Chapter Three : Horny For Him

Chapter Three: Horny For Him

Avery's POV

The next morning smelled like burnt coffee and bad decisions.

I sat cross-legged on the couch with a mug I wasn’t drinking from, staring at nothing, while Nyx paced in front of me like a lawyer preparing for trial. She had been watching me since I walked through the door last night and refused to say anything beyond “I’m fine” and “I need a shower.”

She wasn’t buying it anymore.

“Talk,” Nyx said, stopping in front of me. “And don’t even try the ‘nothing happened’ line. You came home looking like someone rearranged your soul”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Too bad. I’m your best friend. That means I get access to the messy parts. Spill.”

I pressed my lips together. The memory of Kael’s fingers inside me, the way he had fingered me, the calm way he had told me I was leaving with him—it all sat heavy in my chest. Talking about it would make it real.

Nyx dropped onto the couch beside me and poked my arm. “Avery. I will start guessing out loud and it will be disgusting.”

I groaned and dragged a pillow over my face. “Fine. He bought the private dances. I went to the VIP room. I danced. Things… escalated.”

“Escalated how?”

“He touched me.”

Nyx’s eyes widened. “Touched you touched you?”

“Yes.”

“And?”

I lowered the pillow just enough to glare at her. “And he figured out I was a virgin somehow, mocked me for it, fingered me until I was shaking, then refused to let me come. After that he announced that I now belong to him for thirty days because he paid for Maya’s treatment. Also he called me his mate and started talking about wolves. So. That’s where I’m at.”

Silence.

Then Nyx said, very carefully, “I’m sorry. Wolves?”

“Werewolves. Mate bond. The whole delusional package.”

Nyx stared at me. “Avery… that man is crazy.”

“I know.”

“Like, actually insane. Rich, hot, finger-talented, but insane. There are no werewolves. There’s just men who read too much dark romance and decided to role-play with real money.”

“I know.”

“And you still let him touch you?”

I buried my face in the pillow again. “I hate everything.”

Nyx was quiet for a moment, then softened. “Was it at least good?”

I didn’t answer. That was answer enough.

A little while later I escaped to my room under the excuse of needing sleep. The second the door shut, the restless ache that had been humming under my skin since last night flared back to life. My body still felt wound tight, unfinished. Every time I closed my eyes I saw his gold eyes and felt his thick fingers stretching me open.

I lasted maybe four minutes before I decided to comfort myself.

I pulled the vibrator out of the drawer like it had personally offended me, shimmied out of my sleep shorts, and lay back against the pillows. The first buzz against my clit made me bite down on a sound.

I was already wet. Embarrassingly wet. My free hand slid under my shirt to palm my big breast as I pressed the vibrator harder against myself, circling, teasing.

It wasn’t enough. I was so damn horny.Horny for his touch.

I slipped it lower and pushed the tip inside, gasping at the stretch. Not as thick as his fingers had been, but enough to make my back arch. I worked it deeper, thumb still rubbing my clit, hips lifting off the bed.

“Kael…” His name slipped out before I could stop it. Quiet. Desperate. I hated how natural it sounded.

I fucked myself with the vibrator faster, chasing the orgasm he had stolen from me. When it finally hit, it tore through me hard enough that I had to press my face into the pillow to stay quiet. My thighs shook. My cunt clenched around the toy like it was trying to keep it there.

Afterward I stared at the ceiling, breathing hard, and whispered to no one, “I’m in so much trouble”

---

The hospital smelled like disinfectant and weak hope.

Maya looked better. That was the first thing I noticed. There was color in her cheeks again, and the constant tightness around her mouth had eased. When she saw me, she smiled the soft little smile that always made my chest ache.

“You look like you haven’t slept,” she said as I sat beside her bed.

“Rude. I look mysterious and tired.”

She laughed, then winced a little. Still healing. But healing.

“They said the new treatment is working,” Maya said quietly. “The expensive one. The one I thought we would never be able to afford” Her eyes met mine. “How did you get the money, Avery?”

My stomach dropped.

I reached for the water pitcher on her tray and poured her a cup that was already full. “Does it matter? You’re getting better. That’s the only part I care about.”

“It matters to me.”

“Well, it shouldn’t.” I forced a grin. “Maybe I sold a kidney. Maybe I finally won the lottery. Maybe I blackmailed a president. The world is full of possibilities.”

Maya gave me the look. The one that said she knew I was denying and was only letting me get away with it because she was tired. “Just tell me you didn’t do anything dangerous.”

“Define dangerous.”

“Avery.”

“I’m fine,” I said, softer. “You’re fine. That’s the whole list of things that matter right now.”

She let it go. For the moment.

I stayed until she fell asleep, then sat there another twenty minutes watching her breathe like I could guard it.

---

The next day started normal.

Which should have been my first warning.

I was in the kitchen trying to make a slice of toast when the sound of multiple engines rolled up outside. Heavy. Expensive. Too synchronized to be random traffic.

Nyx parted the curtains, peeked out, and went still.

“Avery,” she said slowly. “Why are there four black SUVs in front of our building?”

My blood turned cold.

I walked over and looked.

Men in dark clothes stepped out of the vehicles in practiced formation. Not police. Not ambulances. Something quieter and more expensive than either. One of them checked his phone, then looked straight up at our window like he already knew which one was mine.

A knock hit the door. Firm. Not loud. The kind of knock that didn’t expect to be refused.

Nyx whispered, “Don’t answer it.”

I answered it. I had to.

The man in front was tall, built like a security system with a heartbeat, and wore an earpiece. He looked at me once, confirmed whatever he needed, and said, “Avery Hale. Mr. Voss requests your presence. Immediately.”

Of course.

Of course he did.

I stared at him, pulse climbing, the memory of his gold eyes and his voice saying you belong to me slamming back into my mind.

Behind the man, the other SUVs waited with their engines still running.They didn't even bother to turn it off. It was like they knew they would get exactly what they wanted quickly and leave.

Nyx grabbed my wrist. “You don’t have to go.”

The man didn’t even glance at her. “Boss’s orders. She’s coming with us.”

I looked past him at the line of black cars, at the open door of the lead vehicle waiting like a mouth, and felt the last piece of normal life tilt under my feet.

Kael Voss had come to collect what he paid for.

And from the look of the men at my door, “no” was not going to be an option.