Getting Ava

by Hope Carter

  “I’m glad that you’re okay. I told Greg that sending you to New York to cover that protest with Sawyer wasn’t a good idea.”

  Ava shifted away from the circle of John’s arm with an uncomfortable smile. As much as she enjoyed John’s company as a friend and co-worker, he had a habit of trying to press her for more.

  “Sawyer got me out of trouble,” she corrected. “I would’ve been shot if he didn’t grab me out of the crowd.”

  “Right,” John said, voice laced with skepticism. “Well, either way. I’m glad that you’re back to work. I’ll walk with you.”

  Ava sighed inwardly, but she followed John across the parking lot. She half-listened to him talk about one of the basketball games he had attended the night before. Her thoughts were directed right at Sawyer and how it was going to feel to see him for the first time since being back. It was her idea to forget about what happened, but that was the problem. She couldn’t forget about how Sawyer’s hands on her bare skin had felt, or the way he sounded when he came inside her.

  Her body tingled at the memory of it. The aroma of freshly brewed coffee greeted Ava when they entered the office. She started in the direction of her cubicle when John stopped her again.

  “Did you hear me?”

  “What?” she asked and turned to give him a tired and apologetic smile. “I’m sorry. I just have a lot on my mind this morning, John.”

  “I asked if you would want to go to the game with me tonight. I have courtside tickets and it could be fun.” He took a step closer with a hopeful smile. “Get your mind off things, you know. You rarely ever do anything outside of work.”

  A headache pounded in Ava’s temples. She needed caffeine and Tylenol to curb the way her body felt torn between exhaustion and nerves. Sensing that John wasn’t going to let her go without an answer, Ava adjusted the strap of her purse and took a step in the direction of her desk.

  “I’ll think about it,” she told him. “I have to go hand in my draft to Greg.”

  John nodded.

  “You have my number. Text me if you think you can go.”

  Relieved to be in the privacy and protection of her cubicle, Ava snuck in a glance over at Sawyer’s office. The door was open, the light clicked on, but she refused to walk over there. She didn’t trust herself to see him. Unpacking her computer, she grabbed her printed draft and went straight to Greg’s office.

  “Morning,” she said when Greg looked up from a stack of papers he was reading through. “I have my draft here if you want to read through it.”

  “Wonderful,” Greg replied, motioning for her to close his office door. “I’m glad you’re here, Ava. Close the door and sit down.”

  Heart pounding, she did what she was told.. Ava handed the draft over before sitting on the edge of the chair directly across from Greg and forced her bouncing legs to remain still. She watched while Greg skimmed through the pages quickly before he set it on the desk in front of him.

  “How are you feeling?” Greg asked, folding his hands in front of him.

  “I’m fine.” She tried to gauge the expression on his face. “I’m happy to be back at work though.”

  “Good. I’m glad that you are.”

  Silence fell between them. Swallowing the nervous ball stuck in the center of her throat, Ava waited for Greg to speak, to tell her that he knows what she and Sawyer did while on company time.

  “I don’t know if Sawyer told you,” Greg started, shifting in his chair, “but, I told him that we would run his piece on this story.”

  Ava’s mouth fell open in shock. “I-I thought you wanted me to write this piece. That’s why I brought the draft and--”

  “It’s a great draft from what I read,” Greg interrupted with an assuring nod. “It shows me that you have potential as a writer, but I’ve already put Sawyer’s piece on the front page.”

  “He sent you a draft while we were in New York?”

  “The next day. It was national news. I had to run it quickly.”

  Speechless, she dropped her gaze to hide the tears that were forming there. The bastard had told her to take her time in writing the article, only to turn in his first. Anger burned the inside of Ava’s chest.

  “Ava?”

  “I’m sorry,” she said. “I’m just a bit surprised since Sawyer didn’t mention a damn thing to me about sending you his draft first.”

  Greg arched his eyebrows at the nastiness beneath her words.

