Page 27 of Unravel Me

“Then you’re coming back to my place.”

“Why are you here? How are you here? I thought you would hate me . . .” her voice breaks and her eyelashes flutter as she looks at me through gorgeous, watery eyes. There’s a sharp pain in my chest, the ache she caused forever present.

“Baby. Right now, I’m holding you in my arms. Something I always hoped I would have the privilege of doing again. Trust me, there will be plenty of time to talk.”

She gives me a partial smile, her lips turning up on just one side as she shrugs her shoulders. My heart and mind are racing to keep up with the situation. I can’t help but rub my hands up the length of her arms and over her shoulders until I’m cupping her face, just like I used to.

“I mean it, Ivy.” I pull her face toward mine and she follows, her eyes glancing down at my lips. Her breath hitches right before I press against her soft, supple lips. I kiss her tenderly, just lips, but the heat is still a raging inferno between us and pleasure races down my spine. I don’t linger, I just need to feel her again. I break away before I’m ready to, knowing that this heating up isn’t what either one of us needs right now. Nor do I know if she even wants me like that. She could have a husband for all I know. But I’m a selfish bastard and I needed to feel her again.

She rests her forehead against mine and we sit in silence, sharing air.

“You aren’t staying here, Ivy. Not if you don’t want to.”

“I don’t have a choice, Sawyer. There’s . . . a lot. I . . . I’m fine. Okay? I’m fine. Just have a lot to deal with. And the house. I just, I hate it here.”

She starts to climb off of me and I’m not having any of that shit. I hold her firmly in place by her thighs and then gently grab her chin, forcing her to look at me. Her eyes are filled with unshed tears and whatever part of my heart was just returned to me fucking breaks.

“I don’t care. Not about what you’ve done, where you’ve been, or what’s going on. Right now, all I care about is that you’re here and that you’re hurting and alone. If you think I’m going to walk away and leave you sleeping in an empty house, in a sleeping bag on a couch, you are sorely mistaken.”

I wait patiently while she considers her options. She pulls her bottom lip into her mouth and bites down, making my cock twitch under her. Fuck. I can’t help this pull between us. Her every move, every breath, is like a thousand arrows piercing my heart. It’s foreign, after going so long feeling empty. Releasing her chin, I swipe my thumb against her sweet lip, setting it free from the hold between her teeth. A part of me knows I should resist, fight against these overwhelming emotions to protect what pieces of myself I have left, but I can’t. She’s the only one in the world who can make me feel alive, make me forget about everything else but us. I selfishly want to be with her, to hold her close and never let her go. The fear that my undying love for this woman will only lead to pain again is drowned out by the desire to do everything I can to see her smile. I can’t help but be drawn to her, like a moth to a fucking flame.

Chapter 11

IVY

My brain hasn’t caught up to what’s happening. Sawyer ishere.My Sawyer.

At first I thought I was hallucinating. The sound of the door banging against the wall and quick footsteps heading in my direction still ring in my ears as the fear ebbs away. I assumed the worst since Reid and Zoe are the only ones who know I’m here. Nothing could have prepared me to see Sawyer standing in front of me, his face just as shocked as mine. The air left my lungs at the sight of him.

“Hi, butterfly.”His deep voice and his name for me replay on a loop.

I shake my head and look into his gorgeous eyes. He’s changed so much, but his eyes are still those deep crystal-blue I used to get lost in. His rich brown hair is trimmed close at the sides and styled longer on top. He has facial hair that’s kept short, and his body has gone from that of an athletic, skinny teenager to a very fit, muscular man. He looks so different, but it’s those gorgeous eyes that stayed the same, only sadder, almost lost.

“We’re going. Now,” he declares.

Sawyer stands while still holding me firmly to his body. My legs wrap around his waist, and I collapse again into his chest and shoulder, taking a deep inhale. He smells like fire, cedar and something slightly sweet, it’s a comforting caress as I fill my lungs with him. It reminds me of safety, comfort, and love. The things that are so very specific tohim.Things I haven’t felt in another person in so long.

He holds me with one arm wrapped around my bottom and bends to grab my phone and purse before heading to the front of the house. He walks us into the evening and shuts the door.

“As much as I enjoy carrying you, you need to get a helmet on.” He slides me down his body when I realize we’re standing in front of a gorgeous motorcycle. I don’t know anything about them, but it’s beautiful. The boy I knew had an adventurous side. He loved to snowboard all winter long and surfed in the summer. The motorcycle fits him perfectly.

He grabs the helmet that’s sitting on the seat and puts it on my head before adjusting the clasp and securing it.

“A bit big, but we’ll get you your own. This’ll do for now.”

I watch as he swings his leg over the monstrosity. He sits on the bike, kicks up the stand, and gets comfortable before looking at me. Even through the haze of my emotions, the sight of him sitting on it does something to me. Warmth trickles down my spine and my traitorous pussy is screaming at me in remembrance of him. Our height difference puts us about eye toeye now and I must look like a fool just staring numbly at him. At least he has no idea how wet he just made me. The simple act of him sitting on a motorcycle does more to light up my body than anything else in the last decade. Except for maybe this afternoon when I met Reid.

Because, of fucking course.

“Get on the bike, Ivy.”

I glance up at the house and know that I don’t want to go back in. The lonely memories of growing up there are too thick.

Of watching my mother wilt at the hands of my father.

Her words of advice to me to never sacrifice my dreams for a man.

Of knowing that she had to grow up too young and died before she ever got the chance to really live.

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