12. Ivy
TWELVE
IVY
I feel Riot’s presence before I look up from my daughter. I’m always aware of where he is. It’s like our bodies are magnetised to each other.
Even though I only saw him this morning, I can’t help but get lost in how mouth-wateringly good he looks.
His kutte is pulled over a dark green button-down shirt that’s rolled up his forearms, and his dark hair is a little messy, no doubt from his helmet.
But as I take him in—really take him in—my stomach sinks. There’s no sign of his dimple or cocky smile. Nor that swagger that makes my stomach flutter.
He looks tired and upset.
And that small burst of static electricity that sizzled through me is doused.
Is he okay?
The question sits on the tip of my tongue, but I don’t want to draw attention to his mood.
As if he knows I’m studying him, he lifts his lids, and I forget everything anyway when his gaze locks on mine. That heated stare pins me to the couch like one of those pretty butterflies speared to a piece of card.
Then his gaze softens as he scans me and Seren.
“Hey.”
“Hey,” I repeat.
“Riot!” Maylie’s voice pulls his attention to her, and the moment our gazes break, the air floods my lungs again. “There’s nothing in the fridge, if that’s why you’re here.”
“I don’t just come to eat,” he complains. “But why is the fridge empty?”
Every part of me is acutely aware of him as he sinks into the armchair closest to where I’m sitting.
He leans forwards and runs his fingers over Seren’s head, so close I can smell his aftershave and the leather of his kutte.
“Because there’s no such thing as grocery fairies.”
She smiles sweetly as she delivers the sarcastic blow, and I snort under my breath.
“I don’t know why you spend so much time here,” Toby murmurs. “You could have a whole harem of women underneath you, and yet you choose to hang out here.”
Those words are like an ice bucket of water over my head.
My head whips in his direction like it’s on a rope.
“Kid,” Riot snaps, but I scan his face.
He’s been staying here since Seren got home, but he’s a free man. I don’t have any say over whether he’s sleeping around.
My stomach twists, churning like a stormy ocean. The thought of someone else touching him makes me want to puke.
“Like it ain’t true,” Toby says, but his ears are pink.
“It ain’t.”
“Where on earth did you learn about harems?” Maylie demands then shakes her head. “You know what? Nevermind, I don’t want to know. Riot does not have lines of women ready to do his bidding, and it’s not very polite to talk about somebody’s sex life.” Her voice drops low when she says the word ‘sex’, like it’s a dirty word.
Toby pauses his game, giving his attention to our sister. “If I wasn’t polite, I would tell you that you’re not as quiet as you think you are when you’re with Mace.”
He smirks as our sister’s cheeks flush red, and despite that tug in my chest, I bark out a laugh.
“You wanna make it to eighteen?” Mace’s voice from the doorway yanks Toby’s eyes towards him.
I can feel Riot watching me, but I don’t look at him. I can’t.
“I’m not loud .” Maylie’s cheeks are still bright red. “I… I’m not. Am I?”
Mace sits next to her, pulling her against him and kissing her temple. “You’re fuckin’ perfect.”
I decide to be kind and save my sister from dying of embarrassment. “Maylie and I have far worst stories about you, so please, continue down this path.”
Toby gives the TV his attention. “I’m shuttin’ my mouth,” he mumbles.
“I don’t have a harem.” It takes my brain a second to realise Riot’s talking to me.
I lock on to his piercing eyes. That half-smile he seems to always wear makes my knees weak and the back of my neck hot.
“Right.”
His fingers twitch, as if he wants to touch me, but instead, he trails them over Seren’s chubby cheek. “I don’t.”
The way he’s studying me has me shifting in my seat. Bands of steel stretch around my lungs. The air in the room is suddenly wisp thin, and I can’t breathe.
“I’m going to make a coffee. Does anybody want anything?”
I don’t hear anyone’s reply before I fly out the room like the devil is chasing on my heels—a devil in leather and denim, covered in tattoos.
