Page 67 of Lilies in Autumn

“You and me both,” Grey replies. “We’re at the house now, but Ava’s parents want her down at the precinct to file a report.”

“You’re filing, too. I don’t give a shit that your face isn’t visible; it’s obvious to anyone that knows you that it’s you in that video.” After confirming the time with Grey’s dad to meet at the police station, I text my parents to confirm and send them Greg’s number. I fall back on his bed, drained from the back-to-back phone calls we just had.

Grey drops down next to me, grabbing my chin and turning my face toward his. “You okay, vixen?” he whispers.

“Not really, no,” I reply honestly.

“What can I do to fix that, vixen?” He leans in, nipping my bottom lip before trailing kisses up my jawline. “It fucking guts me to see you upset,” he says against my skin. Sinking deeper into the mattress, I close my eyes, letting his lips consume the emotions festering inside me. Grey opens his mouth, sucking the flesh of my earlobe into his mouth before biting down.

Shifting my body, I raise my hands until they’re tangled in his hair, holding him firm against me. Releasing my ear on a pop, he murmurs, “Are you going to be a good girl and be quiet while I eat your pussy? Or do I need to stuff that pretty mouth of yours with my cock to keep you quiet?” I nod my head, saying yes to both options he just presented to me.

“Which one, vixen? Do you want this cock, or do you want to ride my face?”

I’m about to respond when someone bangs on Grey’s bedroom door. “You two better not be fucking in there,” Dante calls out.

“Fuck off, D,” Grey calls out, rolling off and pulling me to my feet. He lowers his voice, “Let’s go, vixen. We need to meet our parents and get this fucking shit taken care of.”

“I know,” I sigh. “I would rather crawl under a rock and hide. Is that an option?” I step around him and walk toward the door, ready to face the firing squad that awaits.

“Vixen.” Grey’s arm shoots out, stopping my progress. “It’s you and me, together. Remember that.” He links our hands, and we walk out as a united front.

—

Entering the kitchen, we’re met with five concerned pairs of eyes. Sera, Lincoln, and Serena having joined while we were in Grey’s room. It doesn’t take a genius like Serena to deduce a few hard truths about not only our situation but that of our friends, too.

First, the video of me and Grey is all over the school. I’ve received so many messages in the last few hours to realize that the saying, “It lives forever on the internet,” is unfortunately true.

The second, based on Sera’s oversize T-shirt and the hickey on her neck, is that she and Lincoln spent the night together. The amount of concern I have for that is overshadowed only by my third, and final, observation: something happened to Serena. I take a closer look at her face and see the bloodshot, watery eyes that seem even huge against the abnormal pallor of her usually honey skin. She looks away as soon as she meets my eyes, and I can’t help but ask, “Serena, are you okay? What happened?”

Her soft laugh is twinged with sadness. “Shouldn’t I be the one asking you if you’re okay? Jesus, Ava, I called Celeste as soon as I saw the video on my socials this morning. It was taken down a little while ago, but it was up long enough for a large population to see it.” She winces, as though she’s experiencing the same amount of pain I am over the situation, and maybe she is. It doesn’t go unnoticed by me that she deflected my question, but I have more pressing issues right now than interrogating Serena.

“Yeah,” I start, swallowing the lump in my throat at the mention of how many people had access to that video. “Can’t say we’re doing too great but…” I pause, turning to look at my hand enclosed in Grey’s before glancing up at his face. “We’ll be okay. I think.” He lifts our clasped hands, kissing the back of my hand before dropping them to his side.

Grey clears his throat, commanding the attention of the room. “We’re heading over to the precinct to meet our parents and file a police report.” He glances over at Dante, sharing a look that I can’t quite decipher, before looking at Lincoln. “D, Linc, take care of the girls. We’ll be back later.”

“C, I’ll meet you back at the dorms later—”

“The hell you will. You’re staying here, vixen,” Grey cuts me off.

“No, I’m going back to our dorm.” I roll my eyes, not surprised by the caveman behavior, but annoyed all the same.

“Ava, just humor me for tonight? If you’re still being a stubborn little pain in my ass, I’ll bring you back tomorrow. But I need you in my bed tonight, okay?”

“Is that supposed to be an endearment?” Sera whisper-yells from across the room.

“Yes.” “No.” Greyson and I say at the same time.

I huff, holding back the sharp retort at the overprotectiveness wafting off him like cologne. “Fine, but you’re bringing me back tomorrow. I need to prepare for my pastry class and review my notes before the bake.”

“Fine. Now, get your tight ass moving; I want to get this over with.” He drags me toward the front door, grumbling about “stubborn vixen” and “spanking her ass” under his breath as we approach the threshold.

I wave goodbye over my shoulder before tugging my hand out of his grasp. “Stop being such a dick, Grey.”

“I wouldn’t have to be a dick if you’d just let me take care of you. And you like my dick.”

“Dammit, Grey. I’m serious. You can’t just throw out an order and expect me to obey.” He comes to an abrupt halt, and I crash into his back. I take a step back, giving him space, but that just seems to piss him off. Grabbing my shoulders, he spins us until my back is flat against the door and he’s caging me in. Capturing my lips, he marks me in a blistering kiss before pulling back. It’s not so much sexual as it is a claim.

“You’ve told me all of the ways us being together has affected your life, how you feel about this fucking stalker, but let me tell you how I feel. My girl, the girl I fucking love, is pulling away and being stubborn instead of letting me take care of her. I get it, okay? I fucking get it. You’re scared, you’re hurting, and you’re retreating from me, but I’m not letting you go fucking far. So, vixen, you may not like how protective I’m being, but suck it the fuck up, because I’m not going anywhere. If anything happens to you,” he pauses, pulling in a ragged breath before continuing. “Goddamn, if anything happens to you, I won’t be able to fucking live with myself. So, just fucking let me take care of you, okay?”

---