31. A Key
A KEY
Oliver
“Bedtime, bud.” My hand fluffed his curls as I picked up his book bag from the floor and set it in a kitchen chair. We’d just finished wrapping up his homework when I realized how late it was.
Math had changed a great deal since I was his age.
“Fine,” he groaned. “Can I read for a little bit?”
I felt as if ten years old was a little early for the amount of sass this kid had sometimes, but what did I know? It’d been a while since I was ten.
“Yeah, but I’ll be up soon and then it’s lights off, dude. No whining about it, and brush your teeth.”
He bolted up the stairs, and I’d be happy if he at least put on clean pajamas before he crashed. A soft knock at the front door had me double-checking the time before I flicked the outside light on.
I opened the door to reveal a sight so similar to what I’d seen all those months ago that I almost did a double take.
She was in that same gray hoodie, her fingers pulling at the stray string at the end of the sleeve, shorts that disappeared beneath the material, her eyes bloodshot, her hair pulled up into a bun on the top of her head—only now there were small pieces that were too short and had slipped out of the elastic.
“Um, hey, Oliver.” It came out as more of a whisper as she gave me the most forced smile I’d ever seen.
“I know it’s late, but I was wondering if maybe you meant what you said about the guest room.
I understand if it was just a thing people say to be kind, but if not, you’re welcome to take rent or whatever from my paycheck.
I won’t even be here long. I just, I didn’t want to bother Aspen and Rowan, and Ember isn’t even home right now with Wyatt’s work conference shit, and they deserve some time together without me asking about a spare key and?—”
“Ivy,” I interrupted.
“Yeah?”
“You have a key, baby doll.”
Tears began streaming down her cheeks as she nodded, but she didn’t move. Shaking my head, I leaned down, grabbing her duffel bag and throwing it over my shoulder, and then scooped her up bridal style.
“Oliver,” she screeched, though still quiet as I assumed she knew Hudson was already upstairs. I was second-guessing the hold now, though, because it put her right against my bare skin. The only thing separating us was her damn hoodie. A hoodie I’d love to burn at this point.
“You weren’t moving, and I’d like to be comfortable once more. Not standing in the doorway.” Effortlessly, I carried her upstairs. Passing Hudson’s room, I pushed the door between our rooms open with a foot and set her on the bed.
The guest room wasn’t much, but it was homey and all hers for as long as she needed it.
A solid oak queen-sized bed frame sat in the middle of one wall.
A soft orange comforter set that Payton had picked out.
The dresser and side tables matched the bed frame.
The walls were a light brown, and sheer white curtains hung from the two windows on the far wall.
I pushed away the thoughts of how amazing she smelled.
I pushed away the desire to tuck her into my bed instead of the guest room.
I tried to think like a friend—a move that had naturally left my mind months ago when it came to the woman before me.
“Thank you, Oliver,” she whispered.
I nodded. “Get comfortable. I’ll check on you in a bit.”
Absolutely no part of me wanted to leave her alone right now, but I also needed to check on Hudson and get my head on straight.
It had been…years since another woman had slept under this roof. In fact, it had only ever been Emily.
Cracking open Hudson’s door, I slipped into his room. Pulling his blanket up and around his shoulders, I picked up the comic book he’d been reading and set it on his nightstand. His dark curls were pushed back out of his eyes, a sleepy blink up at me.
“Is Ivy here?” he whispered.
I nodded. “Yeah, bud. In the guest room. She just needs a place to stay for a little while.”
Hudson nodded. “She seems happier with us than she is out there.”
I wanted to tell him how I agreed. About how I wanted her to stay here with us forever.
About how I knew she’d never replace his mother, but I knew she could be good for him.
Be a positive light in his life that he deserved on a daily basis.
But he was a kid, and none of that needed to be said right now.
So I just nodded and squeezed his shoulder as I turned off his light and walked out of the room, quietly closing the door behind me as he fell back into his deep slumber.
Next stop was the kitchen, grabbing two beers, and then I was back in the guest room with my forever house guest.
Softly knocking on the door, I held up the drinks in question. She gave me a soft smile and nodded. I invited myself to sit next to her on the bed, both of us sat up with our backs against the headboard. I handed her one of the bottles, and we tapped them together in a silent cheers.
