Chapter 5
Chapter Five
After an uncomfortable night on the couch, Colvin ate breakfast with Ivy and Darien, played endless games with him and enjoyed being in a family situation with his mate and her son.
He was already contemplating how to broach the subject of eventually adopting Darien, who was quite a scamp but highly intelligent and affectionate.
In the afternoon they went to the beach and built sandcastles for the waves to demolish and played in the surf.
Darien loved riding on Colvin’s broad shoulders and was quite fearless when it came to the ocean so both adults kept a close eye on him.
Then Colvin drove them to the zoo, which wasn’t open to the public yet but Ivy’s employee pass got them inside the gates.
Many of the enclosures were under construction still but there were enough animals to make it interesting and Darien’s enthusiasm and awe over the six-legged Muranese giraffe and the two headed pyrunok was loud and long.
Ivy cooked a pasta dish for dinner and they spent another leisurely evening watching trideos.
Colvin was going to spend the night at the hotel and then he and Ivy were going to have lunch at the hotel tomorrow and supposedly spend the afternoon discussing their future and how to move forward.
He was confident they’d also be making use of the luxurious bed in his suite.
Both he and Ivy loved being with Darien and doing fun things as a family, but he knew they were both suffering frustration over not being intimate.
Their one afternoon of passion at the isolated beach seemed like a long time ago and Colvin was anxious to make love to Ivy again.
She’d made it obvious she was in the same mood, although they kept it lightly affectionate in front of the boy.
Surprisingly Darien had started asking to go back to the childcare facility, wanting to see his friends and teachers and play with his favorite big toys there, especially the climbing structure and sandbox in the facility’s lower yard.
There was also a friendly dog he missed and a pair of kittens.
To Colvin’s relief, Ivy agreed he could go to school once the twenty-four hour exclusion for his previous fever had expired.
“He’ll have to go back when I return to the office,” she said to Colvin in the kitchen while Darien took a nap.
“It’s better to do it now, when he’s asking to go, than to get him too used to you and me spoiling him with the beach and the zoo every day.
I love working outside the home but my biggest regret is not having enough time with him when I’m not tired and stressed from the office, you know? ”
“I can see how happy the two of you are together,” Colvin said tactfully.
“But I need to work, not only to support us, but for my own personal fulfillment. I just wish I could work fewer hours and still pay the bills.”
“Once we’re together on Ardanna Prime having enough credits won’t be an issue,” Colvin assured her.
“I’ve saved most of my salary over the years and made investments which prospered.
” He held up a hand as she opened her mouth to protest. “I’m not saying don’t work outside the home.
I merely saying you can do it for all the right reasons, as much or as little as you want, because we won’t be depending on your income alone.
” He was actually quite wealthy and his family held a high position in Ardannan life which created even more opportunities but he could tell the whole topic was a sensitive one to Ivy, including her mixed feelings about the work/life/motherhood balance.
He didn’t want to get too deep into the discussion in whispers in the kitchen when Darien might interrupt them at any moment.
“Tomorrow. Lunch. We can lay out our expectations for life together and find the agreements and the areas where we need to do some work.”
She stared at him, eyes wide. ”I love you.”
“I love you too but what did I say to earn that right now?” He was genuinely puzzled.
“You want to work out things together. No arguments, no laying down the law, no ‘your way or the spaceway’, no edicts—”
“I’m guessing your ex was a control freak,” he said.
“If this was a military subject and you were under my command, I’d listen to your input and make my decision and issue orders, expecting to be obeyed.
This is us, you and me, two people in love trying to build a life and neither one’s needs or opinions are more important than the other’s.
Give and take. The one thing neither of us can compromise on is what’s best for Darien. ”
Ivy brushed away a tear. “Whatever I did to deserve you, I’m so lucky.”
He took her in his arms. “Whatever I did to deserve you must have been a gift from the gods.”
Darien ran into the room, a red car in one hand and a yellow block in the other, with Fred tucked into the waistband of his shorts.
“I wanna hug too!” He wriggled between the two adults and Colvin swept him into the air, tossing him high and catching him easily while Ivy gasped and tried not to object.
She wasn’t used to the way he and Darien played more physically than she did but the boy loved it and she trusted him to be careful.
Her trust and Darien’s meant the world to him.
Ivy hummed as she got dressed after a long, leisurely shower.
She’d dropped Darien off at the childcare facility early, in time to have morning snack with his friends and then returned home to get ready for her actual date with Colvin.
His absence last night and this morning had been depressing for her and Darien, although Colvin had stayed long enough to read two bedtime stories in his deep voice.
