Wicked Love (Wicked White Series Book 3) (13 page)

A tingle of pleasure shoots down my spine as his mouth covers mine and I teeter on the edge of another orgasm.

“Tyler,” I cry out his name as another wave of pleasure rushes over me.

Tyler grunts as he quickly pulls out and comes all over the outside of my folds.

He presses his lips to mine one more time. “I don’t think I’ll ever get enough of that.”

I smile and wrap my arms around his neck. “Me neither.”

After getting dressed, I giggle as we make our way down the stairs. Tyler takes my hand and threads his fingers through mine as he leads me into the cool night air and back to the truck. Tonight has been perfect and I can’t imagine how things can get much better than they are right now.

TYLER

I
t feels fucking amazing to have Avery on my arm and to know that she’s mine. To know that it’s been a while since she’s had sex and she chose to be with me is a pretty big deal, and I feel honored she wanted to share that part of herself with me. Must mean she really likes me, and that only validates the feelings I’ve been wrestling with.

I was surprised to find out that she was so inexperienced, and I would’ve never guessed it had been over a year since she had sex. The way she was ready to smash Chance’s headlights in made me believe they were a hot and heavy couple, but I was wrong. If I had to guess, that show she was putting on that night was more for those sorority bitches who left her stranded in a parking lot with a man she didn’t even know.

I’ve officially staked my claim and I don’t see how I can give her up now. I know that I went against my promise to Dad and slept with Avery, but I feel like if he were here, he would understand. I don’t have any intention of fucking around, and I still plan on pursuing my musical aspirations.

Avery and I slink past her Granny’s house on the way back to my truck.

We reach the passenger side of the truck and I open the door before I wrap my arms around her slim waist and pull her against me. “I don’t want to let you go.”

Her hands snake up my chest and then her fingers curl around my neck. “I’m not going anywhere.”

She rises up on her tiptoes and presses her lips to mine. I close my eyes and get lost in how good it feels to be with this beautiful creature.

I pull back. “Come on before I take you back to the barn for round two.”

She giggles as her hand slides down my cheek. “It’s not a threat if the person will enjoy the torture.”

A crooked smile crosses my face. “It’s nice to know that I’ve left you thoroughly satisfied and hungry for more.”

A blush creeps over her cheeks and I love that I affect her like that.

I sigh. “I need to get you out of here before I lose all my gentleman manners. You hungry?”

She shrugs. “Not really.”

I raise one eyebrow. “Hmm. Maybe I didn’t give you enough of a workout.”

She brushes a strand of her dark hair out of her face. “It’s not that. You know I don’t like to eat much.”

“You look amazing, Avery.” My eyes trail down her body unabashedly and I have to say I like what I see.

“I . . .” She hesitates like she’s trying to choose her words carefully. “I once had a bit of a weight issue and I have to work much harder than the average person to maintain my looks. I don’t want to ever be the way I was. I don’t ever want to go back to being ugly.”

My heart crushes in my chest. “Avery, how could you believe that you’ve ever been anything other than amazing? When I look at you, I see a woman who other women would kill to be like. But even better than your looks, I know that you’ve got a good heart. Your father has told me how you have been the only person that’s stuck by him since he lost his job. That tells me you’re loyal, and that’s a rare quality these days. The beauty you’ve got inside you trumps anything on the outside. So don’t ever think for one second that you could look bad. You’re beautiful. Even a blind man can see that, but it’s what’s inside of you that I’m falling for.”

And there, I’ve admitted how I’ve been feeling about her and it wasn’t awkward in the least. It seemed like she needed to hear me say that I like more about her than just her looks, and it feels amazing to finally voice to her what’s been in my heart.

Her eyes glisten and I can tell by watching her expression that she’s fighting back her emotions. That fight only lasts seconds before tears roll down her cheeks. “That’s the kindest thing anyone has ever said to me.”

