Criminal Affinity [18+]

Chapter 48

This laugh from god got me grinning.
Don't you know that you ain't winning? Don't you know that you are fucking with a dime?

| F@%& With A Dime - FEYI|

Her

"Would you like another drink?" Elijah asks. Ava gives him a coy smile, turning her gaze to the sky as if in contemplation.

"Are you trying to get me drunk?" She asks. In reality, she knows Elijah is a old-money fuckboy with model looks and a fear of commitment. One look at him reclining on one of the pool chairs and she knew he was the perfect target.

His honey eyes and rosy mouth both glint a sort of good-boy mischief that probably gets him laid every day of the week.

"I'm trying to get you to have fun." He says. Ava internally rolls her eyes at that. What he wants is evident in the tent of his pants. But to her surprise, Ava doesn't mind it.

Because half an hour of conversation was enough to drive him to make a phone call to clear the entire pool for the two of them.

And the effort is fucking sexy, even if it is just to get what he wants.

But no matter how hot Elijah is, nothing he did brought the lash of pure liquid fire in her body. Sure, it makes her a little self-aware, but so does a tight-fitted dress.

She likes his attention. From the way he regards her and catches her every move, it's obvious he isn't some ordinary dude.

"You seem like you could use it, anyway." He angles to her bandage. Her smile slips a little.

"Careful," Ava says. "You might need to empty your pockets before you reel me into your...fun."

Elijah lets out a throaty laugh, exposing a pink scar along his throat. It makes Ava as apprehensive as it draws her in. Definitely not clean business seeing that someone tried to kill him.

"Fine, I'll bite." His voice is rougher than before. "What do I have to do to get you loosened up?"

And because Ava is day-drinking like a fool after a whole night of alcohol, she draws closer to him. He watches with interest as she props her elbows and dips her chin. "Guess what I do for a living."

His granite-cut face stays relaxed as he leans back with a breath. His tanned, sculpted muscles are a welcoming sight, even though she can't get a certain gray-eyed demon out of her mind.

-

Him

When they reach, Ava isn't in the room. They search around for too long before they find her in the pool, busy chatting up with... Elijah Hofer. They all stop at the sight of her, staying in the shadows.

"She's making friends," Ren remarks drily, but Ivan doesn't miss the way that motherfucker's body is angled towards Ava in the water. There's a carefree air around her, apart from the bandage on her arm.

Ivan clenches his jaw, hating the sight of her even breathing in the direction of Hofer. Elijah and Ivan had interacted many times over the years and it always felt like a dick-measuring contest. That Romanian fucker was too arrogant for his own good and had a set of eyes that saw too much.

They were never big fans of each other, and now Ava looks like she likes his attention.

She throws her head back and laughs at something he says, red hair flaring and glimmering from the pool's light. Ivan takes a long breath to calm the sudden rush of violence. There's a glint in her eyes that he has never seen before.