Ilaid Avery on her back, needing to see her vibrant blue eyes that had shone beyond the beauty of the extravagant room where the gala was held. Her smile helped assure me that she was as confident as I was, creating a closeness I’d never shared with any woman before, and she was so fucking beautiful that I couldn’t resist not being inside her a second longer.
“Fuck, Jim.” She writhed beneath my hands, her voice making that moan that I loved so much. “Please,” she begged as I continued to maneuver my dripping wet cock along her belly while relishing in the taste of her soft and full breast. “I need more.”
Her fingers slid through my hair, gripping it, and her legs fell slack. I ran my hands up her arms, bring them to rest in the pillows above her head.
“Can you come for me, gorgeous?” I asked, bringing one of my hands down and sliding two fingers between the seam of her heated entrance. “You’re so tight. I want you to come in my hand,” I said, massaging her pleasure spot.
Avery bit down on the corner of her lip and called out while I felt her pussy in a spasm around my fingers. “That’s it, Jim.” She moaned my name, her body moving beautifully flexed in a spasm that made me work to hold back coming then and there. She was so hypnotically sexy when she came. “Jim,” she muttered my name while she rode my hand in pleasure.
“I love hearing you call my name like that,” I said, breathless myself, feeling how hot and wet she was.
Avery smiled, her eyes still closed. “I need more, Jim, now,” she begged in a voice that called directly to my aching cock.
I forced all of my eagerness into a deep and aggressive kiss while I lined my cock up to her warm pussy. Fuck me to hell, I thought as I slowly pushed my unsheathed cock into her tight entrance. She was so wet, so hot, and this was so goddamn surreal that it halted my breath while I moved in and out, my cock feeling the warmth of a woman for the first time in my life. I’d been scared to consider this, but it was her—it was the woman who managed to breathe life back into me that made this the best fucking moment of my life.
Avery’s hands pulled out of mine, and her fingertips dug into my back as I moved slowly—to save myself from instantly exploding in her—while adjusting to this sensation of her warm juices surrounding my cock.
“Fuck.” I kissed along her cheek. “You’re so warm, tight, and fuck, Avery, this is so goddamn amazing,” I said, finding a rhythm that I could hang on to.
Avery moaned the deeper I went, accepting me fully with her legs open and knees resting on the bed. I could only imagine how sexy she looked right now, her hips pulling off the bed, and her head buried back into her pillows. She was all mine, and I could easily see she was just as taken by this as I was. Her nails dug dipper into my back the farther I slid into her.
“You’re so fucking huge,” she croaked out. “It feels so good. Damn.” She licked her lips. “This feels so fucking good.”
My cock was almost buried fully when I reached her deep spot, and her fingers went to my hair as they always did when I thrust my sensitive tip into this spot. “Harder? Tell me what you want and how you want me, gorgeous,” I said, knowing I was now in full control of holding myself back.
“Slower. God, I love you. Right there,” She moaned.
My forehead went to her chest, feeling her pussy clamping down on me. “Shit, gorgeous, you…” I was silenced when her pussy clenched around my cock tighter than before.
“I’m going to come again…” she trailed off, her hands pressing against my back.
“Come on me, gorgeous,” I pled, bringing my head up and needing to watch her. “Open your eyes. I want to see you come.” Her eyes reopened and shimmered in their blue and spellbinding color. “Come on, Avery. Let it go. I need to feel all of it.”
I reached down and massaged her clit, knowing it would send my lady over the edge.
Avery’s breath halted, and that’s when I matched her in cursing while feeling her juices around my cock more than before. I felt the pulsating spasm of her hard orgasm, pulling the cum out of me in that second.
She turned her head and I had to see those beautiful eyes while I came in her. “Look at me, gorgeous,” I said, pumping harder. “I need to see your eyes,” I begged, while I brought my hand up and gripped the low headboard behind her.
Her eyes returned to mine. “God, this feels so good,” she said, coming down, “I want all of your cum inside me,” she said, her teeth capturing my chin and then pulling at my bottom lip. “Harder,” she begged, her mouth sucking and pulling gently along my neck.
My fingers dug into the headboard. The feeling was more than I could take. Avery’s body was molded and buried beneath mine as I fucked her pussy harder and deeper than I’d ever done. I was too lost in sensations of euphoria to be gentle with her and couldn’t stop now unless she begged me.
