“Not like that.” Just the one time. The mistake that still dodged her.
His chin lifted. He caught her hands and pulled them from his shoulders. Then he just—held her wrists. Between them. “I changed. I realized just how much when I got back here. Dammit, baby, I would go to your house and stand outside, watching the lights in your windows. Watching you.”
He—
“That shit isn’t normal. I knew then just how far I’d fallen. I wanted you too much. I needed you too much. You were my lifeline, and I was too dangerous because I couldn’t stand the thought of anyone else being close to you.” His jaw hardened. “When I saw you go out with Cameron, I wanted to beat the hell out of that guy. That isn’t normal. It’s not safe.”
He took a step back.
She wanted to follow him. She didn’t. She…
“What makes you think I’m safe?” Ivy asked. “You think you’re the only one with inner demons?”
“You haven’t killed a man, Ivy. I have. With my bare hands.”
She flinched. “Your own life was on the line! Stop this! Stop it!” And she did follow him. Her body brushed against his. “Stop saying you’re some kind of terrible person! You survived hell! Yes, you’re different. How could you not be? But do you think I don’t…do you honestly think I don’t want you anymore?”
The answer was plain to see on his face.
“Oh, Bennett…I never stopped wanting you.” I never will. “So tell me about that option two because that’s the option I want to take.”
She saw the change sweep over his face—the desperate need, the desire that wasn’t checked any longer. His control shattered and he reached for her.
His hands were rough. So were hers. He kissed her with a wild, fierce lust that she craved. She couldn’t get close enough to him. Her hands slid over his back, over the scars that he shouldn’t have ever been forced to carry. She touched every inch of his body that she could. She needed him to understand that she still wanted him—every single bit of him.
His hands curled around her waist and he lifted her up, holding her so easily. Her legs wrapped around his hips and she felt the long, hard length of his arousal pressing against her. She arched against him, hating that her clothes were in the way. She needed them gone. Needed his jeans gone.
Flesh to flesh.
Sex to sex.
He started walking, still holding her, and a thrill shot through her. His strength had always been a turn-on for her. But then, nearly everything about him turned her on.
She began to kiss her way over his hard jaw, over the rough stubble there, then down his neck.
He growled. “Ivy…”
“Still like that, huh?” And she nipped his neck, lightly, then licked the mark. “Good to know.” Her heart was drumming in her chest, her whole body going molten.
They were in his darkened bedroom now. With his elbow, he hit the light switch, flooding the room with illumination. A few more steps and he lowered her onto the bed.
She sat up quickly and, with her eyes on his, she yanked off her shirt.
She saw his green gaze darken. Ivy smiled. Then she unhooked her bra and tossed it toward him. Bennett caught her bra and fisted his fingers around it. “You are so damn perfect.”
No, she wasn’t. She was far, far from perfect.
She kicked away her shoes. Then Ivy lifted up her hips and pushed out of her jeans and her underwear. The last of her clothes hit the floor with a soft rustle of sound. She stretched out on the bed, completely naked and not even the slightest bit hesitant.
Not now.
Not with him.
She could feel Bennett’s gaze sliding over her. Ivy swallowed, then licked her lips, wishing she could taste him. She heard the hiss of his zipper and a moment later, his jeans were the ones hitting the floor. The bed dipped beneath his weight as he closed the distance between them.
She held her breath a moment, waiting, eager, desperate to feel his touch.
But his fingers didn’t trail over her skin. His thighs didn’t push between hers. Instead, his mouth pressed to her shoulder. The gentlest of caresses.
“So soft,” he whispered. Then he kissed her shoulder again. Her hands slid out and grabbed the covers, fisting it when she felt his lips press to her collarbone. “I fucking missed you, Ivy.”
Her eyes squeezed shut. And I missed you.
Bennett’s legs pushed between hers. She could feel the hot, hard length of his arousal against her. And his mouth—it was on her breast. His lips closed around her nipple and he sucked her in deep.
Her breath left her in a quick gasp and her hold tightened on those covers. He was licking her breast, laving her nipple with his tongue, and her hips twisted wildly against the bed as arousal flooded through her.
His hand slid down her stomach. Her eyes opened when his fingers—long, strong, slightly rough—slid between her legs.
“I want to feel you, all of you,” Bennett growled.