We're undressed in under ten seconds, and I believe that's a record because my lips have barely left hers.
“I need you,” I whisper. “I just need you in my life, okay?”
It doesn't matter that I don't usually say things like this, because all Ava does is nod, accept my kisses, and tell me that she needs me.
Her needy kisses urge me on, and she is full of my cock before I am even aware of it.
Nothing but the sound of her pleasured gasp fills my ears, and the music of her calling my name is in my head.
She's wrapped so tightly around my cock I can barely focus on anything else.
“Corban, oh my god!” Ava moans.
She looks up at me, my hands running over her legs as our eyes connect, and her next words almost make me blow, and that's never happened before.
“I don't think anyone's ever been this deep before,” she cries.
“Fuck you're gorgeous,” I silence her with a kiss.
I draw my shaft in and out of her slowly, as she moans into our kiss, and I bite her bottom lip.
I fill her up again with my full length. This draws out a louder moan as the sun casts an orange glow over everything, and my attempt at making this about just sex is going awry very quickly.
It's never just sex with Ava.
It can't be, especially when she runs her hands through my hair.
Ava wraps her legs around my waist and my cock sinks deeper between her legs.
“Corban!” she moans.
I never want her to stop doing that.
Saying my name like that.
She does something to me that sends chills up and down my spine, almost like I do want her to stay my wife.
The whole thing sounds insane, but I can't help the way I feel as she clings to me, her whole body shaking as I thrust into her harder, making her whine and moan under me until I feel her spasm.
Her whole-body trembles with an orgasm that rolls through her.
The sight of her cumming on my cock tips me over the edge.
I watch as her eyes roll back inside her head, and I can't stop myself.
The first time was an accident, I meant to pull out, but the temptation to blow inside her just took over me.
Now? I can't help myself again as I empty my load inside her.
Ava moans even louder until I collapse beside her, my arm wrapped around her.
Both of us are entirely spent.
Naked and sweaty.
Vulnerable and real.
That's how I like to see her.
I don't care about the clothes or the makeup.
This is the Ava that I want.
“You're incredible,” My whisper is gentle.
“I'm in big trouble, Mr. Winthrop,” She laughs.
“I think I know that Mrs. Winthrop,” I smirk down at her, and watch the blush rise across her cheeks.
We lay together for as long as I can before I must navigate back in the dark, because that's never any fun.
When I open the door to the bure, I'm greeted with the sight of a British native whose accent faded long ago and is considered more New Yorker than anything.
Shit.
Chapter 7: Noah
May 5, 2017
“Breaking and entering is illegal,” Corban mentions swiftly with a laugh. “Noah catches everyone by surprise,” His voice turns wry.
Ava stops laughing abruptly when she sees us, her cheeks flushed.
Tinsley tenses up beside me, sitting across from me in their extravagant accommodations, her legs elegantly crossed at the ankle.
“I like to make my presence known, especially when my ex-wife is screaming at me on the phone. Your mother said you were engaged, and then she got to me, so I decided to pay my favorite business partner a visit, and ask him what the fuck exactly is going on? I don't appreciate Olivia screaming at me.” I tell Corban flatly.
“Well, that's not exactly the whole story,” Corban glances at Ava, who has dropped into a chair looking flushed.
Then I notice something.
They’re wearing wedding rings.
Seriously!
“Don't tell me you got married,” My voice is stern.
Ava looks away.
Is she a terrible liar?
Most of the Stones can lie through their teeth easily.
Or maybe I’ve caught them at an awkward moment?
Is my daughter married to Corban Winthrop, son of my ex-wife?
This is all sorts of messed up.
“Sort of,” Corban scratches the back of his head.
For the first time in my life I want to throttle him.
“You did what!” I rage at him.
“Well-” Corban begins.
“You fucking bastard!” My accent slips out slightly. “Bloody hell. Your mother is going to kill us both, bring us back to life, and kill us again. What were you? Drunk!”
“Yes,” Corban and Ava answer in unison.
That’s my daughter, getting married on a whim while drunk.
I can’t judge them really; Olivia and I did the same thing.
It’s almost funny.
Almost.
“We didn't mean to offend anyone,” Ava plays with her hands nervously. “We were really drunk.”
“I don't know what Olivia is going to find more offensive, the fact that you got married without her there,” I address Corban, ignoring Ava for a moment. “Or the fact that you were legally married, while wasted, off your ass.”
“Hey you did the same thing!” Corban protests.
“Noah relax,” Tinsley stands up beside me, her hair cascading down her shoulders with new blonde highlights.
“Yes, please relax,” Corban repeats Tinsley’s words.
“Bloody whatever,” I sigh. “We might as well go for dinner. Your treat since I came to pick up my boat.”
There’s no discussing this.
They are married.
He married my daughter, and he did it while wasted off his ass.
Anger cannot begin to encompass how I feel.
Corban doesn’t even know what Ava is to me.