“Holy fuck,” I growled, holding the headboard with both hands and fully burying all of myself into her. My release moved hard and in a spasm that shot violently through me, forcing another groan of pleasure out of me. “Goddamn, I love this,” I said, hearing and feeling that both of us were unraveling together.
“Oh my God.” She arched into me. “Ag…again,” she half-laughed and moaned while her teeth and mouth went to my neck. That enhanced my expanded feelings of ecstasy of this moment. “Can you feel me coming on your dick?” she asked in her raspy voice of pleasure that I loved.
My cock was sensitive and felt more than I imagined possible. “Yes,” I said, staying buried in her, but carefully shifting my body to meet her lips.
Our mouths collided and our tongues fluttered against the other to taste every ounce of each other’s kiss. Avery’s response was hard, aggressive, and it felt so perfect. All of it. With Avery taking all of me this intimately, and my cock having nothing to shield it from the only woman I ever wanted to have again—I felt more from our connection than I believed I would have. I loved her and there was nothing stopping me or straying my mind from that now.
My movements slowed. “I could fall asleep inside you like this,” I teased, kissing her nose and rolling to my back, bringing her with me. “This is the most amazing fucking feeling in the universe.”
“No shit.” Her teeth captured my chin playfully—a mannerism she always seemed to be fond of doing. “I almost bit the hell out of your neck, though,” she said, laying her head on my chest.
I cupped both of her perfect ass cheeks in my hand, not letting my cock lose its favorite place in the world just yet. “A hickey would have gotten me out of tomorrow’s conference.”
“I’ll remember that if we decide to keep at this all night.”
“You feel so amazing right now.” I ran my hands through her hair that we managed to destroy from its previously perfect style and now was cascading down my side. “All of this.” I leaned my head up and kissed the top of her head. “Fucking unreal.”
“It was, hands down, the best sex I’ve ever had.”
Her hands grazed up my sides in a way that killed every part of this moment in less than a heartbeat. “Fuck. Shit. Don’t.” I squirmed.
“What?” Avery said, her eyes devious and playful while my cock, unfortunately, fell out of the one place it could live for eternity. “Are you ticklish, Mr. Mitchell?”
I smiled. I was entirely at the mercy of this playful woman with wild eyes. “I’m just sensitive,” I lied.
“The hell you are.” She ran her hands up my sides in that damn way again, and it made my body jolt. I tightened my lips and closed my eyes. I was so fucked now. I saw it in her eyes the minute she was tuned in to my ultimate weak spot. “Well, well, well,” she said in her playful voice. “Looks like I’ve got the big bad CEO at my mercy.”
I gently maneuvered her hands away from my side and rolled her onto her back, she and I both laughing at how this had destroyed the aftermath of fantastic sex. “I’ve been at your mercy since seeing these gorgeous blue eyes and your perfect smile when we met on that plane, Avery Gilbert.”
She smiled. “I still have no idea how that incident stays with you. I was so livid pissed about that last-minute phone call from my sister, and your sorry ass got to hear all about it—the entire flight.”
“I loved every second of it. Your cussing and making the other first-class passengers uncomfortable was priceless. You, raising your voice, so I could fully grasp how shitty it was that you had to put up with whatever it was you were going on about was pretty adorable also.” I smiled, recalling how bold and captivating she was—how different it felt to be in a strong woman’s presence who didn’t give a fuck about what I or anyone else thought.
“Was I that obnoxious?”
“I was certain—and still am—that they put you on the no-fly list.” I chuckled. “Looks like you’ll be taking the private jet from here on out.”
She rolled me off of her. “Shut the hell up.” She leaned on her side, and I followed, facing her. “I kept it down, especially when I cussed.”
“Really?” I teased. “Because there was a couple—”
“No.” She arched an eyebrow at me. “Those people didn’t count. That lady was a bitch, and you know it.”
I laughed, “Why was she a bitch? Because she thought she should have the cabin to herself and the child seated in front of her quietly playing games was not to share first class with her?”
“Yes, exactly. That little boy wore his headphones, played his games, and then slept most of the way.”
“People like that woman are always in first class. They are quite annoying with their unnecessary attitudes.”
