Ivy's POVMy limbs felt heavy and so did my head. So much so, that something as simple as opening my eyes felt nearly impossible. But I knew I had to try.Ever so slowly, I pried my eyes open, blinking lazily as my vision focused, landing on a figure sitting beside me with their head down.It took me a moment to realise that it was Chris. Oh, Chris.Putting in all the strength I had left and then some, I squeezed his hand which was holding mine, making him jolt up at once. He looked disoriented for a moment before his eyes fell upon me and widened. "You're up," he whispered, seemingly shocked. "Yes," I croaked out, my throat horse.Almost immediately springing into action, he brought a glass of water and lifted my head up a little to help me drink it. The cool water slid down my parched throat and instantly, I felt better. "Goddess, I've been worried sick about you," Chris murmured, pushing my hair behind my ears tenderly as he looked down at me with so much love shining in his stor
Ivy's POV It was later at night, much later than my parents had promised to be home that the house phone rang. Thinking it was them calling, I quickly ran up to the phone and picked it up, ready to give them a piece of my mind for not picking up their phone or informing me that they'd be home late. It wasn't them, though. It was a police officer. And nothing in the world could've prepared me for what was waiting on the other side of the line for me. "Is this the Emerson household?" "Yes. This is Ivy Emerson. Who's this?" "I'm speaking from the town's police department. I have called to inform you that Mr. Jonathan Emerson has been in a particularly nasty car wreck over at the willow creek bridge. I am speaking from the site of the accident-" I cut the call as soon as I heard where they were. My ha
Ivy's POV "What the actual-" I knew something was wrong as soon as I stepped into the house after attending my father's funeral, but nothing could prepare me for the sight in front of me. Our living room looked like it had been hit with a tornado in the time that I was gone. The torn sofa cushions were all lying on the floor, the glass table was smashed to pieces on the floor along with the centre piece and table lamps. The tapestry over the couch was torn into, covering the carpeted floor with soft white feathers, so much so that the carpet was hardly visible. Before I could swear some more, the sound of something crashing met my ears, freezing me in place. Whoever did this was still here. The sane part of my brain told me to run as far away as I could from this place but I never claimed to be a logical
Chris' POV I began to lead the way to my room. Why, I had no idea. My bedroom was a sanctuary to me, the one place no one else entered but me. But for some reason I wanted her to see it. Her strawberry scent was driving me insane, having invaded my senses ever since I'd stepped into the basement where our holding cells were, making me feel protective of her almost instantly. I'd gone down there with every intention of sending her back to where she'd come from like nothing had happened, but one whiff of the intoxicating scent radiating off of her and I wasn't so sure anymore. Pair that with her beautiful red hair and those emerald green eyes, and for the first time in forever, I felt like my iron clad control was slipping. Sure, I'd seen my fair share of beautiful women
Ivy's POV"I thought I told you to stay in the room.""You did.""Then why are you following me?"I used his tactic from before on him. "Because," I said."Because what?""Just because," I grinned. Aside from his lips twitching a little, I didn't get much of a reaction but it was enough to let me know that he was amused too and not overly bothered that I was following him. So I continued to trail behind him.After spending a few minutes with him, I had soon realised that Chris wasn't a man of many words, nor did he show much emotion. But even though he didn't give much away, it was somehow easy for me to judge his mood.It was weird how deeply attuned to his emotions I was but I didn't pay much attention to the thought as I focused on keeping up with his fast pace. I knew for a fact tha
Chris' POVI wasn't one to offer help to humans out of the blue, let alone to a girl I'd only just met.But with Ivy, I wanted to make sure there was nothing troubling her. And when I realised how worried she was about her mother, I offered to help her find the woman.That would give me an opportunity to stay connected to her for some time, at least until I figured out why the hell did I feel this intense attraction towards her.There was something about her, something I couldn't quite put my finger on that drew me towards her like a moth to a flame. Clearly, she was a kind hearted soul if the way she worried about Lily's well being was anything to go by, but that did not mean that she was weak. Not by a long shot.She knew how to stand up to others and wasn't scared of much. For one, she obviously wasn't scared of me. And that was something
Ivy's POVI was sitting on my favourite swing in the park where my mother used to take me as a kid. My feet were too small to reach the ground beneath me but I wanted to swing.I called for my mother. "Mom! Please come and push me!"My mother flashed me a tender smile from her spot on the bench a few feet away. "Sure, baby girl," she said before getting up and coming towards me, her fiery red hair flowing behind her in the wind.Soon, she began to push me. I giggled in delight, cheering her on. "Yes, mom! Higher!"The wind carried the sound of my mother's laughter to me and I giggled harder. I loved making mom happy."Ivy?" She shouted over the sound of the wind."Yes, mom?""You have to save him, you hear me? You have to save him and then I'll come back to you."What was she tal
Chris' POVThe more I thought about the conversation I'd had with Ivy moments ago, the more I realised what I'd done was right. While what I had said in there about her house being dangerous for her as of now had been driven by the fact that I wanted her to stay here with me, I was now realising that it was all in fact true.If it had been that easy for two of my men to break in and abduct her then she clearly wasn't safe there. Besides, if I had been tipped wrongly about her father being the one behind the creation of the venom, then it was definitely a possibility that others had been tipped off of the same as well. And who was to say they wouldn't try and break into her house to investigate? And who was to say that they wouldn't try and hurt her in the process?For a reason unknown to me, I felt fiercely protective of her. So naturally, I wanted to keep her here with me where I could protect her, take ca