by Amy Davies
“Is that fucking so?” Dex, again, sounds pissed off, but this is my decision.
“Yeah, it is. You have something to say, Dex?” Luke stands tall, showing that he isn’t afraid of my brother. I know my brothers are protective of me, but they should know that they don’t need to protect me from Luke. Dex and Luke are locked in an intense stare down, and neither of them are giving in. My gaze bounces back and forth between the two men, one my big brother and the other with the power to break my heart into a million pieces.
“Okay, that’s enough, you fucknuts. Dex, Ivy is a big girl. She will be fine. Luke, I swear on everything I own that if you ever hurt our baby sister, I will kill you and no one will ever find your body. You got me, brother?” Jay chimes in, breaking the alpha-male stare down. His words shock the hell out of me.
Jay is not the violent type, but his threat has me feeling so flipping proud of him, not scared of him. He truly loves me. Knowing I have two big brothers who love me makes my heart swell ten time its size. Me being here with all these amazing people makes me miss my mother. She would have loved to meet the boys. She told me so much about them in her last days. I was shocked with all the details she knew about Dex and Jay when they were growing up. Clearly, she kept tabs on them.
Luke nods and smiles. “You got it, man.” They fist pump, before their attention falls on Dex. We wait for him to say something—anything. The silence is making my stomach knot up. My anxiety is not faring well at the moment. Slowly time passes, until Dex speaks up.
“Only one warning, Luke. One. I trust you with her, and I trust that she will kick your arse to the curb if you fuck up. Also, you fuck with my nephew and I will bury you, just like Jay said. You got me, mate?”
“But it is her choice. Ivy?”
“I’m in, Beast,” I tell him. Luke looks to the boys.
“Yeah, I got you, brother,” Luke answers before I can speak, and pulls me even closer.
“I want to see where this can go, boys. I love you for protecting me, but I wear big girl knickers. So…”
“Baby girl, please don’t give us the mental image of your knickers.” Dex shudders and walks away.
We all laugh, and Jay looks between us before saying, “We love you like a brother, Luke, but Ivy and Carter come first. You have to understand that.”
“Yeah, man, and I wouldn’t want it any other way. But believe me when I say, I will never do anything to hurt either of them.” There’s no hesitation in his answer; he genuinely believes his words, and that alone makes me fall for him more. Jay nods, his understanding before leaving out the back, leaving me and Luke alone. My breathing picks up as I feel his brotherly protection leave with him. I don’t fear Beast, but my anxiety is building as I wonder if I can handle a man like Luke Baker.
“So, a date?” I choke out.
My nerves are blasting to the surface, and Luke can see them. He turns to stand in front of me and gently cups my jaw, his eyes, taking in my face, softening with every passing second.
“Yeah, honey, a date. You okay with that?” he asks. I nod and the smile that takes over his face makes my heart flutter like a thousand butterflies taking off. “Good. So how about we go to the school later and pick up your boy. Then maybe go out for some dinner and pop to the park close to my house?” He wants to take both of us out to dinner? I frown at him.
“I thought you wanted a date? I don’t want to take Carter out on our date, Beast.” He chuckles at me and leans in, laying a kiss on my dry lips.
Damn, I need to invest in some lip balm.
“Baby, we can go on a date another night. Today, I wanna spoil you and Carter.”
Oh. Well damn him and his sweetness.
“Oh, okay. Yeah, I think Carter will like that.” He cocks an eyebrow and I smile shyly at him. “Fine, I’ll like that too. Thank you, Luke.” He kisses me again and walks back to his room. Maybe spending time alone with Luke will do us good—well, as alone as we can be with a six-year-old boy running around.
Chapter 7
Luke
Watching Ivy and Carter together makes my heart beat in ways I never knew it could. I have always known I wanted a family, but I never knew I was ready to settle down until Ivy Bilson walked into Castle Ink. Yeah, I shagged around most of my life, but I knew, as soon as I met that one special girl I would stop all the nonsense and grow up.
I grew up with an amazing family. My sisters and I were always shown that we were loved, and we were always taught to speak freely and honestly. My parents are still madly in love after all these years. Sickeningly in love. Though I can’t say fuck all, because I want that. I want that with my Peaches.
I want it all.
Ivy and Carter.
But what I want doesn’t mean shit if she doesn’t feel the same way. So, slow and steady with us, is how I’m going to have to play this out. As the tortoise and the hare story goes, ‘slow and steady wins the race’.
I may have to take my time in building a relationship with Ivy, but this Beast will win his Peach.
One day at a time.
I smile when I see Carter throw his hands up in the air and yell, “FINISHED!” Both Ivy and I laugh at him. I lean across the table and offer my hand for a fist pump. He obliges and smiles at me. “See, I am a big boy, Luke. I can eat everything on my plate. Can I go play now, please?”
I brought Ivy and Carter to a small restaurant in town that has a play area outside. It’s dry but a little chilly.
