Page 49 of Clint & Ivy
“Strong men will submit in a way strong women won’t,” Shay said. “That’s why Tricky won’t let foxes in his club. He doesn’t have the balls to get any pushback.”
“I’m not strong. It’d be easy for you to make me submit,” I told Clint. “Use your magic on me.”
“Well, first off, you need to remember this is day two. You’re jumping ahead again to where you need to keep up with the loud-mouthed people around you. Instead, you should focus on simply getting through today.”
“Okay.”
“Secondly, you need to enjoy my mom’s hug for a little longer. Shay’s clearly jonesing on having someone to cuddle.”
“Elle hasn’t been this size since she was ten,” Shay said and cuddled me tighter. “And Sutter says he’s too old to get snuggles.”
“No one is ever too old,” Elle declared and leaped across the couch to grab Sutter.
The boy yelled out, “Oh, God, no!”
Ford’s loud snort of amusement sent the dogs barking and running to the front door.
“They want to be badasses so bad,” Clint said, chuckling as he settled next to me on the floor. “Did you ever see the second ‘Jurassic Park’ movie with the tiny dinosaurs?”
“They’re called Compsognathus,” Sutter said while Elle pinned him to her body. “Mom got killed by them in the LEGO game.”
“I struggle to punch small things,” Elle told him before smiling at me. “That’s good news for you, Ivy.”
Grinning, I looked at Clint. “I saw that movie.”
“Well, those little guys couldn’t do much on their own. But in a pack, they could take down an extremely dumb adult. I feel like the Chihuahuas are the same way. With a stupid or drunk adult, they’d be a fierce pack of predators.”
I watched the dogs who had realized no one was on the porch. They still randomly barked and bounced around, hoping for a target.
“Little doesn’t mean weak,” Clint said, trying to build me up.
“What happens next?”
My voice broke as I considered how exhausted I already was today. I didn’t know if that was normal. Was I weak from stress, or was my heart acting up?
I couldn’t share my medical baggage with Clint yet. If he knew my body was defective, he couldn’t help rethinking his decision to claim me into his life.
Scooting closer, Clint reached over me to pat his mom’s head before stroking mine.
“In a few minutes, you’ll move to the couch. Dinner will be here in an hour or so. Lula should return soon with her daughter and Bebe’s foster kids. Dillon is a nerd like Sutter. The foster kids don’t want to talk to people. There’ll be zero drama. When we eat, you’ll sit next to me. If you want to talk, go ahead. If not, just listen to everyone. No pressure. We’ll stay until around eight. Then, we’ll drive back to the condo.”
Wiping my eyes, I exhaled deeply. “I feel stupid for crying.”
“Never hide from me,” Clint replied in a steely tone. “And I promise I won’t hide from you.”
“Aww,” Shay said and smiled at Elle, who was no longer cuddling with Sutter and had moved to the front door where the dogs still waited.
I sat between Shay and Clint for another few minutes, just like in his plan. Not long after I moved to the couch, the two dogs got someone to bark at when Lula arrived with Dillon, the foster kids, and another Chihuahua.
The three dogs strutted around like they were badasses. I didn’t blame the little furballs for working together to find respect. Being tiny wasn’t easy. Clint was right about how the dogs were more intimidating as a group.
Sick of feeling scared and weak, I hoped to find my power now that I was surrounded by Clint and his people.
