Page 46 of Taming Ivy
Locking his hands behind his head, his legs stretched to invade the space next to her knees. An arrogant smirk played across his face but churning inside him was a dazed panic. It made his words reckless ones. “And what shall you do, Ivy? Choose someone new? Let him caress you and hold you as I have? Shall you kiss him and pretend it is me? You’ll find no other man to give you the pleasure I have, and little butterfly, there’s still so much more to experience. We’ve only just begun to explore.”
Ivy sucked in a breath of outrage. The parasol tilted just enough to reveal her face. “There shall be no need to pretend. You shall be replaced. Indeed, I will erase you. Quite easily, I assure you.”
Reclining against the squabs of the cream leather seat, Sebastian presented the very image of nonchalant elegance, but jealousy sliced and twisted him with her words, leaving his insides a violent mess.
“Bloody hell. What more do you want from me, Ivy?” His voice turned raspy with restrained vehemence. “I’ve quoted poetry, sent flowers, danced and courted you. I let you beat me at whist, I cleaned fucking stalls, fetched countless glasses of damn champagne.” His eyes traveled down her body with slow, salacious meaning. “And I played your personal servant for an entertaining morning.”
“Three. Three glasses of champagne, if memory serves correct,” she whispered with biting softness, ignoring the profanities and the reminder of liberties he had taken. Sebastian knew every blistering moment replayed in her mind as heat flushed her face. “And how dare you allow me the win at whist. I might have known your motives were mercenary.”
“I can’t let you go. Not yet. I won’t let you go.”
“I don’t particularly care, Sebastian.” Her gaze skittered away to focus on the horizon. “What you desire has no bearing on my decision. This is a necessity. For my own sanity.”
Silence stretched between them while Sebastian willed his emotions to a more manageable state. A new strategy formed. While it might paint him as a monster, he took full advantage of Ivy’s vulnerability for what they shared.
Reaching for her hands, he quickly stripped her gloves away. When she tried jerking from his grasp, he held tight, thumbs grazing her palms, tracing the scar marring her left hand.
“Ivy, I do not say ‘please’ nor do the words ‘forgive me,' regularly cross my lips, but I say them now.” His husky murmur was an act of sacrifice for the Revenge Situation. For Timothy’s sake. For my own sake... maybe it is possible to have both. Ivy and my revenge.“Please, do not do this.”
“Let me go.”
He refused the command, holding her hands even tighter. “Tell me what I can do.”
Ivy glared at him, all heartache from the past two weeks visible in the shimmering depths of her eyes. “You can go away and never come back. Plummet from the face of this earth. Die a thousand horrible deaths… have your heart ripped out as mine-” She bit her lip as Sebastian stared in dumbfounded silence at her.
Each wrestled with inner thoughts until an ordinary bumblebee forced the issue.
It darted past on an exploratory mission. Drawn by the intriguing yellow tulip shade of Ivy’s gown, the determined insect whirred in again for a more thorough examination. Yanking her hand from his grasp, Ivy brushed the bee away. It floated next to her shoulder, buzzed around the sleeve of her dress as if considering the fluttering petals of an exotic flower before zipping up to investigate the confectionary-like flowers contained on the bill of her hat.
“Your perfume may have something to do with its persistence.” Sebastian’s lips quirked with a hint of a smile. He could not fight the lure of her fragrance. Was it surprising a mere bumblebee found it difficult to resist?
Ivy batted forcefully at the insect, squealing in alarm as it plunged close to her ear. Shifting her parasol to block the creature made it more resolute and angry. Their argument forgotten for the moment, she sat helpless while it hovered as though she were a rare flower requiring immediate pollination. Finally, with a little bark of laughter, Sebastian knocked the bee away with a firm swipe of his hand.
Five seconds later…
The creature doubled back, diving alternatively at their heads. A stream of colorful oaths and a flurry of arm movements were Sebastian’s only defense.
The parasol landed on his head with a solid thump.
He turned a stunned glare on Ivy.
“So sorry,” she said flatly, her expression revealing her satisfaction.
“Have you lost your damned mind?”
“I was not aiming for you,” Ivy insisted.
“Give me…”The depth of fury contained in those two words alone was astounding,“the damn parasol…”
A particularly vile curse exploded from Sebastian as he snatched the parasol from her without permission. Remaining seated, he began to swing the frilly weapon at the invader, causing the lightly built carriage to shift and sway. The dramatic maneuvers did not deter the stubborn insect.
Ivy ducked as the parasol whizzed by her head. Straightening her hat, now tilted in a rakish manner and covering most of one eye, she scowled. “Is it your intent to kill me? Or the bee? Either way, your aim needs improvement.”
Sebastian clenched his teeth, mustering up every bit of patience he could find. “Perhaps, you should not have worn a yellow gown along with that blasted lily and oranges perfume.”
The smile she gave him was sickly sweet as Christmas candy. The bee encircled them, its droning buzz almost loud enough to drown out her words. “Perhaps this bee is attracted to asses masquerading as gentlemen.”
He frowned. “That’s not funny.”
