I PARKED outside Avery’s place just before eight. Dinner with my family had been moved to another night after my mom found out about Avery and me going to prom, and after Div informed me the only limo in town was booked by a group of teenagers, my dad had insisted I pick Avery up in his Porsche.
It was an emerald-green 1989 Porsche 911, and my dad’s pride and joy. He was a simple guy, not materialistic at all, often wore t-shirts with small holes in them. All his clothes were purchased by my mother, and growing up, he had taught us to fix things instead of buying something new.
But this car, he loved this car. He normally kept it in the garage under a cover and only drove it out when there was zero chance of rain.
I had begged him to take the car to pick Nat up for prom seventeen years ago, and finally, he relented.
My shoulders tensed, thinking about that day, and I shook my head to myself as I made my way up the gravel path beside Avery’s house. It was seventeen years ago. It wasn’t a big deal.
Something crunched under my foot as I turned the corner into the backyard—a beer can. There were a lot of them, strewn around the yard.
“Hey, bud.” A guy in his twenties with shoulder-length blond hair and an unbuttoned Hawaiian shirt perched on the wall bordering a small patio. A few other guys sat on lawn chairs held together with duct tape. I recognized the Hawaiian shirt guy, he worked for Wyatt at the surf shop in the summers. The rank smell of weed hung in the air.
Summer workers. They flocked to Queen’s Cove for the waves, babes, and parties. I’d have bet this house was subdivided into at least four rental units, and none of it was done to code.
I tilted my chin at him. “Hey.”
“Nice suit. You here to pick up Laser?” he asked with a smirk.
I raised an eyebrow. “Laser?”
He pointed upstairs at Avery’s apartment. “The chick’s a natural at beer pong.” He mimed the throwing motion and made a pew noise. “Like a laser.”
Something possessive and grumpy flared in my chest.
Normally, I’d stop to chat with these guys. Ask them where they’re from, how long they’re in town, how are they liking it here, yada yada. I liked chatting with people. I liked getting to know people.
There was something about this guy I didn’t like, though. I didn’t like that he had a nickname for Adams. I didn’t like how much I didn’t like him. I wasn’t like this. This wasn’t who I was.
“Who are you, her accountant?” one of his friends asked and they dissolved into laughter.
The guy stopped laughing when he realized I was giving him my most intimidating glare. The one I used when clients tried to swindle Rhodes Construction out of payment. My no fucking way look.
“I’m her fiancé.” My voice was gritty.
Hawaiian shirt guy’s eyebrows rose. “For real, bro?”
“For real.” I climbed the stairs without another word and opened Avery’s front door.
“Honey, I’m home,” I called as I stepped inside. My pulse picked up as I climbed the stairs. I was nervous about prom, which was stupid because it was a dance for teenagers, what did I have to be nervous about?
“I’m almost ready, be out in a second.” Her voice came from another room.
I wandered further into the little apartment and searched for a glass. The first cabinet was filled with instant noodle packages. I shook my head with disappointment. Sad. So sad. The drawer below was stuffed with takeout menus, chopsticks, and soy sauce packages.
Her fridge was even more barren. Mustard, oat milk, and a carton of eggs.
“You eat like a frat boy.”
“Stop snooping!” she called back.
I found a glass, poured myself some water, then wandered into the living room and took a seat on the couch. Where was her TV? A laptop lay on the floor beside the couch, plugged in and charging, and a big book on vintage fashion sat on the scratched wooden coffee table. The walls were barren. This place looked like college housing, temporary and bland and expressionless.
“Thanks for waiting.” She breezed past me into the living room, and I caught the scent of her spicy citrus perfume.
My head whipped in her direction. She wore a floor-length emerald-green velvet dress with tiny little straps. Her hair was loose and wavy around her shoulders and my fingers twitched with the urge to touch her. She turned and looked at me, sitting on the couch, and my gaze dropped to where her neckline plunged.
She gave me an appreciative eyebrow wiggle. “You look good.” She winked.
Lust rattled through me like a freight train, and I clenched my hands at my sides. My cock ached with the need to haul her into her bedroom and sink deep into her. I couldn’t tell what she had done with her makeup, but she was gorgeous. Natural and sweet and pretty. A delicate silver chain hung around her neck, and my gaze slid down to the slight cleavage above her neckline. Was she wearing a bra? I couldn’t tell.
