Whatever It Takes Read online

  “Keep fighting, baby. That turns me on even more.” His voice sound way more sinister than it originally did, and I am now in full blown panic mode.

  “Lance, no.” I turn my face, before trying like hell to break free.

  “Lance, please stop.”

  He bites my skin, before moving both of my wrists into his one hand before he uses the other to begin tugging at my clothing.

  I’m left with no other choice. I lift my knee hard, connecting right where I aim, and my wrists are instantly dropped and Lance hit’s all fours.

  “Holy fuck! You bitch! You stupid bitch!”

  I spin, ready to run like hell away from him, when I again, run smack into a wall of man.

  I about knock backwards onto my ass, when Eric reaches out, steadying me, before turning a murderous look towards Lance.

  “Baskett?” He barks, his eyes moving between us before they finally land on mine. I don’t even realize that I’m crying until he reaches out and wipes away my tears.

  “You motherfucker.”

  He reaches down, grabbing a hold of Lance’s neck, lifting him up with one hand.

  He squeals like the little bitch that he is, before Eric slams him into the house.

  “What is your fucking problem, man?” Lance squeaks, still pressed against the house.

  “You. What in the fuck did he do to you, Ave’s? Did he hurt you?”

  “I...” I glance down at my wrists, already seeing bruises forming from where he was trying to hold me down.

  “I don’t think so. I think that I’m ok. I kept telling him no...”

  That apparently is all that Eric needed to hear. Because in the neck second, Lance is dropped from Eric’s grasp, and before his feet even thud on the ground, Eric’s fist connects with his face, sending him flying back into the house.

  “Oh my god. Eric! Stop!” I screech, running forward and grab ahold of his arm as he reaches back again.

  “He doesn’t deserve for me to stop.” He reaches for him again, but I throw myself into his arms instead.

  “Eric.” I reach up, cupping his face. “Stop. Please. You could get into so much trouble. You could lose your future. Stop.”

  His breathing is harsh and ragged against me. His chest heaves with the force and his eyes are still wild when he finally makes eye contact with me.

  “I...”

  I reach up, cupping his face in my hand. “It’s ok. I’m ok. He didn’t...it didn’t get there.”

  I’m trying not only to soothe him, but also myself.

  Because good freaking Lord...the possibilities of what could have happened terrify me.

  “You’re ok.” He finally repeats, before taking another ragged breath. “This fucker...”

  “Got what he deserved. Now let’s get out of here.”

  Eric releases me, before sinking down to his knees. “I’m gonna walk away now, you fucking cocksucker. But if you ever...and I mean fucking ever even look at Avery again? Me and you are going to have a problem. And if you try this shit with any other female again? I’ll be coming back for you. You can fucking bet on it.”

  Chapter 7

  Six years ago

  Eric

  My blood is still fucking boiling on the drive home. I can’t grip the wheel to Jack’s truck any tighter than I am right now. Because I?

  Am about to fucking lose it.

  Never mind the fact that I got wind of how drunk Avery was at the party, which is the entire reason that I showed up there.

  That had pissed me off.

  Why, exactly, I’m not really sure.

  But I can promise you that I had hightailed it to that party as soon as I heard it. Add into it that Avery was even more drunk than I was told and was almost...yeah. I’m not even going to repeat what almost happened to her.

  Because letting the word repeat itself is enough to make me lose my mind.

  “Amanda is going to be mad that I ditched her.” Avery finally says, as she stares out the window.

  “Amanda already left. I made sure that she made it to her car and that she got out of there safely. And anyways, you should be mad at her for letting you get so damn drunk.” I mutter, clenching and unclenching my fingers from the wheel.

  “Seriously?” Her head whips in my direction as her nostrils flare. “I’m a grown ass woman. It’s not her responsibility to watch over me.”

  “Grown ass woman?” I can’t help but snort. “Please. What you did back there was anything but grown. What in the fuck were you even doing at that party, Ave’s? You had no business being there. And getting this fucking wasted? What in the actual fuck were you thinking?”

  “Are you?” She unsnaps her seatbelt before sliding across the seat of the truck, waving her hands around like a crazy person.

  “Are you trying to blame me for what happened back there? What is this? Huh?” She reaches out, slapping me on the arm before raising her voice up a few octaves. “Slut shaming? Oh, so I go and have a few drinks, and now it’s my fault that some guy...”

  “That’s not what I said!” I slam on the brakes before jerking the truck over to the side of the road and putting it in park. “Quit trying to turn my words around on me! Obviously, that wasn’t your fault. But if you hadn’t been so fucking hammered, you would have realized what was going on! Guys like that prey on girls like you, Ave’s! Drunk girls, who can’t fucking say no!”

  “Oh my God.” Her eyes narrow as she reaches down for the door handle. “You are such an asshole.”

  “Where do you think you’re going?” I growl, reaching down and swatting her hand off the handle.

  “I’m going to walk home.”

  “Like hell you are.” I hold tight to the door as she tries to open it.

  “Gah!” She finally throws her hands up before they land on my shoulders, and she pushes hard against me. “Move!”

  “No way.”

