want to leave before we’ve even danced. You look phenomenal and I want everyone in this place to know you’re my girl. Is that so wrong?”
“I’m not a piece of property, Rick!” she exclaimed, so loud she started attracting attention. “I just… I just want to” – and then an idea hit her. It should have been the first thing she said; she couldn’t believe she hadn’t thought about it before. “I just want to go somewhere where it’s just the two of us. It’s too crowded.” She bit her bottom lip and widened her eyes. She watched as Rick’s eyes turned big at the gesture. So Lucas was right about some things. “Do you know what I mean?”
“Hell yeah, I know what you mean, Av,” he said. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner? I’ll get the car. You stay at the entrance. Don’t worry, baby. I’ll take care of everything. I’ve got you, babe. I’ve got you.”
And without another warning, he disappeared from the dance floor and headed out of the club. If Avery wasn’t feeling a whirl of emotions, she would have smirked smugly. Rick was acting just like Lucas said he would and all she did was say she wanted to be alone and bite her bottom lip. And he reacted. She hadn’t realized it was so easy to manipulate him, and maybe she should feel a little bit bad about it, but she couldn’t be here any longer. Not after what happened between her and Lucas. Not when her head was filled with thoughts and her body was filled with feelings she didn’t understand.
It didn’t take long before Rick retrieved the car from the valet. Once Avery was inside, Rick rested a hand on her bare thigh with his fingers brushing her flesh. Under normal circumstances, she was certain the intimate gesture would have given her goosebumps, but with Rick… She just felt tension in her body and tried not to think about his attempted caress.
When they got back to her place, Avery followed Rick into the house and locked the door behind them. She quickly changed into her pajamas before meeting Rick out in the kitchen so she could munch on some Oreos.
“What happened between you and Lucas?”
The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them and her eyes were cast to the floor. She wasn’t ashamed for asking the question but there had always seemed to be this unwritten rule of not asking about the past, living in the moment, planning for the future. In fact, Avery realized she didn’t really know much about who Rick was before they met at Somerset University and she had always thought that that was normal. Couples didn’t typically discuss stuff that happened before, did they?
Rick furrowed his brow as he turned to look at her.
“Lucas Cruz?” he asked. “The werewolf?”
“Lucas Cruz, the businessman,” she corrected, her tone more defensive than she anticipated it being. She should have blushed at the attitude she was giving him on behalf of another man – another man she was fooling around with, no less – but she didn’t feel the familiar feeling come. Huh. “Lucas Cruz, our schoolmate from SU.”
Rick clenched his jaw so it popped. “Why?” he asked. “What did he tell you?”
Avery felt her heart clunk, like footsteps of a drunk girl in stilettos. “It doesn’t matter what he told me,” she said slowly. She knew the old Avery would have admitted outright that Lucas had yet to tell her anything. However, this new Avery, one she didn’t recognize but wanted to get to know, stopped her. Somehow, she could manipulate this to her favor. “It’s just, I know that something happened. He hinted at it. And I want to know your side.”
“I thought we talked about this, babe,” Rick said, taking a few lazy steps towards her. When he reached Avery, he placed his hands on her hips and pulled him the extra two inches for their bodies connected on a superficial level. “The past is the past is the past. Who cares? That was years ago.”
Avery nodded. “Of course,” she said, using her index finger to play with a button on his shirt. “The only reason I bring it up is because, technically speaking, we were together in college. So whatever happened between you and Lucas happened while we were together. And using your logic, I would have a right to know about it.” She watched as his face tensed up and quickly added, “I just want to know how to defend you if he ever brings it up. You know I don’t like people talking badly about my man.”
Rick cracked a grin at that and Avery felt her confidence surge. Not because of his reaction but because she was getting good at this. Lucas was right.
“I am your man, aren’t I?” he asked, pushing his hands further behind her so they could squeeze her butt. She jumped in surprise.
No, this was not where it was supposed to go.
His lips found her neck and before she could stop him, Rick began trailing wet kisses up and down her throat. She tried to step back but his grip on her only tightened and he brought her back close to him. His hands roamed the curves of her body and she kept flinching, kept jumping at his touch, trying to angle herself away from him so he wouldn’t touch her in a place she deemed as inappropriate. As uncomfortable.
“Come on, Av,” he murmured against her skin. Her entire body shuddered but Rick thought it was with pleasure rather than revulsion. “You’re my fiancée. I know you want this. I want it, too.” He grabbed her hand and brought it down to his crotch. “I want you to feel how hard you get me, Av.”
