Avoidance

Ava lasted four days.

Four days of ignoring Dominic’s messages. Four days of making excuses when her mother asked her to come by the house. Four days of telling herself that what happened in the kitchen had been a moment of temporary insanity that would not be repeated.

On the fifth day, her mother called and asked her to drop off a signed document that needed to be returned to Dominic’s office. Ava almost said no. Then she told herself she could go in, hand it over, and leave within ten minutes.

She was wrong.

Dominic opened the door before she finished knocking. He was dressed casually in black pants and a dark shirt with the sleeves rolled up, and the way his eyes moved over her made it clear he had been waiting.

“You ignored my messages,” he said.

Ava held up the envelope. “I’m just dropping this off.”

“Come inside.”

“I wasn’t planning to stay.”

“I wasn’t asking.”

He stepped aside. After a short hesitation, she walked past him into the house. The door closed behind her with a soft click that felt louder than it should have. The house was quiet. Too quiet.

“Where’s my mom?” she asked.

“Out until evening. A charity meeting.” Dominic took the envelope from her hand and set it on the side table without looking at it. “You and I need to talk.”

Ava crossed her arms. “There’s nothing to talk about.”

“There’s plenty.” He walked toward the living room and waited until she followed. “You can stand there pretending it didn’t happen, or you can sit down and have an honest conversation. Your choice.”

She sat on the edge of the sofa, spine straight, expression tight. Dominic sat across from her, calm and composed, like they were discussing a business arrangement instead of the fact that he had fucked his stepdaughter on the kitchen counter.

“What happened the other night was a mistake,” Ava said.

“Was it?”

“Yes. You’re married to my mother. You’re my stepfather. That alone should be enough to end this conversation.”

Dominic rested his forearms on his knees and looked at her directly. “I’m aware of the situation. I’m also aware that you came on my tongue twice before I even got inside you, and that you didn’t tell me to stop once.”

Heat rushed to her face. “That’s not the point.”

“It’s exactly the point. You wanted it. I wanted it. It happened. Now you’re avoiding me like that changes anything.”

“It should change everything.”

“But it doesn’t.” His voice stayed even. “Because if it did, you wouldn’t be sitting here.”

Ava stood up. “I’m leaving.”

Dominic stood as well. He didn’t block her path, but he stepped close enough that she had to stop or walk directly into him. The height difference forced her to look up.

“Tell me you haven’t thought about it since that night,” he said quietly. “Tell me you haven’t replayed it. Tell me you haven’t woken up wet thinking about how I felt inside you. If you can say that honestly, I’ll let you walk out right now.”

Silence stretched between them.

Ava’s throat felt tight. She hated that he was right. She hated even more that her body already felt warm just from standing this close to him.

“This is wrong,” she said.

“I know.” Dominic lifted a hand and brushed his thumb across her lower lip. “That doesn’t make me want it less.”

He kissed her.

There was no hesitation in it this time. One hand slid into her hair while the other gripped her waist and pulled her firmly against him. Ava’s palms landed on his chest, meaning to push him away, but her fingers curled into his shirt instead as his mouth moved over hers with controlled hunger. When he finally pulled back, both of them were breathing harder.

“Upstairs,” he said.

“Dominic—”

“Upstairs, Ava.”

The quiet authority in his voice made her stomach twist. She turned and walked toward the staircase. He followed close behind her, one hand resting on the small of her back, guiding her without force. The moment they stepped into the guest bedroom at the end of the hall, he closed the door and locked it.

Ava turned to face him. “If we do this again—”

“We are doing this again.” He pulled his shirt over his head and dropped it on the floor. “And this time I’m not going to be rushed.”

He walked toward her, gripped the hem of her top, and pulled it off in one smooth motion. Her bra followed. Dominic looked at her bare breasts with dark appreciation before lowering his head and taking one nipple into his mouth. He sucked slowly, deliberately, while his hand cupped the other breast, thumb stroking back and forth until her breathing turned uneven. He switched sides and gave the same focused attention until her fingers were tight in his hair.

