chapter one

COLE





I couldn’t concentrate on anything but her.

Her hair, her smile, her soft skin and the curve of her hips. Those big tits and that tight little ass, shown off in a dress that was too small for her. She was driving me insane – so insane that I’d had to take her in the closet, let her know she was mine if I wanted.

Her pussy had been warm and wet, stretching out around me as I fucked her with my fingers. The head of my dick would have been better, and I imagined what it would feel like, sliding into my stepsister’s tight little hole.

My cock twitched in my pants. I shouldn’t have pulled her into that closet, shouldn’t have made her come like that on my fingers. But I couldn’t handle seeing her with that asshole Ruskin. He was a douchebag. And Avery was mine.

But she’s not yours, Cole. She can never be yours.

“Cole!” Kalia practically yelled in my face. “Are you even listening to me?”

“Of course,” I lied. I wasn’t listening to her. I couldn’t focus on anything but Avery. She was over in the corner talking to Jeffrey Adams now, although there were so many people in the room I couldn’t get a good look at them. It made me anxious as fuck when I couldn’t see Avery, even more so when she was talking to another man.

I took a swig of the drink in my hand and wondered how long I should let them talk before I went over there and punched him out.

“And you have nothing to say?” Kalia demanded. She was wearing a long black and gold dress, her blonde hair pulled back from her face to show off her bright blue eyes and delicate features. Every man who walked by stared at her, that’s how beautiful she was.

I’d fucked her the first night I’d met her, and any time I’d wanted since. I could leave with her right now if I wanted, take her to my apartment, or to hers, and screw her all night. But ever since my stepsister had come back into my life, Kalia did nothing for me. No one did. Except for Avery.

“Nothing to say about what?” I asked Kalia, stalling for time. The crowd across the room parted a bit, and I watched as Jeffrey leaned in and whispered something to Avery. My hand tightened around my drink. I didn’t like him getting so close to her.

“Cole!” Kalia raged.

I sighed, annoyed that I was being forced to deal with this. Sleeping with my assistant had been a bad idea, especially with my tendency to get bored of women so easily. And although I hadn’t made Kalia any promises, she obviously hadn’t understood. I hadn’t even invited her here. She’d shown up unannounced, claiming she saw it on my schedule and just assumed she’d be needed. She wasn’t completely wrong – usually I would have asked her to accompany me, but I’d brought Avery instead.

“What?”

“You’re not listening to me.”

Yeah, no shit. “I am listening.” I wondered if I was going to have to fire her. It would be a shame. She was a good assistant.

“Then can you please answer my question?”

“Can you please repeat it?”

“I said are you coming over tonight?”

“No.” Jeffrey was leaning in even further now, and I watched his eyes roaming over Avery’s tits. I shouldn’t have let her wear that dress out of the house. But I liked looking at her in it. My cock twitched again, thinking about how it would feel to fuck those tits, to shoot a nice load of cum all over her nipples.

“Why not?” Kalia demanded.

“Because.” I was through making excuses. Excuses would just prolong the inevitable truth -- that I was done with her.

“You’re a real asshole, Cole,” she said.

“I know.” But I wasn’t listening, and she knew it. She followed my gaze across the room to where Avery was standing.

“What is she doing here?” she asked. “She’s only the second assistant!”

“I brought her.” I took another swig of my drink.

“For what? She doesn’t know how do anything yet.”

I shrugged. “Go home, Kalia,” I said. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

I drained the rest of my drink and set the empty glass down on a nearby table. And then I went to go get Avery.



AVERY



Jeffrey’s breath smelled like beer, and I tried to pull away from him, but he herded me over to the side of the room.

“Relax, Avery,” he said.

I tasted bile in the back of my mouth. Relax, Avery. That’s what he’d said to me that summer day. I could still remember the sun beating down on my shoulders, the sky so blue, the humidity so heavy in the air that it made my clothes stick to my skin. That day, and Jeffrey, were the reasons I hated summer, why I got depressed when the sun was out, why I preferred days that were cold and gloomy.

“I am relaxed.” I tried as hard as I could to keep my voice even, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of seeing how much he was affecting me. I scanned the room for Cole, hoping he would see me and come over, but there were so many people here now that it was hard to keep my eyes on him.

I finally spotted him, still talking to Kalia over by one of the elegantly set tables. She was gesturing with her hands and talking animatedly – whatever their conversation was about, it seemed serious. Was Jeffrey right? Were they fucking? I imagined Cole taking Kalia into the closet, the same closet where he’d just been with me, sliding his fingers up inside of her, making her come. Jealousy burned through me, which was ridiculous. He wasn’t mine. And how could you be jealous of something that didn’t belong to you?

“Cole,” Jeffrey said, shaking his head in disbelief as we watched Cole with Kalia. “That dude gets so much prime pussy.”

“What do you want, Jeffrey?” I asked. I pulled my eyes away from Cole and Kalia, turning my back to them so I wouldn’t have to see what they were doing. If I saw him touch her, even just brush the back of her hand, I was going to go insane.

“Have lunch with me,” Jeffrey said, giving me an easy smile, the kind of smile you would give an old friend. But we weren’t old friends. Not even close. “Tomorrow. I know an amazing Italian place.”

“No.” I shook my head. “No fucking way.”

He leaned in close to me again, and I saw his eyes flick down to my chest. “If you want to keep your secret safe, you’ll do whatever I say,” he said, his breath hot against my neck.

I glanced over my shoulder, weighing the possibility of seeing something between Cole and Kalia that would upset me against the fact that Cole might come over here if he saw I needed help.

Kalia looked gorgeous – she was wearing a gold dress with black sequins down the sides that nipped in tight at the waist and accentuated her lithe figure. Her golden blond hair was swept back into a side bun, setting off the delicate gold earrings that dangled from her ears. She looked chic and elegant and effortless. I felt big and disheveled just looking at her.

“He’s not a good guy, you know,” Jeffrey said, catching me looking at Cole.

“What?” I forced my attention back to Jeffrey.

“Cole. I know you always worshipped him growing up, but he’s bad news, Avery. He’s not a good person.” He shook his head sadly, like I was a child who needed to be told the truth. “The sooner you figure that out, the safer you’ll be.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said. “And I don’t – didn’t -- worship him.”

“Oh, please,” Jeffrey said, grabbing a crab-stuffed mushroom off the tray of a passing waiter. “You loved Cole growing up. You followed him around like a little puppy.”