As soon as I’m in the safety of the kitchen, instead of going to the kettle, I lean my palms on the counter as if it’s the only thing holding me up.
What if he is sleeping around still? He doesn’t owe me anything, least of all his commitment.
“You okay?”
I jump out of my skin at his deep rasp behind me and press a hand to my chest to keep my heart from crashing through my ribs.
“Why are you sneaking up on me?” My fractured nerves make my words tense and tight.
His brow arches ever so slightly, the only hint he gives that he’s taken aback by my abruptness.
“Woman, I’m not sneakin’. What’s fillin’ your head so full that you’re not aware of anything happenin’ around you?”
About a hundred things, the main one prowling towards me. The counter bites into my back as he consumes my space yet somehow leaves me feeling comforted.
I tip my head back to look at him, and my anger simmers down. “Nothing. I just… considering those huge boots you wear, you’re surprisingly light on your feet.”
“First, your brother accuses me of spending my time in some kind of sex-fuelled orgy, and now, you’re calling me a creep. I’m not feelin’ the love, Vee.” My stomach flips at him using his nickname for me, just as it does every time.
“I never said you were a creep.”
He reaches over my head, my pulse skittering until I realise he’s grabbing a mug. His aftershave, the leather of his kutte, and something uniquely him assaults my senses, and I have to resist the urge to sniff him like a puppy.
He’s so close to me, I can’t breathe. It’s a strange kind of torment to want someone who doesn’t want you back.
He places the mug on the counter and dips his head. My heart stutters. We’re so close, he could kiss me.
And I want him to.
“I’m not fuckin’ anyone else, babe. I told you that.”
He doesn’t flinch or break eye contact with me, and I see the truth in his words.
“I believe you.”
“Good.”
“Is everything okay?”
He doesn’t flinch or give any outward sign that my question bothers him, but I notice a subtle shift in him. “Better now I’m here.”
The way he looks at me, like he’s boring into my soul, makes my body pulse. “You can talk to me, you know?”
That softness again creeps into him, and he moves closer. All I can see is him. All I can feel is my pulse rocketing.
“That’s the sweetest fuckin’ thing anyone’s ever said to me, but I’m good, Vee. I’m tired. The last few days have been hard.”
That melts my heart. “I know, and I’m glad you were with me.”
“I wouldn’t be anywhere else.” He reaches out, tucking my hair behind my ear, and everywhere he touches sends electricity racing through me. “You sleepin’ okay? You look tired too.”
It sits on the tip of my tongue to confess about my nightmares, but I clamp the words behind my teeth. He doesn’t need to hear that stuff.
“I’m fine. I need to get ready though.”
“Ready for what?”
I smile a little tentatively. “I’m meeting my friends.”
“Oh. That’s good. I mean, we were all startin’ to get worried you were becomin’ weird.”
“You don’t need you to worry about me. I’m fine.”
“I know you are, but you don’t always have to be. I’m here.”
“Thanks.”
“Have fun with your friends, baby.”
“Thanks.” I walk to the door and pause in the frame. “Oh, things have been so busy, I forgot to say thank you for the bear.”
His brows come together. “What bear?”
“The pink one. It was in Seren’s hospital bag.”
That familiar claw around my throat tightens. Riot didn’t buy it for her… I know before he even answers.
“Wasn’t me, babe.”
My fears are confirmed, and my stomach plummets to the floor.
“Right. It was probably one of my friends. I have to…” I point behind me before I rush off.
A cold slither runs up my spine as I head into my bedroom, closing the door behind me.
My thoughts are running wild, and even though I don’t have a shred of evidence, my heart knows it was Link who put that bear in my daughter’s bag.
It’s the only explanation.
I don’t know how he did it, but there is no doubt in my mind that my ex is behind this.
I stare at the teddy mocking me from the end of my bed, and I hope like hell it was a gift from one of the nurses who took care of Seren, because the alternative is terrifying.