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He wrapped his arms around me and whispered, “I got you.”
It only took a few seconds until I took a deep breath and tried to regain my composure. I swallowed hard as Luca rinsed the suds from my hair. As he slowly washed my back, he asked tenderly, “why is this so hard for you?” He sounded genuinely puzzled.
No, I couldn’t do this! His voice, his tender touch, it was too much! Emotions collided with one another. Confusion, desire, wanting to trust him…scared!No, not scared…That’s when I realized my wolf trusted him completely but theotherpart of me was afraid. The conversation with Kelly came roaring back to me. Could it be that easy? I didn’t think so, but I wanted to believe it could. My heart hammered inside my chest. At least I was turned away from Luca when I decided to face my fears.
“My first memories are with my foster parents, Gene and Brittney. They feared me and always kept their distance until they could pass me along to another family. It was always the same. I would be moved from one family to another. They would dote on me for a few days until they figured out something was wrong with me. By the time Caroline took me in, I was already closed off. Everyone left or sent me away. Caroline was different. She didn’t treat me like a kid. She treated me like a ward, someone to protect until I turned eighteen. And then she let me walk away.”
“So, nobody has ever taken care of you? Not the way parents take care of their pups?”
“No.”
Emotions clouded my eyes, but I refused to cry. I would not feel sorry for myself. Feeling sorry served no purpose and only held you back. Caroline drilled that into me. Luca slowly turned me around, his eyes locked with mine. There were no words, only the sound of water splashing the bottom of the shower.
“Let me take care of you, Ivy.”
Shaking my head, I reiterated an earlier statement. “I will not submit. My wolf won’t allow it.”
“Not submit. Well, maybe in the bedroom.” A smile ghosted his lips. “A partnership. I will never make you look weak in front of others and vice versa. Lean on me as I will lean on you.”
My confused eyes met his chocolate ones. “You make it sound so simple.”
He stroked my cheek. “It can be.”
Shaking my head, I conjured up all kinds of reasons why it would never work and then voiced them. “You don’t even know me. We don’t know what my other half is, and the council will….”
“Nothing,” he interrupted. “The council will do nothing. You are my other half, the only one I will have in this lifetime, and I refuse to care what anyone else thinks. We are stronger together.”
Without giving me a chance to answer, he briefly pressed his lips to mine. Speechless, I let him continue to wash me. My head was a jumbled mess with indecision. Luca made me feel safe and comfortable. As much as I tried to fight him in the beginning, the pull toward him was strong and not entirely unwelcome. Yet, I still worried about what would happen if the council decided I should be dead. Would they kill Luca too? Or would he walk away if I had to run? Deep down. Somewhere deep, deep down, I knew these were unreasonable fears, but they were still there, nonetheless, simmering.
Luca grabbed two towels and smiled. “Stop thinking so much.” But I couldn’t stop. I was too busy dreaming about thewhat ifs. What if I gave in and mated Luca? What if it didn’t work out? What if it did?
After dressing and following Luca downstairs to the dining room, I was still stuck in my head when I heard the snickers. My head whipped up to see Devon, Trace, and Axel trying to smother their laughs. Rage looked oddly disinterested. What the hell were they laughing at?
Chapter 16
Luca
Enjoy your morning?Axel asked with a raised eyebrow.
As a matter of fact, I have. I pulled out the chair for Ivy.
Devon snickered.Nice marks. Pay up, Axel.
What did you bet on?They were always making small wagers on anything and everything. So why should I have expected this to be any different?
It was Devon who answered.Who would mark who? Especially with all the thumps, grunts, and cussing coming from your room. Axel almost stormed upstairs to break up the fight. But don’t worry, Rage and I held him back.
“What are they laughing at?” Ivy asked, not trying at all to hide her voice. I loved her strength.
“They are laughing at all the marks we’ve left on each other.”
“Oh, is that all. Okay then.”
She reached for a biscuit and then proceeded to fill her plate with bacon, ham, and potatoes, the guys and their snickering forgotten. My pride for her swelled and so did my protective instincts. When she told me about her childhood, the way everyone had passed her around. The way Caroline treated her as a ward, someone to train and protect and nothing more, I wanted to hunt down every single person who had caused Ivy one inkling of grief.
My wolf grew impatient. He wanted his mate and pushed me daily to sink my teeth into her shoulder. That would ignite the mating frenzy, and I couldn’t do that to Ivy without her permission. No, when we mated there would be no secrets or insecurities between us. I only had to be patient and supportive.
Her dual nature worried me a little, but it didn’t change anything. Fate deemed her my other half, and I wouldn’t let her go. Ivy needed gentle pushes in the right direction. Baby steps, that’s all I needed her to take until she knew I would always be by her side.