“I did not!” I was shocked. I didn’t love Cole growing up. I resented him. I hated the way the girls in my class drooled all over him, hated how he would show up at the neighborhood pool and cause all my friends to abandon their magazines and suntan lotion just so they could flirt with him. I hardly had any friends growing up, and the ones I did have, well -- I always had to wonder if they were only spending time with me because they were hoping it would get them closer to my stepbrother.

“Whatever.” Jeffrey shrugged like it was no big deal. He finished the rest of his mushroom and washed it down with a swig of the beer he was holding. “So, coffee tomorrow?”

“No.”

“Really, Avery?” he said, sighing. “Can we just stop this little charade? Because I’d really hate for your big hero Cole to find out our little secret. I don’t think he’d like that too much, would he?” Jeffrey reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet, sliding out a crisp white business card. “Call me in the morning,” he said, pressing the card into my hand. As he did, his grip tightened around my fingers, holding on for longer than was necessary.

“What’s going on?” a voice asked from behind me. It was Cole, his eyes flashing with steely suspicion as he looked down at Jeffrey’s hand in mine.

“Nothing,” I said quickly, pulling away from Jeffrey. I’d somehow ended up with his card in my hand. I wanted to drop it on the floor, to show Jeffrey that I had no intention of calling him, but I couldn’t. I didn’t want Cole to know anything weird was happening. “I ran into Jeffrey and we were just saying hello.”

I smoothed my dress down, wishing I had a drink to sip, or something to hold in my hands. I felt fidgety and nervous.

“Nice to see you, man,” Jeffrey said, holding his hand out to Cole, who shook it.

“Nice to see you,” Cole said, but there was a hardness to his voice and his smile didn’t reach his eyes.

I wondered if something had happened between the two of them to make them hate each other. Cole hadn’t seemed upset when I’d brought up Jeffrey’s name on the way over here, but now he was acting like Jeffrey was the enemy. And all those things Jeffrey had said about Cole not being a good guy – it definitely hinted at some kind of bad blood between the two of them.

“Gearing up for the IPO?” Jeffrey asked easily.

“Yes,” Cole said shortly. “It’s been exhausting. So if you’ll excuse me, I think I’ll call it a night.” He looked at me pointedly. “Are you coming?”

“Yes,” I said. I turned to Jeffrey. “It was good to see you, Jeffrey. Take care.”

As I turned and headed for the door, I let Jeffrey’s business card fall from my hand and flutter to the floor.

I was hoping that would be the last time I ever had to see him.

But something told me it wasn’t going to be that easy.



***



Once we were in the back of the town car, Cole pushed up the partition so that we were alone, separated from the driver. He didn’t say anything, and instead just turned and stared out the window, brooding.

The silence stretched between us, growing more and more uncomfortable. After a while, I couldn’t take it anymore, and I was just about to speak when Cole beat me to it.

“Stay away from him, Avery,” he said, his voice a dark warning.

“What?”

“Jeffrey. Stay away from him.”

“I wasn’t… I didn’t intend on talking to him. He came up to me. I didn’t even know he was going to be there.”

“Then why did you have his card?”

“He made me take it. He pushed it into my hand.”

“I don’t want excuses. Just stay the fuck away from him, Avery. I’m serious.”

He pulled out his phone and began scrolling through his emails, indicating that the conversation was over. My blood boiled. What gave Cole the right to decide who I could and couldn’t talk to? He had been in some kind of serious conversation with Kalia, whom he obviously had some kind of history with.

And just because I’d talked to a couple of men tonight – one who I hadn’t even met before, and one who I hadn’t seen in years -- he was allowed to pull me out of there and then make rules about what was acceptable? Not to mention what he’d done to me in the closet-- pushed his fingers up inside of me, played with my pussy and my clit until I’d come, when just an hour before he’d agreed that couldn’t happen again.

I was sick of it.

Cole stayed silent the whole ride back to his apartment, and the whole time all I could think about was how I wanted to just pack up my shit and leave. Being around him was reminding me just how cocky and arrogant he was. He’d always tried to boss me around like this we were younger, and now that he had money, he was acting even more entitled.

When we finally pulled up in front of Cole’s building, the driver held the car door open for us, and I stepped out onto the sidewalk.

I hesitated, wondering if I should just be a huge baby and pitch some kind of fit right here on the street, refuse to go upstairs with Cole until he apologized for treating me like his property.

I stayed rooted in place as Cole stepped out of the car.

His eyes raked up my body, moving over my legs, my hips, and lingering on my chest. “Tomorrow we’ll get you some clothes that actually fit. I don’t want you walking around the city like that.” He turned and began to walk toward the lobby.

“Oh, really?” I called after him, just looking for a reason to fight. “Because you certainly didn’t mind it when we were alone in your apartment. And I didn’t hear any complaints when you pulled me into that closet a little while ago.”

He turned around, his eyes hard and cold. “Keep your voice down.”

“Why?” I asked. “Are you ashamed, Cole? Afraid what people are going to think? Because you sure as hell didn’t care what I thought of you when you left in the middle of the night without saying goodbye.”

“You keep saying that!” he growled, walking back across the sidewalk toward me. “You keep accusing me of shit when you don’t know anything about that night, you don’t know anything about what I did!”

“Yeah, and you keep saying that I don’t know what I’m talking about, and yet you don’t tell me anything! So what am I supposed to think?”

“You’re supposed to think that I wouldn’t have left you unless I had a damn good reason.”

chapter two

“Why? Because I’m supposed to trust you?” I shook my head. “Are you serious, Cole?” It was true. How could I really ever trust him? He was totally untrustworthy. I saw it growing up, in the way he would use girls for his own pleasure before tossing them aside, how a smile and a charming word would get him out of trouble. But most of all, I knew it firsthand, because of the way he’d left, because of the way it made me feel.

“Yes, I’m serious,” he said. “You should know that – ”

But before he could finish, the door to his building opened, and the doorman poked his head out.

“Mr. Buchanan?” he asked. “I’m sorry to interrupt, sir, but there was an incident while you were gone.”

“What kind of incident?” Cole asked.

“A man came to see you, sir. He was very adamant about getting upstairs.”

My heart stopped. Gordon. It had to be. Who else would show up at Cole’s apartment? He was probably looking for me. He’d probably come to take me back home. Either that or he’d came to talk to Cole. And do God knows what.

