Claimed By The Publisher: An Instalove Possessive Alpha Romance (A Man Who Knows What He Wants Book 159)
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I shudder as I hit my breaking point and come deep inside her pussy. She cries out at the same time, orgasming with me. The release feels like relief and euphoria. I’ve waited so long for this, and now, it’s absolutely perfect. I collapse and roll off the top of her and lie beside her, pulling her close and kissing her. She looks at me with wide eyes.
“That was amazing,” she whispers. “And...I feel like maybe something really special just happened.”
I felt it too. The feeling that maybe it was more than just sex. It bonded us together forever...and I think we might have made a baby together. I can’t believe how everything has fallen together. With her wrapped up in my arms, I sleep easier than I have in years.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Ivy
For a moment when I wake up, I feel the kind of blissful peace that only comes from finally getting your heart’s desire. My cheek is pressed to Kingsley’s rock hard chest and my arms are wrapped around his torso. Even in his sleep, he has his arms around me protectively, holding me close. It makes me feel so loved that butterflies flutter in my stomach. I sigh in content, snuggling in closer to him.
The feeling of being wanted so desperately...it makes me feel like I belong. It’s something I’ve been missing for a long time, I think. I’ve always craved this kind of love, even before I understood how to feel it myself. I’ve watched so many of my friends settle down and find happiness and I was beginning to wonder if maybe I’d never be like them. I thought that perhaps I was unworthy of the same kind of affections.
But now, I know that’s not true. It’s such early days, and yet I know that Kingsley and I have something special. I know we’re going to last a lifetime. And not just because he put a baby in my belly last night, but because we’re a perfect match. Everything between us feels so easy even though everyone else seems to be against us. But that’s the thing, no one else matters when the two of us are together. I always know where I stand with Kingsley, and that gives me more comfort than the validation of other people. What Kingsley and I share is our business and I’m going to make sure it works out no matter what.
As he stirs in his sleep, I smile to myself. He sits up and smiles back, his eyes lighting up with delight. No one has ever looked at me like that before...as though I’m sunshine after a rainy day...as if I’m worth so much more than I’ve ever believed...as if I’m the most important thing on this Earth. It feels good, but it feels even better when he grabs my leg and hooks it over his waist.
“Good morning, baby,” he says, leaning in to kiss my lips. “Did you sleep well?”
“How could I not when I was next to you?” I murmur. He pecks my lips again, brushing his nose against mine.
“Good, I guess we should make a move to start the day.”
“Not just yet...just hold me a while longer.”
He kisses the top of my head. “I think we can manage that, baby.”
We lie for a while as sunlight streams in through the window, just chatting and kissing lazily. It feels like a Sunday morning. It feels more than perfect. But we know we have to get up at some point. I’m meant to be on a shift later today too, though my care for my shitty part-time job seems to have gone out the window. I’ll have my advance from the book soon, and then I’ll be making my own way in life. The life I had before Kingsley already seems like it belongs to someone else. The new me is someone who feels complete, who feels like their life has come together. I don’t need to belong to the unhappiness of my past anymore.
Our plan is to head to Kingsley’s offices and begin our editing process as a team. We head out into the street where the sun is shining down on us. It’s such beautiful weather and we have all the time in the world so we walk to the offices hand in hand. But when we get there, before we can head inside, a coldness washes over me. There are two people waiting for us, blocking the entrance. Kingsley stops as he sees them too. His muscles tense up. His fists curl. He lets out a low, animalistic snarl that sends a shiver down my spine.
It’s time to face Jasper and my father.
Kingsley
It feels as though my blood is boiling in my veins. Every possessive muscle in my body is tensed, ready for a fight, ready to protect my woman. I really don’t want to fight with anyone, especially not my ex-best friend and the father of the woman I love. But both of them are looking at me with fire in their eyes and their fists at the ready, so I guess this is it. I guess I’m going to have to face up to them.
Jasper approaches me with his father in tow. He’s shaking with anger. He tries to grab his sister’s wrist, but Ivy backs away from him with an angry look on her beautiful face that I didn’t think she was capable of producing.
“Stay back,” she snaps. “You don’t know what you’re doing.”
“Oh, I do,” Jasper snarls. “I’m here to show Kingsley that I was serious when I told him he’d pay for messing with my sister. I warned him to back off and he didn’t listen.”
“I didn’t listen to you,” Ivy says, throwing her hands up in exasperation. “This was my choice as well as his, you told me to stay away and I disobeyed you. Big deal. This is my life, Jasper. You don’t get to choose how I live it.”
“Then I guess you don’t have a say in what I do either...and right now, I’m about to beat the living crap out of Kingsley,” Jasper growls. I shake my head, looking him up and down with quiet disgust.
“I’d like to see you try,” I snarl. “I really don’t want to fight either of you, if we could sit down and talk then maybe you wouldn’t be so angry. You don’t understand what you’re dealing with here.”
