Avery
Iwas a mess, and I knew it. My kids had gone to spend most of the summer with their grandparents leaving me all alone. I didn’t want to spend the summer without them, but a good friend convinced me that I needed some “me” time. And I wasn’t handling it well. I was new in town and hadn’t made any friends, but that was probably because I hadn’t tried to make any friends. I was a single parent with two small children. I didn’t have time for anything that didn’t involve them.
After my mother picked up the kids, I spent the first night crying in my closet. Something about being tucked away in a cozy space was comforting to me. However, waking up the next morning with a crick in my neck and a dull ache in my back was not comforting. So, I found a different way to spend my unwanted free time.
Precious Metals was a small, locally owned and operated bar that was in walking distance of my house. All I had to do was walk past the trees lining my backyard, across the open field, and hop over a small creek to be in the lot behind the bar.
I managed to get a seat at the bar and drink in peace until some guy thought it was his duty to rain on my parade. I didn’t know where he came from or why he was bothering me, but he wouldn’t go away, and he was ruining the little bit of drunkenness I’d achieved. Then, the pain in the ass insisted on taking me home.
When I finally looked at him, I mean really looked at him, I struggled to contain my reaction. He was the most breathtaking man I’d ever seen in person. Tall and muscular with a chiseled jaw and a captivating smile. The bastard even had dark blonde hair and blue eyes. Or maybe they were gray. Either way, those eyes saw more in a few short seconds than I ever wanted anyone to see. And because of my need to get away from his penetrating gaze, and possibly my drunken haze, I allowed him to take me home.
He didn’t say a word to me on the ride to my house, and I didn’t say a word to him either. I put my address in my phone and let him follow Robot Sally’s directions. He gave me a strange look when he pulled into my driveway three minutes later. I smirked and closed the door without so much as a thank you. I went inside and, once again, cried myself to sleep.
I should’ve just gone to the liquor store and drank at home. But, for whatever reason, I wanted to drink alone with other people around. So, I went back to Precious Metals and started drinking as soon as I got a seat at the bar.
A good two or three hours had passed, and I was well on my way to being drunker than a skunk when someone pulled a stool up next to me and sat down.
“You do this often?” a familiar voice asked.
I dropped my head to the countertop. “Do you harass all the people who drink here or is it just me?”
“Just the ones who drink excessively by themselves. Right now, that’s you, sweetness.”
My head shot up, and I tried to glare as the room spun. “Suck it, pretty boy.”
“Yep, you’re done,” he said and got to his feet. “Let’s go.”
“You can fuck right the hell off. I’m not going anywhere with you. And you can’t make me,” I said and stuck out my tongue.
He grinned, and for a moment, I was captivated by the damn dimple that popped up on his cheek. But, the moment was ruined when he hoisted me over his shoulder and carried me out of the bar. At least he had the decency to use the back door.
“Put me down, you giant assface!” I screamed and did my best to kick him.
“Stop fucking kicking me. I’ll put you down in a minute.”
I continued to kick him and scream all sorts of profanity at him, but he kept going until he put me down on my front porch. “Open the door and go inside.”
“Fuck you,” I spat and started to cross my arms over my chest when he snatched the keys from my hand.
Within seconds, he had the door open and shoved me inside. “Sit,” he barked and pointed to the sofa. “You need to eat.”
Who in the hell did he think he was coming into my house uninvited and telling me what to do? I did not sit. I followed him into the kitchen, raising hell with each step I took. When I caught up to him, I grabbed his shirt and tried to pull him toward the door.
He didn’t move an inch. Instead, he whirled around and grabbed me by my wrist. I stared into his fiery gray eyes as he glared at me. And something changed. My anger morphed into need as I became hyperaware of the situation—his big hand encircling my wrist, the way our chests brushed when either one of us inhaled, how much bigger he was than me, the anger in his eyes that matched the anger in mine.
I licked my lips and opened my mouth to speak but couldn’t find the words. Frozen in place, I couldn’t even make myself pull away from him.
His eyes flicked to my mouth and hardened. “Don’t. Because I will fuck you. Drunk or not. And hear me now, sweetness, I won’t be gentle.”
“Will you hurt me?” I whispered, almost hopefully.
He cocked his head to the side. “Sounds like you want me to.”
“Maybe a little.”
Those three words unleashed a beast. He fisted my hair, yanked my head back, and crushed his mouth to mine. No one had ever kissed me like that. Not even close. It felt like he was trying to consume me, and I wanted him to.
He kept his mouth on mine as he walked me backward. When the backs of my legs hit the sofa, he reached for the button on my jeans. With sure movements, he had my pants and panties pushed down around my thighs. Using the hold he had on my hair, he turned me around and bent me over the arm of the couch.
