50. Chapter 49
The morning sun shone warmly on his face, and he blinked his eyes open.
A sleepy smile stretched across his face as Ivy curled against his chest, her red hair messily spread out over her face and her hand resting low on his hip.
She must’ve gotten up sometime in the night, after they’d showered and gone to bed, and put on a sleep shirt and underwear because she was no longer naked like he was.
His body was still light, as if it were resting in the morning clouds.
He shifted around her, trying not to wake her, but she whimpered and rubbed her ass against him.
“Ezra,” she said, her voice laced with sleep.
He slid his hand up her bare leg, slipping it beneath her shirt to grip her hip before placing soft kisses along the slope of her neck. She sighed beneath him, her body moving closer as he took her earlobe between his lips.
“You’re not naked,” he whispered against her ear. “Why aren’t you naked?”
She gasped as his hand grasped her breast, and his thumb brushed over her pert nipple. “You could always undress me again.”
He chuckled, though it was thick with desire, as he kissed down her neck.
How could he say no? But a better idea sparked in his head before he could tear the shirt off her body.
His hand left her breast, gliding over the soft curves of her stomach to her thick thigh.
He bent her leg at the knee, giving him enough access to slide his hand between them.
“Or,” he breathed against her ear. He brushed his knuckle along her heat, and she gasped as he pressed gently against her core through the fabric.
“I could take you like this.” He hooked a finger into her underwear, pulling it aside to expose her wet skin.
“I could make you come all over my hand before fucking you hard with my cock. Would you like that, snapdragon?”
“God, yes,” she whimpered.
He slid one finger through her folds, and she moaned softly beneath him. He swept a gentle circle around her clit and smiled against her skin as her hips rolled against him. His member was trapped between her ass and his stomach, and the pressure of her movements made her name tumble from his lips.
He brushed faster, tighter circles against her bud, and her hips continued to move with reckless abandon. Fuck, he was going to come just from this. He slipped his fingers down from her clit and to her entrance, sliding two fully inside her.
“Oh, Ezra.” Her hand moved into his hair, gripping tightly as she pressed hard against him, as if she wanted to take more of him inside her.
His hips rolled against her in time with his fingers pumping in and out of her wet cunt, and he grunted against her neck as his peak neared. But he couldn’t come. Not yet. Not until she did.
“God, Ivy, you’re driving me wild.” He slid a third finger inside, and she cried out his name. “Will you be good and come for me?”
“Yes, I’m so close,” she sobbed. “Please don’t stop.”
“Never,” he groaned as he continued drawing her pleasure out of her body. He could feel her constricting tighter and tighter around him. “That’s it, come for me, Ivy.”
Her entire body tensed, then convulsed as her orgasm ripped through her body as he rolled his hips one last time against her. Cum spurted from his cock, and she moved against him harder.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” he moaned, tucking his head into her neck as his vision faded in and out as his own end worked through him. A moment later, she relaxed against him, and he slowly slipped out of her.
“I guess I should get dressed in the middle of the night more often,” she mused.
He laughed, pressing gentle kisses against her reddened skin. “Clothed, unclothed. I’ll wake us up like that any time you want me to.” He flipped onto his back and sighed. “Let me get us something to clean up with, then maybe coffee?”
She glanced over her shoulder and nodded. Over the next few minutes, he wiped them down with a damp towel and they got dressed. He grabbed his jacket from where they’d tossed it on the floor, and the blue velvet jewelry box fell out of the pocket.
“What’s that?” She pointed at his hand as he picked it up.
“Oh,” he said, one hand rubbing the base of his neck. “It’s your Christmas gift. I was going to give it to you last night at the park.”
“You got me a gift?” she asked, her brows curling with surprise as she stepped toward him.
“Sort of,” he said, handing her the box.
She flipped the lid open, and her mouth dropped at the necklace lying inside. Hanging on a delicate golden chain was a snapdragon pendant encrusted with small pink sapphires.
“It’s beautiful.” Her eyes shimmered with tears, and she stared at him, confused. “What do you mean by you ‘sort of’ got me a gift?”
He rubbed at his neck. “I made the setting from some leftover metal in the shop in Constructs. I had the jeweler set the stones and, if you press this leaf here,” he said, pointing at the small lever disguised as a leaf, “you’ll activate the enchantment I had placed on it.”
She raised a brow curiously, returning her focus to the necklace as she pressed it. Within a second, the pendant transformed from a beautiful flower into the smallest pink dragon breathing garnet flames. Her lips stretched into a bright smile as she dragon transformed back into a flower.
“I love it,” she murmured, standing on her toes to press a gentle kiss on his. “Help me put it on?”
He nodded, taking the box from her so he could get the necklace out gently. She turned around in front of him, and he draped the chain around her neck, clasping it closed before placing a kiss on her cheek.
She pulled her hair out from under the chain and beamed over at him. “I have a gift for you, too.”
His throat tightened as she sauntered off to the bedroom. He couldn’t remember the last time he got a Christmas gift. Probably not since his mother was alive. After some rustling in her bag, she came back out holding something behind her back.
“It’s not jewelry or enchanted, but I hope you like it.” When she came to a stop in front of him, she revealed a light blue knit sweater. “It should fit even though I didn’t get your measurements beforehand.”
“You made this?” he asked quietly, reaching out for the soft material.
