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CHAPTER THIRTEEN

AVA

Gyrik growled—a deep, resonating sound that should have been terrifying—as he came all over the place. It hit my jacket, my neck, my hair, his chest, his ear… It just kept spraying, and the only thing I could think to do was to slide my hand up his very impressive length to cap it with my fist and thumb.

His hand wrapped around mine, squeezing him tighter as he bucked into my hold. He kept going for another few seconds before stilling.

Stunned, I didn’t move. I just stared down at him.

He was breathing heavily as his gaze, with pupils completely dilated, searched mine. His cheeks began to darken along with the tips of his ears.

“I’m sorry.”

Those two simple words were filled with more sincerity and remorse than I’d ever heard in my life. And I’d heard it plenty of times.

Still studying me, he picked up the towel he’d tossed on the bed and wiped his release from my neck. Then he reached between us to dislodge my hand—I hadn’t let go when he had—and wipe that clean, too.

My face ignited with heat. How could I have forgotten I was still holding that ?

While I was distracted by some heavy self-recrimination, he stood with me in his arms.

“You’ll need to wash your hair,” he said, walking from the room.

Panic set in as he strode into the living room. The other three stopped what they were doing to stare at us.

Gyrik was naked. He had come on his ear and chest. And he was carrying me .

“Ah, do you need us to intervene, Ava?” Bram asked, his voice laced with uncertainty.

Shame kept my face red as I shook my head.

“If you need intervention, just scream,” Zach said.

I wanted to hide, binge-eat some ice cream, and pretend none of this ever happened.

Thankfully, Gyrik was a fast walker and had us in the bathroom a few seconds later. He set me on my feet and tugged my jacket off before I knew what he intended.

“What are you doing?” I asked when he tossed it into the hallway.

“It needs to be washed.”

I cringed, which was more distraction than I could afford because he took that opportunity to pull my shirt off. I clapped my arms around myself, not to save any modesty but because it was still cold on this side of the house.

“Uh, I’m okay getting undressed without help,” I said when he reached for my jeans.

He pulled his hands back and watched me expectantly. So, I went with the more direct, but hopefully still kind, approach.

“You’re probably cold and want to get dressed. I can shower by myself. You can go.”

“I need your clothes to wash them.”

Geez…how much had he come?

Rather than trying to look for it, I finished stripping out of my pants and handed them over. He proved he had only been waiting for that by walking out with them. I watched his glued-together backside disappear then stripped out of my bra and underwear without closing the door. The only heat source was in the living room, and I wasn’t about to cut that off.

The water, which he’d showered in too, was barely body-temperature warm. I shivered through shampooing twice so I wouldn’t have to repeat the experience.

Moving the curtain to the side, I almost screamed when I saw Gyrik standing there in a pair of shorts. He blinked at me then wrapped me in the towel he’d been holding.

“I heard you shivering,” he said. “It’s warmer by the fire. You should stay there until your hair is dry.”

I nodded. He swept me into his arms and carried me out of the bathroom. Any protest died a fast death when I felt the heat radiating from him.

A blanket and a hairbrush waited by the fireplace in the living room. The other three weren’t there, but I could hear them moving in the kitchen. Their presence was both reassuring and demoralizing. They’d witnessed what had to be the most awkward moment of my entire life.

Gyrik set me down on the blanket and wrapped it around me. I pulled it closer, appreciating the warmth.

I was a little surprised when I felt the first gentle tug on my hair.

He was brushing it.

“Tell me if I cause you pain,” he said.

Too overwhelmed by the last twenty minutes, I nodded and let myself appreciate the quiet moment. Only the present mattered. Nothing happened before the hair brushing, and nothing would happen after. Well, I needed to get dressed after so I wouldn’t freeze.

Thoughts of getting dressed led to thoughts of what had happened. I tried shutting those down but gave up after a while.

Sometimes, a girl just needed to overthink for a bit to sort out how she felt about something. And that was what I needed to understand. Was I okay with what had just happened, and did I still feel safe with Gyrik?

The way his fingers gently ran over my hair after each brush stroke was too soothing to feel anything but safe. And technically, what had happened in the bedroom wasn’t his fault. Yes, he’d grabbed me to keep me from leaving, but I’d been the one to grab his cum-cannon, leading to the fateful misfire.

I shouldn’t have squeezed it. But in all fairness, I’d still been in a state of denial even after the full-frontal view he’d given me in the bathroom. He couldn’t have been that big. I had to have seen it wrong. A play of light, maybe.

But nope. He was every inch as big as I’d thought. And girthy too. No toy I’d ever owned could compete with him.

No, I didn’t fear him. I was in awe. If anything, he should be the one afraid of me and my accosting hands. But he wasn’t. And he wasn’t making a big deal out of it. He’d apologized, helped me to the shower, washed my clothes, and was now brushing my hair.

