“Upstairs,” I say, not even hesitating.
I scoop her up by the ass and she laughs, legs wrapping around my waist. Ford and Wes fall in behind us, and the crowd parts again, noise following in our wake. Cheers, whistles, the low hum of people who think they know exactly what they’re about to witness.
They don’t.
We take the stairs two at a time, the energy shifting with every step, the chaos of the party bleeding off the higher we go. By the time we reach the loft balcony, the noise below feels distant.
I drop Ava onto the couch, then turn to Wes. “Get her some water. She’s gonna need it.”
He disappears into the interior of the loft without argument, returning a moment later with a bottle. He takes a seat on the sofa next to Ava, and she flops sideways onto his lap, twisting off the cap on the water and chugging half of it. Her lipstick is mostly gone now, but when she presses a kiss to Wes’ jaw in gratitude, it still leaves a faint mark behind.
Her gaze lifts, moving between the three of us. “Are you guys just going to stare, or…?
Ford drops onto the couch next to her, his thigh pressing against hers like he’s already decided where he belongs. “You ready to ditch the party, Ava baby?”
She laughs, a little giddy, still riding the high she built on the dance floor. “Almost.”
Wes sets the water bottle aside and wraps an arm around her waist, drawing her fully into his lap. Ford’s hand ghosts up her thigh, and I sink down onto the couch on her other side, crowding her in.
She doesn’t flinch. If anything, she leans into it, her eyes darting between the three of us like she’s daring us to fight over her.
Then she turns in Wes’ lap, straddling him, and kisses him hard. Her fingers tangle in his hair, yanking him closer. Ford slides a hand under her skirt as he watches them, and I hear her breath hitch as he traces up the inside of her thigh. Not to be outdone, I lean in and bite the side of her neck, leaving a mark.
She moans low in her throat, and the sound makes my cock throb. Ford looks over at me, eyes wild, mouth split in a grin.
“You’re gonna make a scene, Doll,” he teases, voice gone rough.
She breaks away from Wes, eyes a little dazed and unfocused. “Isn’t that the whole point?”
“Not here,” I growl, pushing to my feet and offering Ava a hand.
She eyes it for a second, then looks up at me like a deer in the headlights.
For a second, everything stops.
One heartbeat.
Two.
Then she places her hand in mine and lets me pull her up. Lets me lead her through the door into the loft, away from the noise and prying eyes.
Ava Morrow might not know it, but she’s always been mine.
From the first moment I met her– two kids, thrown together by circumstance– I felt it. Something I didn’t have words forback then. Something I couldn’t touch, couldn’t claim. It didn’t matter, because I stillknew.
Back then, it was just a feeling. Sharp and instinctive, a recognition I couldn’t explain or act on or even understand. Butnow? Now I do.
She’s mine. To own, to break, to ruin.
And I’m going to enjoy every fucking second of it.
CHAPTER 19
AVA
My heart feelslike it’s going to pound straight out of my chest.
It’s not just the leftover adrenaline from dancing, or the sugar-high from too much cherry vodka– though both are buzzing strong in my veins– but something deeper, darker, more primal. Like my body knows I’m walking straight into a slaughterhouse, and the doors have already slammed shut behind me, never to be opened again.
