“Seymore, are you alive?” Marcus says from the office doorway, causing me to sit up in the chair. I had been so caught up in learning about Ava’s family history last night that I must have fallen asleep in my office. I whip some drool off my mouth and look over at him.“You look like shit, man. Did you sleep in here?” he remarks, a confused look on his face.I nod, looking around the room and trying to fully wake up. “Why don’t you go take a shower and I’ll make breakfast,” Marcus offers before moving out of the doorframe. A shower sounds great. Hopefully, it will help loosen up this kink in my neck. As I step under the hot water, I think about everything I learned the night before. Dr. Desmond Davies is Ava’s father. I don’t know if I should be upset by the fact she hadn’t told me or not. Maybe she thought I already knew? Then there’s the bigger issue.I have a meeting with Dr. Davies tomorrow. How am I supposed to look him in the eyes knowing he’s the one who pushed Av
*Ava’s POV*Seymore walks out the door and I hurry around the corner to confront Dr. Davies. My father has been a pain in my life for a while. I feel bad for him, so I stay. Everyone else left him and his impossible ego years ago. First Nick, leaving permanently, and then Mom. Ellie has been telling me to stand up to him for years. She told me that it sucks when family is toxic, but you need to cut them off like you would any other toxic person. “What did you do?” I snap, anger in the back of my throat. He shakes his head and slowly walks down the steps toward me. Even his walk is condescending, and I’m made to wait for an answer until he’s ready. Today isn’t a day for dramatics. Seymore was upset, even if he tried to mask it with a smile. He puts the need to comfort me above all else, and I love that.“Ava, you won’t understand,” Desmond says, walking over to my desk. “You’ll think I’m trying to control your life when all I’m doing is protecting you.”“Protecting me? Th
*Seymore’s POV*I’d been nervous walking out to Marcus and Ava. I thought for sure she was going to be mad at me for keeping something from her. It wasn’t that I didn’t want her to know, I just never really thought about telling her. The point of a bodyguard is to have protection no one knows about. She handled it well, making honesty moving forward a little easier to provide. I hadn’t expected Ava to be so eager to help me with the injured dog. I know she loves what she does at the shelter, but not many people want to put the extra effort in at home. The thought of her coming over to help with Goldie opened up a whole new possibility I hadn’t considered. As they bring out the dog, I watch as Ava wobbles a little on her feet. I hadn’t considered preparing her for the condition of the Golden. They had shaved around her neck to remove the collar. Some of the larger mats had been shaven out as well. The poor creature looks a mess with pieces of her coat missing here and there.
I make it home from Ava’s, but I don’t remember the drive. I was in a daze the whole way home. I don’t know why, but Sophia Ambrose had been sitting on the couch with Ellie when I glanced through the door. I know it was her, I was able to get a good look at her face. For some reason, that face brought back memories I didn’t know I had.A drunken night about eight months ago had been one of the reasons I sought help for my addiction. I had never been so drunk in my life, and I wound up bringing someone home. I hadn’t remembered who it was, and she left before I woke up. The whole situation scared me.Now I can’t get the thought of Sophia out of my head. Was the mystery girl all those months ago her? I walk into the house in a daze. Marcus is sitting on the couch with the dogs and he doesn’t say anything as I walk past. Before I know it, I’m sitting on the edge of my bed with my phone in hand.I start scrolling through the names and numbers of the various contacts I’ve added over t
*Ava’s POV*I haven’t been able to calm myself down since the conversation with Seymore last night. I had thought everything was going great, until that call. He hadn’t sounded like himself, and it took me a minute to figure out what was happening. Nick had gone through bouts with his addiction where he wasn’t the happy person he usually was.I remember talking to him, and it took a long time for him to open up about the dangerous side of sex addiction. The darkness that kept sex on his mind until he appeased it. Obsessive thoughts would cause a physical struggle that pushed him into doing things he normally wouldn’t do to get a fix.I had been unable to sleep, worried that Seymore would do something he would regret. The research I’ve been doing on how to have a relationship with a sex addict let me know it would be difficult. I just don’t know that I’m ready for this.“You look like a hot mess,” Ellie comments as I walk into the living room.“Gee, thanks,” I reply, walking i
*Seymore’s POV*My brain had not done Ava justice. Her sensual curves, the freckles that dot her shoulders before stippling down to her breasts, the sweet dampness of her womanhood. As I stand here before her, I feel inadequate. Like a boy who has no clue what to do with his penis.I wasn’t expecting his, Ava’s brash decision to pull me into the bedroom had caught me by surprise. Now I stand here, trying to burn the image of her supple skin contrasting against my black silk sheets into my mind.She’s catching her breath after I pleasured her orally. I want to slide my cock deep inside her until I can’t push it anymore. But we are doing things her way, this time. Keeping the demon at bay isn’t as hard as I thought it would be. This type of sex is so far removed from what I normally do, I think the beast hasn’t caught on yet. “You are absolutely breathtaking,” I whisper, lowering myself on top of her to steal more kisses.She moans softly into my ear, causing a shiver to run d
I try not to let Ava see my face as I glare at Marcus. How could he let it slip in front of her? He mouths ‘sorry’ at me as Ava goes to let the dogs in. It was going to have to come out eventually, may as well be now. I sit on the couch, my plans to walk the dogs through the property with Ava fading with each passing minute. “Oh, no. You stay here,” I tell Marcus as he tries to sneak off to his room. In typical Marcus fashion, he sulks like a child over to the couch before joining me with a huff. Ava follows with both dogs hot on her heels. They try to start roughhousing and Ava quickly calls it to a stop. Goldie isn’t allowed to play rough until she’s healed. “Okay, so what were you saying about the Ambrose family?” Ava asks calmly while sitting next to me. I sigh. “Do you know who the Ambrose family is and what they do?” I question, needing to know how well she knows the people involved.“No,” Ava replies. “But now is your chance to educate me. If I’m going to help,
*Ava’s POV*As I pull up to the curb in front of my building I can’t help but marvel at how nicely Seymore’s SUV drives. It’s getting late and I really need something to eat and to change my clothes before heading back to him and Marcus. I noticed a stain on my pants that must have been a little too close to Seymore’s bed earlier. I wouldn’t worry about it, except for the fact it’s very noticeable. It took a lot of convincing to get Seymore to let me go. He wanted Marcus to come with me, but I would rather he stay with Seymore. As I open the door, I notice all the lights are off. Ellie must be out. I flip on the switch by the door as I close it. There is a note from Ellie sitting on the entryway table. *Ava-I was called into work while hanging out with Sophia. I shouldn’t be too late, I’m just covering for a few hours. I’m sure Seymore won’t mind hanging out till I get home. See you, boo.*I smile, Ellie is such a sweetheart. I’m in the process of kicking off my shoe