Page 19 of Dean (Unexpected #9)

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

AVERY

“Amanda, you need to see this,” I say, as I sink down on a lawn chair and look at the planted trees, their branches arching up toward the darkening sky. I turn my camera so she can see each of them and the beautiful flowers Dean had delivered. I’m so in love with this man. If I thought I was when I first moved in, the goalposts have moved now.

I am head over heels. Like there’s no coming back from this now. Not at all.

He will have to pry me away with a crowbar if he wants me to leave.

I will cling.

“I’m obsessed,” I add.

“I am too. It looks like home, but not the shitty part. The good part.”

“Yeah, agreed.”

“Seems this dude is a keeper. Can’t wait to meet him.”

“I can’t wait either. Oh god, he’s perfect,” I whisper and then hear a throat clear behind me.

Totally busted.

“You think I’m perfect?” Dean asks, and I roll my eyes, moving the camera so Amanda can see him.

“Oh, he’s hot, dude.” Her voice is loud and carries. I’m sure Ben could hear that if he were home. Dean blushes cutely, and I nudge him.

“I mean, yeah, he is.”

“Oh, you two look cute together. When’s the wedding?”

I peer over at Dean, who is grinning, his arm moving around my waist. “Haven’t gotten that far yet. But it’s nice to meet you, Amanda. Avery’s told me so much about you.”

“And same here. Well, since I got this phone. Mom and Dad are kinda on to me. I think they know I have contraband, so I need to be extra careful.”

“Yes, please do. I love talking to you,” I say.

“I promise I’ll try my best. For as neglectful as they are, they do seem to notice the most annoying shit.”

I agree. They had a knack for that. They would forget to buy groceries but would notice if I stayed up past my bedtime. I think if it affected them then they’d notice. Assholes. They never cared about me.

After a few more minutes of chatting, completely pretending we have better parents and not talking about them at all, I hang up with Amanda and lean into Dean.

“I’m so fucking happy, Dean.”

“Yeah, me too.”

My phone pings and I look down at it.

“Don’t tell me that’s Nick.”

“No, that’s Amanda again. Listen, Nick hasn’t messaged me much since you visited him. I think you scared him…”

He arches an eyebrow at me, and I squirm. I cannot lie to him. “But?”

“Oh well, I might have maybe seen him at Beau’s place, but it could have just been a creeper standing in the shadows with a hoodie…”

“What the hell? Avery, you need to tell me this shit. Why didn’t you?”

“I mean I would have, but I wasn’t sure. He’s never outright about it. But we have the cameras now so it’s just a matter of time before he slips up.”

He doesn’t look happy about that. He looks positively murderous. “He set fire to my backyard, he’s been threatening you, he’s accused you of stealing. I’m going to murder him. I think I should have done that when I went over there.”

“No, you absolutely will not do that.”

“He’s bothering you. He’s bothering us. He’s a waste of space.”

“Yes, well…maybe he’ll just get run over. I really don’t want to think about him during my happy time.”

“What happy time?” Lex asks, appearing next to us. “Are you about to fuck?”

“What? No,” Dean grumbles.

“Shame. I’d like to watch, but I digress. The cameras are installed. Do you have a minute for me to go over the interface? It’s for dummies so it should be easy for you to understand.”

Dean eyes me, and I can’t help but giggle.

“He is old.”

“Very old and very sexy,” Lex says, which makes Dean grumble under his breath.

“Don’t you have a boyfriend?” Dean asks.

“I do, but it doesn’t mean I don’t have eyeballs. Good catch, Avery. I’m impressed.”

I waggle my eyebrows, and Dean sighs. “All right, show me how to work this. I want to make sure I can catch whoever is harassing Avery.”

“Oh, are we catching a bad guy? I love this. I feel like Sherlock. Should I get a hat? I should definitely get the hat.”

“No hat,” Dean says. “Just show me how the fuck this works. I want to make sure we have recordings of anyone entering my property.”

“Oh, you will. Growl at me some more and I’ll do anything you say.”

“I’m not fucking growling.”

“You are.”

Dean looks like he’s ready to explode, so I move up next to him and tuck myself into his side. It seems to soothe him slightly and he listens while Lex explains the interface. It really is easy and the cameras are high quality. They’re set up in the best places, perfect for catching anyone wandering around the front or backyard.

When Lex finally leaves, I usher Dean into the kitchen.

“So, we’re all set then. Trees, flowers, and a security system. How are you feeling?” I hand him a beer and he takes it, popping the top off and taking a small sip.

“Let’s go outside and relax. Put on a fire. Look at how pretty everything is.”

His gaze sweeps over me and his tongue peeks out, wetting his lips. “Yeah, fucking pretty.”

