As soon as her mother vanishes from sight, Ivory swats my arm and I grin, “What the fuck was that?” She snarls.
I shrug, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
She gives me a speechless expression before she whisper-yells at me, “You know exactly what I’m talking about! You flirted with mymother!”
I raise a brow, my smile falling. “I did not flirt with your mother. I simply charmed her.”
Ivory looks very impatient, “Okay, well do me a favor and don’tcharmanyone ever again because you suck at it.”
“Clearly not. She loves me already. Who knows, maybe she’ll ask me to be her son-in-law? Wouldn’t that be something?” I tease her.
Her face pales. “What has gotten into you?” She looks shocked. “Has someone taken over your body?”
I frown, “Does it surprise you that much that I’m not completely unlikable?”
She retorts, “Yes, actually it does when all you usually do twenty-four-seven is frown and look all serious and not make any jokes at all or God forbid, smile!”
I lean in closer to her face as I whisper, “Careful, Little Devil. We don’t want your mother to think her new favorite couple is fighting on her porch.”
She opens her mouth to most likely snap back at me with some kind of response, but she must be so taken aback by the slip of my secret nickname for her that she’s speechless.
I use one finger to lift her jaw and close her mouth, “Now, are you done or are we going to continue our little show for your mother? I’m having fun.” And I am. I haven’t felt this relaxed, this amused, this carefree in so long it almost feels foreign. But I guess it’s only fitting that the feeling would come from something to do with Ivory Aslan. It’s like she has a secret talent for bringing the Dallas from a year ago back to the surface.
I remove my finger and step inside the house, noting right away the clean smell of dark amber oud. The house is pristine, with farmhouse-style furniture and picture frames all over. I even notice a small miniature husky snoozing in a very cozy-looking bed.
The door shuts behind me and Ivory cuts me off, standing in front of me, “Dallas.”
“Ivory,” I tilt my head at her.
She looks stressed and I suddenly feel guilt for pushing her too far. I can see the exhaustion on her face and I know I’m not making this any easier on her. “What are you doing? Are you up to something? Please, if you’re up to something, don’t do it here. Just wait until we leave, okay?”
I sigh, “Ivory, relax. I’m just having a little fun with you. I promise you, I am not up to anything nefarious.”
She searches my face for evidence of a lie, but I’m not lying so she doesn’t find anything. Ivory gives me a suspicious look, “I didn’t know the word ‘fun’ was even in your vocabulary.”
My amusement returns only slightly as I tease her, “You know, it wasn’t until we walked up to the porch.” I don’t know if it’s my excitement to see this part of her life, a part I didn’t have access to even in my research, or if it’s to learn more about her, or if it’s justherin general, but there’s something about the role I’m playing and the place I’m in that’s making the pressure in my chest dissipate and the storm clouds in my head roll away.
She looks entirely unimpressed as she pinches the bridge between her nose with her index finger and thumb. “I came here to reprimand a sixteen-year-old and now I have a thirty-year-old to reprimand too.”
I smirk. I never told her how old I was. It seems I’m not the only one in this fake relationship who did their homework on the other. A rush of pleasure washes through me at the inclination that my little devil is just as interested in me as I amin her.
I don’t get the chance to respond because her mother screeches from upstairs, “Ivory! He broke my fucking mirror!”
Ivory groans and throws her head back, “Here we fucking go.” She takes a long breath before she makes her way up the stairs. When she makes it up four, she stops, turning to look at me over her shoulder. She looks hesitant and slightly nervous as if she wants to ask me something but doesn’t have the courage to. Like she’s trying to figure out if she can really rely on me.
I tilt my head at her, “What is it?” I know right away with her when she needs something or has something to say that she isn’t saying. I’ve come to know her very well in our few weeks together.
She bites her lip anxiously before she asks, “Can you come with me? For emotional support.”Those three words hit me like a shot to the chest.
I’m behind her on the stairs in a second, “Whatever you need.” I reassure her because it’s true. I’d do anything for her and I want her to know that. She barely has to ask. I’m putty in her hands and I’d deny it to anyone else.
Ivory’s body relaxes immediately at my presence and it sends a flash of warmth through my chest to know she finds comfort in my proximity. My cock hardens in my pants almost instantly and I have to rearrange it before we make it up those stairs and her mother gets a look at my junk.
We make it to the top of the stairs and she leads me down a long hallway to what must be her mother’s room. There’s yelling coming from inside and I know right away Sam and Tara are inside arguing. Ivory takes a deep breath before she twists the knob and pushes the door open. When she takes in the sight on the other side she sucks in a small breath. The mirror attached to the gray dresser is completely shattered, shards scattered all over the floor around Sam and Tara’s feet.
Tara is waving her finger in Sam’s face and he’s screaming right back in hers, not letting her speak. Ivory freezes and I place a hand on her shoulder to remind her I’m here and she isn’t alone. She relaxes under my touch and I even notice that she seems to lean into my body slightly whether she knows what she’s doing or not. I want desperately to spin her around and kiss her, but that will have to wait for another time.
“You’re such a fucking bitch!” Sam snarls in his mother’s face.