I frowned. Where had that come from? Jesus Christ, Rhodes. I cleared my throat and dragged my gaze away from her. Anywhere but her.
The wall. The wall was a good place to look.
My gaze was back to her tits. Jesus Christ, Adams was hot. She always wore those blazers over t-shirts, so I couldn’t see anything. I bet her tits were incredible. I bet they felt incredible.
Wait, she said something.
“What?” I asked her, swallowing and trying to ignore how hard I was.
She gave me a funny look. “I said you look good. That suit looks great on you.”
“Thanks.” My voice sounded hoarse.
Think about turtles. Turtles are gross. They’re slimy.
Good. This was helping.
I cleared my throat. “That suit looks great on you, too.” What? “I mean, you do, too. Look good. You look good, too.”
She snorted. “Are you okay?”
“Yes.” My cock throbbed and I tried not to picture her in the decoy underwear I had bought. I shouldn’t have bought those. What a mistake. The image of her wearing them had been sneaking into my head at the most inconvenient times.
Avery wandered over to me and placed her hand on my shoulder. Her perfume wafted into my periphery again and I had the overwhelming urge to bury my face in her neck and huff her into my soul.
She leaned down to look at me, giving me a front-row seat to her goddamn incredible tits, right in my face.
“You look weird.”
“I’m fine,” I rasped as I held on for dear life to my control. “Can I have some water?”
I just needed to get her tits out of my face before I said or did something very stupid.
“You have some right there.” She picked up my glass and handed it to me.
Right. Shit.
I rubbed my hand over my face and inhaled, trying to calm myself. My cock throbbed with need. I should have jerked off in the shower before tonight. I had been putting that off lately because I had a sneaking suspicion the second my hand wrapped around myself, I wouldn’t be able to get Avery out of my head.
“Right. Thanks.” I took it from her and downed the glass while she watched with a small grin. “Where’s your TV?” I was desperate to change the subject.
She leaned down to slip her heels on and again, I couldn’t tear my gaze from her perfect tits. An image of me yanking the dress down and running my tongue over her pinched nipples played in my head. Fuck.
She shrugged. “Don’t have one.”
Turtles. Slimy turtles staring at you. Turtle crawling on your bed. Avery crawling on your bed. Shit. No.
“Hannah said you love old movies.” My voice sounded far away. Hannah had told me this when I asked her about engagement rings.
“I watch them on my laptop.”
“Your laptop is a thousand years old. They found it in an Egyptian tomb.”
She grinned at me and stood. “Are you ready, or do you want to continue staring at my tits all night?”
Our eyes locked and a laugh burst out of my chest. Busted. “Why not both?” A sly smile grew on my face.
Avery locked up and my hand came to her elbow as we descended the stairs.
“Uh oh, Laser’s on the loose!” that fucking Hawaiian shirt guy called from the patio. He wiggled his eyebrows at her and his gaze also snagged on her neckline.
Any grin on my face dropped when he looked at her like that. My hand slipped around her waist and I locked her to my side.
Hawaiian Shirt Fuckface leaned in further to her chest. “Is that the vintage moonstone pendant you got a couple weeks ago?”
She nodded with enthusiasm and her hand brushed the necklace. “It sure is.”
He leaned in further to study the necklace and white rage flooded my veins. “What a piece.” He grinned lazily up at her. My teeth gritted and my jaw was tense. I was staring a hole through this guy’s skull.
A thought struck me like a punch in the gut. Avery only hooked up with summer workers. I didn’t know if it was a rule, but it was a general guideline. I thought back to our conversation about discreetly dating on the side.
What if, at one point, she had something going with this guy? What if she wanted to continue dating this guy? What if she was just waiting until we were done to hook up with him again?
My jaw clenched. This asshole had to be twenty-three or twenty-four. She didn’t have to date the guy, maybe she just used him for sex. He was just downstairs, what could be more convenient than that?
Rage rocketed through my veins and my arm tightened around her waist. God, he had a stupid face. A punchable face, that’s what Holden called faces like his, all mashed around and stupid-looking. He couldn’t even grow a proper beard.
Another feeling rattled through me—possessiveness. One word came to mind and my hand tensed over Avery’s waist.
Mine.
“We’re going to be late,” I said, steering her away to the side of the yard, away from them. I glanced over my shoulder with my best don’t fucking dare expression. “Don’t wait up for Mommy.”
“Bye, guys,” Avery called back.
