Page 18 of Dangerous Play

“There’s no need to thank me… anyone would have done what I did,” I replied, despite witnessing the opposite. All of them were snakes.

Ivy let out a little snort. “You can say what you think.”

“I’m too upset for that,” I shut down the idea immediately. My hands gripped the steering wheel with such force that I was surprised it didn’t break off.

I never thought of myself as a nice guy. Not since the whole Thalia mess blew up in my face and I had to triple check every word leaving my mouth and guard myself from anything that could cause me harm. I was direct and curt with girls setting strict boundaries.

But I never thought I would become someone’s hero.

Yet, the way she looked up at me, sparkle lighting up her sad tear-filled eyes, I knew I walked into this one deep.

“What were you doing there?” Ivy asked.

I sighed. “I was going to talk to you… about your proposal… but I guess I’m a bit too late.”

“I mean.” She shrugged, turning to face the window. “We could still say we are friends. Pass it off as accident.”

I knew damn well small towns and rival colleges did one thing best. Gossip.

There was no way I was making it back to my house before my team found out where I was. The shitshow that waited for me only made my pounding headache worse.

“We could set some ground rules, yes. If we are going to do this whole fake dating thing.”

Ivy bit into her lower lip, and a faint smile tugged on her lip. “Thank you. Gosh, I would have jumped in joy if you said this yesterday. Now… I feel awful for dragging you into this.”

“I have my reasons why I need it,” I said slowly. “But I want to have this conversation in my room with my full attention on you. Two more minutes and we are there.”

She nodded, sinking into the seat.

“Ivy.” I glanced at her. “I’m taking you to the Titans’ home.”

“I know. Can’t be worse than the Lion’s den we just left.”

Maybe not for her, but I just brought trouble to our doorsteps.

CHAPTER FIVE

MAX

“Kissing only in public,”Ivy said. I parked a street away from my house, not wanting to throw her to the wolves before we even knew how to handle the situation. We sat in my car, the indoor space feeling a bit suffocating and her jasmine scent tickling my nose with every little move she made. “Just when it’s needed, otherwise we can rely on PDA. You good at that?”

“The best.” I flashed her a cocky smile. “Trust me, my hands will be all over your body, baby.”

Ivy mimicked a gag, and I laughed. “Yeah… I think I became immune to that kind of talk.”

“No worries, I’ll be fully respectful.” I winked, before I propped my foot up on the car door pocket. “That leads me to my point, not that you do that, but what’s mine is mine. No flirting and no cheating. You have an agenda with someone, fill me in. I can be a jealous boyfriend.”

“That I heard.”

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. I was an obsessed little puppy when it came to Thalia, and I took my jealousy to awhole other level. But she quickly matched my psycho level, and everyone forgot my possessiveness. Or so I thought.

Love was supposed to make you feel calm, levelheaded and safe. Not possessed and obsessed.

And I was done with the toxic love.

“Just for my image,” I explained. “Don’t want to be dragged into any drama with you cheating and people messing with my game because of that. Let’s keep it mutually respective.”

“Are you a business major? You sound like you are conducting a business arrangement.”

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