“You can, but please put your coat on,” Peaches tells him. Good, this will give us some alone time to talk, yet still be able to keep an eye on the boy at the same time. We all put our coats back on and make our way outside. Ivy and I sit on one of the picnic tables, so we can watch Carter run around and burn off some energy. I have no clue where he gets it all from. He’s like a bundle of energy. The wind picks up and I put my arm around Ivy, pulling her closer. Carter runs up the metal stairs and slides down the slide, screaming as he does.
“Did you see?” Carter yells as he runs for the stairs again.
“Yeah, bud. Keep going,” I shout after him.
“He’s hyped up today. I blame you, Mr. Baker.” She nudges my ribs with her elbow, but I don’t feel much because of my leather jacket.
“My fault?” I ask, faking a hurt look. I pout and stick my bottom lip out. My mum falls for it every time.
“Yeah. He was super excited when he saw you picking him up from school, and then you mentioned food and the park.” Ivy looks over at Carter and takes a deep breath, her smile falling from her face a little. “I know he’s always had Tim in his life, but he wasn’t exactly father of the year.”
“How has he been, since you left the dickhead?”
“Since Carter has been around you and my brothers, he’s come out of his shell. He isn’t afraid to try something and fail now. I know I seem weak, but walking away before was scary. It took everything in me to leave when I did, but I am so fucking happy I did it. I know in my heart now that I should have left years ago.”
She looks at Carter, and I just manage to see the tear slip down her cheek. It breaks my heart to know what she’s been through—her and Carter both. I can feel her pain, and it makes my chest ache for her. I lift my hand and use my cold fingers to make her face me, so she can see my empathy for her and Carter. A few more tears have escaped, and strands of her hair have stuck to her cheek. I wipe her tears away with my thumb and slide my fingers over her cheek, slowly unsticking her hair before tucking it behind her ear. All the while our gazes are locked on each other. Fucking hell, she is truly beautiful. I lean down to kiss her, but Carter yells my name, bringing us out of the fog we were in. I keep hold of Ivy’s face, but we both turn our heads to see what he’s calling us for. He’s standing on the top a big climbing dome. We chuckle as he sits there, balancing on the metal bars with his hands in the air.
“Were you going to kiss my mum, Luke?” he yells from the top.
“Oh, God,” Ivy whispers, and rests
her head on my shoulder. The woman sitting on the table next to us, chuckles.
“Yeah, I was, kid. You got a problem with that?” I joke back. His smile is fucking infectious and I realise it’s something I want for the rest of my life.
“Nope. I like seeing Mum smile.” The words are like a punch to my gut. I suck in a breath at the same time Peaches does.
Holy fucking shit.
He has done me in.
Those words mean the world to me, the innocence and sincerity of them like a balm to my heart. I pull Ivy closer again, loving the feel of her against me. I rest my head on top of hers as we watch her boy enjoy his freedom, acting like a normal six-year-old. God, I was wild when I was his age, climbing and jumping off everything. I was a bit of a daredevil.
“I like making you smile, Peaches,” I whisper against her hair.
“I like smiling for you, Beast.”
“Good, because I don’t plan on stopping. You are mine, Ivy. I don’t plan on letting you go.”
“You scare me, Luke. I don’t know how to be in a normal relationship. If you want to do this, Luke, then you need to be patient with me.”
“Baby, I’ve never been in this type of relationship before, either. Well, there was one.” I take a deep breath and look over to make sure Carter isn’t getting into trouble.
“Her name was Tina, and she was a bitch. We started out great, but then things fizzled out because she was materialistic and I was training to be a tattoo artist, and that wasn’t bringing in the money. She cheated on me with an old friend of mine, who was more than happy to tell anyone who listened. She then told everyone in town that it was me who cheated. Since this town is filled with busy bodies, they took the woman’s side. So, I left and started shagging anything that moved.” Ivy hastily pulls her body away from mine, but I snatch her hand, making sure she doesn’t run. My heart is racing just thinking about all the shit that Tina caused for me.
“I’m no monk, Peaches. You know there have been plenty of women before you, but once I saw you, everything came to a screeching halt. I haven’t been with anyone since you walked into Castle Ink.”
Her eyebrows shoot up into her hairline and I chuckle. She doesn’t believe me, but that’s cool. I know what she’s seen.
“Not everything is what it seems.” I wink at her and walk over to Carter, who is sitting on a swing. I hear Ivy calling my name, and then mutter, “Oh, come on”, but I ignore her. I grip the chains and pull Carter back.
“High or low?” I ask him.
“High!” he screams. I laugh and look at Ivy, who is still staring at me with a shocked look on her beautiful face. I pull back the chains a little more and let go, watching as Carter glides forward before coming back to me. I push on the swing, making him go higher. His screams of excitement fill the air around us. I laugh at him. This kid is amazing. I look over at Peaches and see her staring at us, taking in the scene before her: her son enjoying himself, and with me, of all people.