It wasn’t ideal having Colvin sleep on the couch—he had too big a frame to be able to be comfortable there and she wasn’t ready to explain to Darien why Colvin might be in her bed.
Her son got up during the night after bad dreams on occasion and always came straight to her, so there’d be no way to hide Colvin if they were sharing her bed.
More and more she longed for the day when the three of them could live as a family, although realistically that was going to be months away.
She’d also been daydreaming a bit about having a child with Colvin.
A daughter perhaps. Darien would be a great big brother and she knew Colvin wanted a big family like his siblings had.
Ivy was fine with the idea now she had a true partner in Colvin.
She loved kids and had been sad at the idea Darien would grow up as an only child.
She squirted her favorite splurge perfume on in the key spots and then picked out her sexiest lingerie set, in black lace trimmed with a hint of gold.
Anticipation for the afternoon was running high in her emotions and she ached to be with Colvin in bed again.
Absence makes the heart grow fonder, she chanted to herself as she debated between two sundresses, neither of which Colvin had seen before.
Finally selecting one, she put on her cork heeled sandals and walked into the living room to get her purse and a light sweater.
Stopping on the threshold she froze.
Her ex stood in the small space, grinning ear to ear in a way that reliably portended trouble when they’d lived together.
When the abuse first started she’d tried to appease him or cajole him into a better mood which she came to learn didn’t work.
It was a game to him and her attempts to avoid the abuse he planned to mete out were part of the cat and mouse situation he thrived on.
”Been a long time, babe. You look real sexy—too bad the guy you’ve been seeing won’t ever get to enjoy it. ”
“You can’t be here,” she said, terror for Darien making it hard to talk. Thank the Lords of Space he was safe at childcare. “I have an interstellar restraining order.”
“Did you learn nothing while under my roof? The Combine doesn’t pay any attention to pieces of paper.
We’re more powerful than any bureaucrat you told lies to.
I will say you led me a pretty dance, hiding yourself and my kid away here.
Gonna have to be punishment for that.” His eyes gleamed and Ivy backed up a step.
Meting out ‘punishment’ had been one of his favorite activities by the end of her relationship with him.
Spinning on her heel, she fled to the kitchen, hoping to grab a knife and escape out the door.
Unfortunately the apartment complex was largely deserted at this hour since the IDA employees were at work but there might be someone who could help.
She heard Ronn right behind her, laughing and as she opened the door, she ran into a wall of muscle.
One of Ronn’s Amarotu goons was standing there to prevent her escape.
He easily disarmed her, hurting her wrist in the process and held her by the elbow in a punishing grip.
“We’re going to walk outside to my groundcar as nicely as if we’re going to lunch,” Ronn said. “Behave yourself and I won’t add to your punishments.”
“I’m not going to help you find Darien,” she said, desperation making her voice hard despite her terror..
“Already took care of that, babe.” Ronn waved a finger in her face.
“You think I came all this way for you? Of course not, gotta bring my son home and raise him the way he needs to be brought up, in the Combine way. I coulda just called in a hit on you and written off my loss but when it comes to my flesh and blood, no way I could leave him out here. We can do this easy or we can do it hard, your choice, but you are going into the car.”
Inspired by sheer terror, she decided to fight, hopeless as it was.
She had a vague thought if she delayed Ronn long enough, his plans would be disrupted.
Surely someone would come. She was no match for the two men and shortly her wrists were in a force lock behind her back, covered by the sweater.
She had bruises and possibly a broken rib where Ronn had kicked her when his henchman knocked her to the floor.
It hurt to breathe, her head pounded and she could barely walk but they got her out of the apartment and into the back seat of the waiting groundcar.
Ronn held a knife to her side, threatening to kill her if she made any noise or tried to make a scene.
The area was as deserted as she’d feared, with only the gardening robos busily trimming the grass and the bushes. There was no help to be had from them.
As the limousine accelerated smoothly away from her cozy apartment, Ivy fought hard not to weep from pain, fear and frustration.
The only good thing was they were headed toward the edge of the resort, away from the childcare location.
She hoped that meant Ronn had given up on kidnapping Darien today, although she vaguely recalled he’d said he’d already taken care of that angle.
Please, Lords of Space, let him be wrong. Keep my little boy safe.
She didn’t care what happened to her as long as Darien was safe from his father.
Wishing Colvin had been at her apartment this morning, she knew if he’d been there Ronn wouldn’t have succeeded.
Her heart broke at the sure knowledge she’d never see him again.
Ronn wouldn’t allow her to escape a second time—the way he was talking he might not even keep her alive.