Chapter Twelve

Colter

We barely made it out of the parking lot of Whiskey Sinner's when I got a text from Beckham about Ava and Hallyn's apartment being broken into.

Ava drove herself and Hallyn to Whiskey Sinner's, so we followed her back to her place. I originally planned to drop Reed off at home or let him catch a ride if he wanted to stay out later.

After the turn our night had taken, I wasn't in the mood to hang out at the bar. I didn't go into detail with Ava, but I figured I'd let Hallyn tell her in her own time. From the details Beckham shared with me, then to learn their apartment was busted into, there was no way I was letting Ava stay at her place alone.

She knew she could always stay with me, and I'd do everything to keep her safe.

Reed helped me fix the frame on their door, enough for it to stay shut and locked. We'll figure out the repairs in the morning.

"Did Beckham say anything about Hallyn? About how she's doing?" Ava studies me as we pull out of the parking lot of her apartment.

"She passed out in his truck, but he assured me she was okay. She's staying at our place tonight. He said he was gonna get her inside and put her to bed, so she'll be there when you wake up in the morning."

Ava presses her fingers to her mouth and nods. I reach my hand over to rest on her thigh, and she appears to relax. She's worried about her friend, but I know she trusts Beckham to look after her. We both do.

"It just doesn't make sense. Who the hell would break into our place?" Ava asks, her arm resting against the door, staring at me. "We hardly know anyone here. What the hell could they possibly want from us?"

"Maybe it's not anyone you know? It could be a total stranger." Reed pipes up from the back seat.

"I mean, it could be. It's just crazy to me that someone would bust our door in without a reason, ya know? I checked through my jewelry, and nothing was missing unless maybe it was something of Hallyn's?"

I remember the first time I ran into Tanner when Ava and Hallyn moved into their place. Tanner was not at all happy about us being there, even under the guise of us helping them move.

"Maybe they weren't looking to steal anything but were looking for something else?" I suggested.

Ava turns toward me, confusion marking her features. "What do you mean?"

I shrug. "Do you think maybe Tanner found out about Hallyn and Beckham? Maybe he got jealous, and there was some reason he'd break into your place?"

"We weren't home, though. What could he possibly be looking for if no one was home?"

Reed's voice drops low. "Maybe he was looking for proof of his suspicions. Does she have a laptop connected to her phone? If he knows her passcode, it's possible he could've been trying to get on her computer to read her text messages."

Her mouth drops open, and I flash my eyes to Reed's.

"Don't worry." I reach my hand across the seat for Ava's, and she laces her fingers between mine. "We're not gonna let anything happen to you or Hallyn. We'll get to the bottom of it."

"I, uh, know some people too. I can try asking around about security footage and see if any of the cameras nearby picked up who it was."

Reed and I share a look again, and we both know exactly what he plans to do. He's right about the fact he knows some people, but he's not opposed to alternative means to get what he needs if those avenues don't pan out either.

I've jokingly asked him if he's a hacker before, but he laughed me off.

Ava nervously chews her lips for most of the drive to our house. When we pull into the driveway, Reed hops out and heads inside, leaving us alone.

"How are you feeling?" I ask.

"I think I'm just trying to wrap my head around everything that's happened tonight. How did we go from me trying to pull my friend out of the house to have fun to this? What if she wouldn't have gone out with me tonight and was home alone?"

I unbuckle Ava's seat belt. When she glances at me, I nod for her to come here.

"I need to feel you, baby." I move my seat back. Ava obeys, climbing over me to straddle my lap.

She wraps her arms around my neck and buries her face there. It isn't until she settles in that I feel her body relax against me.

"I think you're onto something about Tanner. I don't think he'd ever actually hurt her, but I do believe he'd try to scare her," she whispers. "How would he know about them, though? She made Beckham promise not to tell anyone. As far as I know, he kept his word."

"Or maybe he found out the same way I did…" I suggest.

Ava sits back and stares down at me. "By seeing his truck parked outside our place and figuring out it's his?"

I shrug. "Who knows? If he does know, though, I'm guessing it won't be long before Alec finds out about us too."

Ava sighs, brushing my hair away from my forehead. She's told me how much she loves my beard, and it makes me smile when she runs her hand over my cheek.

"You asked me earlier what we were doing and what this is between us. I never got the chance to ask you the same question. What do you want this to be, Ava?"