  “He’s a professional. This is his whole career, writing pieces like this that grab national headlines. I sent you to learn a few things from him because I believe you will be at his status in a few years.”

  “I appreciate your confidence,” Ava said through clenched teeth. “Do you mind if I--” She gestured at the door sharply. “I have a few things to get done.”

  “Of course.”

  Closing the door to Greg’s office gently as possible, Ava stalked in the direction of Sawyer’s office. Anger bubbled in her stomach when she reached his office door that was shut. She could hear the rumble of his voice from inside. A shudder went up her spine when she remembered how much deeper his voice went with desire.

  She shoved that aside and pushed the door open to step inside. Sawyer twisted around in his office chair to look at her with his phone pressed up against his ear. It took everything in her not to absorb every detail about him from the crisp grey pants he wore and the buttercream button-up shirt. His eyes flashed in irritation when Ava marched right up to his desk, placing her hands on her hips.

  “Let me call you back,” Sawyer said and lowered his phone down. “I was in the middle of an important conversation before you barged in here.”

  “You sent in a draft to Greg when we were in New York.”

  He arched an eyebrow. “So? You knew that. You were working on your draft back in New York.”

  “I wanted this, Sawyer. I wanted to show Greg that I could step up to the challenge and do something outside of my comfort zone.”

  “I know that you can,” he said, voice dripping down with desire. “From personal experience, obviously.”

  Her skin tightened with desire. That surge of bravery fueled on by anger drifted away when she realized that they were alone in his office with the door shut. Clenching her thighs together, Ava shook her head at him.

  “That’s not what I meant,” she said, breathless. “I meant that this opportunity was important to me.”

  “I didn’t ask for Greg to run my piece.” He leaned back in his chair, stretching out with his arms folded behind his head. “I did my job. Despite everything that happened, I still had to write.”

  “I did my job, too,” she insisted, glaring when a cocky smile appeared on his lips. “You told me not to worry about sending this draft in. Admit it. You wanted first dibs on this story.

  Sawyer rose from his chair with such fluidity that it took Ava by surprise. He reached up to adjust the knot of his tie while he walked around his desk, approaching her with confidence. She rolled her fingers up into clenched fists and refused to back down from him. Not after what he had done.

  He stood less than a few inches away from her. The hair on the back of Ava’s neck stood on edge from the tension between them. Every time she inhaled, it was that unique masculine musk clinging to Sawyer’s skin that filled her lungs.

  “I didn’t want first dibs on the story,” Sawyer said calmly. “I didn’t even want you to go with me to New York because it was too dangerous. In case you forgot, I was the one that saved you from being gunned down.”

  Her courage was wavering by the second. Why did everything about him have to be so dominating? With his career, life, and sex life— Ava shut the thought off when her mind wandered back to that night.

  “My point is that you took away something that meant a lot to me,” she said. “You weren’t my first pick either to go on this assignment with, but I thought you would have a bit of respect to see that the spotlight can be on someone else for a change.”

>   Sawyer’s eyes narrowed darkly at that.

  “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

  “It means game on.”

  The words fell out of Ava’s mouth before she could think about it. The surprise on Sawyer’s face matched her own. Horrified at how she was behaving, she turned on her heel to dash out of his office before anything else could be said or done.

  Ava returned to her cubicle, body burning the entire time. She never acted like this, but something about Sawyer had pulled it out from somewhere deep inside of her. It wasn’t just about the story. It was about the night that they had spent together, and how he had pulled out all these feelings from her without even trying.

  She had challenged him. There were no doubts in her mind that Sawyer would do everything in his power to win, but she wouldn’t cave in. Not again. He wouldn’t win.

  Chapter Eight

  It means game on.

  Sawyer’s cock throbbed with need. Those four little words out of Ava’s mouth had his fantasies running wild. The smell of her soap, cucumber, and mint lingered in his office. He adjusted himself with a frustrated sigh and fought the urge to chase after Ava when she fled from his office.