I kept my hand firmly on her waist while we walked to the car. When we approached, she whistled with approval.
“Cool car.”
I winked at her, still feeling possessive. “Only the best for you, darling.”
“You know how to make a girl feel special.” She turned to me and gestured at her dress. “What do you think of the dress? Do I look good enough to be seen with Emmett Rhodes tonight?”
She put her hand on her waist and wiggled a little.
My control snapped like a rubber band. Fuck it.
I grabbed her waist and hauled her against me. Her eyes flared with surprise, and I leaned down to kiss her.
She gasped into my mouth, and I used the opportunity to taste her. I put all my confusing possessive feelings into kissing her, wrapping my arms around her to pull her close to me, tasting her. She relaxed against me.
Mine.
A little moan escaped her lips, and it went straight to my cock. Her mouth was so soft and sweet and pliant and welcoming and fucking hell, this felt incredible. My fingers tangled into her silky hair, and I grabbed a handful, pulling and giving myself more access to her mouth. I groaned into her and pressed her against the car. My erection pressed into her stomach and she pressed right back.
My head spun. Kissing Avery was like a drug I couldn’t have just a taste of, I always needed more. I could already see myself in the shower, stroking my cock and thinking about this moment with her sweet little ass in my hand while she moaned into my mouth.
My hand slipped up the soft fabric of her dress and covered one of those perfect tits. I groaned low into her mouth and the second my thumb found that pinched little peak, she whimpered and thrust against me. Desire wrenched through me. I nearly came right there.
I pushed myself off her and took a deep breath, walking a few steps away to collect myself. My cock strained in my pants, desperate to fuck her. Desperate to know what she felt like. Desperate to make her feel good.
Fuck.
I took a step toward her and looked down at her. Her chest rose and fell, and my gaze snagged on her cleavage again before dragging back up to her eyes, which were drowsy and heavy. My cock pulsed again.
“You look goddamn gorgeous tonight, Adams.”
“Thanks.” She sounded breathless.
“I don’t want you seeing other guys while we’re together.” My voice was gravelly and hard. I swallowed but maintained eye contact.
She nodded, dazed. “I know. We talked about this.”
We talked about it but I needed to make sure she was a hundred percent clear. I took another step closer and my mouth hovered inches from hers. Her dark blue eyes widened. “I’m the only one who touches you. Do you understand?”
She nodded again and her gaze slid to my mouth. She wanted more of me. She wanted my mouth back on her. If I lingered too long on that realization, she’d be over my shoulder as I hauled her back to her apartment so I could tear this dress off and show her what I could really do with my mouth.
Instead, I reached past her to open her door. Once she was inside, I stalked around to the other side, got in, and started the car. We drove for two minutes in silence before she turned to me.
“Did you think…” She narrowed her eyes at me and a little grin appeared on her lips. “…that Carter and I…” She gave me a funny look.
I swallowed again. That fucking guy.
“Emmett,” she said in a low voice, and my cock pulsed again.
Her saying my name these days did funny things to me. I heard it in my head, in different tones. I heard her gasping it, moaning it, crying it out.
“I’m not hooking up with anyone. Especially not Carter.”
“Good.”
“He’s twenty-two. And too frat-boy for my taste.”
Even the thought of her with someone else made me white-knuckle the steering wheel. “I don’t know your type. Maybe you wanted an outlet.”
She laughed. “An outlet for what?”
I swallowed again. An outlet for what we were doing against the car before. An outlet for what was making me hard more and more often these days. “Maybe you just needed someone to have sex with.”
“Oh.” She watched me and I watched the road. “And you thought some young guy who smokes pot for breakfast was who I would choose?” I could hear the grin in her voice.
“He was looking at you like he wanted that.”
She laughed. “Yeah, he’s got a little crush on me.” She shrugged. “So what?” Her mouth dropped open. “Emmett, are you jealous?”
“I don’t like it.” Especially not with him living below her, always there. Looking… with his stupid eyes. My gaze slid over to Avery, sitting there with her legs crossed and her arm draped over the door. She had rolled the window down and her hair fluttered in the wind around her shoulders. Her skin looked so soft.
“You are. You’re jealous.” Her grin was back and her gaze raked over my form with appreciation.
I didn’t answer her. I was jealous. She knew I was fucking jealous. I reached out and rested my hand on her thigh. Her breath caught in her throat and her muscles tensed under my hand for a brief moment before relaxing. Fucking hell, I was so hard. I could just turn the car around and go straight to my place.
