Page 59 of Saving Ian Pope

I had no intention of telling him about the Ian Pope pillow. “I stole one of your dirty T-shirts before you left.”

“What?” He drew back to look in my face. “I thought one was missing. You thief.”

“I wore it to bed most nights and never washed it.”

He crinkled his nose. “That’s disgusting, Tink, and you were worried about taking a shower after a plane ride. You didn’t pack that dirty thing and bring it along, did you?” He spread his arms. “Because you’ve got the real thing, now.”

“Ooh, and I’m glad I do.” I rolled on top of him again, straddling him. Enough talk. Time to get down to business.

Stroking my thighs, he asked, “Did you change anything about yourself since I saw you?” His half-lidded eyes flicked over my body, causing a rash of tingles everywhere they lit.

“I may have done a little damage with those thirty pints of ice cream I downed when you were gone.” Ugh. Too early in the relationship for those kinds of confessions. Not too early to get a stipend for deceiving him, but definitely too early for the ice cream revelation. I sucked in my gut.

His hands traced the outline of my body, and I sat still, afraid to breathe. “Mmm. Any extra calories from the ice cream must’ve wound up in all the right places.” He squeezed my ass.

Had my ass gotten bigger? Then the squeeze turned into a caress, and thoughts of ice cream and calories and fat asses flew out of my brain. I rocked against him with encouragement.

“You gonna go cowgirl on me or should I do you like a proper missionary.”

“I don’t think a proper missionary would be doing the things your gonna do to me.”

He grabbed my waist and flipped me onto my back. My legs flew up in the air, and he took the opportunity to slide into my wet pussy. I didn’t need much physical foreplay with Ian, although we’d enjoyed plenty of that in the past. Our banter got me hot, and I could tell from his hard cock that it worked for him, too.

I sort of expected soft, sweet lovemaking from him after our time apart, but walking out of the bathroom to him fondling himself with that big...grin on his face firebombed that expectation. To show how much he missed me, he did me every which way and twice from behind.

I came—a lot. He came once—hard and wild.

All the activity after sitting for eleven hours wore me out. Spent, I released the hold my legs had around his hips, and my head lolled to the side. He kissed my neck. “I missed having you in bed.”

My eyelids fluttered. So tired, but I had something important to tell him.

Sitting up next to me, he said, “Get some sleep, Tink. I’ll make some dinner for later, or whenever you wake up.”

As he made a move, I reached out and grabbed his wrist. “Wait. Can you stay with me until I fall asleep?”

“Absolutely.” He smoothed my hair back from my face. “I’m not going anywhere, Ivy.”

“Baby?” I murmured.

“Yeah?”

“I love you.”

“I love you, too.” He pressed his soft lips against my forehead.

Yeah, he loved me now, but he’d change his tune if he ever found out about my deal with the devil. I’d just have to make sure he never, ever found out.

Chapter 20

IAN

I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face. Ivy hadn’t changed a bit, still cheeky and sexy and a little bit needy. I didn’t mind that last part. We clicked because we had corresponding pieces that meshed seamlessly...and I didn’t mean sex, this time.

Ivy had come to me partially broken, a crack somewhere in her psyche. I saw it in her hazel eyes sometimes. In the way she clung to me. The way she tried to anticipate my needs and support me, as if I’d leave if she didn’t. That just wouldn’t happen. Outside of my family, I never felt so accepted and understood by someone, especially a partner.

I didn’t know exactly why she changed her mind about being with me. I was afraid to dig too deeply. That characterized a big chunk of my relationship with her. She pushed back every time I tried to delve into her past.

Her mum’s abandonment must’ve really done a number on her. Ivy hadn’t even told me how old she was when her mum left, but I had the impression she was young. And the woman had never reached out to Ivy since then. Never bothered to contact her own daughter. That had to leave scars.

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