  It had been a dick move on his part when he sent in his draft first, knowing well that Greg would publish it, but he didn’t let anything get in the way of his job. He had worked too damn hard to let anything get in the way.

  Sitting back down behind his desk, Sawyer twisted around in his chair to stare out his office window. Bright sunshine filled the city streets below him, and in the distance, he could see the coastline merging with cloudless blue skies. He had managed to stay away from Ava throughout the rest of their time in New York until Greg called with their flight information. He didn’t like crossing certain lines when it came to women, and part of crossing that line was getting to know them.

  His last relationship had ended sourly when he came home from Iraq to find his fridge full of spoiled food and a letter from his ex-girlfriend explaining that she couldn’t be alone anymore. That letter had been placed there two days after he left for Iraq. He drank a lot then to numb the sting of it but to try and forget what he had seen over in the vast desert. That’s when he had promised to put himself first in everything that he did. Including sex.

  “What the hell, man?”

  Sawyer glanced over his shoulder to find his best friend and fellow writer, Keith Lowe, standing in the doorway of his office. The irritation combined with the ache in his balls only fueled on his foul mood more.

  “Don’t you knock?” He snapped, tapping on the keyboard of his laptop to wake it back up. “I have work to do, Keith.”

  “I did knock,” Keith said. “You were staring out the window. Why did Ava Jacobs come storming out of your office?”

  “Does it matter?” Sawyer asked, focusing on his computer to avoid Keith’s stare.

  “Not really.” Shutting the door, Keith took a seat across from Sawyer. “I do know how you are when it comes to women though.”

  Sawyer set his fingers on the keyboard pointedly. “Do you mind? I have work to do.”

  “What is going on with you and Ava?” Keith asked.

  “Nothing,” he said, flatly. “Why?”

  A knowing smirk spread across Keith’s face. He leaned back in the chair, crossing his arms over his chest while he studied Sawyer.

  “Because I’ve seen how you look at her. I’m not talking about now, either.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about. There isn’t anything going on between us.”

  “So, you wouldn’t care if John from sports takes her out tonight?”

  Sawyer stiffened at the question. Jealousy seared straight through him. Swallowing the knot in his throat, he tried to keep his expression indifferent. The thought of another guy, especially pale and measly John, touching Ava filled him with hot rage. He lifted his fingers away from the keyboard grip the edge of his desk.

  “Where did you hear that?” he asked through clenched teeth, willing his heart to calm down.

  “From John. He’s been chasing Ava since the day she started.” Keith gave him a long and hard stare. “Are you sure there isn’t anything going on between the two of you?”

  Sawyer swept an aggravated hand through his hair. He had no claim over Ava. Their night together back in New York was a fling, a night of passion that they both had needed to get through their emotions. He didn’t expect a relationship to come from their time together, but he didn’t like the idea of Ava being in another man’s arms aside from his own. He hated it.

  “Yeah,” he managed to reply. “Nothing is going on.”

  “You sure?”

  “Are you going to sit here and annoy the shit out of me for the rest of the day?” Sawyer grumbled, desperate to get Keith out of his office. “I have things to do. Unlike you, apparently.”

  Keith rose out of his chair with a knowing smirk. “I’ll get out of your way. I was just curious is all.”

  After the door to his office clicked shut, Sawyer ripped his tie away from around his neck and undid the top button of his shirt. He glared down at his computer screen, knowing damn well that he wouldn’t be able to write with his body hot with lust and jealousy. He needed to move. He needed to do something to get Ava out of his head.

  Sawyer weaved in and out of cubicles with his eyes fixated on the breakroom. He glanced only once in the direction of Ava’s desk to find it empty. That angry knot in his stomach tightened even more. Pushing the door open, he stopped short in surprise to find Ava alone and warming a cup of coffee in the microwave. He got a brief and admiring glimpse of her ass from beneath the fabric of her navy blue pencil skirt that hugged her legs and hips like a second skin. His hand itched to trace the bumps of her spine again and to feel that sweet heat between her legs.

