that said she knew what he was up to, but she rose and headed inside.
They shed their shoes and jackets by the door, hanging the jackets on their pegs and lining the shoes by the wall. Elijah found the practice of it strange, the little rituals that they’d built up since they’d met feeling awkward for the first time.
Elijah trailed Ivy to the couch and sat beside her, unsure how to begin.
“I need you to tell me something,” Ivy said, looking down at her hands in her lap. “I need you to tell me that you don’t just want a child so you can inherit a castle, or whatever.”
Shame crept into Elijah’s chest.
“When I first found out that you wanted a family right away, that was the main draw. I thought you were very beautiful, but I mainly wanted a family to keep my legacy.”
Ivy glanced up at him, giving him a quick glimpse of the misery in her beautiful eyes before she nodded and ducked her head once more.
“Ivy,” he said, reaching out to cover one of her hands with his. “That was only at the beginning, before I knew you. It’s not at all how I feel now. You understand that?”
She shrugged a single shoulder, and it nearly broke him.
“Ivy, you’re my mate,” he said, tugging at her fingers.
She looked up at him, shock and denial written across her face.
“But—” she started, but seemed unable to continue as tears filled her eyes.
“I need something from you, too,” he said, squeezing her hand.
“I’m so sorry!” she blurted out. “I didn’t mean to mislead you—”
“That’s not— no. I need you to tell me that we’ll have time together. However long it is, I just need to know…”
“Years. Fifteen, maybe. Maybe more,” she said, using her free hand to wipe at her tears. “I know it’s not enough…”
“Ivy, you could tell me eighty years and I’d say it’s not enough,” Elijah said, reaching out to pull her closer.
“I’d understand if you wanted to leave,” she said, turning her face away from him. “I lied to you, and I won’t… I won’t be around to see my children graduate, you know?”
“I could never,” he uttered, cupping her chin and turning her face toward his. “I could never, never do that. I love you, Ivy.”
Ivy’s face crumpled and she threw herself into his arms. A feeling of rightness bloomed in his chest as he held her and stroked her hair, his own eyes stinging a bit. He felt overwhelmed. Sad, elated, devastated, overjoyed. Up and down.
When Ivy pulled back for a moment to look at him, he gave her a smile.
“I love you too, Elijah,” she said.
His smile widened to a grin, only to be stolen away when Ivy brushed her lips against his.
Elijah grabbed Ivy and pulled her onto his lap, facing him to straddle his hips. He slipped his hands under her shirt and ran his calloused palms over the smooth skin of her hips and back. Ivy squealed at the chill of his touch, but when he swept his hands up to cup her breasts through her bra she moaned and arched into his touch.
Ivy nipped his lower lip, eliciting a deep, rumbling growl from Elijah, his wolf making itself known. He pinched her nipples through her bra, hard. She gasped and brought her body flush against his.
Elijah hissed when she rubbed her mound over his thickening cock, digging the fingers of one hand deep into the thick fall of her blonde hair. He tugged her head back, opening the creamy column of her neck to his teeth and tongue. He nipped and licked and sucked at her earlobe, neck, and nape until she writhed in his arms and cried out for mercy.
“Eli, please,” Ivy pled. He loved the way she said his name, loved hearing her beg for more of him.
“Get these off,” he ordered, stripping away her sweater and shirt, helping her pull off her thick wool leggings and panties at once. He unhooked and dispatched her bra, leaving her naked on his lap. When she tugged up the hem of his shirt he let her undress him. She lifted herself up, unbuttoning and pushing his jeans down
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