So then, why was I feeling awkward?

Cum-cannon.

I just couldn’t stop thinking about how much he’d shot everywhere. I was embarrassed but had no idea why. It wasn’t like it was my cum. That was on him. Literally.

I giggled and hurriedly buried my face in the blanket. Then, I immediately felt guilty because I was laughing, and he was probably feeling a little embarrassed. No man wanted to pop off as fast as he had. At least, I didn’t think they did.

That thought brought me around to what had caused it. I’d been gluing the bite on his butt shut. It couldn’t have been very comfortable having me pinch something that was already looking a little bruised.

I froze.

Was he into hurt-kink?

I glanced back at him.

“Did I pull too hard?” His hand immediately went to the spot and started rubbing it gently. Everything he did with me was gentle. If he was into hurt-kink, it was only on the receiving end and not the giving. I could probably handle that.

Wait…what was I thinking?

“Ava?”

Realizing he was waiting for an answer to his question, I quickly said, “No, you didn’t pull too hard. Not that I want you to pull harder.”

God! Could I stop saying hard already?

“I think I’m having a har—difficulty processing what just happened. Are we okay?”

He blinked at me.

Confusion was the last thing either of us needed.

I glanced at the kitchen, where there were still indistinct sounds of conversation, then back to Gyrik.

“I’m sorry for landing on you like I did,” I said quietly. "It wasn’t intentional or planned or anything like that. I just want to make sure you’re not feeling mad, embarrassed, or guilty…or anything like that.”

“Are you?” Concern flitted across his expression.

“I’m not sure how I’m feeling. I think it’ll depend on how you’re feeling about what happened in the bedroom.”

He swallowed visibly. “I liked it.”

It was on the tip of my tongue to say, “Obviously,” but I didn’t. Instead, I tried to be honest as well.

“Yeah, I think I did, too, but not for the same reasons. The past few days have been so unreal. I think I’m still trying to process and accept everything on some level while not having a complete mental breakdown.

“What happened in the bedroom was a welcome distraction. Not that I want to repeat it. It’s too cold for that. But I didn’t hate it, and I’m not mad.”

He studied me for a long moment then started brushing my hair again.

Taking the hint, I faced forward and closed my eyes. I let myself relax and enjoy it, which is what I’d wanted to do from the beginning. This time, though, it worked.

“Dinner’s done when you guys are ready,” Zach called from the kitchen.

Gyrik didn’t stop brushing, so I said we’d join them in a few minutes and stayed where I was. The fire crackled, and its heat slowly warmed my face. Not inside the blanket, though. The damp towel wrapped around me felt like it wicked away any body heat I generated.

“Can you get my suitcase for me?” I asked Gyrik. “It’s in the back of the truck.”

Gyrik grunted, set the brush aside, and left.

I stood and let the blanket drop away. The heat from the fire sent a shiver through me as the dampness evaporated from my exposed arms and legs. But the air was still cold on my back. Especially my wet hair.

Gyrik returned a minute later with the suitcase, which he set down and opened for me.

I quickly pulled on some underwear under the towel and a T-shirt over the top. All the while, Gyrik watched me. But not in a creepy way. More like he was making sure I could do everything and didn’t need help.

Once I was covered, I tossed the towel aside and tugged on some sweatpants, a sweatshirt, and socks.

“I don’t know how you can walk around only wearing shorts when it’s still cold in here.”

He reached for the brush, but I stopped him.

“I’m going to grab some food first.”

The only stops we’d made while driving were aftermath cleanups. While Gyrik washed in the snow, the rest of us went to the bathroom and refilled our bottles with the clean water from the back of Will’s vehicle. So lunch had been a protein bar while driving, and I was hungry.

The conversation the other three were having at the table stopped when we entered. I looked at the big pot of stew with noodles on the side then at the three men.

“Why do you all look guilty? Where are Pete and Repeat? That’s not cat stew, is it?”

Zach snorted a laugh. “Your dark sense of humor is going to fit right in.”

“Who said I was joking?”

Zach lifted Pete from his lap, and Bram held up Repeat. “We already fed them, but they’re begging for more.”

“Don’t give in. If they get too fat, they might look more tempting.” I took the bowl Will offered me. “Seriously, though, what was up with the expressions when we came in?”

All three looked at Gyrik. I did the same and saw his dark cheeks.

“Is there something you’re not telling me?” I asked him.

“No, it’s nothing like that,” Will said, heaping my bowl with noodles and stew. “We’re just worried that he’s not respecting your boundaries.”

It was the sweetest thing he could have said and helped put me at ease.

“I don’t feel like any boundaries were intentionally crossed. But your concern means a lot to me. Thank you.

“If it’s all right with all of you, I’m going to eat this by the fire so my hair can dry.”

They nodded and waved me away.

Gyrik stayed behind.