I stayed silent, restraining the rage within me.

“Now, listen to me,” Gene began, increasing the volume of his voice. “Quit fucking around and get your boyfriend to cough up the money.”

“How many times do I have to tell you? Dyson is not my God damn boyfriend!” I shouted, squeezing my eyes closed tight.

Gene stayed silent for second. “Get it handled. I’ll be in touch.”

“Shit!” I exclaimed.

Shaking, I flipped my eyes open and to my horror, Dyson stood not six feet away from me. I looked at him in shock before turning away. Frantic, I tried to slide my cell phone back into my pocket and get out of there. But before I could even move, he spoke.

“Ava?”

Frozen in place, I closed my eyes and swallowed hard. From behind, I heard the sound of his footsteps as he moved along the crushed gravel path.

Oh no, oh shit.

Not long after, I sensed his presence. He passed by me, brushing my upper arm. I flipped my eyes open to see him standing in front of me, arms crossed and eyes narrowed at me.

“Are you going to tell me what that was all about?”

I shook my head, still half in shock by the conversation I just had and the fact Dyson likely heard the most important part of it.

“No,” I whispered. “Please don’t make me. And anyway, it doesn’t concern you.”

“I heard my name. I happen to think it does concern me.”

I shook my head. “No, really, you don’t understand.”

“Yeah, no kidding, Ava. That’s why I’m standing here asking you. I heard you telling someone I wasn’t your boyfriend. What the hell is that about?”

I licked my lips, frantically searching my mind for a plausible lie. “It’s… It’s just my roommate, Jillian. She keeps making silly jokes about what I’m really doing when I’m here with the team.”

Dyson scowled at me, nodding his head slowly. I stared at him until I couldn’t anymore.

“So why don’t I believe you?” he said.

I looked at him once again, shrugging and shaking my head. “I have no idea. It’s the truth. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to get going.”

When I’d finished speaking, I tried to walk away. Before I’d taken a single step, Dyson stepped in front of me, blocking my path. Our eyes met for a second. I tried once more. Again, he moved in front of me.

“What are you doing, Dyson? Get out of my way.”

He edged closer towards me, shaking his head. “No. You’re not going anywhere. Not until you tell me what’s going on.”

“I don’t have to take this from you. Don’t threaten me.”

He licked his lips. “Trust me, it’s not a threat.”

It was clear he wasn’t about to let me walk past him. Frustrated, I turned my back and tried to walk in the other direction. But after only a single step, I felt his hand crush my upper arm in its grasp. Stopping, I snapped my head in his direction.

“Ow!” I exclaimed. “Let…” I began, yanking my arm. “Go! You’re hurting me!”

Yet Dyson remained silent, and instead of releasing me, he grabbed hold of my other arm. I struggled to free myself, but he pinned me against the wall.

“Shut up, Ava,” he warned, glaring at me. “Tell me what is going on. I know something is wrong.”

“Unnhhh,” I growled, shaking my upper body back and forth, still trying to break free. “Stop!”

And then, without a word of warning, Dyson leaned the weight of his torso against me and crushed his mouth into mine, kissing me. I continued to struggle, twisting my upper body and trying to break my mouth free of his.

“Unnhhhh!!” I exclaimed, thrashing beneath his viselike grip.

However, the harder I tried to break free, the stronger he became. Soon, I felt the energy of my struggle began to wear on me, and I relaxed a bit. Not long after, Dyson pulled his lips away from mine. We both stood there looking at each other without a word.

The only sound between us was the labored breathing we shared.

I tasted him in my mouth, traces of him left behind on my tongue. My lips parted. But before I could speak a single word, Dyson pressed his mouth to mine once again.

For no sane reason, I forgot about all of my troubles.

I inhaled his sweet scent, allowing his tongue into my mouth. With a soft moan, I reached up and slid my fingers into his thick hair. Dyson twisted his head back and forth as we kissed, in full view of anyone who happened to see.

DYSON

Yeah, I knew something was wrong. But fuck it, I couldn’t help myself.

I hadn’t seen much of Ava at all and something about the state she was in… I can’t explain it. What started as wanting to help, an urge to protect, transformed into something else.

I had to have her and I was sick of waiting.

And I couldn’t have been gladder I’d done it. She tasted incredible, sweet in a way that I can’t describe. She’d resisted me at first, but now I felt her body give in beneath me. She dragged her fingers along my scalp, making lazy strokes with the tips.

I didn’t give a shit who happened to see.

I’d waited so long for this moment that there could’ve been thousands of people around, and I wouldn’t have noticed. Eventually, we separated from each other. Ava looked up at me, her eyes glassy with the kind of lustful gaze I’d seen hundreds of times in my life.

I smiled at her, expecting the same in return. But, instead Ava blinked a couple of times and shook her head.

She looked away from me.

“Dyson,” she began, reaching up and wiping her lips. “We shouldn’t have done that. Please, let me go.”

I looked at Ava, trying to figure out what the problem was all of a sudden. She turned her face towards me. “Please…”

Nodding, I dropped my hands and backed away from her.

“Thank you,” she said, smoothing out the fabric of her shirt. “That was a mistake. I’m sorry.”

“What are you sorry about? I’m the one who did it. I’m not sorry one bit.”

Our eyes met. The bright green of her irises seemed darker somehow.

“Well, I am, Dyson. I’m sorry because I don’t want you to get the wrong idea about me.”

I slid my thumbs through the loops on my jeans. “What idea is that exactly?”

“I just… I’m not going to be one of your girls. I’m not going to be like Anastasia or Svetlana. I won’t.”

“I see.”

Her mood changed even more. Ava crossed her arms and shook her head. “I have no interest in being anyone’s flavor of the month. I have big goals and dreams for my life, and the last thing I’m interested in is being your… plaything.”

I nodded at her, content to let her speak her mind. “So you didn’t enjoy it?”

“Whether I did or not, it doesn’t matter. It was a mistake. I never should have done it and…”

Without thinking, and without giving her a chance to protest, I grabbed her and kissed her again. And just like the time before, she struggled. After a few seconds, I let her go.

“Stop that!” she said, stomping her foot. “What did I just tell you?”

I shrugged. “Why should I listen to you? You won’t even tell me what’s wrong.”

She pointed her finger at me. “Don’t try to change the subject. What’s wrong with me has nothing to do with…”

I snatched her in my grasp again. Kissing her harder than ever, I pulled her to my body and held her there as she struggled to break free. After a few seconds, I let go of her once more. She slapped my upper arm with all her might.

“God damn it, Dyson!” she exclaimed. “If you do that one more time I swear, I’m going to scream.”

I shook my head, casually letting her threat roll right off of me. I stepped towards Ava, pausing and looking at her in silence.

“Scream all you want, sweetheart,” I said, wiping my fingers across my lips. “Because until you tell me what the hell is going on I’m going to stand here and kiss you until the sun goes down.”

Ava glared at me. I backed away, maybe by a foot or so. Crossing my arms at my chest, I raised my eyebrows at her.