Chapter 19
SAWYER
I hold Ivy on her parents’ shitty-ass couch until my legs start to fall asleep before moving us to lie side by side. I carried her to the living room couch after she fell asleep on me in the entryway earlier. Tucking her into my body, my arms wrap around her to keep her close, and I settle her into my chest to cocoon her. I press my lips gently onto her forehead and take a deep inhale of her perfect, sweet scent when her phone starts vibrating on the coffee table in front of us. Ivy stirs slightly and I tighten my arms around her.
“Shh, baby. Sleep.”
I reach forward and grasp her phone to silence it when I see the missed call from an Unknown number. I put her phone on silent as the text message previews start coming in.
Unknown: Ivy, Ivy, Ivy. I warned you
Unknown: Come home
Unknown: I won’t say it again. You’re mine.
Unknown: GET FUCKING HOME
My blood boils in my veins and I have to work hard to steady my heart and breathing so I don’t wake up Ivy. Who the fuck is this motherfucker? This has to be the ex, Brooks. I wish I could unlock her phone to put an end to this right now and make sure he doesn’t fuck with her anymore. Like hell will she be dealing with this psycho on her own. I’ll be damned if he thinks he can threaten her and get away with it. There’s no world where she’ll be his again. I’ll make sure of it. The texts stop, so I put her phone back on the coffee table and return my arm to wrap around her. My fingers rub aimlessly on her shoulder to calm myself. I hold her as close as physically possible with our clothes still on, and contemplate everything that’s come to light.
The shit with her mother isn’t surprising at all, and I’ve always assumed her mom played a part in her leaving. It seemed like even Ivy’s dad didn’t know where she had gone. Not that he would have noticed her absence anyway. I drastically underestimated the lengths her mother would go to see Ivy live the life she didn’t get to.
I see the crossroads we’re at, and I know that I have two choices. We can continue to hash out the past, or we can let it go and find our way forward. Knowing the truth is enough. Having her right fucking here? Wrapped in my arms while she sleeps peacefully? That’s fucking everything. This is what I want to live for.
I desperately want to move forward. I want to let all the shit from the past go and find our way through it. I just hope she wants the same. It’s time to move on.
I spend the remainder of the night restless, building on my plan to remind Ivy how happy she once was in Aspen Ridge, and with me. I may not know her like I used to, but her soul and heart are the same, and those two speak to me and recognize me as their counterpart. I know that this woman is the one woman on earth who was made for me. Just like she knows deep down she’s right where she should be, she just needs a little reminder.
And I know exactly where we’re starting.
I wake as Ivy starts to stir in my arms, stretching her lithe little body like a cat after a nap. Her eyes are slow to open, and I watch her face transform as she sees me.
“Hi, butterfly.”
“Hi,” she says as her lips turn up in a small smile. “I slept.”
“Do you not normally?”
“No. Not a full night, anyway.”
“Since you left.” Not a question, and she doesn’t deny or confirm. There’s a part of me that is happy her body recognizes she’s safe with me, that she can rest without worry. I’ll happily hold her every night if it means she will sleep restfully.
Not able to help myself, I close the few inches between us and take her lips with mine. I watch as her eyes slowly close and her body goes lax in my arms. She doesn’t hesitate to kiss me back, her mouth opening to deepen it. Her arms loop around my neck, pulling me closer. What was meant to be a simple good morning kiss heats quickly. I flip us so that she’s on her back and I’m on top of her, her legs fall open for me and I settle between them. She responds by bucking her hips up into mine in search of friction.
Fuck. I wasn’t expecting this. She wants me. Whether she’s lost or confused, she can’t deny what’s between us, and this is my proof. Her brain needs time to catch up, but damn if her body doesn’t know exactly who she’s with. Pride and the reassurance I need fill my chest.
I kiss her thoroughly and she matches my intensity. I curl my arm under her knee and pull up, spreading her open further for me and letting my hips fall into her, my hard length pressing along her center. She grinds into me while pulling my shirt up. The moment her small hands glide across my abs, I moan into her mouth. She grips me tightly around my waist and pulls me down onto her, and I struggle to hold my weight up with one arm trapped between her and the couch and the other holding up her leg, but she seems to love the weight of me on her. Not wanting to crush her, I let go of her thigh and brace my forearm next to her head before rocking into her. We find a steady pace, dry humping and making out like fucking teenagers. She releases my mouth before arching her lower back and pressing her pelvis higher into me.
She’s close. Her breathing accelerates and she grabs my arm tightly. Fuck, I know it’s not going to take much more before I blow in my fucking pants. I keep fucking into her, grinding my throbbing cock over her core, back and forth, until she lets out the sexiest fucking moan. And then it’s my name on her sweet lips as she comes undone under me.