“I’m dealing with a man who thinks it’s okay to date someone fifteen years younger than him,” Ivy’s father snaps. “You’re far too old for her. I don’t want you anywhere near my daughter. I don’t want to fight either. If you agree to back off, we’ll leave right now. Give me my daughter and I-”
“I am not some property to be handed over!” Ivy snaps. I’ve never seen her look so angry. I had no idea she had it in her. “I’ve made my choice, I want to be with Kingsley, Dad. And you can’t stop me. We’re in love.”
Jasper snorts. “You don’t know what the hell love is.”
“Back the hell off,” I snarl, moving forward and standing in front of Ivy protectively. “You’ve had your fun. Now get out of here before I call security.”
“Why? Are you scared to fight me?” Jasper asks, cocking his head. I feel my anger rising inside me. I know he’s goading me. I know he’s trying to get me riled up, and it’s sure as hell working. I move forward once again, puffing out my chest. Jasper finally has the sense to look concerned.
“I could take you both down single-handedly,” I growl. “But that’s not my style and I don’t want to upset Ivy more than you already have by showing up here.”
“She’s my sister. I have to protect her from creeps like you,” Jasper says, raising his fists. “So come on, let’s do this. If you want her so badly then you’ll have to fight for her.”
“Stop it!” Ivy screams, but Jasper has already thrown his first punch. I duck out of the way easily, but his feeble attempt has made me angrier. Feeling defensive, I land a punch on his nose just to get him to back off. He stumbles back, looking shocked at the impact. Ivy’s father steps forward in his place, his eyes blazing. I really don’t want to hurt him either. I can see that he thinks he’s doing the right thing, but I have to protect my own skin. As he tries to spar with me, I shove him backward where he collides with Jasper.
But then it’s like the pair of them get a second wind. They both launch themselves at me at once and I’m forced to act instinctively. I thrust an elbow into Ivy’s father’s face and kick Jasper in the groin. I just wanted to get them away from me, but I guess I don’t know my own strength. The pair of them recoil in pain and I stumble back, shocked at my own behavior. I’ve never been a violent person before and yet, they’ve forced me into this.
And when I hear the siren, I know I’m in real trouble.
Ivy runs up to the car, trying to beg with the cop, but no one is listening to her. As the car drives away, I turn to look at her out of the back window. She’s got tears streaming down her face and I can hear her calling my name desperately. My heart aches for her. Everything was so perfect this morning. I thought we were finally going to be okay...but now, it seems like the future we planned for ourselves is going up in smoke. The further we drive from her, the more desperate I am to break my way out and get to her. I wonder what will happen to me...to her...to us…the world is against us, but I’m not giving up yet. I’ve spent the past three years waiting for fate to be on my side, but that would be far too easy. Still, I will fight tooth and nail to make sure that this isn’t the end of me and Ivy. Our forbidden love story needs a happy ending...just like Rose and the Professor got.
“I’m coming back for you, Ivy,” I growl under my breath. “Whatever it takes...I’m coming back for you…”
CHAPTER EIGHT
Ivy
I’m inconsolable. My heart is a wreck and it’s all because of my family. I thought they were the people who are supposed to support me no matter what. I thought they were meant to keep me safe, but also not act like prison guards to me. The way they were trying to tell me what to do sickens me to my stomach. I feel like I’m trapped in my own home, now that they’ve dragged me here practically kicking and screaming. The moment we got back I went straight to my room and locked myself in.
Now, because of them, Kingsley has been arrested for fighting. He didn’t even want to fight them, but they forced him into it. Just because they didn’t land any punches of their own they got away with it. And if I know Kingsley like I do, he won’t try and land them in trouble. He knows that it would hurt me even more than I’ve already been hurt if they were all convicted...and now, he could be in the worst kind of trouble possible and there’s nothing I can do to save him.
I wish I could go to him. I wish I could find a way to get to him, but my father and brother are always sitting in the living area right by the door, making sure I don’t try to leave. I think they’re hoping that I’ll get over my anger and forget him within a matter of days, but they don’t understand. I have so much love in my heart for him that I don’t know what to do with it. Kingsley is the only man for me...and now I don’t even know how to get in contact with him. I don’t know where he’s been taken. I would spend the night searching for him if I could, but I know it’s no use. I won’t be able to find him until this mess is all over with.
I don’t even want to leave my room and face my family. I’m so angry with them that I feel like I could cut them out of my life forever and be okay with it. But it’s been nearly twenty-four hours since the arrest and I haven’t had any food or water since, ignoring the knocks on my door in favor of being alone. Now, I’m starving and thirsty. I need to leave this room at some point so it might as well be now.
I look at myself in the mirror. My cheeks are stained with the tears I’ve been crying all day. My eyes are swollen. My throat is sore. I look a state, but I’m glad. Maybe it’ll show Jasper and my father what a mess they’ve made. They’ve broken my heart and unless they do something fast, I’m never going to forgive them for this.
They both turn around as I enter the living room. I ignore them, sniffling as I head to the kitchen and pour myself a glass of water. I’m about to grab a snack and head straight back to my room, when I feel Jasper’s hand on my shoulder.
