24. Ava

TWENTY-FOUR

AVA

I'd hoped Blayne would return after his meeting with the guys, but he didn't. I sat up waiting for him, peeking out the windows every ten or fifteen minutes to no avail. I picked at the dinner Marissa had cooked and ignored my family as they discussed various dealings. Uncle Sam was curiously absent. Dad had gone to bed early, so I couldn't wrangle him for information.

Eventually, I fell into a fitful sleep, tossing and turning throughout the night. Each time I woke, I went to the window to see if I could see Blayne's truck, but I never did. When I woke up the next morning, it felt like I'd barely slept at all.

The second I stepped down the last stair, I immediately knew something was up. The tension in the house was so thick, I could cut it. My cousins were pacing, talking on their phones or texting God only knew who. I could see the worry and anxiety in their faces. Plus, Blayne still wasn't back.

I went back upstairs where I heard my father talking in his office. Deciding I needed answers, I opened the door and found him sitting at his desk. Sam, Mike, and Luis were all sitting around him. They looked up in surprise as I entered unannounced.

"What the hell's going on? Where's Blayne?" I asked, crossing my arms over my chest.

Dad patted the air with a hand. "Easy now. Everything's fine. It's good that you're here because I wanted to tell you that your security detail will be increased for the duration."

"Everything is fine, but you're going to have more guys following me around for the duration? That doesn't add up. Spill it, Dad. What happened?"

He sighed and glanced at his brothers. "Antonio didn't take the deal. We all assumed that was the route he'd take, but he was much angrier than anticipated. From what I understand, he was absolutely shocked that I could flip those guys. He must have thought he'd scared the shit out of them and they'd never spill. He thinks he understands people, but obviously he is out of touch."

My heart sped up and my palms went clammy. That was bad news. If Antonio was furious and knew we had dirt on him, he would become unhinged.

Dad must have seen the look on my face. "Ava, it's going to be okay. We all knew that this was a possibility. We sat here in this office and discussed it. We're all going to be okay."

"Well, where is Blayne? Shouldn't he be here so our guys can protect him?"

"Blayne's a big boy. He and his buddies can handle themselves. You need to let them do their job. Blayne needs to focus. He can't afford to be distracted while they prepare."

A sliver of ice slid into my heart, and I remembered the night I'd broken up with Liam. He'd gone off with his mind all over the place and hadn't been mentally prepared for the job. Even the idea that I might cause the same thing to happen to Blayne kept me from calling or texting him.

I tried my best to follow my father's instructions. I continued checking my phone every few hours, but there was nothing from Blayne. The day seemed to drag on at a snail's pace. Most of my family left to work on whatever the plan was. Only Dad stayed behind, and not by choice. He was supremely annoyed that he couldn't be out in the field with his guys.

Out front, more of the Francis soldiers and family associates showed up. Dad had called all the "family" in. The entire property swarmed with guys. Several patrolled the entrances and exits, others were out on the perimeter, and still others were probably in the woods around the house or in cars along the road. I'd never seen so much security around here before. Even if my father didn't appear scared, this show of force told me he was worried.

After an entire day of hearing nothing from Blayne, I made my way up to my room and tried to read a book. As the sun vanished behind the mountains, I tossed the book aside and turned on a movie, watching it without watching. All I wanted was some background noise because it was too quiet. The only sound was the sporadic voice from downstairs or a snippet of conversation from the guards outside drifting up to my window.

Right before one in the morning, the white sweeping shimmer of headlights pulled around the house. Leaping up and running to the window, I saw it was Blayne's truck. Before I could even think, I was out the door, down the steps, and running to the back door.

"Miss Francis? Are we all good?" a voice called from behind me.

I spun, my hand already on the doorknob. It was one of the younger men who worked for my father. I'd only met him once or twice in passing. It took a second for his name to register in my brain.

"Uh, hey…uh, Emilio. I'm fine. I was going out to check on Mr. Walker. I saw him pull in."

He glanced out the kitchen window and saw the truck; its headlights clicked off as he checked. He nodded. "Okay. I'll let the guys outside know you're heading to the guesthouse."