“By the way, Ava this is Tinsley Whittaker, she's a friend of ours,” Corban addresses Tinsley, who so far, I’ve failed to introduce.
“Nice to meet you,” Tinsley and Ava shake hands.
Tinsley’s easy smile relaxes Ava.
I’m sure I’ve done nothing to relax Ava.
How can I!
She married Corban!
While wasted!
I realize I am in no place to judge, however for some reason I expected Ava to be smarter than that, to marry a man she barely knows.
“I am Noah Stone,” I turn to Ava, finally, who’s eyes mirror mine. She looks exactly like her mother.
“Ava James,” Ava smiles at me and shakes my hand with a firm grip.
Her smile lights up my life, just like that.
As we walk towards the restaurant Tinsley hangs back with Ava, talking about Manhattan. I assume she means to give us some privacy.
“So, you met Isa?” I accuse.
I have no time for pleasantries.
“You've heard of her?” Corban stares at me.
“There's a lot you don't know old boy,” I respond. “You just complicated a lot of things,” I sigh heavily. “You're in deep shit, aren't you?”
“Shut up, you old bastard,” his harsh whisper comes as we approach a beachfront restaurant.
Of course, it is reservation only, but I quickly get our foursome the best table in the house, right by the beach.
Everyone quickly agrees on the bottle of red wine I select.
I end up ordering for the whole table.
“So, you two simply must visit my island,” I smile at the both of them.
“It’s really quite breathtaking,” Tinsley adds with a smile in my direction. “The house is built right into the hill, it’s magical.”
Corban’s expression changes to confusion, eyeing Tinsley then myself.
“That sounds great,” Corban replies.
He then frowns at me.
Ava barely says a word.
Why is she so nervous?
“Of course, you’ll have to get over those nerves,” I tell Ava in a warm voice. “I’m sure Olivia will expect a proper reception once you two are back in the city.”
“If we’re even alive,” Corban adds.
Ava laughs at this. “Oh, I don’t know, I don’t really think that’s us,” She smiles at Corban.
“I completely agree,” Corban looks at her adoringly.
The way he drapes his arm around the back of her chair, the way they tend to touch each other every so often.
Ava rests her hand on his arm and I’m thrown back by the idea that my daughter could be in love with Corban.
They certainly look like a legitimate couple.
“Olivia may insist, it might be world war three otherwise,” Tinsley laughs.
Then her eyes meet mine.
This is a private joke, Olivia is a cyclone of trouble in the making.
I can’t stop my laughter and place a hand on Tinsley’s for a moment.
Corban raises an eyebrow at me.
Corban makes another face at the two of us, and I change the subject.
“I brought both of the yachts down here, it made more sense to have them here and of use than anywhere else,” I offer.
“What about Miami?” Corban asks.
“Miami is great, but it’s not Fiji,” I smile at Tinsley and she returns my smile.
Then our eyes connect again and I have to force myself to turn away, lest Corban see that there’s something between us.
He can’t be distracted by my life with Elizabeth behind all of this.
****
“So, about Isa,” Corban begins.
“Isa,” I return to the topic that Corban was avoiding.
Ava is waiting in their bure, which is basically a luxurious mockery of an actual bure.
It’s not a wood and straw hut, like traditional bures in Fiji.
“What do you know about her?” I ask.
“Not much,” Corban is avoiding the truth.
“You remember Elizabeth Darlington?” I ask, it pains me to even say her name.
“Sure,” he gives me a careless shrug. “Your ex whatever. Elizabeth.”
I recently admitted after almost ten years of marriage that I had a child from a previous relationship and the whole thing blew up.
Of course, Evan’s mother is Elizabeth, but I’ve kept that to myself.
Only Tinsley knows about that.
I kept secrets that destroyed my marriage, I’m about to put Corban in the same position.
“What does she even have to do with-” Corban starts
“I found her,” I cut Corban off. “I found Elizabeth and her daughter.”
He knows about my tireless search for Elizabeth.
Tinsley is the only one here that knows my secret.
“What?” Corban narrows his eyes at me
“Corban, Elizabeth Darlington, is the woman behind Isa's ghost operation,” I explain.
“So, who is Isa?” Corban asks stupidly.
“For such an astute businessman, you can be dull. She is Elizabeth Darlington, and that woman that you married is the daughter she gave up, all those years ago,” I clarify.
Evan and Athena, my sister, are very well aware of the situation.
Neither of them is happy with me at the moment.
When I turn to look back, Ava is looking out over the water, and I'm sure she can't hear us.
But all the pain she's been through?
I can only imagine.
All of it has probably been at the hands of her mother.
I want to physically hurt Elizabeth now that I know the full story.
She let Ava slide into the system and cut me off at every turn.
Bribing people to keep me in the dark.
Ava rose above, and then she used her.
“So what kind of trouble are you in with Elizabeth?” I ask.
“How do you know she's Elizabeth Darlington? Ava can't be a Darlington,” Corban refuses to believe me.
