Page 62 of Ivory's Ruin Romance

Adrian walked in from the kitchen, hair in a messy bun and holding one of the flavored margaritas she liked so much. But instead of perking up at the sight, she looked down at her lap.

“Everything okay?” he asked, setting the drink beside her.

“Yeah,” she said but then shook her head. She couldn’t lie to him.

Fitting himself into her cocoon, he wrapped her in his arms. That simple touch cast away some of her dismay, no longer stranded in a tower without a knight to save her. “What happened?”

She sighed. “I missed a call from my mom while everything happened earlier. Then she sent this.”

She showed him the screen.

Mom

Too busy to answer a call from your mother, I see. I hope that means you’re studying and not fooling around—especially not with whoever convinced you to do this to your precious hair! We are going to talk about this.

Adrian’s brows knit as he read the message. “Iv, she shouldn’t guilt you for dying your hair, even if she doesn’t approve. Does your mom really think you’d neglect your studies when you’ve been working so hard to do well?”

She shrugged. “I don’t mind her worrying about my studies. She’s always been that way. I just don’t know how to tell her I needed a change. Or explain that it was my idea in the first place. She wouldn’t get it.”

“She doesn’t have to get it. It’s not her choice to make,” he said. “If she reacts this way to a photo, I can understand how bringing it up would be hard. Has she always pressured you so much?”

“Mom pressures everyone.” She didn’t mean it as an accusation. That was just the way things were. She rested her head on Adrian’s shoulder. “It’s because she sees potential in me, and it’s pushed me to be a lot better than I would have been otherwise.”

“I assume you haven’t told her about Jace, and she wouldn’t understand why you couldn’t answer the call.”

She shook her head. “No, my family are the last people I’d want to know. Mom would…” She cut herself off. If her mom knew all the details, she’d be outright disowned. Her straight-laced Ivy League ex had been the only kind of guy her parents approved of. Not that she would vouch for Jace, but the things she’d asked for, or the reason she’d entertained him in the first place…

Her mom would blow a gasket if she knew the kind of things her daughter wanted in a relationship. Cutsie girl talk had never been a part of their dynamic.

“I don’t want them to see me as a failure,” she whispered into Adrian’s sleeve. “Not that the color of my hair matters, but I’ve never been able to bring home first place or win a scholastic competition or been good at literally anything other than taking up space.”

“Ivory.”

She looked up, eyes beginning to swell with the threat of another round of tears.

“You’re good at a lot of things.” He leaned over, caging her in with his arms. His stance left no room for her insecurities, and her frantic heart slowed down. She sucked in a deep breath. He leveled his gaze to hers. “You may not see the value in who you are—in everything you do—but I’ve seen it. You’re smart and strong and sexy and one of a kind. There’s a million reasons why I don’t want to be with anyone else.”

The gold ring around his pupils gleamed before he ducked his head, lips skimming along her neck. “When I think about making you mine, it drives me wild. Not because I want the sex—I want that too, in every way imaginable—but more than anything, I want you.”

Her pulse heated against his mouth, the rough scratch of his stubble igniting her senses.

“One day, I’m going to make sure you never question yourself again,” he whispered.

With him, she believed it. He could make her feel things no one else had, help her see things no one else could. Nothing seemed out of reach in his arms. Her deepest desires weren’t a threat anymore, rather a promise. He made her entire being come to life, and instead of guilting her for trivial things, he praised her for earnest qualities.

She turned into his touch, wanting to drown in it until the only air left to breathe was what he granted her.

The kitchen timer dinged, and she nearly jumped out of her skin. Adrian let out a low, rumbling chuckle. “Talk about being saved by the bell.”

She exhaled, heart pumping out of control. “Yeah…” Her voice dissolved into a trembling mess, and she steadied herself. “Except this time, I’m not sure I wanted to be saved.”

“Don’t worry, sweetheart,” he groaned into her shoulder. His teeth grazed up her neck, then sunk into her earlobe. “You won’t be safe for long.”

She shivered, and he pulled back with a darkness in his eyes that could devour her whole. “Time to eat.”

She gulped, nodding. “Yeah.”

A grin curled his lips—predatory like his appetite had brought him to the brink of starvation—and she was his next meal.

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