The daylight hours drained me, my mind spinning around and around. Heart trembling constantly as war raged within. By the time darkness enveloped the city, I was weak and worn out, no longer wanting to resist the incredible urge to find her for peace.
Yes, it was ironic. The very woman causing this war was also the only one who could offer a reprieve.
Behind me, a throat cleared, reminding me I wasn’t alone. Lowering my hand, I glanced back, the security guards offering bland, unapproving stares.
I didn’t care what they thought of me.
But Ivory… I cared too much. Which is why you shouldn’t be here.
Flexing my hand at my side, I debated another moment before rapping my knuckles against the wood.
There was no use in listening for the sound of her approach because she was so light and graceful that she never made a sound. My ears strained anyway, listening for even a hint of her, hungry for the faintest of echoes. The locks unlatched; the chain slid free.
Her body was illuminated from behind when she opened the door, hair so black it shone with a hint of blue. A long pale-pink robe was belted tightly at her waist, not offering a peek of what might be underneath.
She rested her eyes on mine for long moments, and a prickle of relief unclenched my heart. Stepping back, she granted access, and I slipped through the half-open door, pushing it closed behind us.
There was a ribbon in her hair, tied into a bow. The tails draped perfectly over her dark locks, and I desired to tug the ends and watch the fabric fall, whispering softly to the floor.
All that could be heard was the heaviness of our breath as we silently danced around each other without moving our feet. The days were so long, the nights incredibly short.
The dark-pink tip of her tongue peeked out, swiping over her lower lip.
I was on her in milliseconds, directing her backward until she was against the wall. The silk under my palms when I grasped her hips was smooth and slick, forcing me to hold her tighter.
The tongue she tempted me with moments ago disappeared, and I chased after, coaxing it out so ours could tangle and play. Stretching onto her tiptoes, Ivy opened a little wider, inviting me deeper.
Humming with greedy bliss, I moved to slide her up the wall, only to be halted by both of her palms. The smacking sound our lips made when she pushed me back was like a cold slap to my face.
“We need to talk first,” she said, words breathless, lips glistening with shared passion.
“Later.” I promised, lowering my face to hers.
Denying, her face turned so my nose brushed her cheek. “Is this all I am to you?” she asked, taking my moment of distraction to slip from between my body and the wall.
“What?” I asked dumbly, desire-ravaged brain trying desperately to catch up.
“Am I just a plaything for your desires, a place to spend your nights?”
Yikes.
I deserved that. I did. I also deserved the pain it caused. But even so, I argued. “That’s not fair,” I rasped, rubbing the back of my neck.
“And you leaving every morning before the sun comes up is?”
The small catch in her voice made me look up, made my heart clench. Hurt shone in her beautiful blue-hued eyes. I was hurting her.
Why doesn’t she understand how hard this is for me?
“What am I to you?” she asked, bold, her confidence shining through.
I felt the words more than I heard myself speak them. “You’re someone I want desperately but cannot have.”
“You never asked if you could have me.”
“Because it’s not you who denies me.”
We both fell silent, my words like a heavy weight.
“It’s all of me or none of me,” she finally said, raising her chin. “I’m not some cheap clearance item nobody else wants.”
“You mean Ethan?” I growled, jealousy fisting my hands at my sides.
“Ethan is my friend. Nothing more. Our parents might want us to get married, but Ethan is not who I want.”
I wanted to give in. I wanted to succumb so badly I actually took a step forward.
The hope that blossomed in her eyes hit me like a ton of bricks.
“We’re from two different worlds.” I reminded her.
“I don’t care.”
A harsh sound ripped from my throat. “Yeah, because you have everything to give, and I have nothing to offer.”
“All I want is your heart.”
Anger and frustration welled up inside me, creating so much pressure in my chest I felt like I might burst. “And I said I have nothing to offer.”
“Your heart is more available than you think,” she whispered.
“What the hell would you know about my heart?” I growled, then immediately regretted the words.
She didn’t even flinch, a princess staring down a dragon, her crown not even slipping. “I’ve seen it in your paintings, in the way you care for your sister. I saw it when you protected Fletcher at the bar and when you carried me home in the rain before you even knew my name.”
“Stop.” My voice was ragged, soul weary.
“And most of all,” she said, floating closer, “I’ve seen it in your eyes when you’re in my bed and inside my body.”
“I have to go,” I spat, boots stomping heavily toward the door.
“I know you’re scared. I am too. But I want you despite the fear. All of you, just not in the dark.”
My hand was shaking when it wrapped around the door handle.
“Don’t come back until you can give me what I want.” Her voice was so strong, and it made me feel even weaker.
“Then I guess I won’t be back.” I flung the words, not really wanting to hurt her, but hoping she might feel my pain.
“I’ll be waiting,” she whispered softly, promising she still wanted me despite my ire.
Refusing to look back, I bolted away from all her words and my desires. Fleeing into the night with the taste of her lip-gloss lingering on my lips.