“Gordon,” I said to Cole. “It had to be.”

I’d never felt such pleasure – like the way he’d kissed me on the mouth, he knew what he was doing down there, his fingers and mouth moving in a hypnotic rhythm. His mouth was warm, his tongue sliding inside of me, his thumb rubbing my clit while his fingers fucked me.

I could feel my orgasm building, becoming more powerful until it threatened to overtake me like a tidal wave.

“Cole,” I breathed. “Cole, I’m going to come.”

“No.” He stopped, his hands grabbing my hips and holding me still. “Not yet.”

He slid up my body until his cock was right at my entrance, poised against my hole. He stroked the head of his dick up and down my slit, and I arched my back as he grabbed onto my nipple with his mouth, sucking as ground his hips against mine.

“Shit, Avery, you’re so fucking wet,” he breathed as he moved against me. “I want to fuck you, baby.”

“I want you to,” I said. “Please, I want you to fuck me, please, Cole.”

My begging seemed to excite him, and he began to move up and down faster and faster against my pussy. Every time I felt like he was going to slide inside of me, he’d slow down. His body felt perfect against mine, our eyes locked on each other as he moved against me.

Even without him going inside of me, I could feel my orgasm building again, the warmth starting in my pussy and moving through my body, gaining momentum.

I moaned and Cole looked down at me and grinned.

“You want to come on me, baby?”

“Yes,” I whispered, not trusting myself to say anything more. I was afraid if I said the wrong thing he would stop, and take this insane pleasure away from me -- and if he did, I was afraid I would go insane.

“Do it. Come for me, Avery. Come all over my dick.”

Him saying the words was enough to push me over the edge and I came on him, my pussy convulsing on his cock.

“Fuck,” he swore as I came, pushing my legs apart and moving his dick up and down faster and harder.

He grabbed my hand and placed it on his cock, guiding it as I jerked him up and down.

“Fuck, Avery,” he said. “You are so fucking sexy.” He came a second later, shooting his load as I stroked him.

When he was done, he collapsed on top of me, the weight of his body pressing into mine. My heart was beating fast, and I could feel his heart racing inside his chest, too.

He kissed me softly on the forehead and then rolled off of me, over to the other side of the bed. As soon as he was gone, I wanted his body back on top of me.

We lay there in the dark for a long moment, not saying anything.

After a moment, I got up and headed for the bathroom.

My face was flushed and red, and I splashed water on it, trying to calm myself down. My eyes were shiny and bright with excitement.

I couldn’t believe I’d just done that with my stepbrother, let him touch me and lick me and push his tongue up inside of me. It made me horny all over again, just thinking about it.

But why hadn’t we had sex? I’d wanted to, and I’d made that pretty clear. So what had stopped him? Cole was the definition of a womanizer, having a different girl in his bed almost every night. So why hadn’t he wanted to sleep with me?

I took a few deep breaths, waiting until my breathing had slowed to normal before returning to the bedroom. I went to grab my pajamas from where they were laying in a pile on the floor, but Cole propped himself up on one arm.

“No,” he said. “I want you naked.”

I shook my head. “I’m not sleeping naked.” I reached down and picked up the tank top, but Cole reached out and grasped my arm.

“My rules, remember?”

I hesitated for a moment, then dropped the garment onto the floor. I climbed into bed, making sure to stay on my side. The last thing I wanted was for Cole to feel like I expected him to stay here with me, or that I felt like he owed me anything.

Cole slid the blankets off my body, letting his gaze move over my naked body.

His hand reached out and slid over my breast, then down the side of my stomach and the curve of my hip.

Then suddenly, he was on top of me again, his hands pinning my wrists to the bed. I felt him growing hard against my bare pussy, and I immediately got wet again.

“Do you know how bad I want to fuck you, Avery?” he growled. “Do you know how hard it is having you here, walking around in those tight little outfits, looking so god damn sexy? All I can think about is getting into your tight little pussy, how you would feel spreading out around my cock.”

He was holding my wrists hard, and his fingers pinched my skin. “Please,” I said, wiggling a little bit. “Please, Cole, you’re hurting me.”

It was like a switch flipped.

“Come inside,” Cole said to me, and I followed him into the lobby.

“Like I said, Mr. Buchanan, I’m sorry to interrupt your conversation, but I thought you would want to know as soon as possible.” The doorman’s tone was professional and measured, but you could sense concern under the surface – whatever had happened tonight had definitely been out of the ordinary.

“Thank you, Graham,” Cole said. “And it’s fine. My conversation was over.”

I resisted the urge to scream. It was good to know that I had no say in when we were done talking about something.

“Can you tell me what he looked like?” Cole asked.

“He was about five ten, black hair and a mustache,” Graham said. “He was vehement that you were supposed to have left a key for him, and when I told him you hadn’t, he asked if he could access the apartment anyway. He was polite at first, but then he got a little mouthy with me. When I told him we had security cameras and if he didn’t leave soon we’d have to call the police, he took off.”

I frowned. That didn’t sound like Gordon. The physical description was all wrong.

“Are you sure he wasn’t taller?” I asked. “With no mustache?”

“Avery,” Cole said, shooting me a warning look. But I was sick of shutting up. Gordon was a threat to my safety too – in fact, he was probably more of a threat to me, since the only reason Gordon even cared about Cole was because I was with him.

“What?” I asked. “I have a right to ask questions, too.”

“Would you like to see the tapes, Mr. Buchanan?” Graham asked.

“No,” Cole said at the same time I said, “Yes.”

“Thank you, Graham,” Cole said. “Please let me know if he comes back.”

“Of course.” Graham nodded his head and tipped his hat with one white-gloved hand. “You can count on us for the best security, Mr. Buchanan.”

“What the hell are you doing?” I asked as Cole led me toward the elevator. “Don’t you want to see the tapes? It didn’t sound anything like Gordon, don’t you want to know who it was?”

Cole mumbled something unintelligible as we stepped onto the elevator. I wasn’t completely sure, but it sounded like, “I know who it was.”

“What?” I demanded. “You know who it was? Then who was it?”

“No one.” He pushed the button for the top floor roughly, then watched impatiently as the numbers over the doors began lighting up as the elevator began its ascent.

“No one? It sounded like someone.”

“It’s taken care of.”

“Wait, what?” I shook my head. “What’s taken care of?”

