Page 69 of The Bonds of Nyx

Her hand left my shoulder and moved under my chin. She forced my face up so our eyes could meet. “What’s going on, Rowan?” she asked quietly. “What happened?”

The fear in her eyes was clear as day to read. I wanted so badly to wash it away, but I froze.

Like the fucking coward I was, I froze.

Ivy’s eyes darkened with disappointment, and she dropped her hand. “You won’t talk to me, will you? Why get into bedthis morning, and then sneak out without a word? What do you want, Rowan?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” I asked, bitterness edging my words.

Her brows furrowed, and she shook her head. “I honestly don’t know.”

I dropped her stare and looked away, the calmness of the forest capturing my attention. There was a stillness to the trees, a peace that seemed so foreign to me right now.

“Adrian said you two talked. He mentioned I should come see you.” Her voice was strained and sad. That same guilt from earlier crashed through me. “I know it was hard for him to tell me that because of our bond. So that meant he knew something. And you know something.”

My eyes shuttered closed, and I sighed. “I’m sorry.”

“Stop saying you’re sorry!” Her voice cracked. “Just…what do you want, Rowan? Do you want me to leave you alone? Because I will. I’ll give you anything right now if you say that’s what you want. But please, just tell me.”

I pressed my lips into a firm line.Step up. That’s what Adrian had said—what Wolfy had told him to do. I could step up, make the first move, and test the waters of a potential mate bond. Or I could freeze and lose her forever.

My heart ached, and so did my magic. I’d never felt my magic like I did when she was around. For the first time in years, the visions—the future and everything that came with it—was quiet. Peaceful.Shegave me that.

I felt the burn of her stare on the top of my head.Step up.

Now was the time to prove I wanted her—more than I’d wanted anything before.

Her shaky sigh shattered something within me, and before I could think it through, I threw my arms around her middle and buried my face into the softness of her belly. Ivy made a startledsound, but she combed her fingers through my hair without hesitation.

We stayed like that for several minutes. I breathed in her scent and wished she was thoroughly doused in my own. It was a primal want that surprised me, but I held back on voicing it. Instead, I focused on how her nails grazed my scalp, of the soft tugs on my hair, on the way her magic rose around us in a gentle hum.

Maybe that was the proof I needed, the hope I was searching for.

Finally, I pulled back, though I didn’t release her fully. I skimmed the line between appropriate and inappropriate with the brush of my fingers over the hem of her pants. Any lower, and I’d be holding her ass in my hands, feeling the softness of her flesh in my own palms.

My cock twitched to attention, hardening in my pants. I couldn’t help the depraved thoughts running through my head. Of her tits in my mouth, their weight in my hands. Of her thighs wrapped around my head while I tasted her for hours on end.

Ivy’s cheeks flushed red, almost like she could see my thoughts, but she said nothing as she brushed her fingers through my hair again. “What are we doing, Rowan?”

“We’re…cuddling,” I decided, tightening my hold on her.

A half-smile played at her lips. “Are we?”

I nodded. “We will be…as soon as you get into my bed.”

Hesitation played in her eyes, her smile turning fragile as she looked towards the door. “I haven’t checked on the children yet.”

My hold on her slackened. “It’s okay if—”

“No.” She shook her head and turned back to me. “No, they’re okay for now.”

My heart stuttered a beat. I knew her time was precious right now. Her main priority this last week had been her sisters. But she was giving me a fraction of her time.

“Come on, then,” I murmured, thickness coating my words. “Even if it’s only ten minutes, I’ll take whatever time you give me.”

Her gaze softened. I untangled my arms and scooted back onto the bed until my back was against the headboard. She took a moment, wringing her hands, before crawling up beside me.

“Lie down, beautiful.”

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