Oddly, Chase hadn’t texted at all, and for a minute, she wondered if it was because he was in jail. But no, the cops would have let her know if they arrested anyone. Wouldn’t they?
I so don’t have time to think about it right now.
She glanced over the side of the bed at the scraps of clothing lining the floor like a giant litter box of confetti.
Please let there be something in there to wear.
Two trash bags of scrapped clothing later, she’d salvaged a sleeveless T-shirt and her favorite jeans. What was one more hole in holey jeans? And she and her kinky self were now the proud owners of a pair of newly-made-crotchless panties.
The saddest loss to her wardrobe was the dress she’d worn to the literacy benefit. After a rocky start, she’d actually had fun that night with Avery, and it was such a waste of money.
Fuck. I need some fresh air.
Stuffing her feet into the boots she’d indeed found in her car, she hauled both trash bags to the front door. She reachedfor the knob and hesitated. She hated being afraid, hated that someone could make her feel that way, hated that she had no way of fighting back or knowing who to fight.
Slowly, she rose on tiptoes and squinted through the peep hole. Lowering onto her heels, she stared at the door, her mouth open.
What the actual fuck?
Jo snapped her mouth shut and swung the door open. Files scattered all around him, Avery sat on the floor with his back against the far wall. A laptop balanced on one outstretched thigh. He looked at her over the papers pressed against an updrawn knee and grinned around the pencil clenched between his teeth.
“Hey,” he said, the syllable garbled. He spat out the pencil and caught it in one hand. “How’s it going in there?”
Jo plunked her hands on her hips. “What are you doing?”
“Working.”
She took in an empty bottle of water and a banana peel, the snack he’d shoved in his briefcase on the way out this morning. “How long have you been out here?”
He shrugged.
“The whole time?”
His grin widened, and so did the crack in the shell around her heart. “I told you I wouldn’t let you come here by yourself. It’s not safe.”
Fuck, she wasn’t going to make it out of the next four weeks unscathed. Not if he kept this up. Not if he kept looking at her with those big brown, I’ll-be-your-glue eyes.
Shaking her head, she held out a hand. “You’re crazy.”
And sweet and hot as fuck.
Clasping her hand, Avery climbed to his feet with a wince and a hiss. “I think my ass is asleep.”
He gathered his things and limped inside while Jo placed the bags in the hall. When she returned, he was in the living room with his laptop set up on the half-table from the entryway.
Closing the distance between them, he hooked a hand around the back of her neck and pulled her into him. His other arm banded around her. His thumb grazed her jaw, and his gaze lingered on her mouth for a second, stirring a need to forget anything but his touch. “How’re you feeling?”
“Good.”Now that you’re here.“Kiss me.”
His smile went lopsided. “Anything for you, Legs.”
She closed her eyes and sank into the moment his lips claimed hers, sensual, deliberate, tender. Opening to him, she relished his slow exploration, the way he seemed to savor the taste of her, in no particular rush. The way his arm around her tightened, intent on squeezing the resistance out of her.
As if she had any left.
And all the while, her body ached for him to hurry. To remedy the coiling ache in her core.
He severed the kiss on a growl, his dark eyes, heavy-lidded with lust and searching. “What are we doing?”
