Chapter thirty-six
AVA
I’msoconfused.Everything Stone says sounds believable, and my body more than wants him, but I can’t seem to let go and forgive him unless he’s touching me. Is it because we’ve been here before? Spending nights together and thinking he might just be mine for a minute until that was all rubbed in my face? He left me alone yesterday after I made his face fall with my words. The ache in my chest was persistent, but I smelt his scent in my room this morning. It’s comforting to know my bitch act hasn’t completely pushed him away, and honestly, I’m glad. I might not be able to process everything I’m feeling right now, but I know I want him to stick around while I do. But I can’t settle for his words alone. I need to see that he means what he’s saying.
On Tuesday, I see Cole by his locker and he beckons me over.
“Hey,” I greet him.
“Hey. So, guess who’s in the Elite now?”
“Who?” I ask.
“Me.” I think my mouth might hang open for a good few seconds, and he chuckles. “What?!”
“And you.” My brain seizes, and hands come to rest on my hips while I’m dumbfounded.
“Have you given her the good news?” Stone asks with laughter in his voice.
“Yep. Might have broken her.” I thump him lightly on the arm and finally close my mouth before I speak.
“But I don’t want to be in the Elite. Neither do you,” I remind him, but he shrugs as if it’s not a huge one-eighty for him.
“It makes sense now. Come on.” He heads over to their bench and I follow, even without Stone’s hand on my lower back, because honestly, I’m curious. Sitting down opposite him, I still stare.
“Since when? Why didn’t you text me?”
“And miss that reaction? No way.”
Stone is uncharacteristically quiet, but as I turn to him Mason and Reid join us, sitting either side of Cole.
“All the gang’s together!” Mason exclaims, and I can’t help the laugh that bubbles up. This is ridiculous. How has this even happened? How can this be part of a bigger plan… how can this backfire and blow up in my face?
“Stop overthinking everything,” Stone whispers into my ear. I really, really want to, but it’s impossible. Because it’s not just my pride that’s at stake now. Cole is involved too, and my heart is teetering very close to the edge.
I try to stop by Millie’s on the way home, but she’s not in, and her mum isn’t sure where she is, just out with friends. I try not to be hurt that Millie has moved on with other friends now that I’m not at Highland anymore. I can’t gatekeep my best friend, and I have Cole now, so she deserves friends at Highland too. She’s only briefly replying to my messages, and I hope she’s not distancing me. I park at the beach for a while, just watching the waves, and get home just as Foster and Mum are heading out.
“Oh, Ava! I’m glad you caught us. Carrie will be working here from tomorrow,” Mum says.
“That’s great, how come?”
“Stone requested her. I’d kind of dropped the ball on everything over there. We’re still figuring out what to do with the house, but figured we could bring some of the staff over. Anyway, we have to go, we’ll see you later.” She gives me a quick kiss on the cheek and they rush out, and I’m left standing in the foyer in confusion. Why would Stone want her here? I’m trying to figure out an angle, but nothing is coming to me. Could he really have done it just for me? Heading into the kitchen, I drop my bag on one of the island stools as movement in the pool catches my eye. Stone’s doing his laps, and I watch him for a while at the edge of the pool, but he doesn’t see me. Looking around, I grab a ball and throw it in, meaning to splash near him and get his attention, but it catches the side of his face when he takes in air.
“What the fuck?” he says as he stands up. He’s in pretty deep, but still the water only reaches his chest. “Oh, Ava.”
“Sorry,” I cringe. “Bad aim.” He watches me curiously, and I remember that I interrupted him, but I can’t think of a good excuse why now. “I was going to order some dinner and wondered if you wanted anything.” He frowns in confusion, which makes me backtrack. “Never mind.”
“No, I will. Can you hand me that towel?” He gestures towards a sunlounger. Grabbing it and heading back to the edge, I lean over as he comes towards the side, but he completely ignores the towel and pulls me forward into the water, uniform and all. I scream as I fall, and he catches me before I go fully under so my hair doesn’t get wet, but what the hell? “I’ve got to take my chance while you’re being nice,” he explains, pulling me into him and kissing me before I can finish. I think about pushing him away, but honestly, I don’t want to. I wrap my legs around his waist and my arms around his neck and he moves so I’m pressed up against the side of the pool, feeling the crush of his body against me. The warmth of Stone’s body on my front and the cool of the water as it laps around us—it feels so right. I’ve been spending so much time in my own head, and it’s exhausting fighting this. I want him to confuse me with passion, overwhelm me with sensation, so I can’t think anymore and can only feel him.
“Thank you for Carrie,” I mumble against his lips.
“Is that what this is? A thank you?” I shrug. “Get used to it. I’ll give you whatever you want.” My eyes blaze at the words considering our position, and he reads me so well, as usual. “Anything but that.”
“What?” I try to push him back so I can stand but he doesn’t move.
“Don’t run from me.”
“I’m not staying here for you to reject me.”
“I’m not rejecting you. I think it’s pretty clear how much I want you.” He rocks his hips against me, and yep, it’s pretty clear. “I have an end goal.” He smirks.
“What’s that mean?”
“It means I need you to admit that you’re mine, and I think that this”—he pulls my hips, grinding me down onto him—“is great motivation.”
My glare turns glacial. “This is not great motivation.” I try to push him away again, but he hitches me up and arranges himself so he’s lined up with me through the layers of his shorts and my underwear, a dull pressure right where I want him.
