Faster (Stark Ink, #3) (33 page)

Ava and Emilio chuckled in unison.

Adam emerged from the hallway holding Ava’s backpack, which was, admittedly, stuffed to the gills. But it was only one bag, Ava rationalized. So, it was still okay.

Adam tried to look happy for her, but she knew he was keeping his nervousness in check. “We’re coming, you’re going,” he commented.

Ava smiled reassuringly. “We’ll be back in a few weeks. No big deal.”

After hours upon hours of interviews with the District Attorney as well as the DEA, Ava had attained permission to take a break for a while. Not that she needed the approval of law enforcement, but as Doc had suggested, Ava was trying to cooperate as much as she possibly could.

It didn’t look like they’d need her to testify. Apparently, the surveillance teams had gathered quite a bit of damning evidence before Ava had even wandered in front of one of their cameras.

Hopefully, that would be the extent of her involvement.

She slid her leather jacket off the back of the couch and stepped back out onto the porch. The rest of the family followed her down the steps toward the driveway.

As Ava turned, Sienna came around from the side of the house, having cut through the shared back yard. She waved and Ava waved back.

All that was left was goodbye.

“Listen,” said Adam, not releasing the backpack just yet, “you call, okay? At every stop. I want to know where you are and that you’re okay.”

Before Ava could answer, Pop shouldered Adam aside, giving him a dirty look. “I’m the father, for God’s sake.”

Adam dutifully bowed his head and handed over the pack.

Pop looked at Ava sternly as she shrugged it on. “Call,” he demanded. “At every stop.”

Ava bit her lip to keep from laughing. “Yes,” she replied. “Yes, sir.”

Emilio was already on his own bike. On her way to her own, Ava pulled Sienna close and hugged her fiercely. “I’ll be back before your birthday next month. I promise.”

Sienna squeezed her back. “Okay. Well, have fun.”

Ava stepped back and studied the ever-so-slightly younger girl’s face. “You, too,” she told her. “You should have fun, too. You’ve got to go out. Have a good time.” Then she smirked at Sienna. “Probably not to a biker bar, though.”

Surprisingly, instead of arguing, a sly grin spread across Sienna’s face. “I will, actually. I have a date,” she half-whispered.

Ava’s eyebrows shot up. “Seriously? Oh, my God!” Her eyes darted around, landing on Jonah standing several feet away. If he’d heard, it wasn’t obvious to Ava. If he had, he didn’t seem to care. Maybe Emilio’s speculations were all wrong.

Oh well, Ava figured. Jonah had had his chance with Sienna but didn’t take it.

Ava squealed. “I’m so happy for you! Who is he? Do I know him? Is he from school? Where’re you guys going? Is he hot? Is—”

Sienna threw her head back and laughed. Her chestnut hair was streaked with blond highlights. Ava was glad that all that beauty wouldn’t go to waste. “He’s nice,” she declared. “I met him at work, actually.”

Ava froze and blinked at her. “Wait. What work?”

Sienna looked sheepish but excited at the same time. “I interviewed last week at a vet’s office yesterday.” She wrinkled her nose. “Mostly cage-cleaning right now. But they
hired
me. I start officially tomorrow. I was going to tell you.” She shrugged and waved her hand dismissively.

Ava sighed and nodded. Things between them
had
been a little strained. But Sienna hadn’t ditched her completely. She was here now and would be when Ava got back. They had time to mend fences, as Pop called it.

How the girl had ever forgiven Ava for all the things she’d said, Ava would never know. She was just eternally grateful for a best friend like Sienna. Ava stepped forward and hugged her again. “I want to know everything,” she insisted. “Right when I get back. Hair color, eye color...
underwear colo
r,” she whispered.

Sienna blushed and Ava laughed. Things were already starting to get back to normal.

“Take a picture of him, if you can,” Ava demanded. “Send it to my phone.”

Sienna grinned. “I will.”

As Ava looked over the faces of her family before taking off, she realized once more how close she’d come to losing them. She fought off the shudder inside her. They were all together. They were all safe. That’s the only thing that mattered.

