Chapter 1 The Plan

Ava Sinclair had never heard anyone moan and scream like that before.

It was almost as if each girl her neighbor brought tried to outperform the other.

The sound drifted through the thin wall behind her headboard. It came low at first, then deepened into a breathless cry that sent a cool shiver down Ava's spine. The kind of sound that should've come with a viewer discretion warning.

Ava froze, her legs crossed on the bed, pen hovering above her open legal file, while the feminine voice on the other side of the wall moaned again.

Jesus. Her neighbor was really at it again. But why was it always around this time? It was getting to midnight for crying out loud.

The thing about her neighbor is that she'd never heard any noise coming from him; it was only from the women who flocked in and out of his room.

Wasn't he supposed to be in college? She couldn't imagine what young boys in college did these days if her neighbor had the stamina of a horse to keep satisfying these women.

Ava shut her eyes.

It wasn't jealousy...no, she was thirty-two, a respected lawyer, a grown woman with a corner office and a salary that could buy a car every other month if she actually liked driving.

No, she wasn't jealous.

She was just annoyed and...curious.

Curious in the way someone starving might look at a bakery window.

She swallowed, adjusted her reading glasses, and tried to focus on the draft brief on her laptop. But the moans didn't stop.

Her hand tightened around her pen as another sound drifted through the wall: a breathless whimper, feminine, needy, desperate. Ava clenched her pen.

Ava squeezed her thighs together beneath her blanket.

It was ridiculous. Embarrassing. She was a lawyer, a fully functional adult human being. She did not get flustered over noises coming through a wall.

Except she absolutely did. She had to confess, she'd touched herself a few times during her neighbor's wild adventures. But she couldn't do it tonight. There was work to be done, deadlines to be met.

Her neighbor, the elusive Noah, had never said more than "hi" to her. Actually, scratch that. He'd never said anything to her. She'd said "hi" a couple of times to him, but he never responded. And why should he?

He was probably in his early twenties.

But even without speaking, she seemed to know at least one thing about him: He was a sex god.

Ava bit her lip, heat creeping into her cheeks. She should not be thinking about her neighbor like that, for Christ's sake. He was way younger than her, and she was well into her thirties.

Noah, from what she'd learned from the sounds the women made, was a man apparently built for the express purpose of making women lose coherence.

And Ava, sworn enemy of chaos, was sitting alone in her bed, listening to him give some lucky woman the kind of pleasure Ava had only ever read about in erotica novels. Even her toys had never given her that kind of pleasure before.

Another moan hit the wall, louder, and Ava's breath hitched involuntarily.

Christ in heaven, he was... relentless.

She pressed a hand to her cheek. Her skin felt embarrassingly warm.

Her laptop screen dimmed from inactivity, the legal contract she'd been reviewing forgotten. No one could focus through this. Even a headphone wouldn't save her. Not when a deep, masculine voice vibrated behind the wall. Noah's voice.

Low. Rough. Commanding...she hadn't heard what he said because it was immediately followed by a loud spanking sound.

Ava's stomach dropped. That voice. She never heard him speak, but God help her, she heard how deep it sounded.

Her imagination betrayed her instantly.

She couldn't resist picturing him...big hands on someone's hips. His mouth pressed to someone's neck. His breath, hot and slow, right near someone's ear...

"Oh my God," she whispered to herself, horrified that her brain even went there.

Ava slapped a hand over her mouth to stop the embarrassing sound she nearly made.

(Oh God!!! Noah...yes!!! Take me!!!) The feminine voice screamed.

Ava slapped her laptop shut.

Right, enough. She needed... Shit, she didn't even know what she needed.

Luckily, right at that moment, when the moaning got even louder than possible, her phone buzzed. It was a text from one of her best friends.

[Jenna: Emergency wine night. I'm outside. No arguments.]

Ava snorted with relief.

At least, if she couldn't focus on work, drinking with Jenna would be a better option than being tortured by Noah and his harem of women.

Ava rushed out of bed, making her way to the living room. She grabbed her coat and stepped into the hallway.

Snow dusted the windows in the hallway, soft Christmas lights twinkling down the stairwell. Everything felt warm and festive. Christmas was only five days away, and New Year's was twelve days away.