“Are they wealthy, and they just look down their noses at the rest of us?”
“Not necessarily.” I pursed my lips and tucked her hair behind her ear. “It’s usually the ones who went in debt for a first-class ticket who act like they own the plane.”
“I think it has less to do with money and more to do with manners. Maybe it’s just me.” Avery sighed. “I’m glad she was uncomfortable with me up there. It’s worth taking a boat across the pond since I’m on the no-fly list now.”
I laughed. “As fun as that might seem, when you and Addy are able to join me on trips to London, we’re probably going to be flying on my plane.”
“You have a goddamn plane on top of everything else?”
“As I mentioned to that joker earlier, you have to actually work and work hard to be where you want to be. I didn’t take handouts; that man does. I took a company over that my dad busted his ass to build. I worked my ass off in school to graduate at the top of my class, and my dad made me start at the bottom of Mitchell and Associates and work up from there. I earned that chair after he passed, and it made it easier to assume the monumental role I took on after that. No one respects the trust-fund brat who steps into Daddy’s shoes straight from prep school. I wasn’t about to be one of those guys. My father wouldn’t allow any of his sons to be one of those guys, and that was well known in anyone’s company we kept. So, with all that said, I earned that airplane too.” I smiled at her. “It’s what I also find so admirable in you. I see that you have Addison first—not looking for handouts—and you’re busting your ass and letting nothing stop you from achieving a living for yourself.”
“Wrong about the handouts, though, buddy.” She playfully poked my chest. “You just ruined all of that by buying me a car. Since I have a car that I can actually depend on now, I can definitely live a little better, knowing I’ll make it from point A to point B.”
I grinned. “You don’t feel as though you earned something like the car I purchased for you?”
“That’s a tough question. Sometimes I feel like the shit in my life happens because I sort of deserve it. I mean, I don’t take any bullshit sitting down, but I seem to get my face rubbed into the ground no matter how many times I get back up to fight back. It got exhausting at times when I was always fighting for myself. The ultimate bitch, I think people would say.” She laughed. “But it all changed when I had my baby girl. Yes, life still seemed to want a piece of me at every turn, but I have more determination than ever. I have Addy to fight for now too, and I guess that makes it easier to get back up.” Her face became solemn. “Now, I feel like I’ve gotten a break—a break from the shitty hand life dealt me.” Her eyes looked soulfully into mine.
“And what was that?”
“Simple. You.” She shrugged. “I’ve never met anyone in my life who gave even half a damn about me as you do. Who knows, maybe the plane crashed on my way to London, your dreamy face was the last thing I saw, and this is all my slice of heaven. Here I thought I lived a life that would surely send my ass straight to hell.” She laughed.
“Straight to hell, eh?” I ran my hand along the beautiful curve of her body, from her shoulders, down her sides, and over her hips. “What happened when you were growing up? You said you were afraid of Addison going into the system should you fight for full custody of her.”
Her eyes diverted from mine, and she frowned. “I don’t think anyone would believe it. I was shocked that Derek’s parents believed it, but they knew my foster mom after my sister hung out with one of their friends for a while. When I came back home, they already knew my story, so I didn’t have to share it.”
I continued to run my hand along her side. “Avery, I’m not any of them. I’m the man who cares for you more than you know. Tell me what happened.”
“Well, I’m no saint,” she said.
“All children are products of their parents’ behaviors,” I said, trying to lighten her up some. Her expression had me concerned. “However, you mentioned that you ran away from home, so was there no parental figure in your life?”
“My mom died when I was five,” she said softly. “I guess she had that shit coming. She brought all kinds of men into the house.” Avery’s eyes filled with tears.
“They didn’t fucking touch you, did they?” I instantly grew furious out of protective instinct.
“No.” She shook her head. “My mom took them into another room. At the time, I didn’t like the noises she made. It scared me. As you can imagine, she was using her body to pay the bills.”
I watched Avery shiver, and I almost did the same as I imagined my beautiful woman as a sweet, five-year-old girl, having to deal with that horror. “Oh my God,” I said softly. “They pulled you out of that shit hole then?”
“No.” She laughed in disgust. “I found my mom unconscious on the floor. The child in me couldn’t understand why her mom wasn’t talking or waking up. I dialed 911—probably the only thing my mom had ever taught me to do, if anything were to happen—and that’s when things changed.” She exhaled. “I found out later that my mom had overdosed.”
