Avery knew people were staring, from the moment Desmond walked in with another bitch in his arms right through when Ian started flirting with her.
People were probably amazed by how a few days ago, Avery was showing everyone her relationship was fine but today, they were both with different people.
Even if Avery’s notion of love was old-fashioned, she was someone who understood the concept of payback… although kissing Ian wasn’t entirely because she wanted to get back at Desmond.
Ian was cute and attractive and he seemed pretty eager so it was like killing two birds with one stone; however… Desmond’s reaction to her totally harmless action was what she didn’t expect.
“Is this why you broke up with me? You acted like you were obsessed with me but you had someone else…really? Why… because he’s younger?” Desmond could hardly hold herself back from punching Ian, making Avery scoff in total disbelief.
“Sorry, do I know you?” Her question had the whole party taking a solid pause. Even though she knew her act was petty, it was better to ignore him than cause a scene at her bestie’s birthday party.
“What? Avery, are you seriously pretending not to know me right now?" Desmond asked, looking around, obviously embarrassed by Avery’s question as people started to chuckle and mutter to themselves.
Avery knew they wanted drama; after all, she never left the gossip column but this time, she refused to give anyone anything to talk about.
“But I’ve never seen you in my life. Sorry, you’ve got the wrong person and by the way, it’s probably because he’s more handsome. Ian… do you want to go catch some fresh air with me?” Avery turned back to Ian, who instantly nodded and stood together with Avery but Desmond tried to reach Avery after that, and she didn’t notice until a sharp cry erupted from him.
“What are you—?” Avery’s words died in her throat when she saw Ian letting Desmond go as he had just caught his hands reaching to her.
“Get a hint, man; she said to back off,” Ian rephrased for her as Desmond clutched his reddened wrist, leaving Avery wondering how Ian overpowered him.
“You son of a bitch!” Desmond said, throwing a punch to Ian’s face in retaliation and making Avery gasp in shock but rather than Ian, it was Desmond who fell back with a pained expression as if he’d just hit a solid wall. “Fuck!” He cursed under his breath.
“Oh my God, are you okay?” Avery rushed over to Ian, whose terrifying expression softened after Avery reached for his face to check for bruises. “Oh shit, this is all my fault,” Avery said ruefully after seeing Ian’s busted lips.
“I’m fine,” Ian assured, holding Avery’s hands as they reached for his face, which was strangely getting hotter.
“Avy, are you serious? he broke my wrist and you’re-
“Des!” Rosie walked into the middle of the courtyard where the whole drama was unfolding and sighed. “Des, you need to leave. You’re ruining my party,” Rosie declared with an icy glare.
“Rosie,” Desmond called ruefully.
“Don’t fucking call me that. You need to leave...now! Rosie commanded and Desmond sighed, glancing briefly in Avery’s direction.
Ian, Avery, and Rosie were forced to retreat into the mansion because of the sudden attention on them and because Ian needed ice for his face. Rosie brought them over to her room, after which she left to get ice for Ian’s reddened face.
“I am so sorry. I didn’t think he’d take it that far.
“It’s okay. It wasn’t your fault. I wanted to keep his filthy hands away from you. Besides, his punch didn’t hurt…it felt like I had a cushion to my face, Ian shrugged.
“And yet, you have a busted lip,” Avery reminded before closing the distance to clean off the blood on the surface of his lips.
‘Shit… it’s that feeling again.’ Avery thought as she felt the point of contact tingle.
Avery thought before trying to pull away but Ian held her hand, forcing her to move close. ‘His cologne seems stronger for some reason and he’s getting warmer too.’ Avery furrowed.
The feeling intensifying to his very touch.
“Your eyes…they’re glowing again.” Avery noticed as she let Ian hold her hand for a while longer.
“I did say they glow when I’m excited,” Ian confessed and Avery pulled away, then the door opened up with Rosie reappearing with the ice pack.
“I’ll leave you two to it,” Rosie grinned before exiting the room while Avery walked over to help Ian with the ice pack.
“Honestly, you shouldn’t have challenged him like that. Seeing as you don’t know Desmond, you’re really not from around here, are you?” Avery guessed and Ian nodded, pulling off his jacket to reveal the v-neck t-shirt he had under them.
“Yeah, I came here to spend Christmas with my dad; he’s not feeling very well,” Ian informed as he gently lowered his jacket on Avery, who didn’t realise she was cold until the warm fabric clad her body.
“Thanks.” Avery mumbled, feeling grateful for Ian’s thoughtfulness. “That’s great…So, where are you from? Avery asked as she gently dabbed Ian’s reddened cheek with the ice pack.
“Raven Hills,” Ian responded, wincing as the ice pack. Avery watched as the crimson in his eyes faded.
“The one with the condition like yours?” Avery asked and Ian nodded.