“I did. I had a lot of time on my hands while I was gone.”
He held it out in front of him as he held back his tears. “Nobody’s ever made me anything before.” He slipped the sweater on and swept her into his arms. “Thank you.”
Her arms rested on his shoulders, her fingers playing with the curls at the nape of his neck. “Now you have another sweater for your collection,” she teased.
“It’s already my favorite.” He pressed a slow kiss to her lips, deepening it with his tongue. She moaned into him, and the sound vibrated through his entire body. God, it’d be a miracle if they could keep their clothes on for more than an hour.
“As much as I love seeing it on you…” She pulled back enough for their eyes to meet. “I think we should get coffee, come back here, and not wear a single thing until everyone gets back in a few days.”
The café on campus was closed since there weren’t many students around, so they walked to one in-town and kept a close eye out.
The men who chased them didn’t appear to linger, but that didn’t mean they weren’t close by.
It was a small place, with only a handful of tables and chairs at the counter, where they sat as they waited for their drinks.
A TV hung in the corner, playing some morning soap opera.
As the server placed their coffees in front of them, the program cut out to show a red banner reading brEAKING NEWS across the screen, and the café quieted as the sharp alerting sound caught everyone’s attention.
The server reached for the remote to raise the volume as the newscaster’s serious face came on screen.
“Reports are coming to us now that the barrier over Newsbury failed overnight into the early morning, leaving the city vulnerable to detection by mundane satellites and potential onlookers, given the city lies beneath a commercial flight path.”
Everyone gasped and chatted quietly among themselves. He’d seen news reports about barrier flickering here and there for the past year, but failing completely? How was that possible? He glanced at Ivy, who was staring wide-eyed at the screen.
“Mayor Green states the NBW worked tirelessly to address the problem. They restored the barrier only a few minutes ago, but they have not found the root of the issue. An—” The woman stopped, pressing her finger to the piece in her ear, before continuing.
“We actually have our very own Grant Sandridge live on the scene. Grant, over to you.”
Ezra groaned. Grant Sandridge. The man was a snake, and any morals he had would disappear with a stack of money being waved his way.
It made him the perfect pawn for someone like his father.
He’d had the displeasure of meeting Grant on several occasions over the years, and the man has always been in the family’s back pocket whenever a lie needed to be spread easily on air.
“Thanks, Yara,” Grant said as the camera switched over to him. His overly white teeth beamed in a disingenuous grin, and smile lines wrinkled against his fake tanned skin. His cropped brown hair had blond frosted tips with so much hairspray in it that not even a tornado could move it.
“I’m here at city hall,” Grant said. The stone building was behind him, where a large crowd gathered and a podium sat at the top of the steps, presumably for the mayor to give a speech.
“We’re waiting for the mayor to address the public.
We’ve been waiting for over thirty minutes, and I can’t help wondering if he’s avoiding coming out and giving his citizens answers.
“As we continue to wait, I’ll address not only the scared people in this city, but every single Arcane.
Horrifying events are happening all over our fine country right now.
Even across the arcane world. Our border security is weakening by the day as outside forces are taking what doesn’t belong to them and causing civil unrest in our towns. ”
Ezra scanned the café, thinking everyone else would see through his bullshit. But a few heads nodded along, and on the screen, the crowd behind Sandridge hung on every word he said.
“Which is why our country needs a strong leader. Someone who isn’t afraid to stand in an adversary’s face to protect our home. To keep our citizens safe against those who would see us as weak. To keep the Arcane united against our enemies.”
A handful of cheers and claps came from the television, which only grew in volume until Sandridge smirked again and waved his hands to calm them. Which they did. An eerie feeling slid down Ezra’s spine, and he leaned over to Ivy.
“You’re not falling for any of this, are you?” he mumbled.
She shook her head.
“Good.” He shifted back in his seat, returning his focus to the TV. Perhaps his inkling was wrong. He wasn’t sure what Sandridge’s arcane abilities were like, though if his father found the man useful, certainly some powerful manipulation spells were involved.
“This is not the kind of leadership we have today.
Not at the city hall behind me and certainly not within the presidency.
The Arcane deserve better. We deserve better than someone who will throw their hands up in defeat.
Better than someone who will cower in their halls when the systems they designed fail to protect us.
“I’m sure many of you are speculating who that leader could be. This country needs to lead by example, showing the Arcane can stand strong against forces seeking to eradicate us. It needs someone who has never backed down.”
More hoots and hollers sounded around the crowd.
“Which is why I stand before you today. Despite the first round of elections being mere months away, I am running to be your new president.”
As the crowd erupted into cheers, Ezra slid to the front of the chair, his heart stalling for a moment as the words rang in his ear. The camera zoomed out, and in the corner of the screen was Declan, standing off to the side.
“What the hell?” Ezra muttered, his eyes narrowing.
“Why’s your brother there?” Ivy asked.
“I don’t know.” Ezra’s jaw tightened, and he grabbed his coffee.
He knew his father would plant local officials, judges, sheriffs, and whatnot, in order to get away with so much.
But the presidency? What the hell were they planning?
He was sure it was all connected. He just didn’t know how.
And he would never find out, either. At least not directly.
The one thing he was certain of was that his brother had received the message that Ezra was done for good. There would be no going back.