Page 149 of The Trouble With Bad Boys

Her mouth drops open, and I flash my eyes to Reed’s.

“Don’t worry.” I reach my hand across the seat for Ava’s, and she laces her fingers between mine. “We’re not gonna let anything happen to you or Hallyn. We’ll get to the bottom of it.”

“I, uh, know some people too. I can try asking around about security footage and see if any of the cameras nearby picked up who it was.”

Reed and I share a look again, and we both know exactly what he plans to do. He’s right about the fact he knows some people, but he’s not opposed to alternative means to get what he needs if those avenues don’t pan out either.

I’ve jokingly asked him if he’s a hacker before, but he laughed me off.

Ava nervously chews her lips for most of the drive to our house. When we pull into the driveway, Reed hops out and heads inside, leaving us alone.

“How are you feeling?” I ask.

“I think I’m just trying to wrap my head around everything that’s happened tonight. How did we go from me trying to pull my friend out of the house to have fun to this? What if she wouldn’t have gone out with me tonight and was home alone?”

I unbuckle Ava’s seat belt. When she glances at me, I nod for her to come here.

“I need to feel you, baby.” I move my seat back. Ava obeys, climbing over me to straddle my lap.

She wraps her arms around my neck and buries her face there. It isn’t until she settles in that I feel her body relax against me.

“I think you’re onto something about Tanner. I don’t think he’d ever actually hurt her, but I do believe he’d try to scare her,” she whispers. “How would he know about them, though? She made Beckham promise not to tell anyone. As far as I know, he kept his word.”

“Or maybe he found out the same way I did…” I suggest.

Ava sits back and stares down at me. “By seeing his truck parked outside our place and figuring out it’s his?”

I shrug. “Who knows? If he does know, though, I’m guessing it won’t be long before Alec finds out about us too.”

Ava sighs, brushing my hair away from my forehead. She’s told me how much she loves my beard, and it makes me smile when she runs her hand over my cheek.

“You asked me earlier what we were doing and what this is between us. I never got the chance to ask you the same question. What do you want this to be, Ava?”

“There’s something I’ve been wanting to tell you for a while now, but it never felt like the right time. I didn’t know how you were feeling or how to bring it up, but I’m falling in love with you, Colter. I think I have been since the first night you took me out for a drink, and I beat your ass in a game of pool.”

I chuckled. “I’d let you kick my ass at pool again and again if it meant I could spend those ten days with you in my bed every night.”

“You don’t have to, though. I want to be there with you.”

I grab her face and pull her into me, our lips crashing hard against each other. I moan, and the loud rumble vibrating in my chest grows when she grinds her pussy against me.

My hands find her hips, guiding her until she breaks the kiss. Her breathing comes out in heavy pants, and she drags her hand through my hair again, roughly tugging at the strands this time.

“I love you,” I growl, and she smiles.

Her eyes twinkle beneath the dashboard lights and the glow from the front porch lamp. I doubt anyone can see us from the outside with my window tint, but damn, can I see her.

She throws her head back, shoving her breast in my face. I tug her shirt down, latching onto her nipple, and she groans.

“I love you too,” she whispers breathlessly.

I release her nipple, flicking my tongue over the puckered skin, and she trembles.

“Let’s go inside. I need you, baby, but I want you in my bed where I can feel every inch of you beneath me.”

The air is crisp when we step out of the truck since the temperature has dropped. I wrap my arm around Ava, and she melts into my side as we take the stairs into the house.

Ava pauses on the shoes in the entryway and again when we reach my room, motioning to Beckham’s closed door, and I nod.

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