by Ella Miles
“I guess I’d better get used to it if I’m going to be hanging around this one,” she says.
“No. You don’t need to get used to it. In fact, if you’re smart, you will stay far away from us all. But, if you do end up as part of this family, know that you won’t have to face it alone. You can ignore all the horrible stuff that is said about you anyway,” Murray says.
“Thank you,” Ivy says.
I take Ivy’s hand back in mine. “Let’s get you to your room, so you have time to change before you have to face the last obstacle of today—Margaret.”
Ivy nods. “It was nice meeting you, Murray. I’m looking forward to talking with you more tonight,” Ivy says.
Murray chuckles. “Good luck with that. Margaret rather likes to hog conversations, but I’m sure we will be spending more time together in the future.”
Ivy raises an eyebrow at me in fear.
I just shrug. I can do my best to protect her, but I can only do so much to protect her against Margaret.
I lead Ivy out of Murray’s sitting room and head toward her bedroom.
“Wait,” she says.
I stop and look at her. She has a sexy grin on her face.
“What’s going on in that head of yours?” I ask with a grin because her grin is infectious.
“Show me the ruins.” Her grin brightens even more.
I laugh and shake my head. I look down at my watch to see the time. “We have forty-five minutes, tops, before Margaret gets here.”
Ivy places her hands around my neck and then closes her eyes as she leans up and kisses me on the lips, slipping her tongue into my mouth, enticing me to give in to what she wants along with my own desires. She pulls away but not before she sucks on my lip just a second longer. When I open my eyes, I can see from the look on her face that she knows she’s won. That I’ve given in and that I will do whatever she wants.
“I’ll show you the ruins, but we have to be quick.”
Her face lights up, and she starts skipping as I lead her down the long corridor and outside to the warm fresh air where the sun beats down on top of us.
“You know, you can’t always use that to get your way,” I say as she skips in front of me even though she has no idea where she’s going.
She starts skipping backward so that she can face me. She looks so beautiful when she’s this happy. I wish I could make her this happy every day, but I’m thankful that she was so quick to get her spark back after what had happened to her only hours before.
“I’m guessing it’ll work at least ninety to ninety-five percent of the time. I’ll play my odds,” she says with a wink.
I sigh and shake my head. “You’re probably right. It’s just because I find you so irresistible.”
She smiles. “I know,” she says before biting her finger. Then, she slowly runs her finger down her body before slipping her hand beneath her dress and underwear, touching herself. Turning herself on.
I stop walking, frozen, just looking at her touch herself in the backyard, but there’s at least two dozen staff within eyesight of us at the moment. I don’t tell her that because I don’t want to embarrass her, and more importantly, I don’t want her to stop.
“You’re a dirty girl, you know that?”
“I’m your dirty girl,” she says, removing her fingers from her panties. She sticks one finger in my mouth, followed by the next one and then the next, until I have tasted all her juices off each finger.
“Your Highness, is that you? I need—” Thomas’s voice rings out over the gardens.
“Run!” I shout to Ivy as I give her a mischievous look with my eyes.
We both take off running down the hill that leads to the initial gardens, then past another large field filled with fountains between two large pools on either side.
We keep running even though I know Thomas can no longer hear, see, or find me to ask me some silly question like, What should be on the menu for dinner tonight? I honestly couldn’t care less.
But we keep running anyway because I don’t want any other staff members to stop us and because it’s fun. Ivy starts running toward a clearing on the right, assuming that’s where we’re going. I run harder to catch up with her and then scoop her up and throw her over my shoulder. I start running in the other direction where there is no trail.
She squeals, “What are you doing? I can run, you know. Just tell me where we’re going.”
I smack her ass. “But this is way more fun.”
We both laugh again as I run through the woods, ducking left and right to avoid tree branches that have fallen and bushes that are overgrown. I go on a very small trail that is only visible to those who know it’s here. Mainly, me and Murray. But, unlike Murray, who hasn’t been back here in years, I come back every summer. It’s my favorite place on earth, and I would live here if I could. I don’t get lost along the old almost half-mile trail that leads down to the abandoned ruins of the castle that is now part castle, part garden, and part forest. When I get close, I stop and put Ivy down so that she can get the full image as the castle comes into view.
I look at her breathing heavily as she stares at my favorite place on earth. She starts walking closer but very slowly, like she doesn’t want to disturb anything around her. I follow right next to her so that I can see her face and the castle ruins at the same time. She stops, and her face is as beautiful as the place. All I can think about is how much I want her right now. How beautiful she is when she’s like this. Her lips are lush and red, her hair relaxed and natural, her body so focused on something. The rest of the world no longer matters. I want her to look at me the same way that she looks at these ruins.
“What do you think?” I ask.
She doesn’t say anything. She just takes another couple of steps forward.
I ask again, “What do you think?”
But she again takes a few steps forward, like she doesn’t hear me. We continue this pattern over and over until we are both standing inside the ruins in the center of the large room that used to be a ballroom with only three of the four walls remaining. The ceiling is gone, and roses and all sorts of flowers crawl up the walls and take over the floor, making it the perfect hideout.
