My lips curl into a forced smile. “Yeah, I know.”
I glance at JJ as I pass, and he stands back as I mount the stairs and walk to the bathroom before filling the tub. The second I slip beneath the scalding water, I release a low groan along with the tension in my muscles.
I lay here for what feels like hours, until the water goes cold and I’m numb again.
CHAPTER 48
JJ WOODFORD
The door to my room opens, and my gaze shoots to the sound as it creaks. A small figure appears in the doorway, and I shuffle up in my sheets as I spot Ivy as she steps inside.
“Hey,” I whisper as she shuts the door behind her. “Are you okay?”
She says nothing but walks straight to my bed as I scoot to the edge. I can barely see her through the dimness of my bedroom, but I can tell that her body language is off from earlier, which I expected it to be.
She wanted space, and I gave her space.
I wrap my arms around her waist, and she drops her head to mine, pressing her lips to my mouth swiftly. The kiss is quick, and it makes my head spin, but I don’t want her doing anything when I know she’s not one hundred percent in herself. But this isn’t a good night kiss, this is much,muchmore.
“Wait.” I pause against her skin, my hands sliding down her back slowly. “I’m not going to take advantage of you when you’re like this.”
Ivy whimpers against me and kisses me again, this time harder. She opens my mouth with her tongue, and I groansilently at the touch and taste.Everything.She has my skin rising in goosebumps.
“Ivy,” I say, deeper. “Are you okay?”
She nods once. “Yeah, I just want to be close to you.”
“Are you sure?”
I don’t want to deny her what she wants, but at the same time, I don’t want to encourage her in this emotional state.
She pulls away and stares at me through the darkness. “Let me do this,” she pleads. “I need you. I need this. I need to know that this is real, right now.”
I tug her down onto my lap, her thighs straddling my own. My lips press to her bare shoulder. “Everything between us is real, princess,” I whisper against her warm skin. “It always has been. From the moment I saw you. I knew you were going to be mine.”
A sound falls from her lips as she moves my face to take my mouth again. This time, she pushes me back, and I allow her. I promise myself one thing: I’m not going to be rough. I’m going to give her everything she needs right now.
Real fucking love.
I brush my fingers along the hem of her crop top, tugging gently. “Can I take this off?”
“Please,” she begs.
I hook my fingers underneath and tug it off her body in one swift movement. I drop it to the floor and run my hands over the backs of her thighs and the curve of her ass. The shorts she’s wearing do nothing to cover her but I fucking love it. Her skin feels euphoric beneath my fingers.
She grinds her core down onto my crotch and I groan into her mouth, clutching the back of her head with one hand and the other firmly on her ass. Blood rushes through my body until I feel myself getting harder. She barely has to do anything for me to get it up.
“More, please,” she says breathlessly. “I need you to touch me.”
I clasp my arm around her waist and roll her onto her side, pressing her back into my bed. I cover her body with mine and lower my head down to her chest, pressing soft kisses over her scar and erect nipples.
Her dainty fingers slide down the back of my head, gripping my neck. I latch onto the waistband of her shorts. “Can I take these off, too?”
“JJ,” she moans aloud, but she sounds frustrated. “Stop being so gentlemanly and just touch me. I can’t stand another second withou?—”
Before she finishes her sentence, I tug off her shorts. Now she’s in nothing but a tiny thong as I trace the outside of the material.
“Thank you.” She throws her head back to the sheets.
