When Sparks Fly

While I round up the whiffle balls, I hand Avery my phone so she can post some video clips. It takes me nearly twenty minutes to find all the balls this time.

“Are we going another round?” she asks when I finally jog back with the last one.

I check the time. “We should probably head back since the guys are supposed to be over in a couple of hours, and the last thing I want is you passing out before dinner again.”

19

LOOSE LIPS SINK SHIPS

DECLAN

“Can you please stop smirking?” Avery elbows me in the side while blushing.

“I wasn’t smirking.” I rub a hand over my mouth to hide my smile.

“You one hundred percent were. You might as well wear a shirt that reads ‘I’m a master at multiple orgasms.’” If she could prop a fist on her hip she would, but since she’s standing in the kitchen with her crutch under her arm, balanced on her good foot, all she can manage to do is glare.

“I wouldn’t say I’m a master, more like extremely proficient.”

She tries to jab me in the side of the thigh with her crutch, but I block it and nearly set her off balance. I grab her around the waist to help steady her, then pull her in close. I nuzzle into her neck, smiling even wider when she melts against me.

I’ve always been aware of Avery’s hotness level, but after Sam demolished her heart, I compartmentalized that knowledge and filed it away under fantasies never to indulge in. She’s my best friend, and I care about her just as much, if not more, than my family. Probably more, actually, since my parents are pretty huge assholes. I’m very glad I’m an only child and don’t have any siblings who are also as fucked up about relationships as I am.

And that right there is another reason I shouldn’t have taken this as far as I have, but my logic shorted out. Maybe I should have stopped after that first time, or the second, or third, or fourth. But I can’t deny her, and I honestly don’t want to.

Everything about this situation with Avery is different. And I find myself wanting things I’m not sure I’m capable of handling. Like monogamy and stability and something real.

I kiss my way up the side of her neck. “You’re pretty wound up, Ave, maybe I need to calm you down before the guys get here.”

“They’re supposed to be here in less than ten minutes.”

“I bet I can get you off in five. Let me try.” I slide my fingers under the hem of her shorts. She’s not wearing underwear.

“Do not start something you can’t finish, Declan. I have no interest in spending the next four hours being all hot and bothered because you gave me the girl equivalent of blue balls.”

“Blue balls are physically painful.” I would know, I suffered through them until Avery put her foot down and insisted this was not a one-way street. That happened three days into whatever it is we’re doing. She decided if she was getting off I should be too. And then she cited that it would be good for her forearm strength. It was hard to argue her point.

“And so is being left hanging halfway to an orgasm, at least for me. You seriously need to rein it in if you don’t want the guys to figure out that you’re taking a very involved, hands-on approach to tending to my every need.”

“And my mouth is also very involved, don’t forget about that.” I nibble along the edge of her jaw.

“Please.” She tips her head to the side, giving me better access, a contradiction to her previous warning and her now-pleading tone. “It’s not fair to play with me like this when you’re not going to be able to do anything about it for hours.”

I’ve learned a lot about Avery’s needs since I started taking care of the most intimate one. I’ve also learned that she has an incredibly high sex drive, and that once it’s tended to, instead of waning, it seems to grow exponentially. The whole experience can be likened to opening a box of your favorite cookies and being unable to stop yourself from going back again and again until you realize you’ve eaten the entire package.

The thing is, there is no end to Avery’s box of cookies—yes, the pun is intentional—and the more I get, the more I want. And the more I offer, the more she seems to crave it and me. So it’s becoming a bit of an addiction for both of us. I assume this insatiable need will wane after a while, and we’ll dial it back, but for now, well, I’m all for pushing her buttons.

“That’s the point, babe, because it means when I finally get my mouth and hands on you later tonight, you’re going to be utterly insatiable, and I’ll be the one who gives you everything you need.”