Avery whipped her hand back and final
ly managed to pull away from Rick. “Stop, Rick,” she told him. “Please, I already told you. I want to wait.”
The lie was hollow, even to her ears. Because the truth of the matter was, she didn’t want to be with him. She didn’t want him touching her. She didn’t want him doing much of anything to her. Every touch filled her body with disgust, every look he gave her, every insinuation of what he wanted from her, made her entire body lock up.
This was not how it was supposed to feel. Being in love did not mean being disgusted.
“Fine, Av, fine,” he said. His fingers began to play with the strap of her dress. “But there are other things we can do, other ways we can please each other. If you just give me a chance, I can show you.”
As he tugged the strap of her dress down, Avery took another step back. The flimsy material snapped in two, the rip deafening against the silence. Avery gasped and Rick smirked.
“You like it a little rough, don’t you?” he asked, reaching for her again. “I always thought so. You were always so quiet and turned red every time you felt me get hard…”
“Rick, please…” Avery felt uncomfortable, shifting with unease. She hated herself for not being more assertive, hated that she always bent to his will.
“C’mon, babe, let me show you…” His voice trailed off and he took a step toward her.
Avery clenched her jaw. Enough was enough. She would not cower anymore. She would not avoid looking into his eyes just because she said something that displeased him. She would not worry about the way something came out when she was trying to vocalize her opinion. Without warning, she reached between the two of them and slapped him across the face. She ignored the satisfying feeling that settled in her body.
“Rick,” she forced herself to say. She was surprised how strong her voice came out. “I said no.” When he continued to smile, her eyes narrowed. “I mean it. I think it’s time for you to go.”
To say Rick look surprised was an understatement. At first, he thought she was just teasing him, but after really looking into her eyes, he knew she was being serious.
“Fine,” he snapped, and in a manner of moments, he had slammed the door shut and was gone.
Avery couldn’t explain it, but once he left, her body eased and she felt nothing but relief.
13
It was the middle of the night. It was early in the morning. Avery didn't know what time it was. All she knew was that she wound up at Lucas's door because she didn't have anywhere else to go. It wasn't raining this time but there was a biting Somerset breeze and it pinched her cheeks so hard she was certain they were pink. Her nose was running, which probably meant it had a shiny red glint to it, like Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer. Probably not the most attractive. She was still in her pajamas, her thin gold strap of her shirt in tatters. She immediately looked away, her arms crossed over her chest. She was shaking due to the cold, due to her feelings, due to...
She didn't even know what anymore. All she knew was that she was here, in front of Lucas's place, freezing her butt off because she didn't think to grab a coat or anything that would keep her warm. Her cheeks were probably stained with makeup she had carefully put on for her night at the club.
She probably looked like a fool. A trainwreck of a fool.
"This is stupid," she muttered to herself, shaking her head. Her hair picked up around her as a breeze started to blow. "Just go home or at least to your parents. Avoid Rick for a few days. He's drunk, he doesn't know what he's doing."
Avery was ready to turn around and head back to the car when Lucas's door creaked open.
"Avery?" he asked. She spun around so fast she nearly stumbled down and Lucas reached out to steady her. "What's going on? Are you okay?" His hands were warm on her skin.
She nodded. "I, uh." She didn't know what to say. She never knew what to say when she was around him.
"Come inside," he said, gently pulling her to him, into the warmth his house offered. "What are you doing? I can see everything, Av, why are you only in" -
He cut himself off after closing the door behind him. Immediately, his eyes narrowed on her bare shoulder. Avery wasn't able to enjoy the heat his house provided because his hands were on her shoulder and his eyes were narrowed and his jaw was clenched.
"I'll rip him to shred with my bare hands," he told her, his voice so quiet she was almost certain she heard him wrong.
"No, it's" - Avery shook her head, cutting her off. "I'm okay. I just..." She swallowed. To be honest, she didn't know why she was feeling this way. She didn't know why she was here and why she left Rick. Everything was so opposite and she was so confused. All she knew was that she wanted to be right here, with Lucas.
"What happened?" he asked. His grip on her was tight but harmless. It was as though he was afraid to let her go. Truth be told, she didn't want him to. "If you want to talk about it. I don't want to force you to do something you don't want to do. Is that what he did? Actually, don't tell me that. If you tell me that, I won't be able to stop myself from physically ripping his skin to flecks of dust."
Avery pressed her head against his chest. She felt like nothing bad could get to her in his arms.