53
Ivory
* * *
Another nightmare robbed me of sleep. Another night I reached for a man who’d left me alone.
I didn’t need him. I was capable and strong-willed. Able to make it on my own. So no, I didn’t need Neo. But I wanted him.
I couldn’t even be angry at the way he behaved because deep down, I understood. Perhaps if I hadn’t seen the man he truly was, perhaps if we hadn’t somehow lived a year in just a few days. If I hadn’t met his sister and heard his story…
But I did, and those things couldn’t be erased, not by a few harsh words or the way he ran so hot and cold.
So yes, I could understand his actions, but that didn’t mean I had to suffer for them.
A girl had to have standards and set a clear line. I knew my worth, and there was nothing wrong with charging full price. I paid full price for a lot of items that weren’t even as good as me.
Neo had to accept where I came from just like I had to accept where he was from. We were an unlikely match, but to me, it didn’t matter. It didn’t matter where you started out. It only mattered where you were going.
I wanted to go there with Neo.
I felt like he wanted that too, but fear held him back. I thought about the painting on his apartment wall, the car, the lack of color, and the angel wings. Death still had a hold on him, I wasn’t sure it would ever let him free.
I would wait just as I vowed.
Go on strongly despite the fear. The words my mother imparted were never far from my heart. So even though I would wait, even though I was afraid, I would go on.
I had a company to run, a new collection to organize, and there was also the matter of the man trying to kill me.
Or woman. More specifically, my stepmother.
Now that I was home from the short-lived exile and the most pressing tasks had been dealt with, it was time to meet. Time for me to look into her eyes and really ask myself if Audra was the type of woman
who would go as far as murder to get what she wanted.
But what did she want?
Didn’t she already have everything? I just couldn’t wrap my head around the gossip that she was behind this. Truthfully, though, bored, rich housewives were sometimes more perceptive than the FBI.
And not only that, but there was this… tingle somewhere inside me. A nagging intuition whispering that I actually knew the truth.
Sharp pain radiated from the base of my skull to throb behind my eyes. Inhaling sharply, I massaged my temples, shying away from the tendrils of darkness teasing my spine. The lurid dream that kept me awake half the night resurfaced with the headache, making me feel worse.
My palms turned clammy with the sense of foreboding rising within me like mist on a rainy night. Going into the kitchen, I reached for the small, rarely used bottle I actually never remembered until moments like these.
Yes, I’d had moments like this in the past, the beginnings of a panic attack. But usually, I was very good at distracting myself and keeping them away.
I very rarely needed the anxiety medication my doctor prescribed, but today was not that day. Taking out a small white tablet, I put it on my tongue and swallowed it down with a glass of cool filtered water.
“The stress of everything that has happened is getting to you.” I assured myself. “It’s nothing to be ashamed of.”
Insides still feeling heavy, I sat at the island, drawing in a deep breath. What I needed was a plan because if I had a plan, then I had a way to be in control.
How do you plan to control the fact that your wicked stepmother wants you dead?
Well, that was a very negative thought. It was also very alarming that my subconscious seemed convinced it was her behind the huntsman.
“Maybe start with something more manageable first.”
As the medication started to work, my muscles unclenched, proving how tight I’d been. The pain behind my eyes turned to a faint throb, making it easier to think.
I’d deal with Audra later.
First, though… I would say a couple good-byes.
54
Neo
* * *
An unfamiliar black SUV slid to the curb right in front of the Rotten Apple, shiny and out of place.
It was the kind of SUV that would make everyone in the Grimms suspicious some kind of drug raid or sting operation was about to go down.
Earth didn’t deal in drugs or allow them into his bar, so I knew it wasn’t that. It wasn’t happy hour, and he didn’t have any well-off investors.
That left only one thing.
One thing that I didn’t really need any of the above information to know because I felt it. I felt her even from all the way down the block.
Pressing up against a building, tugging my hood up to conceal my head, I stared, covertly waiting with intense anticipation to lay eyes on the girl I told myself I didn’t want to see.
I really should work on my habit of lying.
A man dressed in black trousers, a black dress shirt, and some kind of smart driving cap stepped from behind the wheel to jog around to the passenger side, opening the back door.
I cursed the tinted windows for delaying the vision I wanted. The first thing I saw was a pair of black heels stepping out onto the pavement, the soles of the shoes a vibrant shade of red. Fine-boned pale ankles stretched up, but the door blocked the rest of the package.
Moments later, she stepped from around the door, and everything else fell away.
Ivory White was dressed all in black, the above-the-knee dress showing off her pale legs and thin frame. One shoulder was exposed, the other covered with a wide black strap. Loose curls fell to her shoulders, swaying slightly in the breeze. Oversized round black sunglasses shielded her eyes, and her lips were her signature red.
The only color besides her lips came from a large satin cobalt-blue bow on her head.
She looks just like my painting.
The handles of an oversized black bag draped over her forearm, and she smiled warmly at the driver before pushing back some wayward hair.
I didn’t want her to smile like that at anyone but me.
