Chapter Twenty-One Wade

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Wade

" N eed a hand?" I ask Ivy as she comes toward my truck wheeling her small navy suitcase that's seen better days behind her.

"Sure, Chief." She smiles at me. And it's the good morning I missed at four when I woke up and she wasn't here, so I watched The Terminator and ate my ice cream alone. I've barely seen her since Wednesday, when the kiss felt round the fucking world we shared almost broke me.

Okay, the truth is I've been avoiding her, trying to get my head straight before spending the next three days with her. Trying to keep a grip on all this because it's starting to feel like I'm losing it. I have pep-talked myself to death, reminding myself Ivy is my employee and I have to keep control.

Except, I'm not sure I even have any anymore. The fucking minute Cole left, I made a beeline for my shower and fisted my cock with the vision of her plump lips wrapped around it, her husky sounds humming eagerly against me. The reality that it could never happen between us resurfaced faster than my cum could circle the drain. After everything she's been through with her obviously shitty ex and her family, I won't be another person in her life that just takes what they need from her. And let's face it, I'm not exactly prepared for anything complicated right now with everything sitting on my plate.

I hand her a Spicer's coffee in exchange for the bag that has more than a few weathered corners and some definite wear. As I load it into my truck, the tag falls forward. "Property of William Spencer." That name hits me square in the chest like a bullet. A familiar sort of grief washes over me at the tiny remnants Ivy holds onto desperately from her father, the same way I hold onto my own dad's fishing pole that I still use when I fish, just so I can welcome the memories of fishing Cave Run Lake as a boy that come back to me, or how I keep his cowboy hat and his old truck I still drive that he gave the best advice in. I set my jaw to keep the sting away from the bridge of my nose. I might be the only person she knows that understands just how valuable this old suitcase is, and it makes complete sense to me why she totes it instead of buying a new one.

I climb into the driver's seat and take my hat off, tossing it to the back.

"I think we should talk," I say at the same time Ivy says, "Is this gonna be weird now?"

We both smile, then Ivy giggles, taking her plump bottom lip between her teeth. All the filthy things I want to do to her and those soft, pouty lips run through my head no matter how hard I try to stop them.

"You have a mighty tricky way of winning a tussle, Chief," she accuses. "Kissing your opponent into submission is kind of like cheating, just sayin'."

I scoff. "In true Trouble fashion, you welcome the kiss then blame me for it. I see how it is."

She laughs, feigning shock.

"I'm innocent here, you were the one that kissed me," she jokes. She knows she's full of shit, and fuck, I can't control myself around this woman at all so I blurt out, "I was between your legs, I could feel how badly you wanted that kiss." I point back and forth at her. "These pretty innocent eyes aren't fooling anyone."

She gasps then swats me, and I chuckle, scrubbing my face with my hand.

"We've been spending a lot of time together," I say, trying to convince myself. "But, all I do is tell every ranch hand on this property that they need to keep their hands to themselves, and then at the first chance I get, I kiss you. So, I'm sorry."

I expect her to agree, or say it's okay, but as usual when it comes to Ivy, I expect wrong.

"I'm a big girl, I knew what I was doing. It was both of us—as you so eloquently pointed out, you were between my legs, and Wade, you aren't wrong, I did want it."

Fucking Christ, this woman's mouth.

We sit for the longest beat in history just waiting to see what the other will say.

She eventually shrugs and breaks the silence. "Let's not sweat it. Let's just say it's … human nature?"

I blow out a tortured breath.

"Human nature?" I query. "Huh, that's the excuse we're going with?"

"Yep. Seems plausible. Whatever gets us through the day without you wearing that guilty look on your face." Her cocky little smirk taunts me as she points a finger in my direction, as if she's fully in on the secret that I'm lying to myself about her. "So, we're gonna be friends then, yeah?" she asks, extending a hand for shaking.

I take it, closing around her soft fingers with my hand, and even that proximity still feels like too much.

"Friends," I reply, clearing my throat.

"Can't go back … so, let's just … move forward." Ivy does her seatbelt up and looks at me expectantly. That went a lot easier than I thought it would.

She pulls out her phone to check the time and I remember that I have a present for her. I reach under the seat of my truck.

"Also. Here," I say, handing her the small white box.

She takes the new iPhone from me hesitantly and stares at it in her palm. The silence lasts too long.

"It's the newest one. New phone number and you're on the ranch's plan. If and when your time is done here, you can transfer it to your own name. Mine and my family's numbers are in there for you. When you're ready, I can help you add who you want, if you need me to."

She blinks and her mouth falls open slightly and then she starts to ramble. "Wade. I didn't tell you that story about Brad to make you feel … I was going to buy one, they're just expensive and I'm trying to save. I'll pay you back. I can buy my own—"

"Listen, just … fuck … you are the only one that should decide who calls you. Your personal space is your fortress, okay? Just accept it. You need to have a reliable phone through this training anyway. Preferably one we can set your email up on," I say firmly, poking fun at her dinosaur of a phone.

Ivy says nothing but her eyes say it all. She nods, knowing it's not worthwhile to argue with me.

And I can't help but add, "And for what it's worth, assholes that clearly don't take no for an answer need to hit the road. This will make it easier."

She reaches over and puts her arms around me. "Thank you, Wade. Really. This might be the most thoughtful thing anyone has ever given me."

I breathe her in for one second before she pulls back from me, and how fucking pretty she looks this close to me almost stuns me. She averts her eyes and moves back to her side of the truck.

"Right … so, for the sake of keeping this friends thing going maybe don't look at me like that," she says.

"You either," I say, because the smile she's wearing feels like a reward. One I can't help but want to earn every way I can.

The almost-four-hour drive passes easily. We fall right back into the same type of conversation we were having in our nightly movie fests, and as the AT&T building comes into view, Ivy is a picture of relaxation, and so fucking beautiful. Bare feet up on my dash, a warm fall breeze flowing through the window swirling her hair around her face as she sings a Lainey Wilson song like she wrote the damn thing.

I can't help but think that deciding to make a derby run might just be the best impulsive decision I've ever made.

I hold that feeling all the way to the Omni Hotel. The lobby is a bustle of activity, country music plays through the open space and a fire roars in the large central fireplace even though its seventy-two degrees outside.

"Reservation for Ashby," I say as I get my ID and credit card ready, slapping both on the marble countertop. Beside me, Ivy hums along to the music playing in the lobby.

"Of course, Mr. Ashby, we have your room ready for you, you're on the seventeenth floor. You'll be staying in an executive king suite."

"And the second room is still adjoining?" I ask errantly, putting my cards back into my wallet, just to clarify that I will in fact have to suffer with Ivy so painfully close.

"Uhh …" The attendant fumbles with the mouse and clicks through a few screens. "Second room?" she asks. "I only see one reserved room here, Mr. Ashby."