It was fast, hot, dirty, and I didn’t give a damn. My thumb found her clit as I sucked bites against her throat. “Come for me, Ava. Come now. Come all over my cock.”
A few more deep, soul-crushing thrusts, and she did, mouth open on a moan I felt all the way to my balls. The feeling of those tight muscles milking my cock tipped me right over with her. I couldn’t stop fucking coming.
I peppered kisses up her throat and across her cheeks before taking her lips.
It was hard to leave her warmth—the couch was going to be a hell of a mess, but I would worry about that later.
Hauling myself off her, I took a seat and dragged her limp body onto my lap.
I checked my watch—one fucking hour. Taking out my cell, I handed it to her. “Her number’s at the top. Call her and tell her to back off.”
She went to hop down.
“Not fucking happening,” I growled, putting her right back on my lap, and catching her chin so that she was forced to meet my eyes. “If you can’t convince her, I’ll have no choice but to fight. This community is civilized for the most part. But a challenge is a challenge, and you accept it, or you forfeit. I have one hour before the challenge, so whatever you need to say to her, you need to make it fast and compelling.”
“Okay,” she said. “I’ll convince her.”
There was hesitation in her voice, though, like she wasn’t sure about the outcome. The crazy ex-girlfriend had been bold enough to gain an audience with Taylor, and I figured she wouldn’t be easy to convince.
Whatever Ava’s relationship with Jodi, or those men she had known long ago, I intended to erase all of it from her memory.
Ava
I burst out crying when I heard Jodi’s voice.
It took several deep breaths before I could get anything out, and even then, it was barely coherent. I wasn’t lying to Blaine when I’d said I wanted to be with him, but damn it, this was hard.
I told Jodi I was okay, that I was just happy to hear her voice. As was typical for Jodi, she went off on a wild rant about what she was going to do and who she was going to kill.
“Jodi, please! I need you to hear me out. Can you do that?”
Her sigh was loud. I could picture her grinding her teeth, jaw locked and eyes spitting fire. It didn’t help that I was on Blaine’s lap, covered in filth, blood, and cum, and naked from the waist down. His cock nestled under my ass was like an attention magnet.
“I don’t want you to fight Blaine.”
Jodi huffed out another breath, probably rolling her damn eyes.
“He’s not a bad man.” God help me, could this get any more embarrassing. I had a bad feeling he could hear both sides of the conversation. I risked a glance; his locked jaw said he could. I lowered my lashes. “He’s—I think he’s a good one.” Maybe the best I’ve met since I left that nightmare with my uncle. “Please, Jodi. Can you give it time?” I think I love him. I know one day soon I’ll need to leave, but I want to pretend for a little while.
“Is he there with you now?” she demanded. “Because that’s fucking coercion if he is, and I’m going to kick the bastard’s ass from here to next week.”
“If you fight, Jodi, it’s going to destroy me.” Blaine’s fingers tightened painfully on my waist. He was getting ready to rip the cell from me; I knew it. “Don’t do this, Jodi. Don’t fucking destroy me.” My anger imploded, and I said the one thing I knew would get through. “I’ll never forgive you if you do.”
“Fucking Christ!” she hissed through the cell. “Fine. Fucking fine. Just promise me you’re okay. Say the words. Say you fucking promise. And don’t lie to me or so help me, I’ll kick your ass too.”
“I’m fine, Jodi, I promise. Please, withdraw the challenge.”
“You’re not giving me a choice, are you? I’ll do it. But I need to see you soon.”
The phone was wrested from my fingers. “You’ll see Ava when I damn well say,” Blaine barked into the phone. “And if you go off upsetting her again, that may be the wrong side of never. Are we clear?”
I could hear Jodi roaring down the cell. He winced and mouthed the words crazy bitch, before surprising me by smirking.
There’d been many surreal moments since I’d met Blaine, but I thought this one might have topped the chart.
“Yes, I’ll be there tomorrow. Looking forward to meeting you too.”
He snapped the cell off and tossed it to the couch beside us. “I’m so fucking exhausted.”
Yes, so was I. “Let’s go to bed.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Nora
APPARENTLY, SOMETHING IN the tests I’d undertaken suggested I was a good fit for a job at the medical center.
In Sanctuary, everyone had a job to do, a myriad of activities that kept the place functioning, clean, and the community members fed. But this felt different. A job that came with a wage, of sorts. I’d not heard of anyone having a paid job, not since before the collapse, and that was such a long time ago.
There was a day care facility at the medical center, and I was never more than ten minutes away from Adam the whole time, but I cried my heart out the first day, and it wasn’t much better the next.
By the end of the first week, it wasn’t quite as terrifying, although I still checked on him seventeen times.
While in Sanctuary, I’d left Adam with Rachel on plenty of occasions. The medical center was different. I didn’t know anyone here, except for Carter. And there were so many people, it terrified me how many. But the day care was surprisingly well presented, catering for older babies through to school age.
I was shocked to discover they had schools in Guilder City, and further, attendance was mandatory.
It was a lot to take in. The opportunities presented to Adam living here far surpassed those within Sanctuary. And unexpectedly, and although I had only known Carter for a short time, I thought he might make a good role model.
My hospital duties involved stocking the essential medical supplies for the wards. The first morning, another assistant shadowed me to show me how it was done and how everything was recorded.
After that, I was left to do the work unsupervised, mostly. It became apparent early on that new arrivals were watched. I was okay with that. Time would bring my acceptance, and I ignored the few people who acted coldly toward me.
I visited each medical bay, checked the supplies, and restocked where necessary. It wasn’t a complicated task, but everything had to be documented and updated into the stock system. It was satisfying.
Lunch and breaks were spent with Adam, where I met a few mothers whose shifts coincided with mine. They were more welcoming than the ward staff, and I soon found myself looking forward to seeing the other moms as much as I enjoyed doing my work. I was at the bottom of the food chain here, not a nurse or doctor, but I did my part to make sure everything ran smoothly.
It was far from an easy ride, but it wasn’t terrible either.
But my new life was thrust once more into the dark space by the arrival of Mandy’s sister, Gilly. The same mean, pinched expression as her sister, she cornered me in the supply room, shutting the door and putting her back against it.