Another man I hadn’t noticed until now got out of the passenger’s seat, stepping close. One of her security.
Rolling my eyes beneath the hood, I scoffed. Useless.
Surprisingly, she waved him off, but he didn’t move far, planting himself on the sidewalk right in front of the bar.
Surprise caused me to straighten off the wall when she didn’t head toward the side entrance leading up to the apartment. The sharp clipping of her heels against cement rang down the street, reaching my ears as she walked straight to the Rotten Apple door, pulling it open and disappearing inside.
I blinked. Blinked again.
What the hell was she doing?
55
Ivory
* * *
“We aren’t open yet,” the familiar gruff voice called, Earth not even turning around.
“As if I’d come here to drink anything,” I retorted, stopping in the middle of the empty bar.
Beneath the army-green T-shirt, he tensed, shoulder blades drawing together. Slowly, Earth abandoned his task, rotating with his usual grouchy look pasted firmly in place.
His ambiguous stare flicked over me from head to foot, taking in my appearance, then dismissing it to settle on my face. “I thought you went home.”
“I came to repay the kindness you showed me,” I said, scrunching up my nose. “Well, that some of you showed.”
He made a rude sound and went back to whatever he was doing behind the bar. “Neo ain’t here.”
My stomach dipped at the mention of Neo. It had only been a few days, but I missed him. The ache and longing only seemed to grow deeper as more time passed.
I didn’t come here to see him today. In fact, I came at a time I thought he might not be here. Regardless, disappointment still pinched my heart upon hearing he wasn’t home.
It is better this way.
“I’m not here for Neo.”
Pausing in his actions, Earth’s head tilted and then looked up. “Maybe if you were, he’d be in a better mood.”
“Is he okay?” I asked, knowing I shouldn’t.
He grunted and didn’t answer, which I thought was entirely rude. The sound of my heels was sharp against the floor as I closed the distance between myself and the bar, slapping a hand down on the top.
Instantly regretting it, I pulled back, making a face. “You should wash this.”
Funny how his eyes were as dark as Neo’s, but they didn’t have the same effect when leveled on me.
Tipping up my chin just a little more, I clenched my fingers around the handle on my bag. “I asked you a question.”
“And I didn’t answer it.”
“Just tell me if he’s okay,” I said, done with the passive-aggressive rapport we so easily fell into.
“If he wanted you to know, he’d tell you,” he replied, the words harsh but his voice quiet.
I supposed that was true. It hurt to hear, but I didn’t show it. My pain wasn’t something I wanted to show to Earth, and it wasn’t Neo’s responsibility to bear.
Opening up the black denim Prada tote over my forearm, I pulled out a white paper bag, setting it on the bar. “Even though you didn’t want me here, you didn’t push me out. I want to thank you for that, for giving me a place to stay when I had nowhere else to go.”
“I don’t want your gifts.” His voice was brusque.
“It’s for Snort,” I protested. “Surely, you wouldn’t rob your dog of a gift.”
His lips pursed, and I smiled. Turning, I caught the eye of my bodyguard still out on the sidewalk and motioned for him.
A few moments later, the man came inside, carrying a large box and setting it next to the bag.
“Thank you,” I told him.
He nodded and went back to his position outside.
“That for Snort too?” Earth asked, curious.
“It’s for the bar,” I said, gesturing for him to look inside.
The second the flaps were open, he made a sound, glancing up. Reaching in, Earth pulled out a familiar green bottle with the Perrier label across the front. His eyebrow rose. “Seriously?”
“It really is bad business to not have quality water. Now you have some,” I announced. Then, taking a chance, I said, “And maybe next time I visit, I’ll actually want to have a drink.”
“You aren’t welcome here.” The bottle made a light clinking sound when he pushed it back inside the case with the others.
Ignoring his foul attitude, I went around the bar, watching his eyes widen exponentially.
“Thank you, Earth. You have a terrible disposition and probably scare everyone you meet, but underneath it all, I think you are a good man.”
He took a step back. “No. I’m not. I’m rotten to the core.”
He really believed that. Maybe he was right.
I hugged him, slipping my arms around his waist and squeezing tight. He was so shocked he didn’t even push me away. He was like a vibrating live wire, standing there motionless as though he couldn’t believe I’d actually touch him.
Pulling back, I smiled up. “Rotten or not, I actually like you anyway.”
Genuine surprise filled his usually indecipherable eyes. It kinda made me proud that I could ruffle the feathers of a man as rigid as him.
“I have work to do,” he muttered, glancing away.
I could have sworn I saw a very faint blush fill the apples of his cheeks.
“Make sure you give that to Snort,” I called, heading for the stairs.
Peeking over my shoulder, I stole one last glance at him before disappearing out of sight. He was still standing there, unmoving, staring at the gifts I’d left behind.
Upstairs, I knocked and listened to all the shuffling of someone approaching the door and then turning all the locks.
Fletcher’s honey-colored head poked out, and a big grin broke over his face when he saw me waiting.
Ivory White : A House of Misfits Standalone Page 27
