Chapter 28

Ivy

I sit inside the bunkhouse, considering whether I should go back to my own damn house and my own comfortable bed. But Gunnar has ordered that everyone stay close to Hardtail Ranch until the Skull Crushers problem is handled. That means I'm here for a while.

Sage is staying with Slayer and Ella Mae, so at least I know she's safe. I should call her.

I pull my phone out of my pocket, but before I can tap her number, I hear, "Penny for your thoughts."

Stone. He's leaning against the doorframe, smiling like a sexy cowboy, a bag from my favorite ice cream parlor in his hand and one ankle crossed over the other. "You ain't rich enough for my thoughts, Hollywood."

His smile comes easily, right along with him rolling his eyes. "Hollywood? That's what I get for coming with a peace offering."

"Peace offerings require us to make peace, Stone."

His shoulders sag in disappointment. "You're going to make me say it. Aren't you?"

"Say what?"

"Fine, Ivy." He strolls across the room, his long legs encased in perfectly worn denim, and drops down on the edge of the bed. "You win."

"I think we all win, but let's go with your thing."

His smile makes another sexy appearance. "I'm sorry, Ivy. I'm sorry for being a dumbass and scaring you, costing you precious sleep." He reaches for my hand. "I'm sorry that I didn't talk to you about this. Mostly, I'm just fucking sorry for being the reason you were hurt."

"Fuck." The word rushes out of me on a breathless sigh. "That's a damn good apology."

"Right? I surprised myself."

I snatch the ice cream and open the green and white container. "Rocky Road?"

Stone's broad shoulders lift and fall in a casual shrug. "It felt fitting with everything going on."

I lean my forehead against his shoulder and let out a chuckle. "What am I gonna do with you?"

"Keep me forever and ever?"

"Yes, please." I tilt my lips up to him and smack them together. His lips touch mine, and it's the perfect spark to set the whole damn ranch on fire, but I summon all the willpower in the state of Texas and pull back with a sigh. "I'll keep you. Unless you do something else stupid."

"Then you'll dump me?"

"No, Stone, I'll kill you myself."

His smile returns. "I love it when you talk dirty, crazy murder-y to me, babe."

"I'm serious, Stone. This thing between us is already not casual, and I'm not sure that things between us could ever be casual."

"Thank God for that because I feel a lot for you, Ivy, and none of it is fucking casual." His gaze is dark, and his jaw clenches tight.

"I feel the same way, which is why I need you to go out there and fuck shit up. But remember that you have someone waiting, hoping that you'll come back. Someone other than Peaches."

"Don't tell me you love me and then bring up my ma," he groans, pressing his forehead against mine.

My brows dip. "Who said anything about loving you?"

Stone pulls back, one blond brow shooting up and arching perfectly. "You broke up with your boyfriend because you just want my hot body?"

Without even thinking about it, I smack his chest. "Shut up," I say with a laugh, and he grips my wrist, pulling me onto the middle of the bed until I'm lying across his body.

"Say it."

"Fine," I roll my eyes. "I love your hot body." Then I cry, "Ow!" when he smacks my ass, ignoring the answering wetness that gathers between my thighs.

"Ivy." His voice comes out on a low growl, but I don't miss the need in his eyes. He needs to hear me say the words.

I want to say the words right now, but I can't. I love Stone with my whole entire fucking heart, and I have loved him in one way or another for most of my life. As a brother and a friend, a protector, and a co-conspirator. And now, the way a woman loves her man. "You're going out tonight."

"I am," he answers easily.

"And it's going to be dangerous."

"It ain't gonna be a walk in the park, Ivy. Those motherfuckers came after you and Sage. They shot Gray." And to Stone, those sins need to be paid for in blood. "I promise you to the highest of fucking heavens that I will be careful."

I know he will. Stone, despite the past week, isn't an idiot. He has a giant heart that wants to protect everyone he loves, and that hasn't changed during our time apart. "I believe you, Stone. I just want you to come back to me."

Understanding dawns in his eyes, and he nods. "There's no other place I want to be than right here with you." He places one finger on my bottom lip and drags it down to my chin and throat, not stopping until his finger and then his whole hand rests over my heart. "I'll be back."

"I'm gonna hold you to that," I tell him and wrap my arms around him, fusing our bodies together from head to toe. I press my lips to his and kiss him deeply, pouring all the love I have for him and the confidence I have in him into this kiss. I know it's not goodbye, but I kiss him like it is, just in case. I want him to have just one more reason to come back to me.

His hands wrap around me and slide down to grip my ass, pulling me right up against his cock. I moan, and he laughs against my mouth. "You gonna send me off with a little somethin'-somethin'?"

I laugh and press a quick peck to his lips that turns into another deep and intense lip-lock. His tongue teases mine, thrusting in and out the same way he's applying a hell of a lot of pressure to the seam of my jeans. "Fuck," I moan and give him one more kiss before pulling back. "When you come back, I promise a hero's welcome. After you're all healed up."

He grunts. "You wound me, Ivy."

I laugh. "If you have any wounds, I have a sexy nurse costume from Halloween."

"Now that's a fucking conundrum."

I laugh again and roll off him, happy to end this talk, this emotional moment on a high note. "Just come back." That's all I give a shit about right now.

"I'll be back without a scratch, but feel free to wear the nurse's outfit anyway." Stone stands, adjusting his huge erection in his jeans. "Maybe I'll need a sponge bath."

This right here, it feels so fucking right. It feels like coming home. This is what I've been waiting for my whole damn life. "I'm glad you came back, Stone."

His smile is even brighter at my words. "I am too, Ivy. So fucking glad." His expression shifts into something serious as he leans down to cup my face, holding me so close that I see the moment his gaze darkens. "I love you, Ivy. I always have loved you, but in a different way than I love you right now. You don't have to say it back yet even though I know you do. I know how I feel, and I'm confident in how I feel about you." The kiss he lays on me is somehow hot as fuck and whisper soft. "Think about it," he says teasingly before he strolls out of the bunkhouse with my heart in his hands.

Think about it,he says as if I'll be able to think about any-fucking-thing else.