Page 61 of Ivory's Ruin Romance

“All right.” She leaned into his shoulder, eyes fixed on their hands. “As long as we find a way.”

“I’ll try. But I’m serious, Iv.” He turned her chin to face him. “No matter what plan we come up with, the moment you tell me to stop, I will. I’m counting on you to say something before I go too far.”

She nodded. “I will.”

“Promise me.”

“I promise.” She began to roll her eyes but stopped halfway and bit her lip.

He pulled it free and ran his thumb along her jaw. “Good.”

She held her breath, perfectly still under his touch. Perfectly obedient. Perfect in every way and then some. Dipping his head so their noses brushed, he inhaled her taste and let it tingle on the tip of his tongue. Let it override everything else on his mind until there was only Ivory. Then he closed the gap. Her lips melted like sprinkled sugar, sweeter than he remembered.

Fingers twisting into his hoodie, she pulled him closer as he deepened the kiss. This time, it wasn’t rough or crazed but passionate and scorching, leaving a brand that cut to the very core. There was no part of her that didn’t belong to him. No crime against her that would go unanswered. No hole in her heart that he wouldn’t fill.

Her spine arched, and he pulled her onto his lap, pushing his fingers under her shirt and stretching them against her stomach. She shuddered underneath his touch.

He chuckled, leaving a sharp nip on her lips. “Next time you try to roll your eyes, I won’t let you get away with it. You’re lucky all I want is to enjoy being next to you until we have a proper discussion.”

She sighed and snuggled into him after a few more lingering kisses. “And when will that be?”

“Soon,” he answered. Things were already so different with her, but he still wanted to do it right. He always went over rules and limits before getting involved.

The light from outside had grown even darker. Outside, the snow started to drift against the porch door. “Hey,” he said, breaking their momentary silence. “I don’t think I’ll be able to drive you to the dorms in this storm.”

“I know,” she replied. “I don’t want to go back anyway, not yet. Is it okay if—” She paused, then hid her face.

“You’re more than welcome to stay here if you’d like,” he offered, answering her half-spoken question. As if he’d let her stay anywhere else.

“Thanks,” she hummed, a smile peeking out as she looked at him through her lashes.

“In that case, let me put some food together,” he offered. “Did you eat lunch?”

“No,” she mumbled. “But I can cook. It’s the least I can do for letting me stay the night. What do you have on hand?”

“I’m cooking,” he affirmed in a tone that left no room for argument. “Let me take care of you for a change. Besides, you enjoy being taken care of.”

“No,” she protested, voice muffled in his arm as she shrunk into him. “I’m the one who enjoys taking care of others, remember?”

He knew all too well how insistent she could be. “I never said you didn’t, but if you spend all your energy watching over everyone else, who’s there to watch over you?”

She huffed, then stretched out and put her legs up on the couch. “Okay, fine. I should plug my phone in and see if I missed anything important. Do you have an extra charger?”

“Yeah, let me grab it.” He started to get up, but her weight kept him from moving more than an inch. He smiled. “In a few minutes.”

She groaned, snuggling into him again. “Yeah. In a few minutes.”

TWENTY-NINE

An hour later, chicken simmered on the stove, and its delicious aroma wafted from the kitchen. Snow fell out on the balcony in thick flakes, but the apartment felt cozy, lit by a warm hue from the table lamp next to the couch.

Ivory tightened the blanket around her shoulders, one Adrian had pulled off his bed and stared at her phone screen. His scent washed over her, smooth, rich, and spicy. But distress knotted her insides.

She hadn’t expected to see anything when her phone turned on. It’d only been off for a few hours, and people rarely texted her anyway…but it turned out those few hours were more important than she’d thought.

Three missed calls from her mom.

If that didn’t have her sweating, it was followed by a text that sunk her spirits to a new low, accompanied by a screenshot of her latest profile picture. The one with her purple witch hair.

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