The elevator dinged as we hit his floor, and he stepped off and began making his way toward his apartment, his strides long and purposeful.

“Cole!” I yelled, struggling to keep up with him. “Stop. You need to tell me what the hell is going on.”

“Avery, please,” he said as I followed him into the apartment. “It doesn’t concern you.” His voice was another warning, yet again making it clear that I shouldn’t push him.

I stared at him for a long moment as he walked to the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of sparkling water, uncapped it, and took a long drink. He loosened his tie and then pulled his wallet and keys out of his pocket, throwing them onto the kitchen counter. He picked up his phone and began typing out a text message to someone before turning his back to me.

“Whatever,” I said, livid. “I’m going to bed.”

I stalked down the hall and into the bathroom, where I took off my dress and got into the shower. Anger burned bright inside of me, and I grabbed the shampoo and conditioner and lathered up my hair, trying to be careful of my wrist. It was starting to feel sore again -- I was going to need to put my brace back on when I got out of the shower.

Nice of Cole to come and check on me, to make sure I was okay. He obviously cared about nothing but himself.

I dried off and dressed in one of the pajama sets that Kalia had brought for me. It was a soft pink strappy tank top and a pair of matching shorts. It felt like an extravagant waste of money – the pieces were well made and soft against my skin. They were obviously expensive. I’d never spent money on pajamas before. Why would I when I could just wear a long t-shirt and call it a day?

I crawled into bed and turned off the light, but I couldn’t sleep. My mind was racing, thoughts of Jeffrey and Cole and Gordon and the mysterious man who’d shown up here tonight swirling through my head. Who was that man? And why wouldn’t Cole tell me about him?

Obviously I knew Cole had a life here, in New York, filled with powerful people and important events and meetings and things I knew nothing about. But why was he being so secretive? Why was a man trying to gain access to his apartment?

Cole’s not a good guy, Avery. No matter what you think.

That’s what Jeffrey had said. But Jeffrey wasn’t a good guy himself, so how was I supposed to believe anything he said? I pulled the expensive sheets tighter around my body, trying to find a way to get comfortable.

I was no stranger to insomnia. Starting when I was about thirteen, I’d had a hard time sleeping. To sleep was to give up control, to let yourself be vulnerable, with no protection or security. To sleep meant to let your guard down, and if there was one thing I’d learned, it was to never let your guard down, even for a second. Because the moment you did, there was always someone there, ready to strike.

And I was nobody’s prey.

My wrist was starting to throb, and I grabbed my brace from the bathroom and tried to get it on. But it was too hard to do by myself. Every time I’d try to fasten it together, one side would fall off, and my wrist hurt too much to be able to hold the sides tight enough.

I opened the medicine cabinet over the sink and looked for ibuprofen, but there was none. In fact, the shelves were empty. I stood there for a moment, staring at the emptiness, so different from the medicine cabinet at home, which was always filled with a mess of pill bottles and prescriptions, so many of them that they needed to be stacked on top of one another.

I remembered there was a guest bathroom just off the hallway, so I headed out into the apartment in search of pain relief.

The sound of the TV came, muted and soft, from the living room.

Cole must have been watching something.

The guest bathroom door was open, but I hesitated, not feeling completely okay about going inside and rummaging through Cole’s stuff. It was one thing to do it in the bathroom off my room – he’d given me that space.

I thought about going back to bed, but the ache in my wrist was starting to intensify, and I knew enough about pain to know that if you didn’t get on top of it, it could eventually become unmanageable.

So I took a deep breath and headed for the living room.

Cole was sitting on the couch in just a pair of sweatpants and no shirt, the flat screen TV over the fireplace tuned to SportsCenter. His dark hair flopped over his forehead, his eyes bright and focused on the highlights of some football game.

My heart squeezed in my chest.

He looked so different than he had just a few hours ago, all dressed up in his expensive suit, ordering me around some fancy party that people expected him to be at. Now he was just Cole, lounging around the house watching SportsCenter, the way he used to do all the time when we were growing up.

He’d come home from whatever party or girl’s house he’d been at, grab a bag of chips or a sandwich and settle onto our couch and flip on ESPN. I’d grab whatever book I was in the middle of and sit down next to him, reading my book while he watched sports highlights.

We’d sit there for hours, him watching TV, me lost in my book. We didn’t talk, except for the occasional time when he’d point out some sports play I wouldn’t completely understand or I’d tried to tell him some plot twist in my book that he wouldn’t care about.

We’d pass snacks back and forth and I’d refill our sodas when they got low. It was comforting, just having him there, being out of my room and having him close to me. I always felt safer when he was around.

The scene in front of me now might have been taking place in a New York City penthouse instead of our tiny, falling apart house back in Jersey, but it was so familiar to me. All I wanted to do was curl up next to him on the couch with a good book.

“Cole?” I asked.

But the volume on the TV was too high, and he didn’t hear me at first.

“Cole?” I asked again, a little louder this time. Even though the scene was familiar, now that we were on his turf, it felt like I was intruding on him in some way, like I was interrupting him and had no right to be there.

He turned to look at me, and he was so beautiful I caught my breath. I’d been annoyed at him earlier, when he’d been Business Cole, but now he was just here, my stepbrother, the person who used to make me feel safer than anyone in the world.

Until he’d left and shattered my heart into pieces.

“Um, is there any ibuprofen?” I asked.

“What’s wrong?” He shut the TV off and stood up.

I was suddenly aware I was in just a pajama top and shorts, the thin material clinging to my body. I wasn’t even wearing a bra, and I saw his eyes lingering on my breasts.

“My wrist hurts.”

“Let me see.” He walked over and took my wrist in his hand gently, running his fingers over my skin. His touch sent fire roaring through my body, and I felt flush.

“It doesn’t look swollen,” he said. “Where’s your brace?”

“I couldn’t get it on. I think it’s okay. I mean, I don’t think it’s getting worse or anything, it just hurts.”

“Stay here.”

He disappeared into the guest bathroom, then returned with a bottle of ibuprofen. He poured me a glass of water from the pitcher that was in the fridge and watched to make sure I swallowed the pills.

“Drink the rest of the water,” he said.

“I’m not thirsty.”

“You need to stay hydrated, Avery. For your wrist.”

I rolled my eyes and finished the water. “Happy?”

“Yes.” He took my empty glass and set it in the dishwasher.

I admired the way his body moved, the smooth planes of his chest, the broadness of his shoulders. I shivered a little.