“What do you think?” I ask again. Even though I already know what she thinks, I need to hear it. I need her to love this place as much as I love her.
She still doesn’t answer. Instead, she lies down on her back, looking up at the sky and everything around her. I lie down next to her, feeling the thorns of the roses and the sticks that cover and layer the ground stick into my back. But the pain is soon forgotten because of the beauty that surrounds us.
“I know that this is a little overwhelming for you, Ivy. But I need to know what you think. I’m desperate to hear that you love this place as much as I love you.” I hesitantly look over at Ivy, hoping she’ll finally give me an answer.
Ivy turns over, so we are looking at each other. Nose-to-nose. Body-to-body. Our lips just barely touching, just enough to call it a kiss.
Then, Ivy says, “I love it as much as I love you.”
19
Ivy
I said it. I finally said it. I love you.
He now knows that my feelings have changed, but I don’t know where we’ll go from here. Right now, honestly, I don’t care.
He doesn’t say anything back, but hearing him say I love you again is not what I need right now, and he knows it. Instead, he wraps his arms around me, looks deep into my eyes, and then kisses me while rolling me on top of his body. His kisses are primal, showing me just how hungry and desperate he is for me. He holds nothing back as he kisses me over and over. Not letting me go, even when I try to provide him some relief from the thorns that I know are sticking into his back. He doesn’t let me take the pain away. He takes it all himself. I know he is trying to protect me from the thorns, but it also feels like he’s trying to protect me from something else. I just don’t know what.
I sit up, straddling him, trying
to provide him a little relief under the guise of taking my dress off, followed by my bra. We stare at each other, both breathing hard and fast, each of our hearts barely controllable in our chests.
“You don’t have to protect me all the time, you know. I can take care of myself,” I say.
I roll onto my back until the thorns jab into my skin. I’m sure I’m causing scars that I might never get rid of. Luca studies me to see exactly where the pain is and how badly it hurt me. He then removes his own shirt when he realizes that the pain is bearable.
“I know you can take care of yourself. You can handle the pain and face any obstacle in front of you. But you shouldn’t have to because of me. You shouldn’t have to when I can protect you.” He roughly grabs hold of me again and rolls us back over so that he’s taking all the thorns and pain himself. His hands touch the back of my skin as he kisses my shoulders where I can see little drops of blood trickling down.
“I promise you, you will never have to feel pain like this again.”
He kisses my shoulder again, making what little pain is there instantly disappear, as his hands travel over my body until he finds a small thorn still trapped in the skin of my back. He sits up with me sitting on his lap. He gently pulls it out while kissing my neck, so I don’t even feel him removing it.
“And any pain that you have to deal with, I promise, I’ll take it away as soon as I know you’re in pain.”
I firmly kiss him on the lips, hating that he feels like he has to protect me. Hating that he feels responsible for my well-being. That, in some way, he is responsible for protecting me. I know his promises are sincere, but there’s no way for him to keep them. He can provide more bodyguards, more security, to prevent some crazy person from kidnapping me, raping me, or killing me, but he can’t guarantee it. Honestly, I’m not sure I want him to because a life like that would surely be filled with many given-up opportunities, all a mistake to keep me safe. And I know that’s not what either one of us wants.
He stands up with my legs wrapped around his waist. He undoes his jeans, and I push them and his underwear down. I kiss him hard over and over, my hands tangling in his hair, his hand running all over my body while the other holds me up. He slowly eases us back down to the ground, but I know it’s difficult for him to keep his balance because we can’t keep our hands off of each other. We can’t stop kissing. We can’t stop being connected as one in any way that we possibly can. Somehow, he manages to get us back on the ground without letting one single thorn grace my skin.
His hand slips into my underwear while my hands travel over his hard pecs and abs and then to his back. I’m trying to hold him up to protect him, but I can’t. He won’t let me. Every time I try, his back goes more firmly against the thorns, causing him even more pain. I know he feels it even though he tries not to show it to me. He moans when I kiss him, but I can still detect a hint of pain, not pleasure.
He tugs at my panties, trying to get them off, but he can’t get them fully off in the position we’re sitting in. There are only two choices. Stand up to remove them, which would cause the least physical pain but would mean separating our lips and our bodies for a couple of seconds. Right now, I just can’t handle that. Or roll me back over onto my back so that he can remove my pants for me.
I open my eyes and see Luca staring back at me, already coming to the same conclusion.
“No. No more,” he says before going back to kissing me again.
I don’t have to say anything now. I just look at him, and he knows what I want, what I need. He rolls me over as gently as possible, basically still holding me up with his arms behind my back. I lower my panties, all while he holds me up, keeping me from the pain. When my pants are pulled below my knees, he flips back over, and I come down on his thick, hard cock. He growls in obvious pain and pleasure. I just can’t tell which one is stronger. When I start thrusting up and down over his hard body and I can see the pain gone from his eyes, I know which is stronger. I know that I want to be careful, but I can’t, not with him. I thrust over and over, and his body meets each of my thrusts.