“That's not the point. Corban, what kind of trouble did you get in with her?” I’m straight with him.
“I didn't get into any trouble with her,” He lies to me. “It's Clint's problem. I'm just along for the ride.”
“So, what? Did you hire her? You hired her, and then you fell in love with the woman and married her by accident?” I look at him, unwilling to believe this was an accident. “Because I saw you two tonight, I watched you two very carefully, and not only is that woman absolutely in love with you, I can see it in your face, Corban Winthrop, I can see it in the way you look at her, the way you touch her, you love her too.”
He doesn’t say anything.
Chapter 8: Corban
May 5, 2017
Tense is not the word to describe how I feel when I return to Ava, sprawled across the bed in our fantastic accommodations. I want to tell her everything, but I'm afraid she will run.
“What's wrong?” is her immediate question.
I know wrong is written all over my face.
“Just Noah being protective I guess.” I shrug.
“Oh?” she moves over as I lay on the bed beside her, so she can't see my face.
“Do you still feel like you married a stranger?” I ask in a voice foreign to my ears.
“A little bit,” She admits.
“What if you found your real parents?” I ask.
Ava laughs harshly. “What? You think I haven't looked? There's nowhere left to look. I have no birth certificate; it was a closed adoption. The agency couldn't tell me anything; no one is looking for me. It's a dead end.”
I raise my eyebrows at this, but this she doesn't see.
“What if I asked Noah to investigate it?” I ask.
“You think he'd find something,” she snorts.
She doesn’t believe me.
“Don't you think there's someone looking for you?” I ask.
“Not at all,” She replies easily. “They would've found me by now. I would think whoever put me up for adoption, would've known when my parents died in that car crash,” Her voice is a little sad. “I'm wondering why you're asking me this.”
“It was just a thought. Something I was thinking about,” I lie.
“Odd thought,” Her voice sounds strange like a fight is coming on. “Do you know something?”
“How would I?” I lie again.
“I have no idea,” Ava laughs, snuggling against me.
I feel guilt wash over me like a plague but wrap my arm around her anyway because I need her warmth to keep my sanity intact.
How could such a beautiful woman, be so betrayed by the family that is supposed to watch out for her? Love her?
Was Noah, right?
Do I love her?
Am I in love with her?
Is a week enough time to know if you're in love with a woman, or does it take more than that? Or less? How does one figure it out?
Noah's impression of us has left an impression on me.
Now I am more confused about the two of us than ever, especially after today.
I tried to make it about sex, but every noise from her lips, every movement, every single part of me just cried out for her, and I couldn't take it, it wasn't just lust, there was something else in there.
“What's going on up there?” Ava is persistent tonight.
“What should we do tomorrow?” I defer.
“I don't know, I thought we could go on that surfing excursion tomorrow, I've never tried that before,” she says.
“Sounds like a plan,” I agree.
Ava yawns, content.
Before I know it, she's fast asleep.
My mind churns for a long time.
Chapter 9: Ava
May 6, 2017
Corban's attitude is on the verge of nasty today, and when I
wake up he's got his non-disclosure out again, and I can barely look at him.
Every single word I want to say is stuck on the tip of my tongue, so I walk away.
He has this way of setting my nerves on fire, one second, he's so hot, and then the next he's like ice.
“We should talk,” Corban crosses his arms, blocking my path so I can't get past him.
I just try to push him out of my way instead, my hands pressing against his incredible pecks.
Dear god, the man knows no limits.
“About your agreement?” I ask bluntly. “Or are we going to go back to talking about divorce again? What did he say, hmm? What did he say to scare you? Or did he just make you realize you were pretending with me?”
I know my words are biting but, not one bit of me cares, especially if he's going to keep whipping out that stupid non-disclosure agreement.
“Ava,” Corban's agitated voice comes, and I think he's about to give up, just for a second before his repetitive words are followed, with the same sentence I always hear.
“I'm trying to protect the both of us, okay?” he says.
“No. Not okay,” I shake my head. “I already told you, it's like we have the same argument over, and over again, it's like we've been married for years, and we're on the verge of divorce because you stopped listened years ago, only you never listened, I'm beginning to realize.” My explanation is simple.
“Ava just sign the damn agreement,” Corban pleads.
“No,” My voice is firm.
I continue to stuff things into my bag, as we get ready to go surfing, neither of us speaking to each other by the time we leave.
Not that I'm excited.
We are barely speaking to each other when we join the group.
He was the one who brought up the non-disclosure agreement. I was so close to screaming at him.
So close to slapping him.
Again.
I don't know why he does this.
Things are excellent, and then he likes to remind me, that he is paying me, and then I feel like a fraud.
I know I should just sign the damn agreement, but if I do, that means all of this isn’t real.
It means he doesn’t trust me.
I want him to trust me.
I should just sign it.
Exposure_A Stone Billionaire Series Novel Page 8