Ava wasn't feeling particularly festive because she still had some work to do. But she was planning to place an order for a Christmas tree the next day.

The case she'd been assigned was vague and frustrating. Something about identity theft from over a decade ago. She pushed the thoughts away as she scrambled down the stairs to meet Jenna.

But she found Jenna already on her floor, standing with her coat open, a bottle of red in one hand and glitter on her eyelids for no reason except "December."

"Why do you look like you're witnessing a crime scene?" Jenna asked.

Ava opened her mouth to speak, but stopped halfway, giving Jenna a droopy smile instead. As they made to leave Ava's floor, a faint moan echoed through the hallway. It wasn't loud enough for everyone to hear but Jenna and Ava caught it.

Jenna's eyes went wide with amusement.

"Oh. He's at it again..." she wiggled her eyebrows at Ava.

Jenna, a regular visitor to Ava's home, was already aware of Noah and his capabilities.

"Please don't make this worse," Ava muttered, locking her door.

"Make what worse? That you live next to the human embodiment of a vibrator?"

"Jenna..." Ava sighed.

"Sorry. A deluxe vibrator."

Ava rolled her eyes so hard they nearly cracked. Jenna laughed, walking behind Ava as they made their way down the stairs and into Jenna's warm, cozy apartment, where Marisol, their other best friend, was already on the couch sipping hot chocolate.

"Why do you look like you're about to faint?" Marisol asked gently, her eyes trained on Ava.

Ava sank onto the couch. "I was trying to work, sort through some files, but my neighbor is at it again."

Both women leaned forward in synchronized interest. Jenna's eyes were dancing with glee while Marisol's eyes brimmed with concern.

Ava waved her hands at Jenna and Marisol. "Stop. Don't even look at me like that."

Jenna took a dramatic sip. "Girl, please. You are brilliant, gorgeous, successful-"

"And overworked," Marisol added.

"...and," Jenna continued louder, ignoring Marisol's adlib, "you have never..."

"Jenna," Ava warned.

"...been properly laid," Jenna finished.

Ava covered her face with both hands. "Can we please not make this the topic of tonight?"

"No," Jenna said brightly. "Because you've been tense for months. Years, probably. Girl, just one bad sex incident...it was your first time, for crying out loud. You shouldn't be so worried about having sex. It's almost Christmas, I refuse to let my best friend enter the new year with untouched potential."

Jenna was kind of right, Ava thought to herself. She wasn't technically a virgin, or was she? She didn't know. All she knew was, during her first time...the tip of her boyfriend's cock couldn't make it past the entrance of her vagina.

It was painful, and Ava had cried that night when her boyfriend refused to push himself through. He told her she was going to get hurt since she wasn't wet enough for him to slip through.

Ava had broken up with him a week later, thinking her boyfriend didn't care enough about her to give her her first sexual experience.

Years later, Ava learned she had a less severe case of vaginismus, but with consistent use of toys, she might be able to have the real thing inside of her, finally.

Marisol patted Ava's knee, jolting her back to the present. "What Jenna is trying to say..." Marisol gave Jenna a pointed look, "is that you deserve to feel good. It doesn't have to be romantic. It can just be for you, since you have a condition that's been hindering you all these years."

Ava hesitated, her eyes slightly tearing up at Marisol's words.

She'd been thinking about an idea. Quietly. Secretly. For weeks, the idea had been sitting in the back of her mind, taking root.

She wanted sex....she wanted to finally experience a man's cock inside of her body. No romance, no relationship.

Just the regular sexual experience.

She inhaled slowly.

"I've actually been thinking about it," she admitted quietly.

Jenna perked up so fast that Ava almost flinched. "Maybe...maybe I should just get it over with."

Jenna gasped like someone had proposed marriage.

Marisol blinked. "Well, that's wonderful. Do you mean soon?"

Ava nodded reluctantly.

Jenna clapped with excitement. "Yes! Yes! This is what Christmas miracles are made of!"

Ava groaned. "Please don't call it that."

"Who is it going to be with?" Marisol asked softly, being the ever-concerned friend of the group. "Someone from work?"

Ava shook her head, her eyes darting everywhere in Jenna's apartment. She did not want to reveal who she had in mind. But Jenna was quick to read her mind.

