8. Ivy
IVY
Igape at the door, right at the spot Ember darted through, for what feels like forever before I drag a hand down my face and exhale, letting the weight of the moment seep from my bones.
My white tiger must sense the change in me as he strides my way. My heart flutters in my chest as he brushes against my bare legs, and I’m quickly reminded that I’m only wearing an oversized t-shirt.
A purr rumbles in the tiger’s throat as he nuzzles against me, and I reach for him, gently ghosting my fingers over his fur. He seems to preen at the contact, tail flicking across the floor as he sits, staring up at me with big eyes as I brush my hand over the top of his head.
I can’t tear my eyes away from him, caught up in his attention as the light hum at the back of his throat whispers around us.
It blows my mind that Sax is in there somewhere.
As if sensing my thoughts, he shuffles back a few steps, and in a flash, the white fur and purring are gone, replaced with familiar cropped hair and sultry brown eyes.
I gape, jaw slack as he stands tall, stretching his arms above his head with a sigh, all while his gaze remains fixed on mine.
“Are you okay?” he asks, and I exhale.
“I don't know what I am,” I admit, tucking a loose tendril behind my ear, but in doing so, allowing my gaze to wander his very naked body.
My cheeks tingle as I press my lips together in a thin line. Any attempt to give him a pointed look as my eyes find his is impossible, and he snickers.
“You've seen my dick before,” he states, and I pinch the bridge of my nose.
Seeing it isn’t the issue. Wanting to touch it is. And with Ember’s words still lingering in my thoughts, I can’t escape it.
“I’d offer to leave my clothes here, but I like the way you look at me,” he declares, and I roll my eyes. “I do want to make sure you’re okay, though. I can wrap a towel around my waist, or—”
“No, you’re good,” I rasp, lured in by the amusement curling the corner of his mouth, despite the seriousness in his eyes.
I hate my pride insisting that I can handle this.
I can’t.
“Ivy,” he murmurs, and my gaze snaps from his cock to his eyes.
Dammit.
“Sax,” I breathe, and he exhales, reaching a hand toward me, but he stops before he reaches me, letting his arm fall back to his side as he speaks.
“What was she doing here?”
I shake my head. “I don’t really know. I can’t make sense of it. She was questioning me about Leonardo and was familiar with the relic, but she threatened me with my father.”
Understanding flashes in his eyes. “She didn’t know.”
I shake my head. “No, and she didn’t believe me at first, but when I told her Leonardo did it, she combusted like…” My words trail off, my tongue unable to complete the sentence.
“Like you,” he mutters, and I nod.
“She was harming Ember too. She was distressed, disheveled, and almost dissociated from the reality around her.”
“I’m guessing she wasn’t always like that?” he asks, and my nose crinkles.
“Honestly, my mother has resembled a deliriously obtuse woman of leisure my whole life. If she wasn’t aware of her surroundings, it was because she didn’t care to be, especially if it wasn’t in connection with a gala or an event that required her attendance and beauty.
Now, she’s almost unrecognizable,” I explain, and he hums in acknowledgment.
“Can I hug you?” he asks, a familiar question that anchored me yesterday, but this time, instead of taking the lead, I nod, and he eliminates the distance between us.
I sigh with relief as he wraps me in a warm embrace. I lean into him, my head resting against his chest as my arms bind around his middle.
For a moment, the world stills, my mind focuses on nothing but our connection, and I sink into him.
“How the hell did your mother and father produce you and Hugo? It doesn't add up,” he states, and I scoff, letting him rock me from side to side as he brushes his fingers through my hair.
I don’t answer because I don’t have one. Instead, I take his strength, and with every passing moment, my heart rate slows, but the tension that flooded these four walls shifts, intensifying with a different undertone.
It's like an electric charge zapping across my skin, igniting my magic and tingling my nerve endings.
“Ivy,” Sax rasps, leaning back just enough to capture my cheek in his hand.
There's need in his voice and passion in my veins as my pulse vibrates in my ears.
Rising onto my tiptoes, I throw caution to the wind and give in, pressing my lips against his.
His hands find my waist in an instant as I curl my arms around his neck, pulling him closer.
My spine stiffens as his hard length presses against my stomach, and the overwhelming need to taste him takes over.
I move on impulse, dropping to my knees with a thud before peering up at my hated mate through my lashes.
“Ivy,” he whispers, and I rake my teeth along my bottom lip as my hands trail over his thighs.
“Can I—”
“Don’t ask. You never need to ask,” he rambles, pupils blown as he stares at me with an intensity that threatens to floor me.
“What if—”
“Ivy, it’s you. I want everything with you.
I told you yesterday, and I meant it. I’d follow you blindly, even into the darkness, even to my own demise, but I swear, your hands on me are a ticking time bomb and I’m about to come from the feeling of your fucking palms on my thighs,” he declares, and my heart lurches in my chest at the truth that shines bright in his eyes.
Instead of lingering on the ferocity of his words and tone, I let the passion firing through my veins take over as I lean closer, pressing a soft kiss to his strained cock.
“Fuck,” he rasps, making my thighs clench as desire falls from his tongue.
I want more of it.
I want to forget the world exists around me.
I want to be consumed by him.
Desperate, I drag my tongue across his dick, relishing in his heat before I capture the tip of his cock between my lips.
His eyes narrow as a hand threads through my hair, clinging to the loosened ponytail I slept in.
The tension that vibrates across my skin at his touch spurs me into motion, and I take more of him in my mouth.
I’m obsessed with the sensation of my lips being stretched, and my nails claw into his legs as I hollow out my cheeks, eager to feel every inch of him.
“Fuck, Ivy.”