She drove her Honda slowly down the driveway and rolled to a stop beside Emilio. “Ready?” she asked, flexing her fingers over the throttle.

Emilio leaned over, visor up, and winked at her. In a low voice he said, “First one to the Grand Canyon wins.”

She smirked at him. “What the prize?”

He snorted. “Dat ass.” He slapped his visor down and roared off the curb.

Ava followed in hot pursuit, wondering if she’d let him win.

T
he trek to the top was easy, thankfully. Below, they’d ditched their camping gear and raced each other to the top. The sun was setting and Ava didn’t want to miss it.

They stood at the edge now, in the middle of a bend that had the canyon sprawling on both sides of them. Ava thought if she stood here long enough, she could count every crack, every chisel made by millions of years of water and wind.

It made the Badlands seem young by comparison.

The blue sky, the red cliff face, the yellow sun, the green scrub trees thousands of feet below, every color of the spectrum seemed to be present and accounted for, all shimmering against the last of the daylight.

And though the sun was setting, Ava felt it was just the beginning. She’d be here tomorrow. And the day after that. And again a year from now,
ten
years from now. She’d return to this spot, she told herself, whenever and as often as she could. She knew, even now, that part of it would stay with her when they returned home.

Emilio came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. His lips touched the back of her neck. “It’s always better in person than what you picture in your head.”

She grinned and slid her hands behind her to his hips. “Are you talking about you or the canyon?”

He chuckled, vibrating her back between her shoulder blades. “Both.”

The sun dipped down below the horizon, softening the sky above them. Behind her, though, Ava could feel something hardening.

“Let’s go back,” he urged, running his hand into her jacket, just under her breasts.

Ava shook her head as she stepped out of his hold. She turned to face him. “Let’s do it here. So we can see the canyon.”

Emilio frowned, scanning the ground. He shook his head. “It’s rough,” he told her. “And we don’t have a sleeping bag. You’ll get torn up, bruised, and I’m
not
having that.”

She grinned at him. “No one said we had to do it on the ground.” She turned and broke into a run, back to the bikes. She didn’t look back but she could hear him chasing her.

“I’m gonna catch you, muñeca,” he called out to her. “And then you’re gonna explain yourself.”

Ava made it to the bikes first, already stripping out of her jacket. She tossed it over the handlebars and then spread her feet shoulder-width apart. Her hands slid slowly over the blood-red seat of Emilio’s Interceptor. The bike was the perfect height to display her jean-clad ass to him.

She wiggled it a bit, looking over her shoulder. She was pleased at the smoldering look in his eyes.

He’d stopped a few feet away, apparently enjoying the view.

“Here,” Ava demanded. “Like this. Right here.”

Emilio wiped his mouth eagerly as his eyes darted around them. “Never fucked outside before,” he said quietly.

“Me neither,” she admitted.

For a moment, she wasn’t entirely convinced he’d take her up on it. It was only just sunset and it wasn’t terribly dark. They were the only people around at the moment, but that didn’t mean someone might not come up the path.

“Fast,” she urged him.

His eyes narrowed at her. “What’d I tell you about going fast?”

His tone was sharp and a surge of heat flooded Ava’s belly. She took a slow, deep breath.

“Muñeca,” he pressed, “what’d I say about going fast?”

She was lightheaded now, breath catching in her throat. “That you were going to teach me to go slow.”

He nodded, taking a step toward her. “Think I am,” he said more to himself than to her, it seemed. “Think we’re going to have that lesson tonight.”

He stalked toward her like a predator, heavy boots scraping the sun-bleached dirt. Around them, darkness settled like a cocoon. It protected them, made them bolder somehow.

Emilio came up behind her and ran a hand down her back.

Ava shivered at his touch.

He cupped her hip, then her ass, teasing her with a light touch. “Stay bent over,” he ordered. “Just like that.”

Ava’s fingers pressed into the leather of Emilio’s seat as she nodded.