“Are you complimenting me?”

“Maybe I am.”

I tug my skirt up a little further, showing off my legs, and he takes another long sip of his drink.

“Don’t fucking tempt me.”

I expose more of me to him and he growls under his breath.

“Avery.”

“What? Maybe I want you to fuck me outside. Right by the firepit.”

“Where anyone could see?”

“You don’t have neighbors out here. And Ben isn’t home.”

He stares at me, something feral sparking in his eyes.

“Or I could suck you off. You know, whatever you want.” I pull my shirt off and pull my hair down around my shoulders. Dean’s nostrils flare.

“Have I convinced you?” I ask, batting my eyelashes.

“Get outside, Avery.”

I laugh as he stalks toward me, his hands reaching for me, but I quickly move out of his grasp, making him chase me.

My feet hit the grass of the backyard as I move toward the firepit, Dean following behind.

“Can’t catch me, old man,” I laugh, and he grunts, moving faster.

I shouldn’t have taunted him because he manages to capture me near one of the trees that’s been freshly planted .

I lean against it, my hands on the trunk, my ass out.

Dean’s hands ruck my skirt up around my waist and his hands fall to my ass.

“Oh no, what are you going to do to me?” I whisper, feeling my heartbeat accelerate in my chest. He takes a step closer to me, his lips against the skin of my neck.

“I’m going to take care of you.”

Those words make my eyelids flutter shut and I inhale softly.

“Yes, take care of me.”

And he does.

“Shit,” Dean says, staring down at his phone while we sit outside the next morning. “What? What is it?”

“Anthony invited me to a party tonight. He wants to discuss some kind of car he’s commissioned for someone he’s in business with.”

“What? That’s so weird. Why can’t you just do it during the workday?”

“Dunno, but he said it’s important.”

“That’s fucking strange. Ugh, I wanted to spend the night with you.”

“I won’t be long. I’m sure it will just be a short visit, but he sent me the address and I think it’s at Cash’s parents, which is even weirder.”

“I didn’t know they were having a party, did you?”

“No, but then again, I don’t fucking like them, so it makes sense that Cash didn’t say anything. They’re assholes. He may not even be going. It could just be Anthony who’s there and he wants to talk to me.”

“Oh, well, I guess you should go then.”

“Yeah, I guess so. As long as you’re okay to stay here by yourself. I still don’t like that Nick is out there.”

“Oh, don’t worry about him. I’ll invite Kit over. He’s been asking to come by.”

“So, you two are best friends now? Like, should I plan on this guy being here more often? ”

I peer over at him. He’s so damn handsome. I see his gaze moving to the small hickey he left on my neck. Seems he likes marking me. I don’t mind it either. “Yeah, I guess so. He’s…endearing.”

“I can see that.”

“Like a feral goldendoodle.”

He harrumphs, and I reach out, threading my fingers with his.

“It’ll be fine. Just go tonight and see what Anthony wants. Maybe sneer at Cash’s shitty parents. And then come home to me.”

“Yeah.”

Just as I say that, a crash resounds from the front of the house and Dean and I pop up, rushing to see what the noise is. When we fling open the front door, I see the pots with my recently planted flowers smashed, soil seeping out onto the ground. I gasp and glance around as Dean pulls his phone out to see if he can get a better look at who did this.

Even though I know who it is.

It’s Nick. He can’t just leave me alone. I mean, really. He needs to let this go and accept the fact I didn’t take his damn money. Or maybe he’s targeting me because I’m gay. At this point, I don’t really know.

“My flowers. Oh, this has gone too far,” I whisper.

“So, him threatening you over and over is not too far, but ruining your flowers is?”

“Yes. It is. I’m going to get him. These flowers never did anything to him. He better not cut down my trees or I’ll drown him.”

Dean shakes his head as he pulls up the video feed, and the two of us seeing a man in a hoodie walking up the driveway with a mask covering his face. The man is tall and thin and walks slowly with jerky movements. I can tell that it’s Nick. It’s definitely Nick.

Who else would do this? No one else would try to hurt me.

“I really need to get him to leave me alone. To leave us alone.” My mind reels with the thought of this continuing for the next several months or years. If anything, Nick is a dog with a bone. He won’t let this go. He wants to hurt me.

“How about we call the cops and let them take a report?” Dean says gently, giving me false hope that this will all resolve itself nicely .

“Yeah, we can do that. I’ll call and see if we can get someone out here.”

“And when I’m gone tonight, just keep your eye out and maybe don’t leave the house,” Dean says. “Promise me, Avery.”

I roll my lips between my teeth. I don’t want to go anywhere. Not without feeling safe. I just want to feel safe again.

“I promise.”