Chapter 6

Roman

The heaviness of disappointment weighs on my chest when I wake up the next morning to find the spot next to me empty and cold.

Burying my face deeper into the pillow, I breathe in Ava's lingering cocoa butter scent. Last night was by far one of the best nights of my life. I've lived a very exciting and eventful life, and I've had my fair share of women, but none of them made me feel the way she did.

Her look of wonder and admiration throughout the whole night... it was everything. It made my inner dom preen with pride. While I've felt similar with past partners, it's different with her.

The meeting with my client isn't until tomorrow at noon, so my schedule is wide open for the day. What the hell am I going to do all day to keep myself busy until tonight?

Maybe I could go back to sleep and wake up around the time Ava will be here.

Only, I'm wide awake now, my mind racing with last night's events. My cock aches at the memory of her on her knees for me, taking my shaft between her pink lips and sucking me down like a greedy little thing.

Groaning, I give my cock a squeeze to relieve the pressure. Pushing the blankets to the side, I pad my way over to the bathroom butt-ass naked and turn the shower on.

The warm water feels good, but as I wash my body, I regret it. I no longer have her essence on me. God, I sound like a fucking stalker right now.

After washing my hair, I pay extra attention to my cock, gripping it tightly as I think about what I have planned tonight for Ava. A thrill shoots up my spine before I spill myself against the shower wall, letting out a deep, unsatisfied groan. It feels so much better cumming down Ava's throat or deep inside her tight pussy.

After my shower, I get ready for the day. I throw on some black dress pants and a deep brown dress shirt. I style my hair back neatly, knowing damn well that Ava will make a mess of it tonight when she drags her nails against my scalp, tugging at the strands as she rides my face, screaming my name.

I curse myself when my cell phone snaps me out of my little daydream. "Hello?" I answer, too distracted to pay attention to the caller ID. Not the best move.

"Hey, Ro. Heard you're in town. Did you think you could come here and not see me?" my best friend, Connor, teasingly scolds me.

"Of course not." I chuckle. "I just know you're crazy busy."

"Well, my week is free—I know, shocking, right?" he laughs. Connor is a record producer, one of the best in the business. And I occasionally work on some cases for his recording label.

"Very. No pompous pop star demanding crazy things from you?"

"Nope. But knock on wood, brother, we don't want to jinx it."

"Of course not." I chuckle, moving to stand next to the window. You can see the whole city from up here.

I'm going to fuck Ava against this window tonight, show everyone what's mine and what they will never have.

My cock perks up at the idea, making me adjust myself. I don't need to be getting hard while talking to my friend.

"You busy today?" he asks me.

"Not until tonight."

"Awesome. Let's get lunch. Noon, Black Rock Diner on 89th."

"See you there."

Hanging up, I check the time. It's ten, so I still have a couple of hours to kill. I'm a little hungry, but I can wait to eat.

Grabbing my laptop, I sit on the couch and spend some time answering and sending emails.

My cell rings again, but this time I do look at the caller ID. My stomach drops as a wave of guilt hits me. It's my daughter. "Hey, sweetie," I answer the phone, leaning back against the couch. "How are you doing?"

"I'm good. Going to work soon, but I wanted to call and see if we could grab dinner tomorrow night."

"Tomorrow night sounds perfect."

"Yay. Is it still alright if Ava comes with?" she asks, sounding unsure. I agreed to let Ava come along before I opened the door and found her standing there like my wet dream.

How am I supposed to sit there and have dinner with my daughter while having her best friend next to her, whom I'm sleeping with?

Even though I do feel bad for lying to my little girl, I don't regret last night or my plans with Ava for the rest of the week. We're both consenting adults who wanted it to happen.

"Yeah." I clear my throat. "I don't see why not."

"Okay, good." I can hear her sigh with relief.

"How is she anyway? Ava, I mean?" I close my eyes and curse myself for asking.

"She's doing good. She graduated not too long ago from nursing school, now she's looking for a job at the hospital. She hasn't found anything yet, but she's been filling out a lot of applications and going out to a ton of interviews while still working at the diner."

"Wow. She sounds busy. Must be hard for her to date with everything going on." Why, Roman? Why are you talking? Just shut up.

Tasha giggles. "Nah, Ava is a hopeless romantic. She's still waiting for some handsome older man to sweep her off her feet and make her his world. Don't tell her I told you that, though."

"I would never," I reply, a smile curving my lips.

I feel like a shitty parent, lying to her about what I did with her best friend. I hope she understands if she ever finds out. I really don't want her to hate me.

"So, what are your plans for today?"

"Actually, I'm just about to leave and head over to have lunch with Connor."

"You're seeing Connor today?" she asks, her voice changing a bit. What's that about? "How is he doing?"

"Busy. But good."

"Does he have a girlfriend?"

"Not that I know of... why are you asking, Tasha?"

"No reason," she rushes out. "Have fun. Love you. See you tomorrow." She hangs up before I can say anything else.

Brows furrowed, I stare at the black screen. That was weird.

When Tasha was young, she used to have a crush on Connor. It was kind of adorable, and Connor thought it was sweet. She refused to call him Uncle Connor and insisted they would get married one day. We used to laugh at that. It was cute.

