Page 47 of By the Book

It certainly doesn’t feel like a coincidence. But why make the parting comment he did about her coming to him next? That sounds more like a guy who still thinks he’s going to get the girl. Not someone who’s going to trash her place in defeat.

“It was like they were looking for something,” I realize. “Your place wasn’t trashed, it was searched.”

“I noticed that he only had his car key, nothing else on the ring with it…”

Continuing out into the chilled evening, I consider this new information. I had been wondering why there was not a car key on the set left behind at The Open Book. But here it was, a car fob without a ring.

“Anything else you should tell me, Sherlock?”

A small laugh escapes Ivy at the nickname, and it’s enough to help take the edge off the tension within me. “No, nothing else.”

“Right, then let’s get you to your parents,” I say with far more resolve than I feel.

“Are you sure you won’t stay with me instead?”

“I wish I could, truly. But I have to?—”

We reach the passenger side door and Ivy slides between me and the Defender, holding her hand out to stop me. She plants her palm in the center of my chest, unyielding in her determination.

“Please.Don’t leave me like this tonight. You might not be thinking straight. And I know you have a job to do, but tonight…”

I wrap my fingers around her wrist and bring her hand to the back of my neck. Taking a step closer, I gather her waist in my grip and hold her against me. Ivy curls her other hand around my arm and looks up at me with wide eyes.

“The last time I had you in this position, you told me not to take my hands off you. Why?”

Her lips part in surprise as she blinks up at me. “What does that have to do with this?”

“Why, Ivy?”

“The obvious reason,” she huffs. “I wanted you to keep going. I liked what we were doing.”

“Is that the only time you thought about that? With me?”

“Of course not,” she murmurs.

“Good, because it wasn’t for me either. I want you, Ivy. And I have for longer than I should admit. So, believe me when I tellyou that I am thinking perfectly straight. I know exactly what my motivations are, and it’s about damn time I act on them.”

Ivy presses me towards her with the hand on my neck, rising up to meet my lips with hers. She kisses me with a gentle urgency, as sweet as I always imagined a kiss from her would be. But it’s more than sweet, there’s heat too. And I match her with my own consuming need.

When she opens further to me, I take the kiss deeper, desperate for every bit she’s giving me. My vengeance and anger from earlier fall away, leaving only this moment. Leaving only Ivy and the ember I’ve carried for her all this time, now an engulfing flame. I pour twelve years of need into this kiss, I let it spill over between us as I devour her.

She lets out a sweet little sigh against my lips and I know that I’ll never be able to turn back now. I hold her tighter against me, dragging a hand up to cup her jaw. Ivy leans her face against my palm, breaking the kiss and smiling up at me with a look that nearly brings me to my knees.

“Stay with me tonight,” she rasps.

I lean down for another kiss, unable to hide the smile stretching across my face as I press against her lips. “Honey, you have no idea how much I want to.”

“Then what’s stopping you? What can’t wait until morning?” She pauses to study my expression. And there’s so much hope in hers. The truth is, it probably can wait until the morning. But just as I start to relax, my mind flashes to the sadness that carried through the phone earlier.

“No one was hurt,” she insists. “It can wait.”

“I was hurt.” My voice cracks with the admission. “Hearing the pain in your voice when you called me, seeing you cry. It hurts me.” I trail a thumb along her pillowy lips, allowing the warmth of her skin to keep me in the present.

Dragging her own hand down to cup my jaw, she says, “This isn’t you. Impulsive and running out for vengeance. I made you worry, so I know this is unfair. But I’m asking you not to worry me tonight. And I will worry if you drop me at my parents to take off into the night.”

My chest tightens, her words hitting their target and sinking into my core. The last thing I want is to cause her undue stress tonight. Or ever. “I hate the fact that someone is doing this to you.”

“I know.”

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