Page 31 of Ivy

Gary chuckle and says, “But she won’t find out, will she, son? I mean, unless you want me to tell her that you took advantage of poor little Ivy here at your grandmother's birthday party.”

“Bastard. Fine, I’ll keep my mouth shut. For now.” He winks at his dad and leads me back into the main room where everyone is enjoying the band playing on the stage. They are doing covers, but they’re pretty good.

“Dance with me,” Luke orders, not asks. He pulls me onto the dance floor and we dance with his family. His aunt and uncles are cracking me up with their moves. The kids come and join us, and it’s clear that Luke’s niece’s, Polly and Ria, love him to bits. His nephews, Josh and Rory, groove with the rest of the adults. They’re actually quite comical. Carter fits right in. He’s jiving with the oldies, as the kids say.

I’m holding hands with Polly, jumping and dancing, when I catch a flash of red moving closer to Beast. My movements stop and my body tenses. He’s going to let her touch him? He wouldn’t, surely. Polly is dancing, tugging on my arms, but I can’t stop looking at Beast and his ex. She touches his arm and he flinches away. She frowns at him, but I just smile to myself. Luke says something to her and she huffs and walks away. Before he can catch me staring, I start dancing with Polly again.

The fast tempo song finishes, and a slow song comes on. The Script’s ‘I’m Yours’ plays into the room. I feel him before I see him, the hair on the back of my neck standing on end. His arms wrap around my waist and pull me back into him.

“Do you mind if I borrow Ivy for this dance, Pol?”

“Yeah, Uncle Luke.” She skips off and joins her cousins at a table that’s filled with crafts items. I turn in his arms, loving how safe I feel surrounded by him.

My beast.

“Perfect,” he whispers. I hide my smile in his chest. I can hear his heartbeat, and it soothes me. I am stunned into stillness when I hear Luke sing the lyrics to the song against the top of my head. It’s like we are in our own little bubble, as cheesy as that sounds. His voice is deep and gravelly when he sings. You would never think a man like Luke would sound like this when he sings. Shivers rack my body when he says, ‘I’m yours’. I know I am his, and he is mine. The looks and the feelings that we share show that. The ‘L’ word hasn’t popped out yet; I’m not sure if he’s ready to hear it. I’m ready to both say and hear it, but I’m worried I’ll scare him away if I say it first. Stupid, I know. But if there’s anything my mother and Tim have taught me, it’s to live in the moment.

I gaze up at him and see that he is looking down at me, a perfect smile on his handsome face. I lift my hand and cup his jaw, his stubble feeling amazing under my fingertips. I smile up at him and get lost in his mismatch-coloured eyes. We sway back and forth to the music, letting the lyrics smother us. I know I need to tell him, but again, my fear surfaces. I lean back into his chest again, getting lost in the music, and pray that when I do tell him, he feels the same way.

Chapter 15

Luke

It’s date night. Carter is staying over with Jay and Cassie, and I’m taking Ivy out for something to eat, a few drinks, and a few games of pool. We got an Uber into town so we both could have a drink, and are now sitting in the Copper Hill having something to eat before we move on to the pub.

“Is that any good?” I ask, pointing to her steak and ale pie, with mash and gravy.

“Yeah, it’s good. Yours?” she asks, and then lifts her glass of wine to take a sip. I have a ten-ounce steak with chips and veg.

“Yeah, it’s alright.” I take a big gulp of my pint of lager and continue eating. The conversation flows easily between us, and even when we’re not speaking, it doesn’t feel awkward. We finish our food and Ivy excuses herself to go to the toilet before we make a move. I fold the piece of paper on the table and scribble down a quote for her. I set it by her place setting and wait for her to come back and read it. I smile to myself, knowing Peaches loves them. I do them as much as possible, just little things to let her know how I feel about her. I watch her walk across the room, smiling at her when she smiles at me. I watch as she notices the aeroplane and picks it up to read it.

Want to know a secret?

I kinda like you and can’t stop thinking about you.

Ivy doesn’t say anything, she just leans in and kisses my cheek. That action says it all. We make the short walk down to the Ship and Anchor, Ivy nestled tight against me, fending off the wind. Her coat is wrapped tight around her,making sure she is warm enough.

We walk into the pub, and the smell of smoke and stale beer hits my senses. The place is pretty packed for a Monday night. Ivy takes her coat off and I follow, removing my leather jacket, and we hang them by the door. It’s a small town, and no one really steals anyone else’s stuff. With my hand on the small of her back, I guide her over to the bar and help her onto a high stool.

I order us a round of drinks; a lager for me and another wine for her. I take in her outfit and my dick reacts to what he is seeing, but then again, he’s been reacting like a fucking teenage boy since I laid eyes on Ivy Bilson. She’s wearing grey suede knee-high boots with a high heel, making her come up to my chin now. Her tight grey jeans fit her arse to perfection. I’ve had to fight with my self-control to not grab it with both hands. The black and white checked shirt she’s wearing cups her tits, making them look more round and delicious. I can see the white vest she has on under the shirt peeking through.

Me, well, I’m in my usual white t-shirt, black jeans, and biker boots. Millie, the bartender, comes over and gets us new drinks. She winks at me, but I pay her no attention. We hooked up once, but she got a little clingy after and I had to set her straight.

“Let’s play pool,” Peaches says, pulling me back to the present.

“Sounds good.” I give her my hand and help her down off the stool. God forbid she falls in those boots and breaks something. I don’t want anything getting in the way of me taking her again tonight.

I rack the balls up and Ivy adds chalk to two pool cues. She offers me a seductive smile and adjusts the way she’s holding the cue. Puckering her lips, she blows the excess chalk away, making my dick—any dick within a ten-mile radius, for that matter—hard.

“Baby, you are gonna make me punch some poor bastard tonight if you keep that up,” I tell her, pointing a stern finger at her. She takes my large hand in her smaller one and brings my finger to her mouth.

Fuck me. I hope she isn’t going to do what I think she’s going to do.

And she does.

“Fuck,” I mutter as she sucks my finger into her mouth. The wetness coats my finger, making my body shudder and my cock harden. She smirks at me and steps away before I can grab her.

“Now, let’s play.”

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