“Sawyer!”
I come instantly.
“Fuck, Ivy, I’m coming,” I moan against her lips.
Jerking one last time into her, my cock throbs painfully against my zipper as I unload cum into my briefs.
She pulls me into her as she settles down from her orgasm, breathing just as heavily as I am. I lean up enough to look at her face. She’s flushed, her eyes lidded and heavy, and she’s never looked more fucking beautiful than she does under me, the post-orgasm bliss relaxing her.
“Holy shit,” she says.
“Yeah. Holy shit.”
“Haven’t done that since we were teenagers.”
“Same.”
“You’re so beautiful, baby.”
If possible, her cheeks flame brighter. She’s so fucking cute.
“We need to get cleaned up. Especially me. Pack a bag, we’re going to my place.”
“What?”
I climb off of her and stand, adjusting my pants the best that I can. The drive home is going to fucking suck.
“Just what I said. You aren’t staying here. So pack up all of your things and we’re leaving in five minutes. We have plans today, anyway.”
She sits back on the couch and looks at me, her mouth hanging open slightly, and I place my fingers under her chin to close it. She bats my hand away from her face and I chuckle.
“Five minutes, Ivy.”
“What if I don’t want to?” she protests.
“Do you want to stay here?” I ask, raising a brow.
“No,” she doesn’t hesitate to answer, and then covers her mouth like she didn’t mean to be so transparent with me.
“Then pack. Your. Shit.” I look down at my watch and then back at her. Four minutes, Iv. I’ll be right back.”
I go to relieve myself in the bathroom and clean up the best I can before washing my hands and returning to her. She’s packed and standing by the front door in the clothes she woke up in, two duffel bags at her feet, and her purse in hand.
“We can’t do that again.”
“Yes we can,” I tell her.
“I have a lot of shit to figure out, Sawyer. This morning doesn’t change that. I can’t think straight if we’re doing . . . that.”
Her words sting, but I’m stronger than to let them hurt me. I understand she needs time and I’m prepared to give her as much as she needs. Her body knows, her mind just needs a beat. It doesn’t mean I’m giving her space though. I walk up to her and tilt her chin up with my fingers.
“Did it feel good to come with me?”
Her eyelids flutter closed and her breath hitches.
“Answer me. Did it feel good to come because of my cock rubbing against you, wrapped tightly in my arms, my mouth on yours while pleasure pulsed through your body? Did it feel good?”
“Yes. You know it did. Yes. It felt good, ” she says the last word patronizingly, like good couldn’t possibly be used to describe what it felt like.
“Then don’t say we can’t do it again. Because we will. Trust me.”
“I just. I need to focus, I need to figure out my life.”
“I figured. You can do that from my place, but don’t think for a second that we won’t be repeating that. We’re going to go shower.” Her pretty eyes shoot up to mine and I can’t help but laugh. “Separately. If that’s what you want.” I say with a wink.
“So smooth, Sawyer.”
“Then we’ve got plans.”
“What kinda plans?” She narrows her eyes at me skeptically.
“You’ll see.”
“Ugh. Fine. You win. Coffee?”
“At my place. Who do you take me for?”
I shoo her with my hands to get her going before grabbing her bags and following her out to my truck. I toss her bags in the back before opening her door and hauling her ass into it, dropping her into the seat with a little “oomph” that makes me laugh. I shut the door and round the front before climbing in.
“I really can’t believe you still have this thing.”
“I love it. Why would I sell it or trade it for something else?”
She shrugs her shoulders and looks out the window. I back out of her driveway and head down the long, private gravel road.
“Hey, baby. I gotta ask you something. Last night while you were sleeping your phone kept going off. Brooks is your ex, huh? Are his texts always that psychotic?”
“Yeah. I don’t know what you saw, but it’s fine. He won’t chase me here and he’ll move on soon enough. It’s nothing.”
“Those texts didn’t seem like nothing, Ivy. He’s deranged and he’s harassing you, and I’m not okay with that.”
“I’m ignoring him, and he’ll get bored and find someone else to mess with. It’s fine, Sawyer, really. I’ve got bigger things to worry about than Brooks.”
She bites her bottom lip between her teeth and grasps her hands, kneading and pulling at her fingers. My head cocks to the side as I watch her. She’s anxious, panicky. So much has happened over the last ten years that has wound her up tight and left its mark on her. It’s more than just a piece of shit ex-boyfriend. If it’s the only thing I get to do for Ivy, I’ll unravel all of the trauma, anxiety, and weight she bears, and make her feel like a goddess in the process.
I’ve got my work cut out for me, but I would do anything for this woman, and I’m going to prove it.