Chapter 27: Whiskey Kisses

AVA

I was watching a movie when the sound of my downstairs buzzer made me jump. I quickly got up and ran to my door. My heart fluttered when I saw Cyrus on the intercom screen.

I pressed the button to let him in, and I waited by my door for him to get there, checking my looks in the mirror above the entryway table.

Suddenly my heart sank. I hadn’t expected him back tonight. What if he was here to tell me he had made a mistake?

My mind didn’t get a chance to spin completely out of control, because just a moment later, Cyrus barged in, grabbing my butt and lifting me into him with one arm, closing the door behind him with the other.

Our lips connected, and we kissed like we hadn’t seen each other in months. He pressed me into the wall and ground into me like his life depended on it.

I gasped for air and grabbed his face in my hands, pushing it away from mine a little.

“What’s going on?” I couldn’t help but notice the kissing felt angry, feral even.

“Kiss me, Ava.” He claimed my lips again. He carried me into the living room and eventually set me down on the couch.

“What happened?”

“My father.”

He leaned his head back on the couch and closed his eyes. I looked at him for a while and then got up to grab two glasses of water.

I rinsed my mouth out at the sink, washing away the taste of whiskey he had left on my tongue. I couldn’t help but shudder.

Cyrus’s brows knit together. “Did you just try and wash away our kiss?” He sounded semi-amused, but also slightly offended.

“No!” I felt my cheeks heat up. “Just…the alcohol.”

His face grew concerned. “Right… You don’t like alcohol.” He touched his lips with his fingertips.

“Hmm-mm.” I hoped to leave it at that.

“I had some whiskey.” He bit the tip of his thumb absent-mindedly. “A couple of glasses, but I’m not drunk. I could go home tonight if it makes you uncomfortable.”

My heart pounded in my chest. I looked at him, completely dumbfounded. Had he just offered to leave because he’d been drinking and I had a problem with it?!

I walked toward him and sat in his lap, my legs on either side of him. “I want you to stay.” I leaned my face into his chest. “It’s just, my ex—”

“I figured. Tell me about it when you’re ready. I’ll go brush my teeth.”

He put me back on the couch and walked into my bathroom, leaving me choking back happy tears. He came back a couple of minutes later, dressed in just the boxers I had given him that morning.

I sat up, trying to conceal my excitement, but failing. Cyrus looked amused at my enthusiasm. He picked me up bridal style and carried me into the bedroom.

“I’m sorry to be crashing your night of alone time.” He placed me on the bed and sat down next to me. “I wasn’t planning on coming back here tonight.”

He lay back and closed his eyes, the familiar weary look on his face.

He was so beautiful. I loved his strong, manly features, his straight nose, and the shadow of his beard, which seemed to be getting darker by the hour. I wondered what had made him so tired.

“Is there anything I can do to help?” I gently trailed my hand back and forth over his abs.

Cyrus rolled over and put his face in my lap. He stuck his nose between my legs and inhaled, much to my mortification.

I grabbed the sides of his face, trying to pry him away from my most intimate area, but he wrapped his arms around my waist and repeated the action.

“Could you not?!” I yelled, horrified.

“Fuck, you smell so good.” His voice was muffled by my lap. “What do you do to make yourself smell so sweet?”

I ceased my attempts to get him off me, as I clearly didn’t stand a chance against him.

“Nothing,” I huffed. “That’s really weird, Cy.”

Cyrus looked up at me and smiled cheekily. “I can’t help it. It’s hypnotizing.” He pulled down the lace of my panties slightly and kissed his mark. “And it’s all mine.”

***

CYRUS

It was a good decision, going over to Ava’s instead of home. Just being near her had significantly calmed me down, and I needed the clarity to think.

My mind was jumping back and forth between the excitement of starting a new project and the reluctance to leave publishing behind.

Dom had encouraged me to broaden my horizons a couple of times, but I’d never thought about it seriously before.

I rolled back into Ava’s lap. She stopped protesting after I’d sought comfort between her legs a couple of times, and now she just softly scratched my scalp when I did so.

I loved her sweet surrender, and how she was still trying to comfort me through her own uneasiness. Such a good girl. And that sweet, sweet scent of hers nearly sent me over the edge on its own.

“Cyrus?” God, how I loved hearing her say my name.

“Yes, baby?”

“Do you want to talk about what happened tonight?” Her hands dropped down from my hair, and her thumbs started caressing my cheekbones.

“Here, or at my appointment?” I kissed her belly.

She pushed me away playfully. “Either. But mainly about why you were so angry.”

I sighed. “I went to see my father. We had dinner together. He wants me to leave publishing.”

Ava’s eyes widened. “Why would he want that?”

“He wants me to open another Brentstone and Sons branch. Wants me to ‘grow the empire.’”

Her hands were now running up and down my biceps soothingly. “How do you feel about that?”

“I don’t know, honestly. Part of me is excited for a new challenge. The other part wants to stay put, doing what I know I do well, and see you in the office every day.”

Ava giggled. “Well, you get to see me outside of the office from now on, if you want. Plus, I think that means I wouldn’t have to quit, if you’re no longer my boss.”

I raised my head to look at her. “You were going to quit?”

“I thought I had to. Shouldn’t be dating my ~boss~, should I?”

She shifted, and the soft, smooth skin of her belly brushed against my cheek. I kissed it, and she giggled some more.

I smirked at her. “I’ll be your boss whether you work for me or not.”

I yanked her down by her hips so that she lay flat beneath me. I kissed her roughly, and soon we lay back panting, both needing to catch our breath.

I needed to go take a cold shower, to keep me from taking her now. It had barely been a day since I’d stopped holding myself back.

And besides, Ava deserved to be taken on dates before sealing the deal. Especially after how I’d treated her before. I grabbed my balls beneath the blanket. They felt sore to the touch.

Her eyes trailed down my arm, and her cheeks darkened when she saw where my hand was. Suddenly, I felt her small hand join mine. I jerked back out of shock.

“Did I hurt you?”

“No, baby.” I wanted her to resume but was afraid the moment had passed.

“Can I touch you?”

I could hear angels singing in the back of my head. I grabbed her hand, not wanting to seem too eager, and guided it back to my cock, which was bobbing up and down with excitement.

Her fingers slid over the fabric of my boxers, softly stroking from base to tip. I heard her gasp at the size. ~That’s right.~

She slowly dipped beneath the elastic band of the boxers I was wearing, and I held my breath as she slipped her hand into them and gently wrapped her fingers around the shaft, no doubt trying to get an idea of the girth.

She released it and made her way down, cupping my balls in her hand gently.

“Are you sore?” Her breath in my ear along with her hand down my boxers nearly made me lose my shit.

“A little.”

“Want me to take care of it?” She started off sounding confident, but as she spoke, I heard her nervousness peek through.

I was trying to keep my thoughts from spinning out of control. “What did you have in mind?”

In response, Ava started trailing open-mouthed kisses from my neck down. She stopped right below my belly button and looked up at me for approval. ~Holy fuck.~

“May I?”

She lifted the elastic band slightly. My cock felt like it was about to rip out of its skin.

I nodded, biting the insides of my cheeks to try to keep from exploding as she started to take off my boxers.