No. Shit. What was I thinking? It wasn’t like that with us. Fucking hell. I had never been so horny and angry at the same time.
“You don’t have anything to worry about.” Her voice was soft.
“Good.” I glanced at her and then back to the road. “If you need an outlet, you call me. I’ll make you come harder than he ever could.”
A shiver rolled through her. Her thighs tensed and pressed together under my hand, and we locked eyes. Her mouth parted. “Noted.”
I turned back to the road. What was I doing? What Avery and I were doing, it was a contract, and now I was getting jealous and telling her not to see other guys? Telling her I’d make her come hard? I removed my hand from Avery’s thigh and immediately wanted to put it back, but this wasn’t what she signed up for. Guilt and frustration hit me deep in my gut and I frowned as I drove.
Avery flicked the radio on and we arrived at the school a few minutes later. I kept my hand on her back as we walked inside.
The prom would be held inside the school gymnasium and only a few teachers had arrived. The lights had been dimmed, a few disco balls had been strung up, and gold and black balloons floated in the air. A song I recognized from the radio played. Avery squeezed my arm and a thrill sparked in my chest.
“Oh my god. This is so cool.” She grinned at me, and her eyes sparkled. “Thank you so much for agreeing to this.”
I could have laughed. I was the lucky one. I couldn’t even remember why I hesitated before saying yes to this.
Right. Because Nat had dumped me the day before my prom and went with my best friend.
I waited for the pang in my chest at the memory, but it didn’t show up. Avery shifted toward me, and the plush velvet of her dress brushed my palm.
I watched her and smiled. “No problem.” It felt like an understatement.
“Don’t you two look gorgeous.” Miri approached with her eyes lit up. “You look like movie stars. I’m going to stick you two at the drinks table.”
The teenagers began to pour in and the energy in the gym buzzed. Avery and I were occupied for the next hour at the drinks table, pouring punch and handing out napkins. It was fun, surprisingly. The kids were excited and Avery was enjoying herself, chatting with everyone and admiring the girls’ dresses and hairstyles. Scott dropped by to say hello.
“Take a break,” Miri told us. “I’ll take over from here.”
Avery handed off another glass of punch. “Are you sure?”
“Thanks, Miri.” I didn’t wait for her answer and pulled Avery toward the dance floor. “Come on, let’s show these teens how awkward we can be.”
She laughed and let me lead her out there. I grabbed her hand and spun her around, and when she smiled at me, my heart flipped in my chest. Goddamn, she was gorgeous.
We danced a few songs before a slow song came on and my hands came to her waist.
“Adams, will you slow dance with me?” I asked her in a low voice, pulling her closer.
She nodded and placed her hands behind my neck. “I haven’t slow danced like this since high school.”
I pulled her flush against me so we were essentially hugging.
“Pretty sure we need to leave room for Jesus,” she murmured below my ear.
“This isn’t a Catholic school.” One hand was on her lower back, the other was between her shoulders, running my fingers over her smooth skin. She sighed and relaxed against me.
“This is nice.” Her head came to my shoulder.
My heart twisted again in the best way. I was floating, standing here in a school gym that smelled like sweat and Axe body spray, with the most beautiful, funny, infuriating woman I had ever met tucked against me. I wracked my brain for when I had ever felt like this before and came up with nothing.
I pressed my mouth onto the top of her head, and the realization hit me.
After the election was over, my agreement with Avery would finish, and whatever this was that we were doing, it would end.
No more making out in the kitchen or against the car. No more dinners. No more of her teasing me with pictures of the turtle rescue.
My arms gripped her tighter and she made a little noise of contentment against my chest.
I didn’t want this to end. The thought shocked me as it rippled through my head, but it was the truth. I enjoyed spending time with Avery, even when she was pissing me off or pushing my buttons. I couldn’t wait to see her. My pulse picked up whenever we touched. I thought about her constantly, not just thoughts about sinking my cock into her and making her writhe with an orgasm; I thought about her at her restaurant, how cute she looked when she was focused on something, how pretty her hair was, and how much I liked it when she made fun of me.
Shit.
My fingers paused in her hair and my throat tightened.
This wasn’t supposed to happen. I didn’t do this kind of thing. I wasn’t this kind of guy. This was a Will thing to do. I was Emmett Rhodes, unattached, bachelor for life.