“That’s a shame, and I’m going to fix that. I’m going to remind you every day from now on how perfect you are.” I lace my fingers through hers and then bring them up to my lips, kissing the soft skin on the back side of her hand. “I’m going to start by taking you out for a celebratory milkshake.”

“What are we celebrating?” she asks.

She giggles as I hoist her up onto the bench seat of the truck and it’s good to see her smile through the tears. I don’t like seeing her frown, so I decide to keep her smiling by being a little brash. That always seems to get a reaction out of her.

I grin wickedly. “You and me fucking, of course.”

She smacks me playfully on the chest. “I can’t believe you just said that.”

I chuckle. “I’m joking . . . partly. But in all seriousness, we need to get out of here. Wouldn’t want your dad or grandmother to catch us.”

She glances over to the clock on the dashboard. “It’s nearly eleven. They’ve both probably been in bed for at least an hour now, so I doubt they’ve noticed us.”

I smile. “All the same, I wouldn’t want to explain to your father what we were doing in the barn. No father wants to find out the handyman he hired is fooling around with his daughter practically under his nose. No need to get him upset.”

“Agreed,” she answers. “I’m ready to head back to town when you are.”

It takes us less than fifteen minutes to get back to town, where we swing through a local drive-through to grab a couple milkshakes, and then head back to Blake’s place. His parties never stop on the weekend. There’s not really a good bar for everyone to hang out at, so Blake’s place has become the unofficial party spot for anyone close to our age.

When I park next to the curb, the first thing I spot is a crowd of people hanging out on the porch, which is typical for one of Blake’s parties. The party tends to grow throughout the night.

I take Avery’s hand and lead her back inside. The crowd in here is insane and there’re more people in here than usual. This might as well be a dance club instead of Blake’s house. These parties are the reason I refuse to be his roommate. I couldn’t handle people taking over my home like this every weekend, but Blake thrives on it. He loves that people come here for this.

Blake tips his chin up when he notices us in the room. “You two get your fucking out of the way so you can actually hang out now?”

All the guys burst out laughing, and I can’t even be mad at them. It was pretty obvious to everyone what we were doing based on the way I carried Avery out of here earlier, so it’s natural that they’d give me shit about it.

I take their good-natured teasing in stride. I hook my arm around Avery’s shoulders and pull her in tight against me. “Have you seen my girl?” I look down at her and grin. “She’s beautiful. How can you expect me to resist her?”

Blake shakes his head and laughs. “Whatever, dude. She’s hot. We all get it. You don’t have to keep rubbing it in my face that I’ll never have a shot at her. Unless . . .” He wiggles his eyebrows at Avery. “. . . she’s into more than one guy at a time.”

Avery wraps her arm around my waist and nuzzles into my side. “Sorry, Blake. I’m a one- man kind of girl.”

It warms my heart knowing that this beautiful woman is with me.

I pull Avery in close and kiss her lips. “My girl. I like the sound of that.”

She grins up at me, and just like that, I know I am such a goner for this woman.

We spend the rest of the night playing beer pong with Blake since that’s the game of choice for him. When he beats us, he does a victory lap around the house and cheers, but then pouts like a baby when we win a game. I can tell Avery is having a lot of fun. It means a lot that Avery and Blake get along so well. Blake’s been a really good friend to me and he was there when I lost my dad, so his opinion of any girl I date is important.

Avery lays the ping-pong ball down on the table and congratulates Blake on his victory before turning to me. “You ready? I need to get up early and clean the stalls.”

I kiss the tip of her nose. “Let’s go.”

As we drive toward her house, Avery unbuckles her seatbelt and then slides next to me inside the cab of my truck. She lays her head on my shoulder and I pat her thigh. I’m really loving just being with her, and it’s going to be difficult to leave her.

Rounding the corner down the dark country road brings a slew of flashing lights into view. My heart pounds in my chest the moment my eyes take in the situation. There’re only a few houses on this stretch of road and Avery’s grandmother’s house is the one with all the commotion. The thick lines of trees in the heavily wooded front portion of the property prevent us from seeing what’s going on until we get closer. I park beside the police barricade, and the raging fire on the other side of the trees comes into view.