“Yeah, I kinda needed to stay with him because of my condition. It’s way more complicated than glowing eyes, really,” Ian confessed, stopping Avery’s hands as they reached for his face again.
“Does it still hurt?” Avery asked in concern.
“A little but I bet it wouldn’t if you kissed the pain away.” Ian asked playfully, definitely not expecting Avery to lean in and do it.
Avery watched the colour rise into his eyes again as she softly pulled his lips with her, and Ian parted her lips further, allowing him to deepen their kiss; Avery was finally able to taste him. He tasted like vodka, so Avery could guess he’d had a few drinks of his own.
The kiss this time felt different and exhilarating, especially as the tingling sensation she felt travelled through her entire body and settled at her lower belly until she felt liquid pool between her legs and when they finally stopped to catch their breath, Ian lowered his head on her shoulders.
“Still hurting?” Avery wondered and Ian shook his head.
“No, it’s just… it’s driving me crazy; I want more.” Ian confessed silently, surprising Avery.Ian’s confession had her heart pounding so loudly in her chest, she feared he’d hear.
Ian was a young man visiting the city for Christmas, and they might never see each other again so maybe it’s okay to indulge him a little, Avery thought, before playfully moving his curls away from his face so he could see his green eyes.
“I don’t mind.” Avery shrugged, then watched the red in Ian’s eyes come alive as he slammed his lips right back to hers, holding her neck in place as he hungrily kissed her lips.
Then he paused to ask. “How far am I allowed to go?”
“I’m not sure how far d’you wanna take it.” Avery answered as she watched Ian’s eyes twinkle in excitement.
Avery realised maybe indulging Ian had nothing to do with him being new to the city; maybe it’s just her savouring the feeling of being wanted even if it’s brief. Avery enjoyed seeing Ian lay bare his feral desire, the need to have her.
He’s just a stranger anyway; let’s just enjoy this and forget it ever happened, Avery decided, as Ian set her whole body ablaze with need.
“Mnngh.” Avery bit back a moan as Ian kissed her down to her neck after dropping his jacket hanging on her shoulders, and as he kissed her again, he moved her to the door, which he locked from behind as he continued kissing her, allowing each other a taste of the drink they had, and though it was merely an aftertaste, Avery felt drunk.
Ian’s strong, hot hands trailed up her thigh, drawing her dress along with them until pooled at her waist.
Avery couldn’t hold back her moan when Ian’s fingers found her core, shifting her panties after slightly rubbing her wetness.
She slammed her head back against the door as she felt his intrusion.
A finger, then two, until her entrance was stretched open. Ian returned his lips to hers in an attempt to muffle her growing moans, and then Ian’s fingers began moving inside her, thrusting and letting her buckle against the door.
“Ian,” Avery struggled to say after Ian momentarily released her tongue he had wrapped around his and as he broke their kiss, Avery inhaled sharply to replace her lost air, then Ian flipped her over before plunging his fingers he had briefly withdrawn right back inside her.
“Argh…mnngh.” Avery felt her whole body cave to his control until he paused all of a sudden to lift the rest of her dress to reveal her lacy red underwear.
Avery shuddered in anticipation when Ian pulled her by the waist, resting her backside against the thick, hardened bulge in his pants and when she heard him unzipping his pants, she felt her insides clench with need.
“Mngh,” Avery gasped as she felt his hot hardness against her core.
Then let out a loud gasp as Ian sinks his entire length into her. She knew he was thick but she didn’t expect to be stretched out to her limit; any more and it would hurt.
“Fuck... it feels incredible being inside you,” Ian confessed as he gently moved, while Avery felt her leg tremble to the unexpected exploding pleasure; she wasn’t sure she could hold out for long, not with his length that almost felt like they were hitting the back of her throat at every thrust.
‘For a guy so young, he sure did pack a bunch.’ Avery thought, almost gritting her teeth as her body buckled hard against the door in sync with his sloppy movement.
“You have no idea how long I’ve waited for you.” Ian moaned but Avery was too unhinged to hear or make sense of what he said as Ian continued to thrust harder and harder until her legs gave out.
“Shit,” Ian caught her as Avery almost fell.
“There’s a perfectly laid bed just right behind you, y’know.” Avery pointed out and Ian chuckled, lifting her into his arms and only letting her go when her back hit Rosie’s soft bed. The loud music from downstairs reminded Avery the party was still in full swing and although it felt like she was doing something bad, she really didn’t seem to care.
Perhaps every moment with Ian would have been perfect if she hadn’t woken up to the news of her father’s collapse.
