Page 27 of Clint & Ivy
“I’ll kiss you tonight, okay?” I said when she watched me as if I were untrustworthy. “Today will be our first date. Does that sound good?”
Ivy stepped back. “I’m confused.”
“About what?”
“I don’t want to say.”
“Then why bring it up?”
The corners of Ivy’s lips turned downward, and she looked to Hanzee for help. “Yesterday, you and Elle told me to talk more and say what I want.”
“Yes, we did.”
Ivy backed away from me. Her entire demeanor shifted. I realized how much different she seemed today than when we first met. Ivy trusted me enough to break from her family’s programming, yet I was now telling her to behave and follow the rules.
I held her gaze as my mind ran through various scenarios. I didn’t want to make a rash move that’d leave us both full of regret.
Except I felt Ivy pulling away from me emotionally. A wholly unusual panic seized my chest.Ivy was mine.I needed her now. If she left me, I couldn’t survive. I hated how weak this need made me feel, but there was no fighting it.
I lost control of myself. My hands gripped her hips, lifting her onto the barstool. Ivy gasped. She didn’t flinch or fight. Her childhood was filled with mental abuse, not the physical sort. She was too naïve to truly fear me.
My fingers sunk into her soft blonde hair as I stared into her eyes. A pain gripped my heart.I couldn’t lose this woman.Yesterday morning, I hadn’t even known she existed. Now, I’d imagined our future together. I pictured her carrying my child. I saw us going gracefully gray together like my parents had.Losing her wasn’t an option.
My mouth covered Ivy’s soft, plump lips. As I breathed her in, the pain in my chest lessened.
When I deepened the kiss, her arms tugged me closer. My tongue slid against hers, winning a startled moan from Ivy.
Nothing in my life ever felt more incredible than this lust burning through my every nerve.
IVY
Istruggled to getthrough the night without Uncle Dwight finding me in my dreams. Once I was cuddled in Clint’s bed, I could focus on this new life.
I woke up feeling like Clint was my guy. Love at first sight was a thing in movies and books. I decided it was a thing in real life, too.
Clint’s cousins made me believe I was already a set fixture in his life. Our relationship was a done deal.