“Oh, my God!” Avery screams as she jumps out of the truck and runs toward the driveway.

“Avery, wait!” I fling open my door and chase her—a million things going through my mind—and panic floods me.

Avery’s met by a line of police officers blocking the driveway. She pushes forward while screaming “that’s my house” over and over, trying her best to break free. It’s then my eyes flick up the driveway and land on a horrific scene. The barn is engulfed in flames, completely unrecognizable, and the house just next to it has flames shooting up from its roof.

How the fuck did this happen? Things were fine when we were here a couple of hours ago. How could . . .

I stop myself in that thought as I retrace the last time we were here. The lantern in the barn—I don’t remember turning it off. My mouth gapes open and my heart squeezes inside my chest.

This is all my fault—the fire—all of it. I was so caught up in fucking Avery that I left that fucking lantern going in a loft full of straw. I can’t believe I was so careless.

It takes everything in me to not drop to my knees behind a frantic Avery, so instead I stare up at the sky. This is a message from my father. A warning that I broke a promise to him the second I started fucking around. My head spins. While Avery and I were alone in that barn, my musical ambitions were the last thing on my mind. She was my entire focus—not my future.

This fire—I don’t like what it might be trying to tell me. We were the last people in that barn. It’s unlike me to be so careless. I’ve put people I care about—Avery, her father and grandmother—at risk. I’ve hurt others because I haven’t kept my focus where it should’ve been. I need to get my fucking shit back together.

“Where are they?” Avery’s scream cuts through my thoughts and I can see that she’s on the verge of losing it on the cop who is holding her back. “Tell me something, please! I need to know they’re all right!”

I take a step toward her and wrap my hands around her shoulders and pull her back against my chest. A sob tears out of her as she turns and buries her face into my chest.

I hate seeing her hurt like this and it’s goddamn ridiculous that no one is giving her a straight answer so I decide to give it a shot. I turn my attention to the stocky police officer in front of us. “Officer, please. Can you tell us where to find her grandmother and father? She just wants to make sure they’re okay.”

The cop frowns and pulls the hat off his head, revealing a buzz cut. It’s then I notice he’s pretty young for a cop—midtwenties, tops—so not much older than me. “Off the record, I can tell you that the only one I know about for sure is the older woman who lives here. She was taken to the hospital via ambulance after inhaling a lot of smoke.”

“And my father?” Avery asks. “Where is he?”

“We’re not sure. The elderly woman told us to check the barn, but at this time we’ve been unable to locate any male on the property—but they’ve been unable to get the flames under control in the barn, so no one has been in there to check it out.”

“Oh, God.” Avery’s legs buckle below her and she grows limp in my arms as she begins to cry hysterically. “Daddy! Daddy!”

She can barely call out his name through her sobs.

My heart crumbles in my chest knowing she’s going through hell.

“Miss, I know this is difficult, but we’re going to need you and your friend here to step back—”

Avery narrows her eyes. “I’m not going anywhere until you find my father.”

Instead of getting angry with her defiance, the officer’s expression softens and he says, “We are doing everything we can, but right now what I need from you is to give the fire department and police officers the space to do their jobs. As soon as we locate your father, we will notify you.”

She sniffs. “Okay. How about my granny? Is she okay?”

“From all the reports I’ve heard, she’s being treated and they expect her to make it.”

There’s very little information being given, and it’s probably because they really don’t have anything to tell us.

The best thing I can do is pull Avery away and allow the crew here the space to work as they’ve asked. “Come on, Avery. We need to go check on your grandmother. Maybe we’ll find your father there too.”

She nods, but I know leaving here without knowing anything is killing her.

When we get back to my truck, she clings to me as she cries. I wish there was more that I could do to comfort her, but all I can do now is stand here and wrap my arms around her while I silently hate myself for causing her this pain.