I smile around his length, dragging my hands up to the apex of his thighs, and he tenses, squirming as his hips flex. He takes the edge of control, and I love it, but uncertainty flashes in his eyes.
“Please,” I rasp, my lips brushing against the tip of his dick as I beg, and his eyebrows furrow.
“I don’t want to hurt you, Ivy.”
I scoff. “Funny, because I want you to ruin me.”
My words hang in the air, teetering between us like I’m dancing on a tightrope and he’s my safety net. This time, I’m confident he’ll catch me.
“Ivy,” he mutters huskily, and I dig my nails into his skin, making his hips flex and his cock jut against my lips. “Fuck.”
One curse from his lips and his resolve shatters as his hand curls tighter in my hair, and he moves again. His cock hits the back of my throat in one swift move, making me gag, my eyes watering, but it’s an addiction I need more of.
Dragging my hands to his ass cheeks, I silently beg for more, and he finally obliges.
He fucks my mouth with perfect precision, balanced precariously between weightlessness and force, leaving me a whimpering mess at his feet.
“What a sight you are, my mate,” he growls, his muscles clenched tight as he hovers above me, taking exactly what I want him to. “Look at you, saliva dripping down your chin. I bet you want it to be my cum, don’t you.”
I attempt to nod, but against his hold, it’s almost impossible, which only makes my desire increase. I know I’m wet between my thighs already.
The corner of his mouth turns up in a primal grin, sending a shiver down my spine as he twists his hand tighter in my hair and yanks me away from his length.
“Another time. Soon. But not now. Not when I need to feast on you before I sink my cock deep into your pussy and make it mine.”
Holy crap.
Gulping, I don’t fight against him as he tugs at my hair, encouraging me to my feet before backing me up against the desk behind me.
I’m acutely aware of the open window, but it’s nothing but lighting as he reaches behind me, swiping everything off the surface before grabbing my thighs and hiking me onto the desk.
He keeps me perched on the edge of the wood, my t-shirt gathering around my waist to expose my core.
Another desperate curse falls from his lips before he crushes his mouth against mine. His hand finds its way into my hair again as he tilts my head back, exposing my throat as he presses punishing kisses against my lips.
I’m a panting mess as he yanks back, dark, broody eyes finding mine before he sinks to his knees.
I shiver as his hands reach for my knees, spreading them wide to give himself a front row view of my center.
“Of course you have the prettiest pussy in the whole wide world,” he muses, ghosting his thumb through my folds before circling my clit, forcing another whimper from my lips.
My fingers curl around the edge of the desk in a weak attempt to keep me from falling, but it’s futile; I’m already descending, even if not physically.
Without the weight of lies and secrets lingering between us, everything feels… more.
All I can do is give in.
His eyes are fixed between my legs as he inches closer and drags his tongue against my skin, tracing the path his thumb took a moment ago.
“Damn, my mate is sweet and needy. Just how I like her,” he declares, but before I can part my lips, he leans in with more pressure, devouring me.
A sob falls from my tongue as I instinctively arch my pussy against his face.
He nips, sucks, and feasts on me like a man starved as he plunges his fingers deep into my core.
My legs tremble, need building inside of me as he rakes his teeth over my clit, a growl rumbling from his throat. “I want the taste of my mate on my tongue, and I want it now. Give in. Give in to me, Ivy.”
His words are somewhere between a command and a plea as they hit their mark.
Fire burns through my veins, my magic alight inside as he slams his fingers inside me with precision, at the exact same time, he drags his tongue through my folds, and I shatter.
A scream leaps from my tongue as my head falls back and I fall apart in his hands. The wood wedged beneath my palms bites against my skin, but the balance of pleasure and pain only intensifies the sensations claiming me.
Wrecked, I sag, desperate to lie down, but he’s quickly on his feet, pinning me against him, and I relish the support.
His hands ghost over my hair soothingly as he pins my head against his chest, and I lose myself in the sound of his racing heart pounding against me.
“You’re not done with me yet, are you, Ivy?”
Tilting my head back, I stare up at him with half-mast eyelids, shaking my head softly.
Weak, yet desperate for more.
“That’s my girl,” he breathes, sweeping me off the desk.
The room swirls around me, and a moment later, I feel the bite of my floor beneath my knees and palms, and the firm presence of his frame behind me.
Glancing over my shoulder, I find my hated mate staring at my core with wide, desperate eyes as his cock strains against his stomach.
Infatuated, I lower to my elbows, arching my back to expose myself further, and his eyes find mine. They remain locked in place, bewitching me as he presses the tip of his cock against my center.
One breath.
Two breaths.
Three.
He thrusts his hips, and his dick finds its home, nestled inside me.
Another cry parts my lips as he groans, twisting his hand around what remains of my ponytail. He tugs firmly on the strands, wrapping the length around his fist as he tilts my head back and slams into me again.
My jaw is slack, my muscles clenched in all of the right places as the rest of me melts at his touch.
He dominates my core like it’s his right, his legacy, and I bow to it, giving him everything as my pussy clenches around his cock.
“That’s it. I want my mate to milk me. That needy little pussy of yours is begging to be painted with my release. Tell me.”
“Please,” I manage, and his other hand flexes at my waist.
“Come for me. Drench my cock like you did my tongue,” he demands, slamming into me with a finesse I couldn’t even begin to muster.
All I can do is accept his command and succumb to the pleasure
His fingertips dig into my flesh, that sweet bite of pain once more sending me over the edge as I cry out with delight.
Euphoria dances through my veins, ignited by my magic as it consumes me.
The world blurs, his thrusts stuttering as he snarls, finding his release a moment later. And as my vision blurs and ecstasy tingles down my spine, I smile.
Content.
Serene.
Shattered.