Page 15 of Corrupting Ivy

He’d never made himself wholly known, only just the feeling of eyes on me, enough to make me think I was imagining it all, aside from that one time on the street below. But he’d never made a move until now, and it was frightening. Within three weeks—or, at least, that was the timeline I’d put on it. Who knows if that’s how long he’d been watching me—he’d gone from a feeling to a full-blown nightmare set out to kidnap me. Whatever his intentions were, I was thankful Randall was there to scare him away.

I think—no, I know—I laid awake most of the night until sleep finally took over me with clammy hands and a pounding heart.

Now, as I lay in bed with the smell of coffee and bacon coming in through the floorboards, my stomach growled, and the fear I took to my dreams was no longer there. I had made it through the night without him doing anything. It would have been a shame to mess up his Adonis-like body with my baseball bat. Even though I’d never used the damn thing, I was confident I wouldn’t miss.

I stretched my muscles, raising my hands over my head and pointing my toes to a painful point. The ache in my ass from the pea-sized rock I’d landed on sent dull pain radiating down to my knee. I released the breath I’d held with a sudden collapse of my chest, then sat up and frowned.

The couch was empty, and he was no longer there. During the night or morning, whichever, he’d gotten up and folded the afghan—the one that partially covered his hulking frame—then left. I had slept so soundly I didn’t even hear him, which meant even if I had slept with the bat in my hands… it wouldn’t have mattered.

Smart, Ivy.

I glanced at the clock. It was half past seven, and my shift at the diner was about to start.

With a groan, I threw the sheets off my tanned legs, revealing my pretty turquoise nail polish. I always felt like a different person with them painted. If it didn’t chip on my fingers, I would have painted them too, but they were just too much to maintain.

The cold wood floor met my feet as I made my way to the restroom, then opened the door while rubbing the sleep from my eyes.

A thick blanket of humidity filled the room, causing the air to catch in my lungs. And then I saw him, standing before me, naked as the day God made him. He see-sawed the towel down his back, soaking up the tiny beads of water droplets leftover from his shower. I sat frozen in place, taking in the red-blooded man before me without shame. I’d already seen the front half of his naked torso, but the back was a sight to behold as well. A reaper inked in black, and gray adorned his back from shoulders to the sweet dimples just above his ass.

A frightening tattoo for a fearsome-looking man.

I disappeared into my mind while ogling his ass when he turned around, giving me a view of his thick, swelling cock hanging between his legs.

Is that?

My eyes bulged as I took in the two metal bars piercing the head of his cock. Four round silver balls created an outline of a cross around the head.

I’d seen nothing like it before, but of course, I’d only had one relationship, and he was my first for everything.

Randall cleared his throat, yanking me out of the sudden need to wrap my hands around him and feel his silky skin on my fingers.

My heart jumped, then stalled in my chest as my vision collided with his.

I pulled my hands up over my eyes, suddenly aware that he caught me wide-eyed, staring at his junk.

“Shit.... I uh…”

Without finishing my half-assed attempt to explain why he caught me staring at him, I turned to the right with my hands still covering my eyes.

Heat pricked my ears and cheeks as my mind screamed at me to crack my fingers and take another look at the monster hanging there. Instead, I kept walking and slammed my face into the wall.

My brain rattled around inside my skull, causing a dull ache to stick around. It was much too dangerous to walk around with my eyes closed. I rubbed my head, foregoing, shielding my eyes from his penetrating gaze, then walked past him and into the kitchen, where I pulled out my new affirmation for the day.

Silver foil scattered across my counter as I shaved it off the card with my not-so-lucky penny.

I’m brave enough to climb any mountain.

I snorted. “Not that mountain.”

“What mountain?” Randall asked while I shoved the card across the counter.

He stepped into my space, zipping up the jeans he wore yesterday, sans underwear, his chest still bare with small beads of water he’d missed. He’d shifted his silver-dusted hair to one side, showing his tapered sides.

His day-old beard made him look rugged and sexy—not that he needed a beard for that. His body screamed sex appeal. It seemed easier in the morning light to make out the fine details that carved his features. Features that had me itching to run my fingers down every bulge of muscle that lined his pectorals, ribcage, and abs that led down to a large vein running down the lower portion of his abdomen.

And then, there was something else I noticed in the light of day. Scars littered his upper arms and chest. Some were deep, others were thin and raised, but a tattoo of some sort covered each one.

“It’s, um… it’s nothing. How was your shower?” I asked, mentally slapping myself for being a bumbling nitwit in front of him. He was just a man, Ivy. You’ve interacted with them before.

---