“That’s when they put you in the care of a foster family?” Holy fucking shit, and here I thought Jacob and I had it bad growing up. “I never found my mother dead on the ground. I just was aware that she was bringing men home to fuck and feed her addiction behind my dad’s back—that’s nothing like finding your mom gone at five years old.”
“My foster family at the time was worse than living at home with my mom, bringing guys in for money. Those mother fuckers starved all of us children. They locked the cabinets and fridge, and at the time, no one came to check out the living arrangements. I just remember always being so goddamn hungry all the time.”
I tightened my lips. “And with the way my girl loves to eat, I can definitely see you fleeing the house.”
Avery didn’t laugh. I’d thrown her back in time, and I could tell she was reliving this nightmare. “The psychiatrist said that is probably the reason why I feel like I’m hungry all the time. Dr. Maxwell said that after I brought it up as a joke, but it makes sense, I guess. Anyway, after running away at ten years old and getting caught, the law dealt with those people and shut them down. That’s when I moved in with my grandma. Unfortunately, she couldn’t get past the death of her daughter after five years, and so she took her own life. Maybe it was seeing me that made her do it? I have no idea. Sometimes, when I think about it, it feels like it was my fault. I have no idea, except to state what I always say when shit goes south—my fucking life and luck it would have happened after I moved in.”
“Avery, are you fucking kidding me?” I asked, totally floored by this revelation. “Your grandmother took you in, then fucking killed herself?”
“It was all bad,” she said. “I didn’t grow up on the right side of the tracks, so the saying goes. I survived it all, though. I’m here. I have Addy, and I’m happy.” She ran her hand along my cheek. “Even before you, I found a way to be happy. I’m sure I have issues—in fact, I know I have fucking issues from all of that shit. It’s why I ran away from Jill’s and lived in Santa Cruz. At thirteen years old, I was a hellion. Anyone who was trying to lay down rules for my own good, I would flip them off, and so finally, I took off on Jill. It’s why Britney is the way she is with me too. I fucked Jill over, and Brit knew it. I lived outside of life’s reach for hurting me. That’s how it felt anyway, but the truth is that all it did was destroy me. I tried to clean my shit up, and then there was Derek. And you’re pretty much up to speed on that now.”
“I think you’re one of the most profound and strongest women I’ve ever met. I’ve never known anyone to deal with so much tragedy and come out the other side. To go through that nightmare—” I stopped and smiled. “Yes, I’m reading between the lines here as you don’t need to divulge details to me for me to grab onto the point. However, if you ever want to talk about this—any of this—I’m here. Always.”
“I know. I guess I should have spoken up about my past a while ago.”
“I understand childhood trauma isn’t something people bring up on a first date. You have no reason to feel obligated to have done so sooner. I can only imagine the strength it takes to talk about it at all, so please know that I’m glad you told me now,” I said, bringing my lips to hers. “I will do everything in my power to make sure you and Addy are happy and well taken care of. I swear to God, if there’s anything I can do, I’ll do it. If the house is too fucking big and you want to move into a nice neighborhood with children playing around? I’ll buy us a place that will suit us three together.”
“You weren’t messing around when we went down this road tonight, were you?”
“No,” I said. “It might not be a marriage proposal, but it’s everything like that and more. When the time is right—for you and Addy—to trust me, you’ll be my missus.”
“Might want to hold off on the suburbs, champ. At the rate you’re going, we’ll be married tomorrow night.”
“Here at the gala?”
She smirked. “It’s probably the nicest décor in a room I’ve ever seen. Who needs wedding planners when you have it all set and ready?”
“Guests all including doctors, board members, investors, and executives?”
“Why not?” She laughed. “Someone’s gotta show up for the wedding of the century.”
“You, Avery,” I brought her into my arms, “are seriously too much. And don’t think I didn’t pay attention to the neighborhood you currently live in. If anything, I’ll buy you the house in the suburbs right now, and I’ll move in when you’re ready to bring me into your life like that.”
“What if Addy and I don’t want you to move in?”
I laughed. “Well, that will suck really fucking bad because I would very much like to come home to both of you one day.”