“You’re cold,” he said. “You need to get back in bed.”

“I’m not tired.”

“Too bad. We have to be at the office tomorrow at eight. You don’t want to be tired for your first day, do you?”

I shook my head. I wanted to ask him why he was allowed to be awake, why he got to stay up late watching TV when he had to work in the morning, too. But it didn’t work that way. I was starting to learn that Cole made – or at least tried to make – the rules for me, but I didn’t make the rules for him.

“Come on,” he said. “I’ll help you with your brace.”

I followed him back to my room, through the door and into the bathroom where he grabbed my brace and held it out to me. I held out my arm and he clicked it on. The support instantly made my wrist feel better.

“Thank you,” I said.

“You’re welcome.”

He stood there staring at me, his eyes boring into mine, an electricity in the air, crackling so intensely that it was undeniable.

But a second later, he looked away. “Time for bed.”

We walked back into my room, and he waited until I was under the covers before turning off the light.

“Good night, Avery.”

“Good night, Cole.”

I heard the click of the light switch and the sound of his footsteps disappearing down the hall. I held my breath, hoping he would come back, yearning to feel his arms around me the way they’d been last night.

After a few moments, I’d given up hope.

And then the door to my room opened and he slipped into bed next to me, so close I could feel the warmth of his body.

He didn’t say anything, just lay there, looking up at the ceiling. I turned over and stared at his profile, the strong line of his jaw, the faint stubble on his chin, the curve of his lashes.

Finally, he turned and looked at me.

“Hi,” he breathed.

“Hi.”

He reached out and pushed a strand of hair off my face, then moved closer so that his lips were just inches from mine.

“Shit,” he said softly, shaking his head. “I can’t stay away from you.”

I didn’t say anything, afraid that if I said the wrong thing, I’d remind him of what we were doing, remind him that we’d said we couldn’t do this anymore, and he’d get up and leave. And I so desperately wanted him to stay.

I hated him and loved him all at the same time. I wanted him to hold me and had the urge to push him away. It was confusing and thrilling and it made no sense and perfect sense.

His hand cupped my chin. “Do you know how crazy you drive me, walking around in outfits like that?”

“I didn’t pick it out.”

“You are so fucking sexy.”

The pad of his thumb slid over my lower lip, and then slowly, his lips came toward mine. My breath hitched, catching in my chest, my pulse pounding and my heart speeding up.

I wanted him to kiss me more than I’d wanted anything in my life.

“Avery,” he whispered. “God, what are you doing to me?”

He lowered his head toward mine and kissed me gently on the lips. His lips were warm and soft, and when he pulled away, I opened my eyes. The two of us stared at each other in the dark for a moment.

It was the first time he’d kissed me on the lips, and while the other stuff we’d done had been sexual and exciting and had gotten me so horny and turned on I could hardly take it, this was more serious, more romantic, more intimate.

Cole shook his head slightly and then turned away from me, like he was going to leave. Disappointment flooded my body, but a second later, he turned back around, took my face in his hands and kissed me again.

This time, his tongue parted my lips and moved against mine, making it clear who was in control. He kissed me and kissed me and kissed me, harder and deeper, pulling me close until I was pushed up tight against his body. I could feel his cock, hard through his pants, and I tried to keep myself from grinding into him, tried to keep him from knowing how badly I wanted him.

His hands slid up under the back of my tank top, causing a shiver to slide up my back.

“You are so beautiful,” he said. “Do you know how fucking beautiful you are?”

I shook my head no.

“Let me show you,” he rasped, and then his mouth was back on mine, his stubble rubbing against my cheeks and chin as our mouths fell into a sensuous rhythm. It was the best kiss I’d ever had in my life. He knew what he was doing, knew just where to move his tongue, knew just how to hold me close. He tasted like peppermint and he smelled like soap and expensive cologne, and it was a heady combination that made me dizzy. My pussy was wet, and I was afraid if he touched me I was going to come already.

He pulled back and rolled his body on top of mine, and I let my hands wander over his bare chest, lingering on his shoulders, his pecs, his biceps. He was so built that he made me feel tiny, and his hands grabbed my tits as he kissed me, pulling my tank top off and tossing it onto the floor. Then he grabbed my pajama pants and pulled them off, too, until I was lying there in just my panties.

“Fuck,” he said as he gazed down at my nipples. He took one into his mouth, sucking it gently, sending heat through my body. His eyes locked on mine as he sucked, adding to the intensity of having my nipple in my stepbrother’s mouth.

He stopped for minute, just gazing at me as he pushed himself between my legs, forcing my legs apart so that his dick was right against my pussy. He started grinding against me, and I moaned and bit my lip, arching my back. Even though we were separated by his sweatpants my panties, he was getting me dripping wet.

“Does that feel good, baby?” he whispered. “Does my dick feel good against your pussy?”

“Yes,” I moaned. “Fuck, Cole, that feels so good.”

“You want me inside of you, don’t you, baby?”

“Yes,” I moaned, imagining the tip of his hard cock sliding into me, imagining him on top of me, pumping me harder and faster, his balls slapping against my ass until we both came.

But instead of doing that, he stopped.

“Please,” I breathed. “Cole, please don’t stop.”

“Don’t stop what?” he demanded, his eyes bright. He pulled off his pants and boxers, tossing them onto the floor, and I caught a glimpse of his cock, thick and rock hard.

“Don’t stop grinding your cock against me.”

He grinned at me devilishly, then grabbed my hand, like he’d done last night, and slid it over his stomach. I could feel every muscle of his six-pack, every distinct ridge of his gorgeous body as he guided my hand down until I was touching his shaft.

I began to stroke him up and down while he kissed me. After a few minutes, he began kissing down my neck, over my stomach until he was between my legs.

He grabbed the sides of my panties, his thumbs sliding under the waistband before sliding them off and over my ankles. He pushed my legs back apart and then his mouth was on me, nibbling on my thighs, his breath warm against my skin.

I cried out as he reached my center and his tongue swirled over my clit.

“You taste so good, baby,” Cole said, his finger sliding inside of me for a second before his mouth kissed me slow and deep right on my pussy.

chapter three

He dropped my hands like I was on fire and moved away from me, sitting up and swinging his legs over the side of the bed.

He sat there for a second, then dropped his head into his hands.

I reached out and touched his back. “Cole?”

He stood up and grabbed his clothes, started putting them on.