"There's something I've been wanting to tell you for a while now, but it never felt like the right time. I didn't know how you were feeling or how to bring it up, but I'm falling in love with you, Colter. I think I have been since the first night you took me out for a drink, and I beat your ass in a game of pool."

I chuckled. "I'd let you kick my ass at pool again and again if it meant I could spend those ten days with you in my bed every night."

"You don't have to, though. I want to be there with you."

I grab her face and pull her into me, our lips crashing hard against each other. I moan, and the loud rumble vibrating in my chest grows when she grinds her pussy against me.

My hands find her hips, guiding her until she breaks the kiss. Her breathing comes out in heavy pants, and she drags her hand through my hair again, roughly tugging at the strands this time.

"I love you," I growl, and she smiles.

Her eyes twinkle beneath the dashboard lights and the glow from the front porch lamp. I doubt anyone can see us from the outside with my window tint, but damn, can I see her.

She throws her head back, shoving her breast in my face. I tug her shirt down, latching onto her nipple, and she groans.

"I love you too," she whispers breathlessly.

I release her nipple, flicking my tongue over the puckered skin, and she trembles.

"Let's go inside. I need you, baby, but I want you in my bed where I can feel every inch of you beneath me."

The air is crisp when we step out of the truck since the temperature has dropped. I wrap my arm around Ava, and she melts into my side as we take the stairs into the house.

Ava pauses on the shoes in the entryway and again when we reach my room, motioning to Beckham's closed door, and I nod.

He had been concerned about her staying at their place tonight, especially after having a few drinks at Whiskey Sinner's.

"He'll take good care of her, I promise."

"He better." Her tone has a hint of warning. I chuckle, bending down to hoist her over my shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

"What the hell are you doing?" she mutters breathlessly, trying and failing at keeping her voice down.

She swats at my lower back until I put her down, slowly letting her tight frame rub along my chest as she does. I lift her chin and lean in to kiss her, and all the fight she has in her evaporates the moment our lips connect.

I move her backward until her legs hit the edge of my bed and she drops back, moving her arms around her like she's making a snow angel on the duvet, and I smirk.

"I've missed this. Being here with you. Sleeping in your bed." She hiccups, slapping her hand over her mouth, and her face heats.

The alcohol coursing through her system always makes her feel a little bold.

I reach for her foot and tug off her sock, rubbing the insoles, and she lets out a low moan. She didn't like me touching them when we first started spending time together. Something about dancers' feet, but I quickly shut that shit down. I told her I wasn't gonna hear any of it.

Real men don't give a damn about stuff like that. That was an argument I wouldn't back down on either.

I lift her foot to my mouth and press a kiss against the same spot I massaged, her eyes growing heavy before I do the same to the other foot.

Ava reaches for the button on her jeans and unzips them, and I quickly tug them off, leaving her in nothing but her panties. She sits up, pulling her shirt and bra off, tossing them on the floor. Her smile is wide when she collapses on the bed, and I'm just left to stare at this girl in awe.

I quickly tug my shirt over my head and unhook my belt, shoving my jeans down until the buckle clangs against the floor. I hit the light before I crawl up the end of the mattress, hovering over her with my arms casing her in.

"I want you wrapped against my side every night."

She slides her hand up the back of my neck, her nails dragging through the hair at my nape, and pulls me into her. When we kiss, it starts off slow until I wrap my arms around her, rolling her over until I'm the one pinned beneath her and she's straddling me again.

"Have I ever told you how fuckin' sexy you are? And how much I love your beard?" She blurts out again, and my smile grows wide.

"What else do you love about me, baby?" I snicker.

"Hmm…" She sighs, grinding her pussy against me. I hiss, gripping her hips and urging her to slow down. She has no idea the power she holds over me when she does shit like this. It's hard enough not to get distracted by her perky tits and those pale pink nipples.

"Your smile and the way your eyes get all intense when you look at me."

Huh, I guess I hadn't realized it was that obvious to her, but I can't help it. Not that I would want to either.

"I like the way you look out for me, the way you want to take care of me. Protect me."

She leans forward, pressing her chest against mine, and I wrap my arms around her, kissing her hard.

When I reach between us to shove my boxer briefs down enough to free my dick, neither of us says another word when she positions herself over me.

I've said everything I wanted to say tonight, yet somehow, those three words still didn't do justice to the depth of what I feel for Ava.

Not when it felt like so much more.