"He tried to kiss me," she told him. "I let him but it didn't feel right. I thought maybe I was just confused. I feel so confused about everything right now..." She swallowed and closed her eyes. "I pulled away. He didn't let me. I told him to stop. He grabbed onto me and that's why my shirt..." She let her voice trail off and picked her head up in order to lock eyes with him. "I'm not... I'm okay. I can handle it. I didn't think I could but now..."
"You're stronger than you realize," Lucas said, cupping her cheek with his big hand. "And knowing that about yourself, trusting that about yourself, gives you more power than anything in every aspect of your life, whether it's sex, business, finances, anything."
"I slapped him pretty good," she said with a small smile.
Lucas grinned. "That's my girl," he said. "Now, come on. Let's get you out of those pajamas so we can burn them. You can wear one of my shirts."
Lucas gave her a pair of boxers and a grey shirt that reached the middle of her thighs. She met Lucas back in the hallway and he took her wrist and led her to his bedroom. She had never been in here before and was curious to see what it looked like.
It was almost disappointing. It was surprisingly neat for a male – perhaps that line of thinking was generalized but the males she knew including her father and her fiancé were both messy to say the least – and blue and silver occupied his bedspread. His bed was California king and four-poster. Avery could stretch out either way and she wouldn’t hang off.
“Can I ask you something?” she asked shyly. He took a seat on the edge of the bed and pulled her to him so she stood between his legs and his hands were on her hips.
He gave her a soft smile. “You can ask me anything,” he said.
“You’re a werewolf,” she said. Her fingers somehow found their way to his hair and without quite realizing what she was doing, began to play with his thick hair. “Why are you alone and not in a pack? You seem to be an Alpha male. You would thrive in a pack.”
“It’s a long story,” he told her. He leaned into her touch so naturally, she felt her lips curve up into a smile. “I promise I’ll tell you one day. But not right now. Now, I want to focus on you.” He opened his eyes so they caught hers. “Do you trust me?”
Avery furrowed her brow but nodded. “Of course,” she said.
He smiled. “Good,” he replied. “I want you to do everything I tell you.”
Avery’s eyes narrowed but Lucas made no move to tell her just what he was talking about. Instead, he had her sit down and stretched her legs out, gently pushing her back so she was lying down. He crawled on top of her and began to kiss her face, her cheeks, her jaw line, her throat. She rolled her eyes to the back of her head and let out a sigh. She loved when he kissed that spot just below her ears – blood raced to her skin and simultaneously gave her goosebumps.
&
nbsp; She nodded her head even though he hadn’t asked her a question. She was willing to do anything he asked if he kept kissing her that way.
His hands found the material of her boxers – his boxers – and without warning, he began to tug them off of her, down, down, down until they were silk around her ankles, leaving her exposed and vulnerable but entirely comfortable under his gaze. She wanted him to… She didn’t know. Maybe not. But maybe so…
Avery moaned the minute his fingers danced across the lips of her core. She was tense. He looked at her over her body.
“You’re beautiful,” he said. “You’re so fucking beautiful. And you’re all mine…”
Avery didn’t even protest, even though a small stubborn part of her wanted to. She nodded her head again but his eyes were back on her, his fingers still teasing and testing her out, trying to become familiar with her body. Trying to see what got a reaction, what didn’t.
Without warning, he slid his finger into her opening and she gasped, her eyes snapping open, her jaw dropping. Her legs, on their own accord, spread open, wider than they already were, welcoming him. Just as quickly, he slid his finger back out and through slitted eyes, she noticed the slick moisture on his finger.
“God, you’re so wet,” he said, turning to look at her. His eyes were just as hazy as hers were, and before she knew what he was doing, he slid his finger in his mouth. “And delicious. Is this for me?”
She swallowed. She didn’t know what to say, didn’t know how to respond. So she didn’t.
“You want me,” he stated, like it was a fact.
Because it was. Who was she to argue?
“Fuck, I want you, too,” he said, “but not yet. Not yet.”
His eyes dropped back to her sex, a feral gleam in his eyes. She breathed out a heavy sigh and stared up at the ceiling. She could hear her heart hammer in her head, like a jackhammer. She had no idea what was happening, she had no idea how she ended up here, but here she was, and she wanted it. It was less than twenty-four hours when she swore she would never go back to him, when she would never do this again, but here she was. It was almost as though they were tethered together somehow, connected by some invisible force that neither could explain and neither could deny.
The Somerset Series: A Box Set: Books 2-4 Page 24