“Cole?” I said. “I’m sorry, I just… is everything okay?”

“No, everything’s not okay,” he said. “I hurt you.”

“No, it was just… you were just holding me a little too tight, that’s all. It felt good. I wanted you to keep going.” My voice was soft, and I could hear the desperation in my tone. I hated that I wanted him so bad, hated that he had this power over me.

He was pulling his shirt on angrily, pushing his arms through the holes. He stood up and started walking toward the door, and I felt tears starting in my eyes.

He was just leaving me here, in this bed, naked, after he’d taken what he wanted.

“Good,” I called after him. “Good, Cole, just leave. That’s what you do best anyway.”

He came storming back into the room, eyes blazing. “What did you say?”

“I said you’re good at leaving. So go ahead and do it.” I pulled the covers back up over my body. I wanted to get dressed, but I wasn’t going to get up and grab my clothes – it would have given him a full view of me, and there was no way I was going to allow that. He’d seen the last of me naked.

“Stop saying that, Avery,” he warned. “Stop saying I left you.”

“I’ll say whatever I damn well please. You left, and that’s it.” I made sure to keep my tone neutral, the way I’d done every time someone brought up his name, like he meant nothing to me, like I didn’t care he’d left. After a while, I’d started believing it myself. But ever since I’d seen him, it was like the curtain was being lifted and revealing the truth, little by little. And the truth was, I did care. Cole had hurt me more than anyone, ever.

My stepfather was a viper – but I’d never trusted him. Cole had been different. Cole was never supposed to have hurt me. So when he did, the pain had been almost unbearable. Which is why I’d done my best to bury it deep inside.

“Stop fucking saying that,” Cole demanded. “You don’t know what you’re talking about, Avery.”

“I’ll stop saying it when you explain. Oh, that’s right, you can’t.” I didn’t care if I sounded like a brat. I was pissed.

“You want to know why I left, Avery? You really want to know?”

“Yes!”

He walked all the way into the room and stopped at the food of the bed. His eyes locked onto mine, the soft light of the city shining through the windows behind him, illuminating his face and making him look even more gorgeous than he already was. He was so beautiful, so perfect that I almost couldn’t take looking at him.

Tears burned in my eyes again, and I tried my best to blink them away. I wanted to turn back time, turn it back to when we were lying in my bed, the two of us, our arms around each other, our lips pressed together.

“I saw you,” Cole said softly.

“What?”

He sat down on the end of the bed, shook his head and placed his hands together, his elbows resting on his knees. “That night, the night I left. You were… you were coming out of the bathroom after your shower. You were wearing my grey Giants t-shirt and you…you were so beautiful, Avery. I couldn’t stop thinking about you. I waited for you to come downstairs, but when you didn’t, I went up to find you.”

I stayed silent, my pulse racing, waiting for him to go on.

“When I got back upstairs, my dad was there. He was standing outside your door. And I knew, I just knew he was there to do something to you, Avery. I grabbed him, pulled him down the stairs and dragged him into the backyard.”

“No.” I shook my head, remembering. “No, that night, the night you left…no one was home. You were out with Jessica McNeal and Gordon and my mom were out drinking.”

“That’s true,” Cole said. “But we all got home around the same time, probably around the time you were finishing up your shower. I almost beat the shit out of him that night, Avery. I punched him three times, and I couldn’t stop. He told me to leave, that if I left, he wouldn’t touch you. He promised me, and I believed him.”

“So you left because you thought it was going to protect me?”

“I wanted to take you with me, I wanted to take you away with me. But then I realized the worst part of the whole thing.”

“What?” I asked softly.

“I was just like him.” He turned and looked at me, and I could see the pain in his eyes, burning deep and bright. “I wanted you, Avery. I wanted to touch you and kiss you. I wanted to be with you.”

I reached out and touched his arm. “I wanted to be with you, too, Cole.”

He pulled away. “No.” He stood up. “It’s wrong.”

“Why? Because I’m your stepsister?”

“Yes. And because I can’t… I’m not good for you, Avery. I want things, sexual things, that you couldn’t understand.”

“Like what?”

“Control.”

I frowned. “Yeah,” I said. “I know. But I…” I looked up at him, standing there, so tall and strong, the room bathed in moonlight around in him. My heart was beating so fast I was afraid he as going to hear it. “I want you to control me. I want you to tell me what to do, I want…” I swallowed, the words catching in my throat. “I want you to teach me how.”

He didn’t say anything, the seconds ticking by as the silence stretched between us. It felt like we were hovering on the edge of some invisible cliff, waiting to see which way we were going to get pushed. I wanted whatever he was about to say to send us over the cliff, to drop us into freefall without any net except each other.

“No,” he said finally.

“No?” I repeated incredulously.

“No, Avery. I can’t, it’s not…” He shook his head. “It’s not right.”

“I’m not a little girl anymore, Cole,” I said. “I can make my own decisions.”

“No, you can’t.”

“What?”

“You don’t know what you want, Avery. You’re fucked up just like I am.”

I recoiled. “What are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about the fact that you like when I tell you what to do, that you like it when I’m rough with you, when I talk dirty to you and grab you hard.”

I licked my lips. “So?” I said. “You like it, too.”

“Yeah, because I’m fucked up, Avery. I have a need to control. And I’m not going to take advantage of your weakness.”

“You’re not taking advantage of me. I told you, I want you to. I like it.”

“Stop saying that!” he said. His hands balled into fists, and he slid over on the bed until he was next to me. He put his hand on the back of my neck and pulled me toward him until our foreheads were pushed together. “Stop saying that,” he whispered.

“But it’s true.”

“Do you know how hard it is for me resist you when you say things like that?” he demanded. “Do you know how hard it is for me to keep my hands off you?” He reached up and pulled the sheet that was covering my body down, leaving me exposed.

And then he was on top of me again, his mouth on mine, his hands roaming over me, his fingers exploring as our tongues touched.

He pulled away from me for a moment, then pulled his shirt off and dropped it to the floor. I caught my breath at the sight of his body, so built and strong and perfect.

He stood up and looked down at me.

“Get off the bed,” he said.

I got off the bed and walked over to him, loving the way he was looking at me, loving the lust that burned in his eyes as he took in my naked body.

“Get on your knees,” he demanded, and I slid to the floor, the rough fabric of the carpet burning my knees. Cole reached down and grabbed my chin, tipping it up so that I was looking right in his eyes. His thumb moved over my bottom lip.