Thankfully, as she grew older, she grew out of that crush. I don't think she's seen Connor for over five years now, come to think of it. He's been living a pretty busy life.

Closing up my laptop, I send a quick text to Jeremy, my driver, before grabbing my wallet and keys.

The restaurant is thankfully not too busy, and I find Connor sitting at one of the tables against the windows near the front. "Hey, man," he greets me with a bright smile, getting up and giving me a strong hug.

"Hey to you," I say, taking a seat across from him. "You're looking good."

"Thank you." He runs a hand through his bright blonde locks. "How are you doing, man? It's been too long."

"I agree. I've been thinking of cutting my workload back. I feel like all I do is work. I don't have time for fun anymore, you know."

He nods. "I get it. Sometimes, I just want to find love and settle down. As much as partying and drinking is fun, it gets old fast."

"I wouldn't know." I smirk.

"Speaking of finding someone to love, do you have anyone in your life? Or are you still hung up on that pretty little thing." He gives me a knowing smirk.

Connor and I are like brothers. I've known him since kindergarten, and I trust him with my life. So, he knows all about my... crush? Obsession? Whatever you want to call it, with Ava.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I respond coyly, looking down at the menu.

"You're still hung up on her, aren't you?" he chuckles. "Come on, man, you need to move on; it's never going to happen."

I freeze.

"Roman," Connor says slowly.

My eyes flick up to his wide ones. "Yes?"

"You didn't."

My eyes go back to the menu, but my lip twitches.

"Oh my god, you dirty dog. Tell me everything!"

I sigh, closing the menu and placing it on the table. "We're grown men, Connor, not teenage girls gossiping at a sleepover."

"Fuck that shit," he snorts. "I know how hung up on her you've been for the past two years. You did something , so spill."

I debate telling him. I trust him not to say anything to anyone.

"This stays between me and you. Utter a word to anyone, and I will end you." I give him a look that tells him I'm being serious.

He nods. "My lips are sealed."

"Last night, I called up the service I use when I'm in town."

"Million Dollar Babes." He nods. "The girls are good there."

Fuck. I forgot he's requested girls from there, too. What if Ava was sent to his place and not my hotel room? The idea of his hands on her makes me want to punch my best friend in the face.

"I asked for my regular preference," I continue.

He smirks. "You mean girls who look just like Ava."

"Fuck you." I narrow my eyes, but he's not wrong. "Anyway, when I opened the door–"

"It was her doppelg?nger."

"Would you let me fucking finish," I snap in annoyance.

He smirks, loving the fact he's getting under my skin. "Sorry, you were saying..."

"No, it wasn't her doppelg?nger. It was her."

His eyes go comically wide. "No fucking way."

I grin, nodding.

"Holy shit. What did you do?"

"I wasn't about to send her away and into another man's bed," I grumble. "So, I invited her in."

His grin grows wider. "And what? You sat and watched a movie because she's your daughter's best friend and eighteen years younger than you?" I'm about to slap that fucking smug look off his face.

"You know I didn't." I narrow my eyes.

"So, what did you do then?"

"You're going to make me say it, aren't you?" I'm regretting coming to this lunch.

"Yup," he nods.

"I made a deal with her. She spends every night I'm here with me in my bed, and I'll give her enough money to cover the reason she got that job in the first place. Then she needs to quit that job."

"And by spending the night, you mean..."

"I fucked her, and it was the best sex of my life."

"Fucking hell, man," he laughs. "I'm happy for you."

"Don't be. Because now I'm confused as hell. One taste of her and I was hooked, man. I know I said it was only for the week I was here, but I want to keep her. I want to make her mine. To take care of her, love her, and everything that comes with that. And I know it's crazy because she's so much younger than me, my daughter's best friend, and we hardly know each other outside of that, but I'm telling you, Connor, there's something about this woman that tells me she's the one."

"So, what are you going to do?"

"I don't know." I put my head in my hands. "What can I do? If I tell her, I risk sounding like a creepy old man."

"I don't think she cares too much about that, seeing how she slept with you." He chuckles.

I shoot him a glare. "It's not just that, Ava and Tasha are best friends; they live together. I don't want to come between them and risk ruining their relationship."

"I don't know what to tell you, man. The best advice I can give you is to enjoy your week with her and take it from there. Maybe you just need to get her out of your system." He's wrong. I know damn well that once I leave on Sunday, I won't be able to just pretend she wasn't mine, even if it was just for this week.

But he does have a point. "You're right. One day at a time. Enjoy the time I have."

"There you go! I got to say, I'm happy for you, man. You were driving me nuts with your obsession."

"Fuck off," I chuckle.

"Connor, I had to block her on everything; she was just too tempting. Connor, is it fucked up that I can't fuck another woman if she doesn't look like Ava?" he mocks.

"Alright, that's enough. Shut up, or I'll leave."

"Alright, alright, I'm done." He chuckles. "Now, tell me about work."

We order food and move away from the topic of Ava.

I do my best to keep her off my mind, but it's nearly impossible.

Nine more hours until she's in my arms again. It can't come soon enough.