After the election, my life with Avery was a big blank. One big wash of unknown. Would we stay together? Would we break up and only see each other once in a while around town? My chest tightened at the idea of not seeing her almost every day, but the idea of staying married, being married for real, sent a streak of panic through me.
I didn’t know what I wanted.
When Will and Nat got together, he knew exactly what he wanted. He had everything planned out, even from eighteen years old. They’d finish college, they’d get married, they’d save for a few years, and then they’d start a family.
I had no plan. I had no clue what I wanted. All I knew was I wanted Avery.
There was a flash and Avery lifted her head. Miri inspected the photo on her camera with a smile. “Just perfect.”
“Do you need help?” Avery asked and I pulled her closer. I didn’t want to help. I just wanted to sway here with her pressed up against me until the early hours of the morning.
Miri waved a hand. “We’re fine for now. Come find me once we start cleaning up.”
Avery’s head returned to my chest and the song played on. When it ended and an upbeat tune began, she lifted her head and gave me a huge smile. “I love this song.”
I shrugged my jacket off and tossed it onto a nearby chair. “Show me your moves, Adams.”
We danced for an hour, but it seemed like ten minutes. Song after song, some slow and some fast, we moved around that dance floor, surrounded by awkward teenagers who laughed at us. Avery didn’t care, so I didn’t care. All that mattered was that she was having fun.
At one point, the photographer’s line had disappeared, so I convinced Avery to get our photo taken.
“This is awkward.” She shook with laughter as I made her stand behind me and place her hands on my waist.
“It’s supposed to be awkward, Adams. I thought you wanted me to have the full prom experience.”
The camera flash went off and the photographer laughed. “One more, for the heck of it.”
I turned, tilted Avery’s chin, and dropped a kiss on her mouth. Another flash went off, and I should have broken off the kiss there, but I didn’t. My tongue slid against the seam of her mouth and she opened up so I could taste her. One hand was behind her head as leverage, the other on her ass. I gripped and she exhaled into me. My cock stiffened again.
The photographer cleared her throat. “Next.”
Avery broke away first. A blush grew on her cheeks. “Sorry.” She wore a dazed expression as she pulled me back to the dance floor.
When the prom was over and the kids had gone home, Avery and I hung back to clean up.
“Emmett, help me lift this table, would you?” Scott asked, and together we carried folding tables into the supplies room. When we were finished, I glanced around the gym for Avery.
Miri appeared at my side. “You two can get out of here.” Scott walked by with a punch bowl. “Scott, honey, that goes in the car. Thank you.” She turned back to me. “Thank you so much for helping out.”
“Miri, the pleasure was all ours.”
“It sure was,” Avery said at my side. Even in the ugly gym lighting, she was pretty. Her skin glowed from the dancing. She looked up at me, smiling softly. “Hi.”
“Hi.” My arm came up around her shoulders easily. “Ready to go?”
She nodded.
I shot Miri a grateful smile. “Bye, Miri.”
“Bye, Miri,” Avery echoed. Her arm slid around my waist as we strolled out the gym doors. “Was prom everything you wanted?”
I thought back to the teenage version of myself, playing video games alone on prom night while my friends got all dressed up, danced, and rode in the limo. What would have happened if Nat hadn’t broken up with me? I would have had a decent time, but not like this. Nat and I didn’t click the way Avery and I did. Nat and I were never silly and carefree the way Avery and I were. Besides, Will would have been on the sidelines, watching the girl he liked dance with another guy. He had once confessed he felt awful for going to prom with Nat, knowing she had broken up with me the day before, but I was quick to assure him things had worked out as they should have.
They did, I realized as I looked down at the woman tucked under my arm.
“Everything and more.”
Avery energized me. I had always been happy being alone. I prided myself in being unattached, but my body wanted to be connected to hers at all times. I had discovered the other side of things. This feeling in my chest was foreign to me, and I didn’t have a clue what to do with it.
I knew two conflicting truths: I wanted Avery, and I wasn’t the kind of guy who settled down.
I swallowed, studying her eyes, such a deep, dark blue—like the ocean when I was out on my morning run.
She could crush me, I realized. She could snap me in half with a flick of her little finger. My chest tightened. How had I found myself in this situation? I wasn’t the kind of guy to fall like this, and yet, here I was.
I told her the truth. “This time, I went to prom with the right girl.”
