Page 49 of Poison Ivy
“No, and that’s why I gave you my power. You go into your jobs as Poison, and I know you are more than capable. You kick arse. But now, knowing who you really are, knowing you are mine, I’m worried.”
“Worried about what?”
“You getting into danger, or worse.”
“It’s my job, and I can handle it,” I snap, getting fired up, but only because I’m scared of the depth inhis tone, in his words. How did we go from him fucking me and leaving me on the side of the road to this in the space of a night? How? My brain is struggling to keep up.
Tate’s eyes flash with frustration. “I know you can handle yourself. But you don’t have to do it alone anymore. That’s all I’m saying.”
“I’ve always been alone,” I say quietly. “It’s safer that way.”
He reaches out and cups my face gently. “Not anymore. I’m here now, Ivy. I’m not going anywhere.”
I search his eyes, looking for any hint of deception. But all I see is sincerity and something else. Something that makes my heart race.
“Why?” I whisper. “Why me? Why now?”
Tate sighs and runs a hand through his hair. “I don’t know. I just know that from the moment I figured out who you really were, everything changed. It’s like a switch flipped inside me. Suddenly, nothing else mattered but keeping you safe.”
“But what about Poison? What about the games with Torin and Bram?”
His jaw clenches. “That was before. This is now. You’re mine, Ivy. Do you want to be theirs as well? Do you want them to know you as Ivy?”
His sincere question catches me off guard. I hadn’t even thought that far ahead. “I don’t know. They shouldn’t know me. You shouldn’t know me. The creatures I work for… they won’t take this well.”
“I don’t really give a fuck about The Syndicate,”he says. “I’m not interfering with your work as Poison, so they can fuck off if they think they have a say in this.”
“That’s not how they work,” I say, chewing my lip.
“I didn’t ask about them, Ivy. I asked about Torin and Bram.”
“Bram hates me, and Torin just wants a fuck and run with some humiliation thrown in for good measure.”
“That’s how the cards have fallen now, Ivy, but that can change. Quickly.”
“They want Poison,” I argue, still not wanting to think about the other two when I have Tate here giving me the world. Or so it seems. My blood runs cold. What if this is another game? Am I being stupid if I believe him now, or am I being stupid if I don’t? I have never been in a real relationship before. I have no idea what waters these are that I’m floating about in recklessly. “They can’t have Poison.”
“Then let them decide if they want Ivy,afteryou make your mind up if you even want them in your life.”
“That’s one big rejection you’re setting me up for,” I grouse.
He chuckles. “Says the girl who isn’t even sure she wants to want them in the first place.”
“You know what I mean!”
“I do, but life is about risks, princess. You don’t get what you want if you don’t go after it.”
Well, he has a point, I suppose. But this is all moot. Torin and Bram are not going to accept me as Ivy, and I can’t expect them to. Tate wraps his arms around me and settles me against him as we lie down.
I lay my head on Tate’s chest, my mind still reeling from everything that’s happened. His arms are strong and warm around me, but I can’t shake the feeling that this is all moving too fast.
“Tate,” I murmur. “I need you to be honest with me.”
“Always,” he says, running his fingers through my hair.
“Is this real? Or is it just another game?”
“Ivy, look at me.”