“Call me a spoiled little bitch,” she poked my ribcage, “but I’d rather live in your resort in the Hills. In the city but still high above it. Rooftop sex?”
“Rooftop sex?” I arched an eyebrow at her, and suddenly my dick wanted to enter the conversation. “You can move in tomorrow night after we land. Your car is being delivered there anyway.”
“Let’s go slow for Addison.”
“Let me find you a better neighborhood, then, or I’m sleeping on your fucking couch.”
“No,” Avery said in this commanding, yet charming voice. “Derek has no idea we live there. He’s our only threat, and that’s when he’s high. Other than that, Addy and I are safe. I love that you care, but I don’t need to be taken care of like that. In this department, I need us to move a bit slower.”
“I know you are perfectly capable of taking care of yourself and Addy. Okay, fine,” I sighed and conceded. “For now, though.”
“For now,” she simply stated. “I know we’re trying to play a heavy commitment game, but trust me on this, okay?”
“Avery, I won’t hurt you. I promise you that.”
“I know,” she said, but I saw the sadness in her eyes, sadness as if I’d already hurt her but had no idea what I’d done.
“Hey,” she pushed up and sat on her knees, “I’m jumping in the shower. Wanna join me?”
“You don’t even have to ask.” I sat up, pulled her into my chest, and kissed her lips. “I already want you again. It’s just about how I’m going to take your sweet little ass this time around.”
She laughed, kissing my nose. “You love to run the show in this department, so you have to share the little sexual interludes, Mr. Mitchell.”
“You realize I hate hearing that come out of your mouth, right?”
She laughed with that sweet, scratchy, sexy laugh. “Well, you are Mr. Mitchell, the fucking CEO of the company I work for.”
“We have to find you another job,” I said, rolling my eyes. “To everyone I have to be an asshole, I’m Mr. Mitchell. To you, I’m Jim. I love hearing you say my name like you do. No nicknames, no professional work titles—I’m Jim to you. The Jim that enjoyed every minute of having you with me in England and having you back in my arms again.”
“Oh shit.” She covered her smile. “Ash told me about Jake using Mitch as his alias when he screwed her before they knew each other. Their one-night stand?”
“That shithead used the name the guys call me sometimes. He used it every time he messed around and screwed women over. And guess who was getting eyes on them out at the bar when the name Mitch was called? My sorry ass.”
“You’re kidding.”
“Nope.” I bit the inside of my cheek. “I almost got decked by some prick whose girl cheated on him with my brother.”
“Are there any chicks still hunting for this player named Mitch?”
“I haven’t been looked at oddly, nor have we gone to any of those bars recently.”
“I think it’s funny as hell if I’m honest.” Avery got up, and now my eyes were on her perfect ass, “Are you coming, Mitch?” She stopped and laughed, looking back at me as I followed her, unamused.
“You just realized you killed the moment for me, right?”
She laughed while I went to turn on the shower. “I killed the moment for myself.”
“No shit.” I laughed at her. “What do you say we ease Addy out of the Mitch name?”
“She loves her friend Mitch.”
“Perhaps one day, I’ll be more than a friend then.” I smiled.
Avery grabbed my cock, and I jumped in shock as she started pumping my dick in her hand. “It might be a long night for you and me, Jim.”
“That wouldn’t bother me at all.”
We stepped into the shower and my inward hope of seeing Avery’s lips wrapped around my cock happened. One thing was for sure: this woman and I would not be leaving each other’s sides any time soon.
I knew that, as much as I wanted her one-hundred-percent, I needed to take things slowly and carefully, and I needed Avery to take the lead with Addy. I was deeply devoted to Avery, yes, and even though I felt that sure of this, the reality was that we needed much more time. We hadn’t been together long, but I knew—without a shadow of a doubt—there was no one else in the world that I’d rather be with. I knew it from the first time I saw her and became more than intrigued with her. Call it love at first sight, call it hopeless romanticism, call it crazy, but I knew this was worth everything. More than all of this though, the heart and innocence of a child was involved, and Addison’s well-being had to be considered over my desire to beg for both of them to be in my life forever. Avery was a single mom who knew how to manage this better than I. This would be the first time I released the control over anything I wanted to pursue. If I truly loved Avery, I would respect her wishes in how we approached our relationship with Addison involved as well.