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Ian wasn’t sure Kaden would show up at the gaming room, but he did, looking a little bit lifeless and exasperated.Even as he introduced him to Derrick, who he often told him about, his reaction was rather bland; not like Ian expected him to be excited or anything, but his smile was forced, and his expression was grim.Even as Derrick kept handing his ass to him while they were playing, Kaden hardly said anything when normally he would have said a few things to cheer him up.“Spit it. What’s got you looking like oversoaked noodles since you walked in?” Ian finally asked after Derrick decided to get them some food over at the private gaming room they booked.“Was it obvious?” Kaden asked, and Ian arched a brow. “I’m sure soggy cereal is less obvious than you are; what’s gotten into you?” Ian asked, and Kaden sighed.“First off, I almost rejected my mate,” Kaden confessed, and Ian’s face went blank from the shock.“Hold on a minute, you found your mate? Since when?” Ian sounded betrayed
The plan was for Kaden to return to the pack right after the Elite party, as he was done with his duties as his alpha’s beta, but that was disrupted when he met Natalie, his mate and yet his alpha's date.He was quick to figure out there was nothing between them, though. After all, Ian was someone who wore his emotions on his sleeves, and the fact that he wasn’t seeing Natalie was obvious.Natalie, on the other hand… he couldn’t exactly say, since she had a hollow look in her eyes. A look of someone exhausted who didn’t expect anything good from the world, a look of total defeat.Kaden wished he could tear off that look off her face and fill her eyes with hope and life, but she wouldn’t give him the chance to.She tried asking for her number, but she didn’t leave any openings, nor did she accept his advances. Natalie seems a little older than him, maybe with a couple of years or, at most, four, but her stunning looks made her look absolutely younger than her age.Although she pretends
The moment Avery realised she missed out on Ian’s birthday, she became a little disoriented.Even while Rosie started to tell her about what’s been going on in her life since their misunderstanding, she couldn’t keep up.At least she didn’t miss the biggest details of Rosie telling her she had gotten back with Lewis. It’s not surprising.They’ve always been like that; their relationships were always on and off, and this one was their longest breakup yet since they at least tried to stay apart for a few months before getting back together.The two have the tendency to make her feel very uncomfortable; technically, being trapped between your assistant and your best friend isn’t fun.Avery gave up trying to mediate or fix things between them after the third time, but, well, it worked out.“Avery…is something up? You look disturbed.” Rosie noticed, and Avery sighed.She wondered how she could forget Ian's birthday when she knew the exact date; after all, she figured it out during Finn’s f
The moment Avery realised she missed out on Ian’s birthday, she became a little disoriented.Even while Rosie started to tell her about what’s been going on in her life since their misunderstanding, she couldn’t keep up.At least she didn’t miss the biggest details of Rosie telling her she had gotten back with Lewis. It’s not surprising.They’ve always been like that; their relationships were always on and off, and this one was their longest breakup yet since they at least tried to stay apart for a few months before getting back together.The two have the tendency to make her feel very uncomfortable; technically, being trapped between your assistant and your best friend isn’t fun.Avery gave up trying to mediate or fix things between them after the third time, but, well, it worked out.“Avery…is something up? You look disturbed.” Rosie noticed, and Avery sighed.She wondered how she could forget Ian's birthday when she knew the exact date; after all, she figured it out during Finn’s f
“Ian”, Derrick called again, drawing Ian’s attention after glancing into his phone for the umpteenth time since they met up.“Seriously, dude, are you even listening to me?” Derrick gave him a knowing look. “Why the hell have you got your eyes buried in your phone all day? You’ve got a girlfriend or something? Wait…is the article about you and that girl…what’s her name again… Natalie Howard, was it? Is it true?” Derrick asked, wearing a pensive look, unsure if he got the name of the girl right.“Seriously, I have no damn clue why anyone would think that.” Ian frowned.“I’m pretty sure shopping and hand-in-hand parties are places you go with a girlfriend,” Derrick mumbled. “Nat’s my friend, and that’s it. I haven’t heard the end of it from everyone from school too,” Ian complained, playing with the straw of his cappuccino drink as they both tucked into the corner of the cafe closest to Derrick’s place.“Really? That’s too bad. I thought she was kinda cute,” Derrick tsked. “So, you’ve
“I have absolutely no idea what you mean.” Avery feigned innocence before ignoring Arden and turning back to her mother.The whole world might have been fooled by their silly theatrical love story but she had no intention of playing along with their fucking games.But now that she thinks about it, anytime Arden listened to her or consoled her in the past, he would often tell her everything was going to be just fine once she inherited the company.It became a song he sang to her each time until it became a part of her.True, wanting to take over the company after her father had always been her purpose; she worked for it; it was her life, her dream, and while she had no choice but to give it up, she never liked that she did.But she also had no intention of picking it up because someone offered it to her or to satisfy someone else’s ambition.If she took over the company, it would be for her effort and hard work.“I know you think we abandoned you,” Avery was forced to turn to Arden aga