"Thanks." The security was necessary, but it still irked me that I'd basically become a prisoner in my own home.

Blayne had his door open before I even got to the porch. He opened his arms, and I plowed into his body, wrapping myself around him as he closed the door behind me. He held me for a moment before I pushed away and checked his body for bruises or cuts.

"Are you okay? Did you get hurt? I haven't heard from you all day." I swatted his arm once it was obvious he wasn't injured.

He smiled, but it was a tired smile. I took a step back and noticed he was sweaty, dirty, and had bags under his eyes. "I'm sorry," he said. "We were busy. I didn't even get three hours of sleep last night."

"I can tell," I said, wrinkling my nose. "You stink. You need a shower."

He raised an eyebrow and smirked. "If you join me, I will."

The temperature in the air around me immediately shot up. A tingle went up and down my legs and arms, and a pleasant ache twisted between my legs.

Blayne must have felt my mood shift. He took a step closer, pressing me against the door, the heat of his body melting into mine. My knees went weak from the oppressive sexual tension surrounding us.

"Do you want that? To join me in the shower?" Blayne asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

It only took a moment's thought for me to decide. My mouth was dry. "I do. Yes."

The color of Blayne's eyes changed. For an instant, they were the bright yellow of a panther.

He smiled and took me by the hand, leading me to the bathroom. He closed the door and turned the water on. When he looked at me again, his eyes slid across my body. It was like invisible fingers caressing me as his eyes moved up and down.

My fingers were trembling as I watched him strip his shirt off and toss it to the ground. His muscles rippled and twisted as he bent over to pull off his boots and then slide his pants and underwear off. Naked, he stood in front of me, looking back at me. My gaze traced his body, across the muscles of his chest and down past his stomach to the thick, heavy cock between his legs. It was slowly growing hard as he looked at me.

I pulled my shirt off, and my breasts sprang free—I'd foregone the bra. Goose flesh erupted along the skin, and I felt the sharp ache of my nipples growing hard. I bent and slipped off my shorts and panties.

We stood naked in front of each other. I ached to reach out and touch his body. To feel the warmth of his skin beneath my fingertips, the shiver of his body as my hand slid lower, and hear his gasp as my fingers wrapped around his throbbing cock.

Blayne snapped me out of my reverie by pulling open the shower door and stepping inside. I stepped in behind him, and the steaming water hit my skin. All my tension vanished under the heat.

Blayne grabbed a bar of soap off the tile shelf and began soaping my back. I sighed and rested my hands against the wall. His hands, slippery with soap, slid up and down my back. My eyes fluttered closed in anticipation. I wanted more, but the foreplay was nice. It was exciting to draw it out, to make it last.

His hands went down my lower back, sliding across my ass as he massaged my skin before moving on. I arched my back, pushing my ass against him, and he obliged by slipping a hand down between my legs. His fingers skimmed across my puckered butthole, then up to my pussy. I gasped, almost crying out when he pulled his hand away after only one pass. My clit was throbbing, and I wanted him inside me.

Blayne pulled me close, his chest pressing against my back. He traced paths across my belly and up until he cradled my breasts in his hands. His soaped hands teased my nipples, pinching gently. His cock nestled between my ass cheeks. I reached back and tucked a hand between us, finally taking him in my hand. He buried his face between my neck and shoulder, gasping like I'd wanted him to. I bit my lip as I started stroking him. The thick, muscular cock throbbed under my fingers as he continued to massage my breasts.

"I want you," I whispered.

Blayne turned me around to face him. He pulled me into a kiss that made the world vanish. In that moment, there was nothing but the two of us. Our bodies slid against each other as we hungrily pawed at each other's bodies. Soap streamed off our bodies under water, and with a low moan, Blayne turned the shower off and opened the door.