“Please, Cole,” I said, wanting so badly to please him. “Please, I’ll do whatever you want.”

He kept his eyes on mine, the look on his face letting me know he was weighing his options, deciding just what to do with me.

“Take my dick out,” he said. His voice was husky, all traces of emotion gone, replaced with nothing but desire.

I grabbed the waistband of his sweatpants, pulling them down over his muscular thighs. His cock was already hard, and I reached out and grabbed it, my palm wrapping around his shaft. I loved the feel of him in my hand, loved that he was so big and hard.

But Cole took a step back, moving out of my reach.

“Did I say you could touch it?”

“No.”

“Put your hands behind your back.”

I did as I was told and put my hands behind my back, waiting for further instruction.

“Open your mouth.”

I opened my mouth and Cole grabbed his hard cock and slid it over my tongue. I wrapped my lips around him, but he was so big I was afraid I wasn’t going to be able to take it. He put his hand on the back of my head, giving me no choice, and I began sucking him, feeling him grow rock hard in my mouth.

He reached down and played with my tits, his hands moving over my nipples. “Fuck, Avery,” he said. “Suck my dick, baby, your mouth feels so good.”

I sucked him, harder and harder, bobbing up and down, letting him use me for his pleasure.

“Use your hands now. Stroke me while I fuck your mouth.”

I began to stroke him, up and down, faster and faster. I loved the way he tasted.

“I’m going to come in your mouth, baby, don’t stop.”

A second later, I felt him go off in my mouth, felt him shoot his load down my throat. I sucked it all down, every last drop.

He picked me up and carried me to the bed, threw me down and spread my legs. He didn’t say another word, just went to town on my pussy, eating me out until I was moaning and writhing on the bed. I was close to coming just from sucking him off, and his mouth on me sent me back over the edge. A second later, my orgasm ripped through me, the most intense one I’d ever had, even more intense than the one he’d just given me.

When he was done, he closed his eyes, like he couldn’t believe what had just happened.

He stood up and began to get dressed.

His body language was closed off, and I scrambled to get under the covers, feeling exposed and vulnerable.

“What’s wrong?” I asked. “Was it… I mean, was it okay?”

“It was fine, Avery,” he said. But his voice was cold.

“Okay,” I said. Disappointment washed over me again.

He was halfway out the door when he turned around. “Are you okay?” he asked softly. “Do you need anything?”

Yes, for you to hold me the way you did last night, for you to look at me the way you were looking at me a few minutes ago, for you to love me.

“No,” I said. “I’m good.”

“Good night, Avery.”

“Good night, Cole.”

A second later, he was gone.

And this time, he didn’t come back.



***



My alarm went off the next morning at six, but I’d been awake all night, tossing and turning. And when I dragged myself into the bathroom and looked at myself in the mirror, my lack of sleep showed. My eyes were bloodshot, with dark circles underneath them. My hair was a rat’s nest, tangled in clumps around my head, and my cheeks were flushed and blotchy.

I stepped into the shower and shampooed and conditioned my hair, then went to work with the hair dryer, hoping to make some inroads. Concealer and foundation helped a bit, along with the white-and-black checked wrap dress and black Ralph Lauren pumps I found in the closet. The dress was made of a stretchy material, and it fit me perfectly, unlike the other things that had seemed too small.

I pulled my hair back into an impression of the bun I’d seen Kalia wearing last night, hoping I looked professional. I’d never had a job like this before, the kind of job you needed to dress up for, the kind of job where people might be judging you on how you looked.

When I got to the kitchen, I expected to find Cole there, eating breakfast or going over emails. But the apartment was empty.

There was a note on the shiny silver espresso machine.

Went in early. Please be at the office by 8. ~Cole

I pulled off the post-it and stared at it. Cole’s messy handwriting was familiar, and it made my heart clench. Other than that, though, there was no indication of what we’d done last night, no indication that we were anything other than boss and employee.

I brewed myself an espresso and poured it into a travel mug I found under the counter. It was a little early for me to leave for Cole’s office, but I didn’t want to be late. So I took the elevator downstairs and headed outside.

The street was filled with people, all of them rushing off to their jobs or classes or appointments. I fell into step with them, finding a certain comfort and happiness in the fact that I was a part of it.

When I was a few blocks from Cole’s office, I realized I was going to be really early. I didn’t want to be late, but I didn’t want to be too early, either. So I ducked into a coffee shop, deciding to buy myself a muffin to celebrate my first day of work.

It was silly, I knew. It wasn’t like I’d interviewed for this job, wasn’t like I’d been waiting my whole life for it. I was working for my stepbrother, hadn’t had to do anything to get the job, hadn’t earned it. But I still wanted to do a good job, still wanted to prove to Cole and myself that I could do well.

I might have gotten the job for no reason other than my connection, but it was still an assistant job to the CEO of one of the biggest company’s in New York. If I played my cards right, I could use it to gain experience, maybe even leverage it into another job somewhere else. This could be my chance to make something of myself, to get out of New Jersey, to not have to depend on anyone but myself.

chapter four

 I ordered my muffin and sat down at a table in the corner, paging through an issue of the New York Times someone had left behind. I sipped my espresso and ate my muffin, being careful not to get crumbs on my dress.

I was so keyed up and excited about my first day of work, and about seeing Cole again after what had happened last night, that it took me a second to realize that a man sitting in a booth across the café was staring at me.

When I caught his eye, he looked quickly down at his phone. He was wearing beat-up khaki pants and a navy blue hooded sweatshirt, his face weathered from sun. He was about mid-thirties, and something about the way he was sitting – hunched over, his legs spread apart – seemed out of place.

We were in a very expensive part of the city, and most of the people here were dressed in business attire, on their way to work. This man seemed like he didn’t belong, and I didn’t like the way he was staring at me.

Relax, Avery, I told myself. You’re being paranoid.

This whole thing with Gordon was making me jumpy. There was no reason to think the man in the coffee shop was looking at me, or following me. He was probably just one of those creepy men you always heard about that hung out in the city.

Except… I glanced at him quickly out of the corner of my eye. He had a mustache, and even though he was wearing a Yankees baseball hat, I could see a tiny shock of black hair peeking out from underneath.

Black hair and a mustache.

