Ivy

by Willa Nash

Zain’s eyes were on her as she crossed the parking lot to her car. The windows from his office were the only ones at Treason. The last time she’d visited the club during the day, he’d watched her leave. She’d glanced over her shoulder and blown him a kiss. Not today. Today, she moved with purpose, like a woman walking away from a mistake.

He circled a hand around the room. “The looks. You walked into this club and every woman envies you. Every man wants to fuck you, including me. You’re the most beautiful woman in Treason.”

“We’re all good at something, Zain. I shut people out. You’re a great fuck. Nothing more.” His nostrils flared, and in a flash, he was in her space, his hands on her arms. “Goddamn you. Don’t use that crude little mouth to shove me away.” This was the problem. They’d been together too long and he’d learned too many of her tricks. “You like my crude little mouth.” She reached between them, her hand dragging up the denim of his jeans until she reached his swelling cock. She palmed his erection, pressing in as she rubbed. “Yeah, you like it.” He hissed, tilting into her touch. “Be careful what you start, Elora.”

don’t know, baby.” “I hate being called baby.” She leaned into his palm. Though when it came from his lips, she didn’t mind at all. “Tough.” His voice was rich and deep and so damn close. “I like calling you baby.”

“Ivy.” Tate’s voice sounded pained. “Don’t look at me like that if you don’t want me to kiss you.” “What if I want you to kiss me?”

A first kiss smelled like a man. Like clean soap with spicy undertones. Like temptation and anticipation. When Cassia closed her eyes, when she thought of the scent she wanted to inhale before a man’s lips touched hers, it was Edwin’s.

“You don’t have to stay.” “So you’ve said.” He opened his book, crossing an ankle over his knee. “Why?” “Why, what?” “I’m no longer unconscious. I’ll be fine. Why are you staying?” Edwin leaned forward, his attention wholly fixed on her. The intensity in his eyes, the seriousness on his face made her heartbeat spike. “Because I think about you more than I should.” “Oh.” “Oh,” he mimicked. “So here we are.”

“Stop drinking. Baby.” “Why? Worried I’ll go home with someone else?” “Because I won’t fuck you if you’re drunk.”

“You’re my friend’s sister. If I had stayed, I would have fucked you in Zain’s house, and I needed to talk to him first. There are boundaries.”

Everyone wanted something from Ivy. Money. Status. Her father wanted her to be someone else. They wanted the façade. They wanted the rich, beautiful bitch. She’d thought last weekend that maybe Tate had wanted her. The real Ivy Clarence. Who was she kidding? There was no real Ivy. That Ivy was dead, killed in a car crash years ago. With Kristopher.

“Most people don’t smile when they lose,” Cassia said. “What can I say? I like buying you candy. Make sure you stay sweet.”

“Oh, Edwin.” She scrunched up her nose. “Please tell me that’s not how you flirt with women.” “Just you, Red.” He winked at her as he stood, striding to the vending machine. Yes, the flirting was cheesy. But Cassia was loving every second spent with this guy, and it had little to do with that handsome face.

“I like you. That’s it. That’s why I wanted to meet you for breakfast. I think you’re beautiful. You’re smart. The fact that you don’t give a fuck about impressing anyone is incredibly sexy. You’re witty and sarcastic and beautiful.”

“I don’t date. Not really my thing these days. But here I am. For you.”

“Your dad loves you, El. That’s what counts. Take it from a guy who has a shit father. Sometimes the blood in your veins is a curse, not a blessing.”

“We’re very matchy.” Edwin met her at the bottom stair, taking the leafy ring from his head and putting it on hers. “The matching is intentional. That way everyone at the club knows who you belong to.”

“I don’t want to belong to anyone but myself,” she admitted. “Fair enough,” he said. “Then how about this. We match so everyone at the club will know who I belong to.” Whatever unease she’d had a moment ago vanished.

“I was just thinking that my taste buds like what I can’t afford.”

“If they didn’t want to be seen, they wouldn’t have chosen the parking lot.” Edwin’s mouth brushed against her ear as he spoke. “Do you, um . . . like it? Watching, I mean?” Please say yes. Cassia didn’t want to be alone here. “I like you.” He shifted forward so she could feel his erection press into the crack of her ass. She sank into the strength of his chest, pressing against him and earning a groan. Then she looked up and over her shoulder, his lips just an inch from her own. “Are you going to take me home?” “Not yet.” His mouth slammed down on hers, stealing her breath as their tongues tangled.

“So wet and ready for me.”

“Do you call every woman baby?” she asked. “No, just you.”

“Favorite food?” “You’ll find out tonight at dinner.” He leaned in closer, his lips seeking hers. But she planted a hand in his chest, pushing him back. “Are you asking me out on a date?” “Wasn’t asking.” Tate ducked lower, his lips skimming her neck. “Any other questions?”

“Trusting people is how you get your heart broken.” “You’ve got it wrong.” Edwin shook his head. “Trusting people is how you mend your broken heart.”

“First, we are not a ‘whatever.’ Second, no, she won’t like it. So instead of her finding out because my car is parked in the loop and you’re screaming my name while my cock is buried in your pussy, I thought it would be best to leave before she woke up this morning.”

“I won’t be a secret,” he said. “I won’t play games. I won’t fuck around. I have no desire to be a whatever. We don’t need a label, but I sure as hell won’t pretend you don’t mean something. Clear?”

“I don’t like your sister. I don’t want her screwing with me—” “Because I’m screwing you.”

“True.” He grinned. “I don’t need to rush out of here and inform my sister that we’ve got something going on. But I won’t hide it. Don’t ask me to hide you. There are very few real and normal things in my life. Don’t steal one from me.”

“I love you.” Her voice cracked. “I’ll always love you.” She half expected Zain to open his eyes and give her a look like he’d known it all along. That she’d never hidden her love as well as she’d tried. Instead, his heart monitor flatlined.

And he gifted her with a megawatt smile, dimples included. “I missed you, Red.” “I missed you too.” It wasn’t as hard to admit as she’d thought. “Thanks for telling me.” Edwin shifted, turning sideways to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear. “I could use a girlfriend right now.”

“Because you didn’t ask me!” Zain’s voice boomed through the hallway. “You could have stuck around and fucking asked me yourself about Mira. But you ran. Like always, you ran. And goddamn it, I needed you, El. I needed to wake up from that nightmare and see your face. I needed you. And you should have been there.”

“I’d rather skip what you hate and hear you say that you love me again.”

“No one in this world knows me like you do. Because I haven’t let them. Not even Mira. And though you might pretend to shut me out, Elora Maldonado, no one in this world knows you like I do.”

“You and me, we fit,” he said. “We fit so fucking perfectly it shouldn’t be real. Yeah, Mira and I were good. But even when we were at our best, nothing can compare to you and me.” He pressed his hand over her heart. “Two hearts.” “One beat,” she finished.

“I said that we’re done when I say we’re done. Did I say we were done?” “No?” He took her hand again. “No.”

“That’s your question? Christ. I love you, Red, but if you don’t get your stuff together so we can get the fuck out of this hotel, I’m going to lose my shit. Pack. Now.”

After all, secrets were Ivy’s specialty. And oh, what fun those secrets could be.