“Ivy, talk to me.”
I shrug him off harshly. “How dare you touch me after what you did? I don’t want to talk to you ever again.”
“You can’t be serious.”
“I am. You’ve ruined everything for me. You couldn’t just listen to me, could you? You couldn’t hear me telling you that I was finally happy...and then you took it all away from me…”
“Are you sure you’re not just being dramatic?”
I whip around to face him, my face red with anger. “Don’t try and downplay this. I want you to know that I blame you. I blame you for wrecking my life. You’ve stopped my love in its tracks...you’ve probably ruined my career...and you’ve turned me against you and Dad. I don’t care if you’re my only family. I don’t care if you’re all I have left now. I don’t want anything to do with you. Not until you fix this. Not until you accept how wrong you were and make this better.”
Jasper blinks at me in surprise. “Are you really this angry about it all?”
I stare at him like he’s an idiot. Maybe that’s the thing. My brother has never been with anyone he considered himself to be in love with. He’s never kept anyone in his life long enough to get attached to them. Of course he doesn’t understand love at first sight. Of course he doesn't understand what it’s like to feel a bond so deep with someone that you’d do anything for them, even after only a few days. He might never be able to understand what’s going through my head and my heart now, but he needs to know that I’m serious. I fold my arms.
“Jasper, I’m furious. Kingsley is everything to me. I’m going to give you a day to fix this...and if you don’t, I’m going to leave and you’ll never see me again...maybe then you’ll understand what heartbreak feels like.”
I take my water and push past him, ignoring my father’s sad eyed gaze as I sweep through to my room once more. I know Jasper will think I’m being harsh on him. I know he’ll think I’m being dramatic to serve my own purposes. But now that I’ve given him an ultimatum, maybe he’ll start taking me seriously. I meant every word of what I said to him. Even though it hurts, I’d leave everything behind for Kingsley. My choice is always going to be him, no matter what else gets in my way. Everyone can call me crazy. I don’t care anymore. I lie down on my bed and embrace the heartache that has plagued me since he was taken away from me.
And I pray Jasper will do something to fix this.
Kingsley
The holding cells are practically full, so no one has really bothered with me since I arrived here. I begged the officer to allow me to make my call, knowing I’d do anything for a few moments on the phone with Ivy, but my request was ignored. Now I have no clue how to get through to her. I just hope that she can feel my anguish, my anger, my love for her.
I hope she’s out there thinking of me too. I know it’s selfish of me to hope that she’s hurting as much as I am, but I don’t want to be alone in this feeling. I want her to miss me as much as I miss her. Because these feelings she brings out in me are like nothing else I’ve ever experienced in my life. If she feels half of what I do right now, then I know she must be suffering.
But I’m determined that I’ll get out of here. I’ll do anything to get her back if I have to, even if it means warring with Jasper and her father and risking everything again. I don’t want to end up back in this place, but if it’s a result of me fighting for my woman, I’d do it a thousand times over. She’s everything to me. Literally nothing else matters to me now. Not my company. Not my penthouse apartment. Not the rest of the life I’ve made for myself.
Just her. Only her.
I have no sense of time, but I’m sleeping when the cell I’m in is unlocked. I sit up straight away, blinking sleep from my eyes. The officer outside the cell ushers me forward.
“Come on. All charges against you have been dropped.”
I blink in shock. “They have?”
“Yes. The men you got into a fight with are here. They explained what happened, they want to bail you out. Just try and stay out of trouble, yeah?” He shakes his head in irritation. “We have way too many men in here trying to defend t
heir woman’s honor...stop trying to be noble and follow the law.”
I nod gratefully and step out of the cell before they can somehow change their mind. I had no idea that they’d come for me, this must’ve been Ivy’s idea. She must’ve been desperate to get me out whatever the cost. And now that I can taste my freedom, I don’t really care how I got out. I’m just glad that now I can be on my way back to finding her.
As I leave the police station, I find Jasper waiting for me with his father a few paces behind him. I steel myself, not knowing what to expect. Maybe they only bailed me out so that I’d owe them my freedom and they can use that to keep me away from Ivy. That’s not going to happen if that’s the case. She can come and live with me and we’ll be fine without her controlling family.
But Jasper has pain in his eyes, and for a moment, I can see the man I used to be best friends with under all the bitterness and anger. I can see the man who I thought would someday be my best man at my wedding, or the man I’d make godfather to my kids, or just someone to depend on. But three years have changed everything, is there any chance we can go back to that after everything that’s happened between us?
“Kingsley...are you alright?” he asks in a gentle voice. I cross my arms, feeling defensive and irritable.
“What do you think? I’ve been in a cell for a whole day.”
“I know...and that was my fault. So...I’m sorry, I guess.”
I shake my head. “Fine, I suppose. Is that all you have to say for yourself?”
“No, I’m not done. Look, Kingsley...it’s hard seeing the way you are with my sister. It’s an unspoken rule, isn’t it? Your best friend isn’t supposed to be with your sister, it’s just always seemed wrong to me.”