Jenna exhaled a sharp breath. "Ava. Tell me you are not thinking what I think you're thinking."

Ava sipped her wine, still avoiding Jenna's and Marisol's gaze.

She gave a lazy shrug. "He's... convenient."

"You mean Noah?" Jenna asked for clarification

"Oh my God, she means Noah?" Marisol asked, stunned and taken aback.

"This is incredible," Jenna giggled.

Ava winced. "Stop."

"No," Jenna refused. "We're encouraging. I think it's a very great idea. Don't you think so, Mari?"

Marisol tried to hide her shock, her gaze even more locked on Ava. "Honey...isn't he younger?"

"That's not important, Mari," Jenna reproached dryly. "The younger ones are even the most active. I mean, you've heard for yourself how very active he is."

Marisol shot Jenna a warning glare. "But we don't know how young he is. It's fine if he's five or six years younger but what if he's nineteen?" Marisol's face clouded with horror.

Jenna shook her head in disbelief, wondering how Marisol even had more sexual experience than Ava when Marisol was clearly the goody two-shoes among them.

Ava watched her two best friends staring at each other with frustration. She couldn't help but laugh at how seriously they were taking her idea. Ava felt like it wasn't that much of a deal.

"Ava, all that matters is what you want. Do you want him?" Jenna turned to her.

At a loss for words, she simply nodded at Jenna.

"But you've never had an actual conversation..." Marisol protested.

Ava finished her wine in one swallow, wetting her lips and throat.

"I know..." she finally said.

Marisol watched her warily. Ava didn't care if Noah had never said a word to her. If he was used to fucking so many girls, then she'd just be another woman on his list. He was perfect for the job.

Jenna grinned wickedly, clasping her hands together.

"So what? You're going to knock on his door and say, 'Merry Christmas, neighbor, I want sex'?"

Ava gave Jenna a serious look, not answering the question.

Jenna froze.

Marisol's mouth fell open.

"Ava," Marisol whispered, horrified. "You're not serious."

Ava's heart hammered. "I mean... why not? He's clearly experienced. He's... discreet. And we don't know each other well enough for it to get messy."

"But, Ava..." Jenna leaned in, clearly concerned for the first time tonight. "This isn't buying a sweater on sale. This is your first time, like first time, first time in a while."

"I really don't care. I'm not some teenager who is going to get attached. I want control," Ava said softly. "No strings. No expectations. No emotions. Just sex."

The room stayed silent. Snow drifted softly outside the window.

Jenna whispered, her playful demeanor taking a backseat to Ava's admission, "Are you scared?"

Ava's eyes softened. "A little, but not because of what's to come. I'm just worried that I may get stuck again and that Noah might not agree to go further, just like how Henry didn't agree to go further."

Marisol took her hand, her fingers tracing the back of Ava's hand. "Honey, you'll be fine. With the kind of noise that comes out of his apartment, I doubt he'll turn down your request."

Ava chuckled, then swallowed.

She wasn't brave. Not really. But she was tired of waiting for something that might never happen. Tired of feeling left out of her own life.

And if she wanted to experience sex without the emotional chaos, maybe Noah...mysterious, distant, evidently gifted Noah, was the best and safest choice.

Somewhere down the hall of their building, a bedroom door slammed, making the girls jump in their seats.

Ava exhaled, a shaky little laugh slipping out as they gave each other knowing looks.

"Okay," she said, half joking.

Jenna sat up straight. "Okay what?"

Ava met her eyes.

"Okay... I'm going to do it."

"Tonight?" Jenna stuttered.

"Yeah, what better time than now?" Ava replied.

The truth is...Ava never planned to do it tonight. She had been nurturing the idea of Noah fucking her since forever, but she planned to approach him during Christmas. But then, maybe he'd be booked that day.

And Ava didn't want to go far to look for a lay, not when there was a sex God already livng next door. Now was the best time to go to Noah.

Jenna screamed into a pillow, at a loss for words.

Marisol nearly dropped her mug of hot chocolate.

Ava looked at the clock on the wall.

It read 11:42 p.m.

Her heart pounded. This was it. She just had to wait until midnight. Noah deserved to breathe a little after his little rendezvous.

As soon as midnight came, she was going to knock on his door and ask him to fuck her.