Only then did he drop to his knees.

He opened her jeans and dragged them down her legs along with her underwear. Ava stepped out of them, suddenly bare while he was still half-dressed. Dominic pushed her gently until the backs of her knees hit the bed, then guided her to sit. He spread her thighs wide and looked at her for a long moment before leaning in.

The first slow stroke of his tongue made her gasp. He licked her with patient intensity, taking his time, exploring every fold with thorough attention. Long strokes. Shorter ones centered on her clit. Deeper ones that made her hips lift toward his mouth. Every time she made a sound, he adjusted and did it again.

He pushed two fingers inside her while he continued licking, curling them against the sensitive spot that made her thighs tremble. The combination pulled a broken moan from her throat. Dominic hummed against her and kept working her with steady focus until her legs started to shake.

“Dominic… please—”

He didn’t stop. He licked and stroked her until the first orgasm crashed through her hard. Ava cried out, her hands gripping the sheets as her body clenched around his fingers. He worked her through it, then kept going until the oversensitivity made her try to close her thighs. He held them open and continued until a second climax tore through her even stronger, leaving her gasping and trembling on the edge of the bed.

Only then did he stand.

He unbuckled his belt, pushed his pants down, and freed himself. He was hard and thick, the head already slick. Dominic stroked himself once while looking at her, then gripped her hips and pulled her closer to the edge of the bed. He rubbed the head of his cock through her soaked folds, coating himself thoroughly, before pushing inside in one long, continuous thrust.

The stretch forced a sharp, shared sound from both of them. Dominic groaned as he sank all the way in, holding himself deep for a moment.

“You feel perfect,” he muttered. “Even better than the first time.”

He started moving with deep, controlled strokes. Each one filled her completely. Ava’s hands gripped his arms as he fucked her with steady intensity, eyes locked on hers. The wet sound of their bodies meeting filled the quiet room. He watched every reaction on her face, adjusting his angle until every thrust dragged against the place that made her breath break.

One of his hands slid between them to rub firm circles over her clit. The dual sensation built the pressure fast.

“Come for me,” he said, voice rough. “I want to feel it while I’m inside you.”

The third orgasm hit her hard. Ava cried out as her body pulsed tightly around him, her back arching off the bed. Dominic kept thrusting through it, drawing every wave out of her until she was shaking. He still didn’t finish.

Instead he pulled out, turned her onto her stomach, and lifted her hips. A moment later he pushed back inside her from behind in one smooth, deep stroke. The new angle dragged a raw moan from her throat.

Dominic gripped her hips and started fucking her with heavier thrusts. The sound of skin meeting skin filled the room. One of his hands slid around her body to rub her clit again while he continued driving into her.

“You can keep saying this is wrong,” he said, voice low and rough. “But your body opens for me every time like it was made for this.”

Ava’s fingers curled into the sheets as another climax built with sharp intensity. The combination of his deep thrusts and the steady pressure on her clit pushed her over the edge again. She came hard, crying out into the mattress as her body clenched around him.

Only then did Dominic bury himself to the hilt and follow her. He groaned low as he emptied himself deep inside her, holding her tightly against him through every thick pulse of his release.

For a long time afterward, neither of them moved.

Dominic stayed buried inside her, breathing heavily against the back of her neck, one hand still spread over her stomach. When he finally pulled out, he shifted them both onto their sides and pulled her back against his chest.

Ava stared at the wall, body warm and aching and thoroughly claimed, her pulse still uneven.

Dominic’s mouth brushed her shoulder.

“You’re going to stop avoiding me,” he said quietly. “And we’re going to do this again. As many times as it takes until you stop pretending you don’t want it.”

Ava closed her eyes.

She didn’t argue.

Because lying to him had already become harder than telling the truth.