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The dash lit up, and I saw it was Cole. I grabbed the earpiece and popped it in.
“Beckett,” I answered.
“We clear to talk?”
“Yes.” I glanced at Ivy, who had her head turned to look out the side window.
“Are you good?” I hesitated, and he tried again. “Scale from one to ten?”
“Three.” I wouldn’t lie to Cole, but I wasn’t about to apologize either. Ivy was at dinner with a stone-cold murderer. “I was following orders.”
“Understood.” Cole cleared his throat. “I see you’re almost to the first checkpoint. After the last checkpoint, there’s a road to your left. If you need a breather or need to hash some shit out, do it there. You’ll be left alone. I’ll get the guys to pull back to give you time.”
“Copy that.”
“Meet in my office at zero-eight-hundred.”
“Roger.” I tossed the earpiece in the cup holder as the call ended.
I could barely stand my own head by the time I turned left on the road after we got through the last checkpoint.
“Where are we going?” Ivy seemed to snap out of her own thoughts as she looked up at my left turn.
I didn’t answer, and she got quiet again. I parked about a mile into the woods and turned off the engine. I jumped out of the driver’s seat and into the cool air. I ripped off my hat and ran my hands through my hair.
Every breath I took felt like a noose tightening around my neck. I felt everything close in as I tried to control my breath.
“Ty?” I heard her door open.
“Get back in the truck, Ivy,” I warned, but I heard her struggle to walk in her heels. I needed a moment to think, to breathe, to not snap and lose all self-control.
“No, I deserve some kind of explanation of what’s going on here. I can see you’re in pain, and it’s obvious that…” I marched right up to her and backed her up until she was pressed against the hood of the truck. Her neck strained as she swallowed hard, but she lifted her chin and held her ground.
“The guy you’ve been seeing is the very one who…” The words stuck on my tongue. I couldn’t say it. I didn’t want to be pressed for more answers.
“Who what?”
“Did you kiss him?” She dropped her arms with an eye roll and moved away from me.
“You don’t get to ask all the questions here.” She whirled around. “You punched my date in the face! Why did you do it?”
“I can’t—”
“Can’t talk about it?” She cut me off, fuming mad now. “What? Were you jealous?”
“Yes!” I shouted louder. “And I don’t know if it’s because you’ve consumed my every thought since the moment I met you, but I’d do anything to get you out of here.” I pointed at my head and squeezed my eyes shut.
“Then let’s go, Ty.” She waved a hand in front of her. “Let’s get sex off the table, and then we’ll know. It’s nothing but pure, hot lust,” she challenged.
My entire body twitched in her direction.
“I can’t promise—”
“Then don’t.” She reached up and pulled her panties down from under her skirt and tossed them on the hood. “We both know we want it.”
Fuck it.
In two strides, I pulled her to me, and our mouths connected. I started to unbutton her shirt but got impatient, so I yanked the rest, sending the small buttons to scatter around us. I reached down to lift her, and she wrapped her legs around my waist and kissed me again. I spun around and walked us the few steps to the truck and leaned her against the door and let her stand.
