Page 77 of The Rook’s Obsession

Her laugh comes out shaky. “I love you,” she says, like it surprises her. “I love you, and it terrifies me, and I don’t know what to do with it.”

“You don’t have to do anything with it,” I tell her. “It’s yours to carry. But you don’t have to carry it alone.”

She looks at me for a long time. Then she reaches out, takes my hand, and holds it. Not the way she held it on the bridge—tentatively, like she was trying it out. She’s holding it the way you hold something you’ve decided to keep.

“Okay,” she whispers.

“Okay?”

“Take me home.” She pauses, and when she speaks again, her voice is steadier. “Our home. Wherever that is. I don’t care, so long as you’re there.”

I bring her hand to my mouth and press my lips to her knuckles, and she lets me. “Our home,” I repeat. “I can work with that.”

Without warning, the jet drops in altitude, and it’s hard enough that my stomach feels like it’s in my throat. Ivy’s fingers dig into the armrests. She won’t admit it, but she hates flying.

The seatbelt sign dings overhead, and the captain’s voice comes over the intercom. Something about turbulence.

“Still scared of flying?” I ask.

“Not at all.” Her voice remains steady and controlled.

Lie.

Another drop. This time it’s rougher than before. I see the pulse ticking in her neck, her throat working, like she’s trying to force it down.

I cover her hand with mine, tracing back and forth with my thumb, slow and deliberate.

“I know exactly what will help.”

“Unless you can grow wings…”

I lean in close to her ear. “Do you trust me?” Her breath catches, the flecks of gold in her green eyes glistening.

“Yes,” she says without hesitation.

I lean in, pressing my lips to hers. It’s soft at first, the lightest brush. When she opens for me, I deepen it… tasting her, savoring every last bit. My hand finds her jaw, holding her there.

We hit turbulence again, causing the aircraft to shake under us. But right now, the only thing she’s thinking about is my tongue in her mouth, and the way I’m already hard against her hip.

“Feel that?” I murmur against her lips, grinding into her. “That’s what you do to me.”

She makes a sound, and I swallow it, kissing her harder, my thumb stroking her pulse where it flutters wild and fast. “Nick…”

“Quiet. Unless you’re going to tell me to stop. Do you want me to stop, Ivy?”

She shakes her head, arching into me instead. I smile against her mouth, knowing I’ve won.

“Mmm.” I nip at her bottom lip. “Bathroom. Now.”

I keep her tucked against me as we move through the cabin.

The small space is barely big enough for two people, but I don’t give a fuck. I lock the door, and my hands are under her thighs, lifting her onto the narrow counter before she knows what’s happening.

“Hold on to me.”

I push her skirt up, bunching it around her waist. “Spread your legs,” I tell her.

She listens, parting her thighs to reveal the black lace of her underwear. I drag my thumb over the damp fabric and feel her shudder. “Fuck, Ivy. You’re already wet for me.”