Page 62 of Ace of Shadows
“Then what’s the problem?”
“Ivy…” How do I tell her? How do I find the words to explain that my growing feelings for her scare me? That they run deeper than a physical attraction to her beauty?
I’m utterly attached to her strength and her little smile when she thinks no one’s looking, her tender heart when she made it her mission to make Cassian feel better, her thoughtfulness that floods her mind as she tries to make everyone happy. She’s soft, despite her pain, and every time she looks at me, I feel an urge to stand a little straighter, smile a little wider andbea little better.
I can’t tell her any of that, though.
“Well?” She glares at me, her grip unwavering on my shirt.
“I’m not going to be a pity fuck for you that you’ll regret in the morning because you’re feeling low,” I say. “I’m worth more than that. We both are.”
Her lips part, but rather than letting go, she steps closer to me until all I can breathe in is her soft, cotton scent.
“I know. I don’twanta pity fuck. I want you to fuck me exactly how you want to because out of this whole, entire mess, the only good thing I have left is you. Don’t you see? I don’t want you to grant me a pity fuck like I’m some sad little girl. I know you like me. I see you watching me, and I like you too. Everything you’ve done for me, even now being by my side… you can’t tell me you don’t feel that this is so much more.”
Her chest heaves as she talks, and when she steps forward once more, I relax my grip.
“I want to feel good. I want you to fuck me like the man you are. I want to turn my brain off and melt into something that only exists between us. And I know I won’t regret a thing in the morning. So fuck me, Ruslan. Fuck me and make me forgeteverything.”
If I were a stronger man, I’d need more persuading.
I’m not a strong man, not when she’s right in front of me with wide eyes, pouty lips, and a sinful demand.
“Fine,” I reply. “But remember you asked for this.”
20
IVY
Nothing matters.
Not the grief in my heart. Not the anger in my mind. Not the stress tightening my muscles to the point of pain.
Nothing matters but Ruslan’s mouth crashing against mine as he shoves me up against the wall, pinning me there with his solid body while his hands roam up my sides and pull my shirt up at the same time.
He told me I asked for it, and I did.
I couldn’t stop myself.
He was talking andtalking, standing there with the wind gently ruffling his hair and his face full of soft sympathy, like he was trying to connect with me. On some level, I wanted him to, but the more he talked, the more my thoughts drifted from words to action.
I need something.
I need to feel something other than this cavern inside me, and he’s the only one who can give it to me.
My heart lurches as our kiss breaks and my T-shirt’s dragged over my head and discarded somewhere on the bedroom floor. His hands return to my body, and a shiver rocks through me as his rough palms caress my ribs up to my bra.
Those hands have surely seen so much to be as rough as this, and it thrills me now they’re on my skin. I try to grasp his neck and pull him back in for a kiss, but Ruslan catches my wrist and pins my arm to the wall above my head. It’s so sudden that I arch off the wall into him so his other hand snakes around my waist. He pulls our hips flush together and I feel it.
The thick ridge between his legs.
His cock, hard after just a few kisses.
Excitement bubbles up through my chest and I grin just as he claims my mouth in another hard kiss. I cup his cheek with my free hand while his teeth sink into my lower lip, then we break apart and I’m left gasping against the wall.
Only for a second.
Ruslan’s arm around my waist anchors me to him when he steps away, and he lifts me up off the ground. I squeal in alarm, clutching at his shoulders as I’m thrown through the air and onto his bed. He crawls over the top of me and devours my mouth in a series of heated kisses broken only by the removal of his own t-shirt.