We kiss in unison, tangling our hands in each other’s hair. It doesn’t take us long to grow so close to bursting after the emotions of the last couple of days. We both just keep moving faster together while our eyes lock, our mouths claim each other, and our bodies become one. We fuck, sure, but more importantly, we make love.
“Fuck, baby,” Luca says I move faster.
I need him to come, need him to feel the ultimate pleasure.
“Are you close, baby? Because, God, I need you to be close.”
“Yes!” I scream.
“Come, princess,” Luca growls as he thrusts harder and harder, his hard body hitting me, rubbing against my clit.
His cock pushes deep inside me to a place I never knew he could hit. My heart.
I scream as I come, and Luca does the same. I try to collapse back on the ground, but he doesn’t let me. Instead, his arms wrap tightly around me as we both breathe heavily on each other’s chests.
“So, that’s what it feels like to make love.” Luca sighs, still breathing heavily.
“I guess it is.”
“It’s still not too late,” he says.
I lift my head to look at him. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, you can still take back your I love you. You still don’t know everything about me. I still have too many truths left to tell. And, as much as I love hearing those words fall from your lips, I can’t really believe them, not until you know all of me.”
“It doesn’t matter what else you have to say. I know the lies. I know that, when you lie to me, you’re just trying to protect me. So, whatever you say to me now, it doesn’t matter. I’ll still love you. I don’t need to take my I love you back. Ever.”
“I hope that’s the case. But, to protect my own heart, I can’t believe you just yet.”
I frown as I study Luca’s eyes, going back and forth between them, trying to understand what could be so bad. I don’t know what more he could say. What lie he could tell me that would hurt me. I know that the only lie he could say that would hurt me is saying I love you and not really meaning it.
“I really think you could’ve found a better use for your time, like figuring out how to fix this family scandal, than by fucking my son in a garden where anyone could see you,” a woman says from behind me.
I jump at the startle of someone being here when I wasn’t expecting anyone. And then realize I’m completely naked. I grab my clothes lying next to me, and I do my best to cover my naked butt and back while staying pressed to Luca’s naked body. I look at Luca, who looks like he’s about ready to kill someone. He doesn’t seem to be bothered at all by the fact that his mother just found us having sex.
“What are you doing here, Margaret?” Luca growls, his voice dark and heavy, filled with an anger I’m not sure I have ever seen before.
I take a chance and glance back at the woman that I now realize is his mother. She’s standing just barely at the entrance with her arms folded across her chest and a scowl only a mother could give on her face.
“The question is not, what am I doing here? The question is, what are you doing here with her?” she says.
Luca shakes his head. “What the hell do you think we are doing here, Mom? We’re fucking.”
I wince just a little.
“Oh, so it’s Mom now. You haven’t called me that since you were twelve.”
“Well, it shows you just how angry I really am.”
“Get dressed and meet me at the back patio in ten minutes, preferably with clothes on. I need to talk to Ivy alone. And, Luca, you need a haircut before tonight’s ball.”
Luca doesn’t protest or say anything to his mother. He just lies, frozen.
Eventually, I know she has left because the coldness I felt upon her immediate arrival is gone, and the warm sun begins to shine back down on us.
“We need to get dressed and go,” Luca says as he helps m
e into a standing position.
He hands me the rest of my clothes, and I start getting dressed. Both of us are careful not to step on any of the sharp thorns.
“Your mother’s pretty scary. You weren’t lying when you said your mother was going to be an obstacle.”
“No, I wasn’t,” Luca says with a coldness that I didn’t expect after we just made love so passionately a moment before.
It’s clear that moment is long gone.
I try not to be anxious about having to speak with his mother alone, but I am. She clearly didn’t get the greatest first impression of me. And it’s clear he has his own issues with his mother that he needs to deal with. She can’t be that bad. Maybe a little protective of her son.
I finish dressing first and watch Luca put on his jeans before he turns and bends down to pick up his shirt still lying on the floor.
I gasp when I see it. His back is covered in thorns, deep scratches, and blood. But I don’t know what to say to take that pain away. He turns around as he slips his shirt back on and walks over to me. His eyes look at me for the first time since his mother came in.
He softly kisses me on the forehead and then says, “Don’t worry, princess; the scars are worth it. Because, every time I look at them or feel them, I’ll remember how I felt in this moment, how happy and loved I was, if only for a short time. Because it won’t be long now until you hate me; I’m sure of that.”
“And what will I be left with?”
“Your heart.”
20
Luca
I see Margaret scowling at us as we get closer. Her arms are crossed, and her high-heeled foot taps loudly over and over again against the pavement. It takes everything in my body not to run over and strangle her after I finally realized what she did. I knew it the second that she came and found us in the ruins. I knew that was all a test. And I’m sick of it. I’m sick of her games, especially when someone’s life is at stake.
I lean over to Ivy, who’s standing next to me, probably scared to death by the woman standing in front of us. But there’s nothing that I can say to ease those fears.