First and Forever (Heartache Duet #2) - Jay McLean Page 0,58

want to fall in love with you. I didn’t want to fall in love at all. But then you came along and… and I told you early on that I was falling for you, but I lied. I was already there. And now I can’t imagine what my life would be like without you. I can’t think or breathe or move or live a single second without you infiltrating my mind, and I know that that’s wrong, this… obsession I have with you… but there it is.” I swallow the outcome of my confessions, keep my eyes on his. “And here we are.”

Chapter 24

Connor

We stay at the lake for hours while Ava tells me only the good memories she has of her mom, and I listen intently, making sure to pay attention to every word, every syllable that falls from her lips. I watch her smile. I watch the tears fall. I listen to her laugh, and I listen to her cry. And I get lost in all the different sides of Ava; quirky and confident, and vulnerable and sad, and I fall deeper in love with all the different versions of her.

We catch a cab home, both of us knowing what’s ahead, at least for tonight, and neither of us can keep our hands and mouths off each other.

When we get there, I walk up my driveway with her on my back as she chuckles into my neck. I say, “My dad’s at work tonight, so…”

She jumps down when we get to the door. “So… we can talk loudly.”

“Yeah.” My grin is stupid. “Conversations are neat.”

We head straight for my room, and I close and lock the door behind me. Ava says, “I thought you said your dad was working?”

I shrug. “Habit.”

Ava sits on the edge of my bed, starts removing her jacket, and a glass flask of whiskey falls to the floor. “I’d forgotten about this.”

“Did you steal that from Rhys?”

She shrugs. “I got it for Trevor.” She looks up at me. “But we could put it to use considering I technically don’t have to get home until tomorrow afternoon.”

“I’ll get the glasses.”

When I return, two whiskey glasses in hand, Ava’s stripped out of most of her clothes. In only a tank top, bra, and underwear, she holds the lip of the flask to her lips, sipping gently.

“You couldn’t even wait for me?”

Another shrug and she offers me the flask. I leave the glasses on my desk and sit next to her. After a swig, I hand it back. Her head tilts back, the muscles in her throat contracting when she swallows. I can’t help it; I press my open mouth there, loving the way her back arches to give me better access. She moans, her hands going to my hair as I slide my hand up her top, cupping her bra-covered breast. “Connor?” she breathes out.

I make my way up her neck until my mouth finds hers and I kiss her, my tongue roaming lazily because unlike every other time before, we have hours to explore, to tease.

“Connor,” she repeats, pushing on my shoulders.

I raise my eyebrows in question.

“I have a question,” she says, and I nod, adjusting the bulge in my pants. “Why have you still got so many clothes on?”

I chuckle under my breath and settle back against the wall. I take a swig of the whiskey. “I’m just trying to take my time. Enjoy this moment with you.”

She exhales through her nose and then moves to straddle me. Hands linked at my nape, she says, “I’m sorry about your season.”

I shrug. “It’s done. But hey, it means I have a bit more time on my hands. At least with games. I still want to get some good training time in if that’s okay.”

“You don’t need my permission,” she laughs out.

I push off the wall, kiss the top of her breast. “I just want to make you happy, Ava.”

She pulls back, takes my face in her hands. “You do.”

“Yeah?”

She rolls her eyes. “I mean, you’d make me happier if you took your shirt off.” So I reach behind me and pull my shirt off. She runs her hands over my shoulders, down my chest. “Much better.”

“Now, you.”

She takes off her top, and then her bra, and sits in front of me in all her beautiful glory. I lower my head, flick her nipple with my tongue, loving the way her breath staggers when it leaves her. I keep at it, moving from one to the