Page 32 of Brightness

We move off as another set of footsteps echo through the Chamber. We both turn as Eva strides toward us.

“Void’s in a good mood,” she states.

I scoff, turning to continue with my work. “Not my problem.”

“If one of the brothers is having a mental breakdown all the time, and the common denominator in their breakdown is you, then yeah, Ivy, it’s your problem.”

I throw my hands in the air. “What am I supposed to do? I try talking to him, he shuts down. I let him talk to me, he shuts down. I ignore him, he shuts down. There’s only so much I can do.”

Eva’s eyes shift to Dash, who’s trying to appear busy, ignoring our conversation. “Try. Fucking. Harder. You have a connection, Ivy. Hell, everyone’s seen it. Void’s not like that with anyone else the way he is with you.”

“Maybe he should be the one to try harder, then, ’cause I’m sick of being the one always trying. I’ve been fighting all my life, Eva. I’m tired of fighting. You, of all people, should understand that.”

Eva exhales. “I get it. But tell me this… is Void worth fighting for? Search deep down, because you know the damn answer.”

I peer over my shoulder at Dash, who’s stopped working and is invested in the conversation, clearly listening in. Turning back, I grab Eva and spin her toward the exit. “I have work to do. Can we catch up later?”

Eva chuckles. “You trying to get rid of me?”

“I’m trying to get rid of this conversation.”

“Okay, I’m going. But this topic is not closed, Ivy.”

“Bye, hermana.”

Dash glances over, and with a slight snicker, says, “Siblings, huh? They wanna know all your shit.”

I groan. “This Old Lady business is going to her head. She’s always been in charge, but now it’s giving her even more of a reason to boss me around.”

“You don’t seem the submissive type. I see you more as the take-the-bull-by-the-horns type.”

“Exactly. I like being in control. It’s not easy for me to give that up.”

“Well, I, for one, like it when you take charge. You bossing me around gives me the tingles.”

I snort out a laugh and shove him playfully.

Dash might be an idiot, but at least he’s not an asshole.

Chapter Nine

VOID

After I woke up to Ivy’s hand down my pants, I nearly lost fucking control. The urge to pin her to the bed and fuck her like a damn madman washed over me in such a fierce adrenaline rush that all I could see was red.

In a flash, it could have gone either way.

For me to revert to the man I once was.

But seeing her gorgeous, innocent face pulled me back and woke me from my past.

Usually, I wouldn’t be concerned about it happening with a woman. They might understand, they might not. Hell, some even get turned on by it. But the first time I take Ivy, I need to be gentle, and honestly, I don’t know if I fucking have it in me.

Her first time would be better with someone like Dash. A man who can be attentive to her needs. Not someone like me, too far fucking gone to give Ivy the first she deserves.

I take another sip, straight from the bottle. A quarter of the Jack Daniel’s whiskey now seeps through my veins. I’ve been here a while. Idiot. I shouldn’t have left Ivy the way I did. I shouldn’t have spoken to her the way I did. But if I hadn’t left, I would have done something I’d regret even more, and then she would never forgive me. As it is, it took me forever to deal with the hardcore fucking boner I had from her almost touching me.

The thought of her hands on me—goddamn! I clench my eyes, trying to stop my mind from wandering off again. Ivy tears me apart in all the right ways. She doesn’t understand the effect she has on me.

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