Page 110 of Going Viral for Christmas
Ava’s back presses lightly against my chest, and for one suspended moment, we’re just... breathing. One inhale from her. One heartbeat from me. Everything tightens.
“This isn’t about the axe, is it?” she whispers.
“Nope,” I admit.
I step back to give her space. “Go ahead. Let it fly.”
Exhaling, Ava adjusts her grip as I showed her, and with one swift, focused movement, launches the axe.
Thwack.
Dead center.
Stunned silence.
Then—
“Oh my god!” she squeals, spinning toward me. “Did you see that? I did it!”
She jumps into my arms before I can react, pure joy bursting from her. I catch her easily as her legs wrap around my waist, spinning her once, twice, breathless from the shock of how good this feels. She’s laughing against my neck. I’m grinning like an idiot.
And then it stops.
The spinning. The laughter.
What’s left is Ava in my arms, my hands locked under her thighs—well, her ass, actually—and her, staring at me with wide, gleaming eyes.
The world keeps turning, but the curve of her hips anchors me, and the sound of her laughter from a second ago echoes in my chest.
I want this moment to last forever.
I want to bottle her joy, the softness of her smile, and how her breath stops when she looks at me. I’ve waited my whole damn life to find the woman.
I promise Bells, I’m not a mistake.
The air sizzles when she presses against me, a slow collision of breath and want, her heartbeat brushing mine, our lips are so close, they’re almost touching. The world is still dancing behind us, but nothing exists outside this moment.
One more inch.
My tongue darts out over my bottom lip. “What’s next, Ava?”
Her wide eyes search mine—unsure, but burning.
“Do you want?—”
She kisses me.
Every cell in my body explodes.
It starts out soft, tender, a door creaking open to reveal a bigger room. Her lips are warm, parted, and I forget how to think. All I can do is feel. And holy hell, do Ifeeleverything.
Ava’s fingers knot into the front of my shirt. Mine slides down her waist, over her hips, fastening her to me as the kiss deepens. Her body rocks into mine, and that’s all it takes. My control snaps like a dry twig.
A guttural sound rips from me as I twist, pinning her to the wall. The thud vibrates through both of us. She gasps, and I take it, my mouth hungry, claiming. Pressing my hips forward, I grind against her, chasing that sharp edge of friction. The kiss turns rougher—tongue, teeth, breath—heat rolling off us in waves until there’s no space left to fill, no air left to steal.
Ava grasps at my shoulders, arching into me, hips rolling forward in a rhythm that sends blood surging south with alarming precision.
And then?—