  “Why? What does it matter to you, anyways? It’s not like you give two fucks about me! So let me get out and walk. Then maybe you can go and pick up someone that you can actually stand to look at.”

  She pushes hard against me again, but this time I grab her elbows, holding her in place.

  “What in the fuck do you mean by that?”

  She snorts.

  “You know exactly what I mean. You’re always so damn disgusted by me that you can hardly stand to look at me. Don’t think that I don’t notice. I mean, my god. I know that I’m not the ten that you’re used to, but Jesus. You really know how to crush a girl’s self-esteem.”

  “Are you kidding me?”

  Her chest heaves as her breathing increases, and our eyes lock.

  “Avery. You have no idea what you’re talking about. You are wrong. You’ve got it all so fucking wrong.”

  Her breathing increases as she stops fighting for just a second, and suddenly, my brain realizes just how damn close we are together. I can feel her breath against my skin as her chest heaves, and in the moment, I lose all my resolve.

  “Ave’s.” it comes off my lips as a desperate plea, and, she takes notice. Her eyes widen as they lock on mine, and her entire demeanor changes.

  “Eric...”

  Her hands reach up, fisting in either side of my hair, before she pulls hard on me, pulling my face against hers.

  Her lips meet mine, at first in a question, but the second that I feel her soft breath against my face?

  Well, fuck.

  I’m a goner.

  Suddenly, my hands are furiously moving all over her, holding on tightly to her, until I have wrapped her up in them and moved her onto my lap.

  Her lips are hard on mine, licking and sucking me while her hands grip hard into my hair.

  And then, she moans my name.

  “Ah, fuck.” I mutter, as she begins to grind her hips against me. My hands squeeze her ass, as a grunt leaves my mouth, every nerve ending in my body firing at the way she feels grinding against my erection.

  “Holy fuck.” I mutter as her
lips leave mine and her head falls backwards, her chest thrusting into my face. “Avery.”

  “Please.” She murmurs, gripping my biceps tightly before tipping her head back and moaning.

  “Eric, please.”

  My body is wound so tightly, that I can’t even think straight. All that I can focus on is the fact that this woman, the same one who I can’t ever seem to get off of my mind, is dry fucking me and begging me to please her.

  And while in the back of my mind I know that it’s wrong?

  I have no willpower to stop it.

  Just when I think that I might be able to dig up a shred of nobility, enough to pull back and drive her home, she reaches up, pulling her shirt up over her head and tossing it to the side. She then reaches for mine, tugging it up as her hands move along my skin.

  The feeling of her hands against me does me in. That is, if I wasn’t already a goner.

  The sound of my name leaving her lips in a soft plea doesn’t help things either.

  She thrusts her chest against me, and I can’t even help myself. Her bra is immediately tugged off and my mouth is moving frantically all over her, tasting the pure sweetness that is Avery.

  We’re both fumbling, hands and mouths everywhere, gripping and grinding all over each other, trying desperately to feel every inch of each other in the tiny confines of the truck.

  She reaches down, unbuttoning my pants before grabbing at my erection and beginning to stroke me.

  I’ve had my fair share of moments just like this one, with plenty of different women. But this? It’s so damn different...the feelings that course through my body are completely different than anything that I’ve ever felt before.

  I’ve been watching Avery from afar for months. Dreaming of the way that she would feel wrapped up in my arms, jerking off to the vision of her in my bed more times than I care to admit.

  I had always summed it up to the fact that she is essentially forbidden for me, but there is no way that can be it.

  She’s everything that I could ever want in another person, every bit of her made almost exactly for me. And while my dick is totally intoxicated with the feeling of her hand wrapped around me, and my body craving the release that I so desperately need from her, my mind suddenly clears.

  There are so many things wrong with this picture. First, she’s drunk. Absolutely fucking wasted. And while I may not know everything that there is to know about her, still.

  I know that this isn’t something that she normally does. And while maybe she does also want me like I want her?

  I can’t imagine that this would be happening like this, in the cab of her dad’s truck, if she was in her right state of mind.

  Plus? I made a promise to her dad.

  And I’m damn sure going to try to keep it.

  “Ave’s.” I grab her hand, groaning hard as I lose the amazing fucking feeling of her hand cupped around me.

  “Baby.” I murmur, gripping her arms tight and scooting her back off my lap.

  “We need to stop.”

  “What?” She leans forward again, shoving those beautiful breasts into my face, slowly killing my sudden resolve.

  I force my eyes shut and take a deep, ragged breath before shaking my head.

  “Fuck.” I mutter, before pulling her completely off my lap and setting her down next to me.

  “I can’t do this with you.”

  “Are you kidding me?” Her shocked words are loud inside of the small space, but I keep my eyes firmly clamped shut.

  One more look at her half naked body and I’m done for. I know this for a fact.

  “Put your clothes back on.”

  I’m damn near begging, my voice thick with emotion as I force the words out.

  “Put my...you cannot be serious!”

  “I’m very serious. I can’t do this with you. This isn’t right...And you shouldn’t want to do this with me, Ave’s. I’m no good for you. I can promise you that...I...”

