Page 63 of Ivory's Ruin Romance

He turned and went into the kitchen. “We can eat on the couch if you like. Watch a movie. It’s been a long day, and you deserve to relax.”

Relax wasn’t what she wanted to hear at the moment, but he’d said the magic word, so she reached for the remote. “I know the perfect movie.”

Adrian returned with two plates in hand and set one on her lap. Her stomach growled at the sight—chicken piled over a bed of rice covered in thick, spiced sauce. She’d forgotten she never had lunch. “This looks amazing.”

“I should record you saying that and send it to my sister.” He grinned as he sat next to her, a boyish expression that she wouldn’t have expected but instantly wanted to see more of. “She’d be astonished that I cooked anything worthy of eating.”

Ivory laughed. But then the thought of meeting his family stuck in the forefront of her mind. Would that ever be a thing? Would he ever get to meet hers? “Has your family ever met your…arrangements before?”

“You mean, have any of them lasted long enough to meet my family? No. But I want you to.” He leaned over and kissed her, fizzling out all her thoughts except that one word.

Want. It felt good, skating over her skin and diffusing into giddy excitement. “Does that mean I’m one of them now?”

He took the remote and brushed his thumb over her knuckles. “I don’t want you to see yourself as just another arrangement. I want both of us to think of what we want out of a relationship and discuss it before going too far. I should have been more open with you from the beginning, and I’m not going to make the same mistake.”

She nodded. That sounded like a good start.

He continued, “I put a lot of new information on your shoulders today, and you had enough stress to deal with already. I understand if you don’t want to go into this until I’m in a better place—”

“No, it’s…I want it.” They’d kept their distance long enough. By now, all of her concerns had been answered.

His lips twitched. “I thought you’d say that. How about we talk things over this weekend? It gives you time to get your thoughts together. Plus, there’s something I want to show you on Saturday.”

“Oh?” She perked up.

“It's a surprise.” The grin on his lips took form, curling with a secret she was desperate to discover.

She decided she liked surprises, especially ones from him. “Okay. I can do that.”

“Good.” He turned back to the TV and pulled up the selection screen. “Now, what movie did you pick?”

“Don’t laugh,” she mumbled, scooping up some food.

“Why would I?”

“I picked it because the hero reminds me of you.”

THIRTY

“Are you asleep?” Adrian whispered as he turned off the TV.

Her eyelids refused to open—each must’ve weighed at least ten pounds—and the comfort of Adrian’s chest felt better than the plushest pillow as it rose and fell under her head. “Mmm, no,” she mumbled. “I think I will be soon, though.”

“Do you want to borrow something comfier?” he asked. “You don’t have to sleep in those clothes.”

She smiled, in love with the thought of wearing anything that belonged to him, but doubted her limbs would cooperate enough to change. “No, it’s okay. I’ll stay like this.”

His couch felt perfect, especially with him in it. She must be the luckiest girl on the planet, fed, warm, and cared for.

“All right, if you say so.” Her chest pillow shifted, and to her disappointment, he slowly untangled himself. She clung to the blanket with the little strength her body had left, not wanting to lose that, too. A sleepy haze washed over her mind, and she became faintly aware of the bathroom faucet running in the background. Then, the hinge of the bedroom door creaked before everything faded to black.

“Time for sleep,” her knight whispered, watching over her even in the realm of dreams. A set of arms scooped her up, and she blinked back into consciousness.

“Where are we going?” she asked.

“To bed, silly.” He didn’t look down at her, too busy navigating in the near dark, but she stared up at his face all the same. The sharp angle of his jaw was jagged in the shroud of night, his stubble outlining two perfectly shaped lips and the slender rise of his cheekbone, feathered with thin stripes of his eyelashes. The solid hardness of his arms banded around her, but his strength didn’t come as a surprise.

“I thought—” She paused, focusing to remember correctly. “I thought you don’t bring girls into your bedroom.”

---