We sat like that for a few minutes. Both of us sipped on our drinks before I broke the silence.
I could’ve put on a shirt, but I decided fuck it. If she was here under my roof after nine, it couldn't be a good look for her boyfriend.
“Are we going to talk about it?” I asked, my head turned so I could look over at her.
She let out a soft breath before she reached over on the side table, grabbing her phone. A few taps later, and she handed me the device. “Read.”
And so I did. I scrolled through the short conversation until I got to the photo. I’d never been someone that was handy when it came to emotions, so when I experienced them at such a vast rate, sometimes it took me by surprise. This wasn’t one of those moments.
The only emotion I felt in my chest right now was rage, but I swallowed it down as I handed her back her phone, silence taking over once more.
“No comment?”
I sipped my beer once more, trying to pick the words carefully. “I’ve been told recently that I can’t kill him because he’s local. People will notice, and we’re sort of close now.”
Our eyes met and I hadn’t even realized I’d been staring at her until she looked back. Only I didn’t mind, because she was smiling.
“Rowan?”
I nodded. “Not that I was seeking to kill Toad before, but now it seems more likely.”
She groaned, her head dropping back against the headboard. “Fucking Lucas. Where did you hear the Toad nickname?”
I smirked, a shrug my only answer at first. “It’s fitting.”
“Not the point.”
A beat of silence before I found the words once more.
“I’m glad you’re here, Ivy.”
Her eyes met mine again—my gaze still hadn’t left hers. I wasn’t sure if it would at all while she was here. Under my roof. Next door to my room. Within reach the way she was.
“Me too,” she replied softly. “I know I have no right to ask any more of you, seeing as you already gave me a job and now you’re letting me stay here.”
“Name it,” I replied without hesitation.
“Do you mind staying with me? Just until I fall asleep. I’m just…anxiety makes it harder for me to fall asleep, and your presence tends to quiet my otherwise racing thoughts. This is the calmest I’ve been since—” She cut herself off, and I couldn’t help myself.
“Since when?” I pushed.
“Since you came into The Roadhouse the other day,” she whispered.
Logically, I knew I shouldn’t push the matter. I should just leave it there. She was hurting. Mourning a relationship that was no more. But I was finding that when it came to Ivy Tinsley, I wasn’t a good man. Not in the slightest bit.
“And what about my visit to your work had your racing thoughts coming to a close, baby doll?” My eyes never left her as she turned to look up at me, her teeth rolling over her bottom lip.
“I-I-Well, I didn’t mean that you—” she stuttered.
I took the beer from her hand and set both of them on the side table next to me. “Shall we reenact it until we figure out what it was, then?”
A blush creeped up into her cheeks. “No—I mean, well we could, but I don’t think?—”
“Are you nervous?” I asked as I turned towards her, my fingers grazing up her bicep.
Even through her hoodie, my mind went into overdrive, being able to touch her.
Her lips parted as if she were going to speak, but the words didn’t come out.
My fingers continued, grazing along her collarbone, the skin just barely peeking out from beneath the oversized fabric, and came to rest at the base of her delicate neck.
“Are you nervous?” I repeated once more.
“No,” she finally replied.
“Your heart is racing, baby doll. Are you sure it isn’t nerves?”
She didn’t respond as I leaned over and pressed a gentle kiss along her jaw, her head tilting to the side, giving me more access to the small amount of exposed skin.
I dragged my jaw along hers, the short hair from my beard rubbing along her skin.
Her breath hitched, and I gently applied pressure to the sides of her throat.
“What do you want? Tell me what I can do to stop your thoughts from racing. To help you sleep.” I released her throat, my hand falling down along her bare thigh where it rested.
“I don’t—I have no idea what I want. I haven’t been, I mean I’ve only been with—” She once more cut herself off, not answering my question, yet answering it all at once.
“Take your hoodie off, baby doll. If you want to. I’m not going to make you. At least, not tonight.”
I sat back on my heels to give her the space to decide what she wanted. Leaning forward slightly, she pulled the hoodie up and over her head. She was wearing a pair of black spandex shorts, and a small cotton bra covered her breasts. Her arms crossed over her stomach, and she stared at me.