  “Oh, fuck you, Eric!”

  I feel her lean across me, grabbing her shirt. I wait a moment before opening my eyes.

  “Avery...”

  “Don’t.” She waves her hand wildly before motioning to the road. “Just bring me home. Please.”

  “Ok, but...”

  “No buts! It’s fine. I’m an idiot for thinking that someone like you would ever want anything to do with someone like me. Which is pretty fucking sad, right? Because from what I’ve heard, you’ll put your dick in just about anything. Which means I must be pretty freaking disgusting if even you won’t stoop this low.”

  Her eyes are wild on mine for just a second before she turns around and faces the window.

  If she only knew...

  Turning her down is the hardest damn thing that I’ve ever had to do.

  Chapter 8

  Six years ago

  Avery

  You would think, that in two weeks, I would maybe be able to face Eric again. Yet, I still can’t. I’ve passed him a few times in the hallway, but I’ve forced my eyes down and besides that, I’ve avoided him at all costs.

  It’s damn near impossible to even think about being around him, after drunkenly throwing myself at him and getting completely shot down.

  It is hands down the most humiliating experience of my life, and there seems to be no escape.

  I swear to God, there has never been a person on the face of this planet who has sent me more mixed signals than he has.

  I mean, sometimes? I swear he is looking at me like he wants to just devour me. And then in the next moment?

  Nothing.

  Not a damn thing.

  After our road trip? I totally thought that there was something there. But after that day?

  It was like we were back to being strangers.

  Then of course there was that party...and everything that came afterwards.

  No need to rehash all of that...the memory still makes me sick.

  Either way, since that day, he once again has been treating me like I’m damn near invisible.

  And me?

  Well, fuck.

  The very worst part about all of this, is that the second that my eyes land on any part of him?

  Regardless of the fact that he totally shot me down, and I am certain that he wants nothing to do with me?

  My heart still begins to race, and the butterflies erupt inside of me.

  Basically, every time that I see Eric?

  I become a complete and utter hot mess.

  This is going to a long six months.

  The only bright side to any of this, is that baseball preseason has started, so he’s gone a lot more than normal. They’ve been working out indoors both before and after school, so I’ve been able to eat dinner alone since both he and my dad are gone way past the time we usually eat.

  Thank goodness for small favors.

  The second that I see the headlights turn into the driveway, I hightail it up to my bedroom, and I don’t come back out until the morning, only after I know that he’s already gone.

  But now?

  Well, right now, I’m feeling pretty screwed.

  This is the first weekend in a long time that my dad has been gone...

  Which means that Eric and I will be home alone together, with no barrier in between us. No one to buffer me ever having to me alone with him.

  No one to keep me from making another giant ass out of myself.

  The only thing that I can hope for at this point, is that he has also made plans to be gone.

  That would be a blessing.

  But as I step inside of the house Friday night, I realize that I am not going to be getting off that easy.

  Oh, no. No no...fate can never be on my freaking side.

  Because as I step right into the living room on Friday night, I am met with a visual that seems to haunt me, even in my damn sleep.

  Eric is right there in front of me, sprawled out on the couch, wearing only a pair of sweatpants...he couldn’t even bother to pu
t on a damn shirt?

  Sonofabitch!

  I toss my jacket and car keys down as he looks up, before turning towards the stairs and making the trek to my room, careful to keep my eyes focused down.

  “Hey, Ave’s?” His voice stops me, halfway up the stairs, causing the hair on the back of my neck to stand straight up. And of course, it causes my heart to race, because...well?

  That voice.

  “What?” I force the word out, before turning ever so slightly and glancing down at him.

  “I was thinking about renting a movie. Do you want to watch it with me?”

  “Ah, no thanks.” I turn back and head to my room before he can say anything else, slamming the door behind me.

  Gah.

  I hate the way that I feel right now. The way that he makes me feel. It is not fair, and it’s not right. And also I’m super pissed off allowing myself to let me feel this way.

  He’s such a dick. Seriously.

  So, I’m good enough to watch a movie with, but not good enough for him to hook up with?

  I’m being ridiculous, and I know it. But I just can’t help myself. I’m super pissed off, and I have no one to blame but myself for even trying to be with him in the first place.

  I swear, I’m never drinking again.

  I’ve thrown myself on my bed when I hear a knock on my door.

  Inwardly I cringe, knowing that there is only one person who could be there, standing right outside of my door, probably still not wearing a damn shirt.

  “Go away.”

  I slip my shoe off my foot and throw it at the door for effect. When he knocks again, I proceed to launch the other one.

  “Leave me alone, Eric.”

  One more knock, and then, the door flies open.

  “What in the hell are you doing? I told you to leave me alone!” I shout at him, as he steps inside of the room, slamming the door shut behind him, as his hands fly to his hips and he takes a deep breath.

  “Yeah. I know that you did. And you see, that’s a real problem.”

  “The only problem here is you. And the fact that you think that you can just barge in here. Get out, Eric. This is my space. And you are not welcome.”

  Completely ignoring me, he takes several steps towards me, causing my heart to about beat out of my freaking chest, before he finally stops at the end of my bed.