“No?”
“Are you serious? You’ll cave before I do,” I say, because I can’t help being competitive.
“We’ll see,” he grins, before kissing me again and pulling away to swim to the stairs, leaving me floating in the deep end, aroused and seething.
On Wednesday, instead of going to my last lesson before lunch, I call a car to the hospital. I don’t want to drive because I know I’ll be out of it before I manage to get home. Sophie is there again, which is great news. She’s so lovely and welcoming. I settle in for my transfusion and fall asleep not far in, as usually happens. When I wake up to an angry Stone, I almost convince myself I’m dreaming until Sophie speaks.
“Back with us, hun? Only a couple of minutes left.” I smile up at Sophie as she carries on with her tasks.
“What are you doing here?” I ask Stone, slightly croaky from sleep, but he doesn’t answer, getting up and going over to the water cooler. I’ve never had anyone sit with me before, so it’s strange seeing someone I know in this space. I hate the idea of being a burden to Millie or Cole, and they’re the only two that know.
“You’ve got a keeper there, Ava.” I look up questioningly at Sophie, who is looking at Stone with dreamy eyes. “He’s been quizzing me on how to help you since he turned up.” I must look shocked, but she reads into it the wrong way. “Don’t worry, I didn’t tell him anything,” she whispers, although she smiles over at his back while she says it. She clearly thinks Stone is the best thing to ever happen, and I can’t blame her—he looks like the perfect package. Angry Stone might be even hotter than indifferent Stone. It makes him seem broodier, more dangerous, and you want to dive into all of the bad mistakes he’d get you to make. Stone comes back over and hands me the water without saying anything, and his anger goes from sexy to infuriating. What’s the point in stalking me here to just ignore me? How did he even know where I was?
“I swear, if you’ve implanted some sort of tracker into me, I’m going to kill you.” It would’ve been easier if I said thank you for being here, but I guess that’s not how we work. He rolls his eyes at my dramatics, but I wouldn’t put anything past him.
“You weren’t at lunch, so I asked around. Sean saw you here when he came to pick his mum up.” I have no idea who Sean is, but I can’t be bothered to ask, and Sophie comes back before Stone can say anything else.
“All done,” she says as she carefully removes my IV, taping a cotton ball over the puncture wound. “Take it easy, remember,” she says as she moves the IV pole back to the wall, as if I haven’t been doing this for years now.
“Thanks, Sophie. See you soon.”
“Let’s go,” Stone says abruptly, pulling me out of the room when I stand.
“I know the way,” I grit out, tugging my arm back and heading in the direction of the exit.
“I swear, Ava, you don’t want to push me right now.”
“What now?” I ask, rolling my eyes as I turn to face him.
“You lied to me and you ran from me.”
“So? I don’t owe you anything.” His eyes flash at my words and he pulls me into a room to the side. I don’t even look to see where we are, always fixated on him when we’re this close, whether we’re mad at each other or not.
“You’re mine now,” he growls, pushing me back against the door. “I need to know where you are at all times.” I’m really getting pissed off with this “owning” shit.
“Even if I’m busy whoring myself out?”
“Be a whore all you like, but only for me.”
“Is that what you want? Feel like you’re missing out, do you? What’s your fantasy, Stone? You want me on my knees for you? Eyes streaming from your cock down my throat?”
“Don’t. Push. Me,” he repeats, voice low in his chest, but I continue to wave the red flag in front of his face because I can’t help myself. I want him to break. I want him to take me angrily and quickly, then I can convince us both I still hate him after. I press my chest up against his and breathe against his lips.
“Spoiler alert,” I whisper to his mouth, “I will never get on my knees for you.”
“I don’t need you on your knees when your pussy gushes for me.” To prove his point, he reaches under my skirt, pushing my underwear to the side and impaling me with two fingers. It feels like it happens in half a second, and I almost come on the spot, quivering around his digits as I try to regulate my breathing. He pumps his fingers in and out of me. “That’s it, baby. We both know how good I make you feel.” I can’t even form the words to deny it as he controls my body, curling his fingers perfectly. My skin feels like it’s electric everywhere, and I feel myself clenching around him ridiculously quickly. Every grab by him in the past week, every time I’ve been in his arms, every kiss has led to this, and my body is ready to let go.
“Stone,” I choke out, my heart hammering in my chest.
“Say it,” he grits out, but I can’t. His fingers stop working their magic, pausing deep inside me as he waits. “Ava.” I can’t say it, and I can’t do this. I push him away from me and he lets me, pulling out of me and licking both fingers clean. A shudder runs through me at what could be between us. He pinches my chin between his thumb and forefinger so I’m forced to keep looking at him. “I get that you’re doing your stubborn shit, but I am not a patient guy. Sooner or later, we are going to happen.” My eyes narrow at his stubborn comment, but he cocks a brow. “I mean it, Ava. And I mean we as in us, together, not just sex. And then I’m going to punish you for making us both wait.” What does that mean? “Next time it won’t be hard and quick. I’ll bring you over the edge over and over again until you’re boneless.” He says it as casually as if he’s telling me his plans for the weekend, and my skin prickles. “Or maybe I’ll spank that perfect ass raw. It hasn’t gotten nearly enough attention.”
Oh. My. God. So not what I was expecting him to say, and so I use my best defence mechanism, annoyance. I shove at him before opening the door and leaving, mainly because if I don’t get some distance right now, I’ll probably beg to be his.