“Shorts, too.”
“I’m not, I mean, are you?—”
“Ivy. Do you want to?” She nodded slowly. “Good. Then remove them, baby doll.”
She let out a small huff before she pushed the shorts down and tossed them with her hoodie. Gray cotton panties hugged her hips, the shade matching her bra. I wanted to take her photo like this. Capture this moment within my mind forever.
“I’m sorry,” she blurted out suddenly, and my eyes met hers once more.
“For?”
“I don’t really wear fancy lingerie or whatever.
I just enjoy being comfy.” She shifted, pushing herself back against the headboard, but I reached down, grabbing her ankle, and pulled her back closer to me so she laid flat on her back.
Lifting her leg up, I pressed a kiss along the inside of her ankle, and another farther up her calf.
“I was just thinking that I wished to take a photo of you like this because you look perfect. I was wondering how much it would cost to buy you a set in every color they sold.” I kissed once more along her calf until I came to her knee.
“Oh,” she whispered. “I just—well, oh.”
I smirked. “Speechless. Good.”
Pulling her thighs apart, I settled myself between them, her legs on either side of my head.
She was flat on her back, more of her hair now free from the elastics at the end of her braids, her arms still resting along her ribs.
The flush of her skin caught my eye as her chest slowly rose with each inhalation.
I pressed another kiss to her inner thigh as my arms hooked over her legs, each one settling along her hip bones.
“Oliver,” she whispered.
“Ivy,” I responded before she could up with some shit that I didn’t have to do this.
I’d never wanted anything more than to taste her. To bury myself between her thighs and never come up for air.
“If you ever want me to stop, just say red, baby doll. Red and it’ll all stop. Okay?”
She nodded. “Red, got it. Not saying red right now, just confirming that I understand the word and?—”
The words died on her tongue as I ran the tip of my nose over the now-damp fabric that covered her heat.
“Please,” she whimpered, her hands slowly inching down her stomach.
I smirked, helpless to not give her what she desired as I pulled the fabric to the side and ran my tongue through the warmth between her thighs.
My hands held her hips down as she immediately began arching against my mouth, as if trying to chase my tongue down.
As if I didn’t have full intentions on giving her exactly what she desired from me.
My tongue came up, swirling and lapping at her clit. The movement had her gasping and fighting for me to continue, but I didn’t. Sliding back down, my tongue slid into her, fucking her and basking in the taste that was all Ivy.
Perfection. A delicacy I’d never tire of.
“Oliver, please, I’m so close,” she mumbled. Her eyes shut, her lips parted as I held her still.
“Don’t come until I say you can, baby doll,” I growled as my cock raged against my sweatpants. I wanted to experience all of her, but now wasn’t the time. Now was about her and her finding peace within her own mind.
“But, Daddy, please,” she cried out as I circled her clit, pulling it into my mouth with an urgency.
Part of me wanted her to fail. I wanted her to not listen just so I had a reason to punish her for it later, but that word left her mouth and something inside of me snapped at it once more.
“Say it again, baby doll. Beg me for it.”
I glanced up to see her staring down at me, her bottom lip pulled between her teeth before she slowly released it.
“Please, please let me come on your tongue, Daddy.” The walls had fallen, and the true Ivy was shining through those emerald-green eyes of hers.
One more swirl of my tongue had her bucking against my mouth once more, and I couldn’t deny her again.
“Come for Daddy,” I growled once more as my mouth slid back down and started tongue-fucking her perfect little cunt. Three quick movements was all it took for her to begin clenching around me, the taste of her infiltrating my senses even more as she came apart on my tongue.
Slow, languid movements to clean her up before I started kissing my way up her body. Laying back down beside her, I pulled her tight against my chest. Her butt pressed against me, but I ignored it as I buried my face in the crook of her neck, the coconut scent from her hair calming my racing heart.
“I can—” she began, but I shook my head as I listened to her breathing slowly calm.
“Sleep, baby doll. Just let me hold you.”
“Are you sure?”
“Ivy, sleep.”
“Okay.”
My arm wrapped tight around her waist, I laid there in the silence as the rest of the world started sinking away, the worries from this morning abandoning me as her breathing evened out and she was finally asleep.