Page 49 of Sliding Into Love
“Mom said she’d been watching the Empire Strikes Back when her water broke, during the scene on Hoth with the big walker things? Anyway, she said that scene kind of got stuck in her head, and when it came time for Dad to cut the umbilical cord, she yelled ‘cable detach’ like they did when they were tripping the walkers. And then she misspelled Caleb on my birth certificate. Dad thought it was so funny, he didn’t tell her until later. He joked I should be glad they didn’t name me Chewbacca instead.”
“Iloveit! That’s the corniest, cutest thing I’ve ever heard!”
“It’s ridiculous.”
“Yeah, but it’s sweet. I don’t even know if I have a middle name.” With her eyes downcast, she toyed with the edge of her sea-green sheets. “I thought about trying to find it, but then it seemed pointless.”
“Don’t be sad, you could have a stupid one like Cable.” Ethan bumped her with a shoulder.
Easing forward, Ivy moved until their faces were only a breath apart, slid her fingers into his hair, and slanted her lips over his, evacuating any traces of lingering anguish. Her upper body pressed against his, and she held him with surprisingly strong arms. She rained soft kisses to the corner of his mouth, along the line of his jaw, and Ethan wrapped his arms around her, needing her closer to him. Sighing, Ivy pressed her lips to his again and ran her fingers through his hair, tugging lightly and making a soft, pleased sound when he kneaded his hands into the tense muscles of her lower back. Her tongue slid against his, sweet like ice cream, and it waseverything.
Shewas everything.
When Ivy leaned back to look at him, her eyes went dark, the green-gold halo of her irises nearly eclipsed by her pupils. His breath caught in his throat as she reached to hook her thumbs beneath the band of her bra—
And promptly doubled over, nearly smacking their foreheads in the process as she groaned and wrapped her arms around herself. Shivering, she rolled off him and folded her body around a pillow.
“Do you want me to leave?” Ethan asked.
“No! Can you,” and then she mumbled under her breath, too low for Ethan to hear.
“Anything. What do you need?”
“Can you just hold me?”
Tears pricked Ivy’s lids again; she couldn’t believe Ethan came over for her. No, that was believable. It was unbelievable that she’daskedhim to stay when she was like this. Helpless. Miserable.Needy.
Groaning as the pain in her uterus tore through her with a wave of nausea, Ivy snuggled into the circle of Ethan’s arms as he settled deeper in her nest of pillows. He was sowarm.She tucked her head under his chin as he pulled her against his chest. He wrapped his arms around her anddamn he smells good,she thought.
Ethan’s cologne was sweet and salty and a bit citrusy, like golden sunshine and cerulean waves. Ivy nuzzled her face against his neck, letting out a long exhale, enjoying the closeness, and Ethan’s body relaxed against hers.
“Ethan?”
“Yeah?”
“Thanks.” Her voice sounded small.
“What for?”
Tipping her head back, Ivy gazed into his dark eyes.
“Everything? Bringing me food? Staying with me?”
His arms tightened around her.
“I do things for you because I like to. You know that, right?”
Tears filled her eyes. Having to take care of herself for so long with so little made asking for help nearly impossible. And her current state made it worse.
“Oh, shit, are you crying? Ivy?”
“This, whatever we are, is so new, and I don’t want to be the girl whohasto be taken care of, and I don’t want you to feel like youhaveto take care of me. I don’t want to be a burden.”
Ethan’s fingers were gentle but firm beneath her chin as he lifted her face to meet his eyes.
“Ivy. Sweetheart.” His eyes were a dark, earthy brown with a hint of forest green on the outer edges, but a lighter green and gold in the center, as they stared into hers. “You are not a burden. Iwantto take care of you. Will you let me?”
“I can’t promise it’ll be easy, but I’ll try.”