  No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t get Ava out of his head. She consumed his thoughts and once was not enough. He had to have her again.

  Ava glanced over her shoulder and froze. The microwave dinged before it powered off, but she didn’t move to grab her coffee. He let the door click shut behind him, drowning out the muffled chatter and phones ringing in the office.

  “What are you doing?” Ava asked, a nervous wobble in her voice..

  “Nothing,” he said, sharper than he intended. “What are you doing?”

  She gestured at the microwave. “Heating up my coffee before I get to work.”

  “I meant what are you doing with John.”

  “Excuse me?” Her eyes narrowed at him. “That’s none of your business, Sawyer. Where did you hear--”

  “You’re right. It’s none of my business,” Sawyer interrupted, and took a step closer to her. “Everyone in the office knows about it because he told everyone.”

  Various emotions flashed in Ava’s eyes before she settled on a neutral expression, tilting her chin up to meet his gaze. “It’s none of your business what I do and who I hang out with. Why do you even care?”

  “I don’t care,” he said coolly.

  “Okay,” Ava said, twisting back around to push a button on the microwave. “I’m glad we had this talk then.”

  His balls tightened with need. Unable to fight it any longer, Sawyer closed the gap between their bodies. A gasp escaped Ava’s lips when he reached around to grip her firmly by the wrists, placing her palms down on the counter. He expected her to protest, to push him away as she had done before, but Ava’s body melted against him. The ache in his body became an unbearable throb when he pushed his hard cock up against the flesh of her ass, moaning in the back of his throat at the friction when he ground himself up against her.

  “I could take you like this again,” Sawyer whispered, burying his nose into her sweet smelling hair. “Right here. Right now.”

  “Sawyer, we can’t.”

  “Just tell me that you want it.”

  Ava tugged a hand away from the curl of his fingers. She stroked the skin of his forearm, leaving trails of goosebumps
before stopping at the curve of his elbow.

  “I do want it,” she said, softly, “but, we can’t do this again.”

  “Why?”

  Sawyer reached down to stroke the smooth skin of her right calf with his fingertips. His cock jerked at the heat of her skin. A shudder rolled through Ava’s body in response, but she pulled Sawyer’s hand away before it could disappear up the hemline of her skirt.

  “Because we both love our jobs,” Ava said, glancing over her shoulder at him. “And because I know that you can’t commit to a relationship.”

  Sawyer gritted his teeth in aggravation. He loosened his grip, a bit reluctantly, before taking a step back to let the cold office air seep between them.

  “Why do women do that?” he asked, sighing.

  “Do what?”

  “Bring up commitment and relationships. Why?”

  Retrieving her coffee mug from the microwave, Ava turned around to give him a long and assessing look. Her cheeks were a rosy color from her arousal, and despite her clothes blocking his view, Sawyer knew that the rest of her body had turned that color.

  “Because it’s what healthy adults do,” she said.

  “You didn’t fight it this last weekend,” Sawyer pointed out, watching how her eyes glazed over briefly at the memory. “If you’re pissed about Greg running my piece--”

  “I am pissed.”

  “It wasn’t my call to run it.”

  Ava sighed, shaking her head at him.

  “I made a mistake being with you this past weekend. I’m not like the women you normally slum it up with. I actually want a relationship with someone that I can depend on to be there in the morning.”

  “And you think I can’t be like that?” Sawyer demanded. “I’m enjoying my life. It’s a bit hard to have a relationship with anyone when you travel as much as I do.”

  “I’m not saying that you’re wrong. All I’m saying is that we can’t have sex again. It won’t be good news for either one of us.”

  “Ava--”

  She gripped her coffee mug tightly in one hand and sidestepped him to exit the break room. Sawyer slammed his palm in frustration against the counter. Even if he didn’t want to admit it, Ava was right. He couldn’t commit himself to a relationship because the thought of it sent him into a blind panic. They both had jobs to do at the end of the day. He had already broken one cardinal rule of his by mixing pleasure with work. He had to pull away before any of his other rules were broken.