“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 finally 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.
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.
Before she could prepare, his tongue slithered over her lips and she squirmed. It tickled with pleasure – a sensation she had never felt before. She let out a muffled moan.
“Don’t do that.” Her eyes met his. “I want to hear all the sounds you make when you come all over my face.”
Damn.
He went back to his attack on her senses before she had a chance to gather her bearings. He was skilled and thorough, applying the perfect amount of pressure at a perfectly timed speed. His hands held her knees apart, opening her sex wide so he could get full access to every inch of skin.
Before she knew it, there was a constant stream of sensation building up in her loins. It started slow at first, to the point where she didn’t even realize it was happening. But then she felt it and her breathing got heavier. He kept his pace, not changing one minute of it despite her shift – she was thrusting against his mouth, groaning and moaning louder than she thought was possible, curling her fingers in the silky bedsheets beneath her.
“Ohgodohgodohgod.”
And then, it was that moment when you missed your step while running up a flight of stairs, when the elevator paused before descending vertically, when you fell. And it exploded through her body like a million bees depositing honey. The buzzing, the thrumming, the rolls of thick waves that washed over her.
So this was what they meant when they said they saw stars.
Lucas didn’t stop until she physically pushed him off of her with shaking hands. She couldn’t take it anymore. She was too sensitive. She felt too much.
“God damn,” he said, and Avery couldn’t tell if he was referring to her or if he was talking to himself. It didn’t seem to matter. “You taste fucking delicious.”
Again, Avery had no idea what to say to that. But that was okay, because she was already half asleep. Before she knew it, slumber consumed her and she drifted off into bliss wrapped in Lucas’s strong arms.
14
Avery woke up just as the morning did. Sunlight peeked through the curtains and she stifled a yawn and sat up. Lucas was lying on his side of the bed - when did she have a side on his bed? - his body completely sprawled out, his arm over his forehead casting shadows across his face. There was a slight bit of scuff littering the lower half of his face, which was off since she was certain he had shaved the previous day.
He was beautiful. There was no way around it, really. And after last night, she realized he was her friend. She liked his company. She went to him when she was worried and scared and confused. And he was deliriously attractive. He was all man, which meant he was all wolf, because with Lucas, you couldn't have one without the other. He was built and somewhat tall, perhaps just shy of six feet. He wasn't the strongest or the biggest alpha male but he was definitely the smartest man she knew, besides her father. In fact, Avery thought it would be magic if her father and him actually met. They would make excellent business partners and Avery knew her father did not share the same prejudices her mother did.
He had done so much for her the past couple of weeks. She wished she could do something for him in return. And then her mind took hold of an idea that caused her eyes to shift back over to his sleeping form and her cheeks to turn a shade of pink.
Avery couldn't explain it but she had this desire to please him. She swallowed. She had never pleased a guy before. Rick had constantly asked for it during the beginning of their courtship but she had always brushed him off, ignoring him and assuming that all men were the same, that they all asked their girlfriends to do that sort of thing for them. It was a game.
But then she met Lucas and he hadn't asked for it at all. Even though they weren't typically girlfriend-boyfriend, they were most definitely something and she supposed it wouldn't have been far-fetched if he had pressured her for it, especially since she had asked him to show her how to please a man, how to ensure his affection through a physical means.
&
nbsp; And, for some reason, this made her want to give it to him. It made her want to please him. She had never done it before so she hoped she wouldn't be terrible at it. She had seen women do it before in porn and it didn't seem too difficult to figure out. As long as her mouth was around his member and she was enthusiastic, she had a good feeling she'd be able to pull it off.
Her face was red even though she wanted to do this. She slowly crawled over his body, her eyes on his body, seeing what would occur should he wake up. As far as she was aware, he was still sleeping. His chest raised and fell rhythmically, and she knew if she placed her head on the crook of his arm, she’d fall back asleep once more.
She slid underneath the covers and sucked in a breath. Her fingers reached up and slid his boxers down as far as they would go, leaving his member out. Avery’s mouth dropped open at the sight of it. Cocks weren’t the most attractive thing on a male body, and while Lucas’s was a sizable cock, it was intriguing to say the least. She had never seen one before, especially up close, and she almost changed her mind about doing anything with it at all. But then, something inside of her urged her forward. Something inside of her wanted to be the reason it got hard. She wanted to claim it as hers.
The thought struck her with such surprise, she almost prolonged putting him into her mouth.
Except, she didn’t. Instead, she placed her hands on his thighs and put his entire length into her mouth. Careful not to bite him, she curled her lips over her teeth and swirled her tongue around him. She felt him twitch but he did not wake up.
Her eyes closed of their own accord. Her throat loosened up and she could feel him start to harden while in her mouth. She slid him out in order to catch her breath, in order to try and prepare herself for him as he stood erect. There was no way she’d be able to take him in at his hardest.
An Education in Business: A Somerset Novel (Somerset Series Book 3) Page 8