It makes me happy that she’s willing to have me be involved in Carter’s life. It shows that she trusts me—with him, anyway. I push Carter a few more times and then lean against the frame and watch as he swings back and forth, not going too high. His laughter is again infectious. I feel around in my pocket for the piece of paper I had put in there earlier. I smile to myself and pull it out, making sure it’s still in good shape. Good enough shape to fly.
I lick my lips and lift my gaze to Ivy, who is now talking to the lady sat at the table next to her. I smile and check the words I wrote on there, and the little heart I drew. With the hope that it reaches her and not the lady she’s sat next to, I bring my arm up and let the plane fly, watching as the wind carries it with a meandering trajectory, just like how our relationship has been so far.
Nothing is straightforward in life.
I drag my gaze from the aeroplane and look at Carter, who is still whooping and yelling, then I turn to look at the ladies again, my heart dropping into the ground under my feet. The lady next to Ivy is picking up the paper plane and is about to read it. I step forward, but Ivy’s words stop me.
“Sorry, I think that was meant for me. My boyfriend likes to send me dirty messages.”
Boyfriend.
Holy fucking shit.
Did she just call me her boyfriend?
Oh, fuck me, she did.
The smile spreads across my face and my heart climbs back into my chest. It beats with pride. I reach out to grip the chains, stopping Carter mid-swing. He looks over his shoulder at me.
“Why did you stop me, Luke? I was swinging super high then.”
“I know, kid. You would have reached the moon if I didn’t stop you. But what do you say we go back to my house? We can get warm and watch a film. Any film you like.”
“Any?” He eyes me skeptically. I nod my head and he jumps down off the swing before screaming at Ivy while running towards her. Her head snaps in my direction and I wink at her. I walk over to them as the other woman calls her child over, and they leave, saying goodbye to us. The lady winks at Ivy, making her blush, and I chuckle.
“Come on, Peaches, let’s go to my place.”
“Your place?” she asks. I nod, but Carter cuts me off and explains.
“Luke said we can go to his place and I can watch whatever film I want.”
“Any film?” she asks, and I nod. Her smile breaks out big time, and I can’t stop myself from smiling back at her. “God help you, Luke Baker. God help you. Come on, trouble,” she says to Carter, and takes his hand.
We walk around the building towards my car. As soon as we hit the car park, Carter slides his tiny hand into mine, and my heart stops. Bloody hell, this feels right. Fucking perfect actually.
****
Ivy’s words come back to haunt me as I silently pray to God for help. Carter decided he wanted to watch the Power Rangers movie and is now watching the TV series. The cringeworthy dialogue combined with mediocre action scenes have numbed my brain and made me want to get rid of my TV altogether.
I sigh again as Carter puts on the next episode, making Ivy chuckle. Wench. After the first five, I asked Carter about the show and he gave me a full lecture on all the Power Ranger series and their character and storylines. Needing a break from staring at the screen, I go and get a drink. It’s just after six, and I know Ivy will want to take Carter home soon, so I opt for pop instead of beer. I have never driven after drinking alcohol, not even one. My dad was hit by a drunk driver years ago, and it scared the shit out me and my family.
I lean against the kitchen counter and look into the living room, watching Carter absorb the fighting on the TV. Ivy looks at me over his head and smiles, before making her way to me. I take a drink, wetting my dry mouth. The sight of her in her tight blue jeans, with a black and white checked shirt over a white vest top, making my dick pay attention. She was wearing white Converse, but took them off when we arrived, so now I can see her grey socks with little white hearts. She’s cute, as well as sexy, but she doesn't know it.
“Hi,” she says when she stops in front of me. She bites the corner of her lip, and my cock takes notice. Greedy fucker.
“Hi. You okay?” I ask, like a dumb fuck.
“I am. Better than you can know. Thank you for dinner, Luke.”
“No problem, Peach. I’m always happy to take you guys out for dinner, or whatever we plan.”
She nods. “Thank you for my note.” She looks down and plays with the corner of her shirt, a cute blush settling over her face. I lift my hand and cup her jaw gently, lifting her face to mine.
“Love seeing that,” I state. She frowns, clearly not knowing what I mean. I move my thumb over her cheek, feeling her skin heat under my touch. I really fucking hope her whole body flushes pink when she’s aroused and coming on my cock, my fingers, and in my mouth.
Oh, hell yeah. I smirk at her.
“That blush. I’m gonna bet that you will blush all over when I’m taking you, Peaches.” She gasps and her blush
deepens, and I laugh. I can't stop it.
Her face takes on a stern look, brows scrunched together, but I silence her before she can berate me.
I lean in and kiss her. Her lips are soft and warm, perfect for me.
She tastes of the candy floss we ate during the film—thank God I stock junk food for when the kids come over. I slant my head and deepen the kiss, and she sighs into my mouth, her body melting against me. This makes me fucking happy