He stepped closer and the heat from his body nearly melted her own. His hand slid around her hip to her belly, then down. Gently, he tugged at the button on her jeans, then slowly pulled her zipper down.

She whimpered in anticipation.

His hands grasped the waistline of her jeans and he pulled them down to her knees. “Nice,” he commented as a finger slid between her skin and her thong and tugged at it.

His hand came down hard the first time. Ava had expected it, but jumped anyway. The sound echoed off the canyon walls and she bit her lip to keep from crying out.

He massaged the spot carefully before he hit her again. “My girl,” he growled. “My bad, bad girl. Always trying to outrun me. But I’ve caught you now, haven’t I?”

“Yes,” she gasped as he smacked her again.

“You want to be caught, though, don’t you?
By me
.” He pushed her thong aside and felt her slicked folds. “So wet for me,” he whispered. “You want me in there so badly, don’t you?”

Ava couldn’t speak anymore. His hands were overloading all her senses. She thought she nodded. She hoped she did.

“You know why?” he asked, spreading her wide. Thankfully, he didn’t wait for her to answer. “Because you’re mine.” Emilio pressed himself to her back, lips at her ear. “Are you ready for me, muñeca?”

She swallowed hard and nodded. The sound of his zipper was unmistakable and within seconds he was pushing inside her, shaft splitting her wide. His strokes were gentle, though, slow and rhythmic. Pressure built up inside her as he rubbed her clit with his thumb, timing it to each thrust.

“This is what slow feels like, muñeca,” he told her. “Isn’t it good?”

Ava laid her head on her arms and closed her eyes, concentrating on each inch of cock that was pounding her over and over.

He must have felt her getting close, must have noticed she was squeezing her thighs together for maximum friction. As the moon rose slowly overhead, her orgasm rose inside her, threatening to peak at any moment.

“Finish with me, Ava,” he demanded. “Together. And I’m going to come inside you, because you’re
mine.
”

She was done, over the edge, like a headlong rush into the canyon that surrounded them.

It felt like flying.

She was barely aware of him pumping inside her, releasing his load straight into her, as promised. She was warm, skin buzzing, head swirling. That was all she cared about.

Back at the campsite, it was fully dark now. All the stars, it seemed, had come out to give them a show. Emilio unzipped the skylight and let it hang open. As Ava lay curled next to him, head on his chest, she had a suspicion that this might be the best moment of her life.

“When we get back,” he said quietly, “are you ready to move in?”

She craned her neck to look up at him in surprise. “I... I don’t know. I hadn’t thought of it, really.”

“So think about it now.”

She did for a few moments, while fighting to keep her eyes open. “I’ll have to stay at home a couple of nights a week,” she told him. “For Pop.”

He rubbed her back with his hand as he nodded. “I guess I can spare you for a couple of nights. But only a couple.”

Ava took his free hand and threaded their fingers together. “Is that what we are now? Am I your girlfriend?”

“Hell no,” he replied.

Ava stiffened.

“You’re a hell of a lot more than that, Ava. Girlfriends come and go. You’re
here
and you’re
mine.
You’re going to ride on the back of my bike, because that’s where you belong. You’re going to carry my baby someday, because that’s where my seed belongs. And I’m going to love you forever, because that’s where my heart belongs. We
belong
together, Ava. You can go anywhere you want, anytime you want, but you’ll never go alone.”

“Because I’m yours.”

“That’s what I said.”

She scraped her thumbnail over one of his callouses. Emilio fixed bikes. Emilio had fixed
her
.

“Why did we meet?” she asked him suddenly as the question popped into her head. “Were we meant to be together? My family knows yours, but we never met before. Not until I needed you.”

He shrugged. “Good question. What do you think?”

Ava blinked at the stars overhead. Comforting to think one of them was Mom, guiding her in the dark. “I think...” she said slowly, forming the words carefully in her head and then in her mouth, “it was fate.”

He tugged at a strand of her hair. “You finally catching up to me, baby?”

Ava grinned back at him. “I’m already way ahead of you.”

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