LOGINIVY POV
The rain soaked my hair, strands sticking to my face, but I didn’t care. His lips were hard, hot, and hungry. The moment they touched mine, my thoughts vanished. All the control I fought to keep… gone.I tried to push him away. Tried to breathe.“Ronan…” I gasped.But his kiss swallowed the word. His tongue teased mine, slow and wicked, while his hands gripped my waist, pulling me tight against him.“You drive me mad,” he murmured against mIVY POVHis breath hitched against my mouth as I gripped his shirt, and that only seemed to make him lose the last bit of control he had left.His hands slid up my back, pulling me tighter against him, like distance itself offended him. The kiss deepened… still hungry, still desperate… but slower now… deliberate. Like he was taking his time memorizing me all over again.“Ivy…” he murmured against my lips, my name rough, almost unsteady.I tried to think. Tried to remember every reason I should stop this.But my fingers curled tighter into his shirt instead.His forehead rested against mine for a second, both of us breathing hard.“Tell me to stop,” he said quietly.The words surprised me.I looked at him… really looked this time. Not the cocky, infuriating man who pushed every button I had… but the one beneath it. The one who sounded like he actually meant it.I opened my mouth.N
IVY POVThe words hit me like a spark in gasoline.My breath caught in my throat. The air between us suddenly felt too hot, too tight.Ronan was standing right in front of me in the middle of his living room, his chest rising and falling, eyes dark and burning with something raw and reckless.My heart slammed against my ribs.“Ronan…” I whispered, my voice shaky.He stepped closer, slow this time, like he was giving me a chance to stop him. To walk away.But I didn’t.My back hit the wall behind me before I even realized I had moved.His hand came up, bracing beside my head. The other slid to my waist, pulling me gently but firmly toward him.“Ivy,” he said quietly, his voice rougher now. “Look at me.”I did.And that was my mistake.Those eyes had always undone me. Six years later, they still did.“I shouldn’t be here,” I said, though my hands were already g
IVY POVI stepped back toward the door, trying to regain control. “I… I should go,” I said, my voice shaking more than I liked.He moved with me, impossibly fast, closing the space between us. My chest pressed against his, the heat of him overwhelming.“Ivy…” His lips found my ear first, warm and insistent. “I’ve missed this. I’ve missed you.”A shiver ran down my spine, and I swallowed hard, trying to push him away…. but my hands froze against his chest. His fingers brushed my hair back, grazing my neck. “Eyes,” he whispered, “I fucking missed you, Ivy.”I gasped, heart hammering. His lips slid from my ear down my jaw, finally capturing mine in a deep, consuming kiss.I tried to resist, tried to push him away, but it was useless. Every nerve in my body was alive, screaming with memories and desire I’d thought I’d buried.“I… Ronan…” I managed, but the sound was weak against the force of him.He smirked against
IVY POVThe rain soaked my hair, strands sticking to my face, but I didn’t care. His lips were hard, hot, and hungry. The moment they touched mine, my thoughts vanished. All the control I fought to keep… gone.I tried to push him away. Tried to breathe.“Ronan…” I gasped.But his kiss swallowed the word. His tongue teased mine, slow and wicked, while his hands gripped my waist, pulling me tight against him.“You drive me mad,” he murmured against my lips, his voice rough and low.Then he pulled back just enough to look at me, that dangerous, teasing smile on his face.Before I could think… before I could protest… his hands slid lower and he lifted me easily, like I weighed nothing at all.“Put me down,” I said, my voice sharp, even though my heart was pounding.Ronan chuckled, low and amused. The sound vibrated through me.“You’re coming with me,” he said.My feet dangled as he ca
IVY POVBy the time I made it to the bar, the city lights were bouncing off the wet streets like they were trying to hypnotize me. I needed a drink. A strong, reckless drink that would erase the tension of the day… even if just for an hour.The place was dim, low music humming through the speakers, a few patrons scattered around. Perfect. I slid onto a stool at the end of the bar and ordered something strong… neat. Whiskey. Black. No frills.I watched the amber liquid swirl, tried to focus on nothing at all. But my mind betrayed me. Hale. Ronan. Every step I’d taken tonight, every breath I’d stolen to ignore him… it all came crashing back.I sighed, leaning my elbows on the counter, willing myself to relax. Maybe a drink or two would make me forget, just long enough.And then I felt it. That presence.A shadow at the edge of the bar.I didn’t have to turn around to know. My gut screamed it before my brain even processed.
IVY POVThe elevator doors slid shut, sealing me inside a mirrored box with my reflection.Calm face.Steady breathing.I stared at myself as the elevator rose.“You don’t mean that.” His voice replayed in my head like it had a permanent lease there.Watch me. I muttered to myselfThe doors opened onto my floor. I stepped out like nothing had happened. Associates rushed past. Phones rang. Deadlines breathed down everyone’s necks.Good. Noise helped.I walked into my office and shut the door softly behind me.Two seconds later, my phone buzzed.Of course.Ronan.“You can’t keep running from me Ivy.”I typed back immediately.I’m walking away. There’s a difference.Three dots appeared.Why are you being difficultMy jaw tightened.You have a really big nerve to make demands.No response for a full minut
IVY POVThe text hit me like a punch to the chest.For the past three days, Ronan had canceled every tutoring session. No explanation. No call. Just short messages that felt distant and cold.I told myself not to care.I told myself he was busy. That it wasn’t my pr
IVY POVIt had been a week since Vienna pushed me.Seven days since the hospital lights, the headache, the whispers, the video that somehow disappeared from the internet but not from people’s memories. Seven days since Ronan started looking at me like he was afraid I’d vanish if
IVY POVI woke up with a dull ache pulsing at the back of my head.For a second, I didn’t know where I was. The room was dark, quiet, too quiet. Then the familiar shape of my desk, my curtains, my old lamp came into focus, and it hit me… I was home.My bed. My room.
IVY POVAsshole!Zoe snapped at Max, hands on her hips. “You were supposed to go swimming with us, and you canceled just to go on a date with a girl you barely know.”Max shrugged, completely unbothered. “Yeah… Swimming with you guys isn’t even fun…I'd rather spend my d







