Page 15 of Poison Ivy
Vex’s grip on my arm tightens further. “Or what? You’ll fight me? For her?”
A cruel smile spreads across Tate’s face. “I don’t really give a shit about her. I just want you to do as you’re told.” Before I can blink, Tate flicks his wrist, and Vex flies backwards, slamming into a bookshelf with a loud crash. Books rain down around him as he crumples to the floor.
I stumble as Vex’s grip on me is suddenly released. Tate steadies me with a hand on my elbow. It’s extremely hard to ignore how his touch, so muchsofter than how he handles Poison, sends tingles up my arm.
Vex groans and starts to push himself up. Tate shoves me behind him.
“Stay down if you know what’s good for you,” Tate growls, using magick to push Vex back to the floor.
Vex glares at him, wiping blood from a cut on his lip. “This isn’t over.”
“Oh, I think it is,” Tate states and watches as Vex scampers off.
I’m more than a little concerned about this. Vex is powerful. Extremely so. If Tate can knock him on his arse, that means he is even more powerful. It makes me shudder involuntarily.
Tate turns to me, his emerald eyes assessing, but he doesn’t say anything.
I try to keep my expression neutral. “Thanks.”
He shrugs. “Didn’t ask for it, and it wasn’t about you. Vex is an arsehole who needs to be put in his place sometimes, and I take every opportunity to do that.”
I bite back a smile at the irony of Tate, of all people, calling someone else an arsehole. “Well, good for you,” I mutter.
Tate’s eyes narrow as he studies me more closely. “You’re not scared of me.”
I shrug, trying to appear nonchalant. “Should I be?”
A slow, dangerous smile spreads across his face. “Most creatures are.”
“I’m not most creatures,” I say, meeting his gaze steadily.
“No,” he murmurs. “You’re not, are you?” He takes a step closer, his gaze searching mine for secrets I definitely don’t want him knowing. “What’s your name?”
I hesitate for a split second before answering. “Ivy.”
“Ivy,” he repeats, as if testing how it feels on his tongue. “Well, Ivy, you should be more careful about the company you keep. Vex is bad news.”
“And you’re not,” I say, bristling slightly at his condescending tone.
Tate chuckles darkly. “You have no idea.”
Deciding I need to get out of here before this conversation moves too forward in a direction I can’t hide from, I take a step around him, but he blocks my path. “Not so fast. I think you owe me something for my heroic rescue.”
My stomach drops. “I didn’t ask for your help,” I say carefully.
“And yet, you got it. You owe me a blowie, at least.”
I stare at Tate in disbelief. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”
He grins, all teeth and menace. “You’re not my type, little girl. I prefer my women a bit stronger.”
“Yeah, well, looks can be deceiving,” I grumble, a bit pissed off that he backtracked on the blowie. Not that I would, or maybe I would. I mean, he might not know who I am exactly, but I know who he is, and that dark, dark, twisted part of me craves him and his friends. I’m all sorts of fucked up, but I have issues, and bad boys are definitely one of them.
Tate’s eyes flash with interest at my words. “Is that so? And what exactly are you hiding under that nerdy exterior, Ivy?”
“Nerdy?” I huff, insulted, but then look down at myself and realise, yeah, he’s probably right. I might not have wanted to come to Thornfield three years ago, but once I got here and discovered how there was a world of knowledge out there waiting for me to absorb it, I dived in with both feet, and I love it.
Tate’s eyes darken as he considers my reaction.