Wasn’t that what Graham the doorman had said about the man who’d shown up at Cole’s building, demanding to be let into Cole’s apartment? Could it really be a coincidence that a man fitting that same description was here, now, giving me a weird feeling? I wondered if he’d followed me here, if he’d been watching Cole’s apartment building, waiting for me.

You’re being crazy, Avery.

Still.

I finished my muffin and left the coffee shop.

Once I was out on the street, I started to feel better. There were tons of people out here – surely if that man really was following me, he wouldn’t try anything with so many people around.

But as much as I told myself I was being crazy, I couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was watching me. I turned and looked behind me, just to make myself feel better.

But the man from the coffee shop was following me. He was weaving in and out of the crowd, trying to keep up with me. I quickened my pace, but he quickened his. I crossed to the other side of the street, and so did he.

I wasn’t sure what to do. My heart pounded in my chest, my fight or flight response in full effect. Everything inside of myself was telling me to run. But if I ran, I was afraid he’d realize I knew he was following me. And that might spur him to do something, witnesses or not.

I zigzagged around the street, trying to lose him, panicked. When I finally got into Cole’s building, I was out of breath, my chest rising and falling in short gasps.

As the security guard checked my name off on a list and printed up a temporary badge, I turned to look out the floor-to-ceiling windows of the lobby.

But the man was gone. I didn’t see him anywhere.

I blew out a sigh of relief.

When I stepped off the elevator and onto Cole’s floor, my breathing had returned to normal, but my legs felt wobbly and my stomach was doing somersaults.

“Hello,” I said to the receptionist. “I’m Avery Buchanan, Cole’s new assistant.”

The receptionist was much more friendly to me this time, giving me a big smile. “Mr. Buchanan is waiting for you in his office. You can go right in.”

“Thank you.” I smoothed my dress and walked through the double doors of Buchanan Enterprises, making my way back to Cole’s office.

When I got there, he was talking on the phone to someone, and he motioned me in with one hand.

I swallowed and walked inside, shutting the door behind me. I couldn’t help but remember what we’d done the last time I was here, they way he’d made me strip for him.

“Yeah,” Cole was saying into the phone. “Let me know as soon as you can.” He hung up the phone and turned to me. “You’re late.” He pointed at the clock on the wall, which showed that it was 8:03.

“Three minutes.” Was he really going to give me a hard time for being three minutes late?

“I don’t want excuses, Avery. You were supposed to be here at eight, and I expect you to be here at eight.”

He was right. I shouldn’t have been late. And I wouldn’t have been, except for that man who was following me.

Cole picked up a file folder and started paging through it, then indicated the other side of his desk where a clipboard and a cell phone were sitting. “There’s your cell phone,” he said. “And your forms for HR. You can fill them out in the conference room, and then Kalia will show you what to do with them.”            

“Kalia?” I asked warily.

“Yes. You’ll be spending the day with her. She’ll teach you everything you need to know.”

“Thank you.” I picked up the clipboard and the shiny new iPhone that was resting on top of it, running my fingers over the screen. I’d never had a phone this nice before.

“Is there anything else?” Cole asked. He was all business, picking the phone back up and dialing a number, dismissing me.

Hurt burned through me, hurt that he was acting like I was just someone who worked for him, even after the things he’d done and said to me last night.

I began to shake my head no. But then I stopped.

“Someone was following me this morning,” I said.

Cole stopped, his finger on the keypad of his phone. He slowly replaced the receiver. “What are you talking about?”

“A man with black hair. And a mustache. He was in the café I was at this morning, and I’m pretty sure he followed me here.”

Cole crossed the room and looked at me seriously. “Did he say anything to you?”

I shook my head.

“Did he try to approach you?”

“No. He was just following me.”

Cole took in a long deep breath through his nose then turned around. He walked slowly over to his desk before pulling his arm back and pushing a bunch of papers off his desk and onto the floor angrily. “Fuck,” he swore. “Fuck, fuck, fuck!”

“Cole,” I said, rushing over to him, surprised at his reaction. “Who was it? Was it the same man who came to your apartment last night?”

He ignored me, instead walking over to his phone and picking it up. “You’re not to leave this building without telling me, Avery,” he said. “Do you understand? You’re to stay here today. All day. Until I’m ready to leave with you.”

“What?” I shook my head. “I’m not a prisoner, Cole.”

“For today, as far as you’re concerned, you are.”

“No.” I shook my head. “No, Cole. Tell me what the hell is going on.”

“Yeah,” he said into the phone. “This is Buchanan. Put me through to John.” He placed his hand over the receiver and looked at me. “I’m serious, Avery,” he said. “Do not leave this office.”

He turned around, dismissing me.

I walked out into the hallway, my mind reeling. What the hell was going on? I had the feeling that whatever it was had nothing to do with Gordon. But who else would be following Cole? And why wouldn’t he tell me who it was?

I began walking slowly toward the conference room, mostly because I didn’t know what else to do.

My new cell phone started vibrating in my hand, and I looked down. The screen was showing a number I didn’t recognize.

“Hello?” I said, holding my breath and hoping it was Cole, hoping he was calling to apologize and call me back to his office.

“Hey, Avery,” a familiar voice said on the other end of the line. I knew who it was right away.

“Jeffrey, how did you get this number?” I demanded.

“Company directory,” he said.

“I’m already in the company directory?”

“Yeah,” he said. “So I was wondering if you’d given any more thought to having lunch with me today.”

I opened my mouth to tell him no way. But then I realized Jeffrey had something I needed. Information.

Cole’s not a good guy, Avery.

Isn’t that what he’d said?

Jeffrey might know something about the man who was following Cole. At the very least, he could give me some idea about Cole’s life, about the people he was involved with, how he spent his time and where he hung out.

Of course, Cole had told me to stay away from Jeffrey. And he’d also told me not to leave the building without his permission. But I wasn’t his slave. Even if he was my boss, he didn’t have the right to keep me here. What could happen out in New York? If that man wanted to hurt me, he could have done it this morning.

“Sure,” I said to Jeffrey. “What time were you thinking?”

Cole was hiding something from me.

And I was going to find out what it was.

Impressum

Tag der Veröffentlichung: 23.01.2016

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Widmung:
After getting kicked out of the house by her mentally ill mother, Avery has no choice but to ask her stepbrother for help. Cole agrees to let her stay with him, under one condition – that she follow his rules, whatever they are, no questions asked. Cole is used to getting what he wants – and what he wants is Avery, no matter how wrong it is....