He stepped out and dried off, then pulled me out of the shower and gingerly patted my skin dry. When he'd dried my breasts, he leaned forward and languidly slid his tongue across one of my nipples. It was like an electric pulse straight from my chest to between my legs. A moan escaped me as he took me in his mouth, sucking and tugging at my nipples. His hand moved below my waist, and I almost cried out when he thrust two fingers inside me. I wrapped my arms around his neck to hold myself up as my legs turned to jelly under his ministrations. Christ, nothing had ever felt this good, and we hadn't even really started yet.

He worked his fingers in me, fucking me with his hand until I was on the edge of coming.

Not wanting to finish yet, I pulled his hand away and pushed him up until he was standing above me. I went to my knees and took his cock in my hand. I looked up until our eyes met, and the desire in his eyes spurred me on. I wrapped my lips around him, taking him deep into my mouth.

Blayne's eyes closed and his head tilted back in ecstasy. The warm, rock-hard flesh slid to the back of my throat. I moved my mouth back and forth across his shaft several times, caressing his balls as I did. I took the head between my lips and sucked at it, flicking my tongue across the glans.

"Holy fuck. Oh shit." His words came in a grunt. Warmth spread through. I was the one pleasing him. There was something hot about watching a big, strong man like Blayne turn to putty in my hands.

I stopped what I was doing and stood, taking his hand and leading him to the bed. Climbing onto the mattress, I bent over and pushed my ass up toward him. He rewarded me by burying his tongue in my pussy. I cried out, clutching the sheets as his tongue slipped and danced across my clit.

Right when I thought I couldn't take any more, Blayne pulled his face away and got onto the bed behind me. I looked back over my shoulder and watched as he entered me. My jaw dropped and my face contorted into a silent scream of pleasure as inch after glorious inch slowly slid into my pussy. I was nearly manic with desire.

Before he was all the way in, I was already rocking my hips back against him, moving myself across his length.

Blayne gripped my ass and matched my pace, fucking me the same way I was fucking him. Each thrust was like an explosion of pleasure, sending throbbing heat through my entire body.

Suddenly, he pulled himself free and rolled me over. In an instant, I was on my back looking up at him.

"I want to see your face as you come around my cock," he whispered as he slammed into me again.

Laughing, I raked my nails down his chest, then lowered my hand between my legs, rubbing at my clit while he thrust deliciously into me over and over again. The first buzzing hints of an orgasm started sizzling across my skin, pulsing between my legs. Like I was being lifted up on a cresting wave, ready to crash into the beach.

Then, like a tsunami, it hit me. Burst over me. I cried out and my legs started shaking.

I was gasping for breath, but Blayne was still thrusting into me. I dug my nails into his back as he worked, and another orgasm hit me, shattering my mind into a million pieces. I'd never experienced anything like it, and still he kept going.

"Ohmigod, ohmigod. Oh, God!" I cried out.

Blayne's breathing grew ragged and his shoulders began to quaver. He sped up for a few seconds and thrust himself into me one final time before collapsing onto me.

We both lay there in quivering puddles. I struggled to catch my breath. The whole world seemed to be spinning around us. It took several minutes before either of us were back to our normal selves.

Blayne raised up on his elbows and kissed me. I ran my fingers through his hair as I invited his tongue into my mouth. I could taste myself on him. After a few seconds, he pulled away and lay beside me, running a hand up my hip to my shoulder and back down.

"There's gonna be a lot of long nights for a while. Danger is coming our way and we're working on trying to figure out how to get through this. Are you gonna be okay with that?"

I nodded. "Yeah, of course. I get it."

"Your dad is trying to get more involved. I think he feels bad that he's not out there with us."

My skin prickled at the thought. "He's doing enough. My uncles and the rest of our family can do the heavy lifting."

Blayne raised himself up on an elbow. "I promise he won't get hurt."

"Promise the same thing for yourself. I can't lose him, but Blayne, I can't stand to you lose you."

Once the words were out, there was no taking them back. Not that I wanted to—it was the truth. Still, it was an aggressive thing to say. We'd only had sex for the first time five minutes before. Was I pushing too far too fast?

Blayne didn't look put off by my statement. Instead of saying anything, he kissed me again and made my head swim.

When he pulled away, he ran a finger down my cheek. "I promise both of those things."