Page 55 of Mr. Romantic (Mister 2)

“I’ll be careful,” I say. “I can make it up to you, Ivy.” I place my hand on her cheek and press her back against the tile. The whole shower is steaming up from the hot water and a mist floats between us. A thin mist that might as well be a wall. “I’ll show you why they call me Mr. Romantic. You won’t be disappointed.”

She just stares into my eyes.

“Say something.”

“I can’t,” she whispers.

“Why not?”

“Because I don’t trust myself.”

I grin. Oh, you little fucking virgin. “You don’t need to trust yourself, you just need to follow my lead.”

“I can’t do that either. Something is missing.”

“You know what’s missing, Ivy? My dick inside you again, that’s what’s missing. I know you’re inexperienced, so I’m gonna talk you through this. Turn around, press your hands on the tile above your head, and open your legs.”

“No.” She licks her damn lip as she says it. And then she says it again. “No.”

“Then what are we doing here?”

“Negotiating, Mr. Delaney. Isn’t that what one does in a business agreement?”

“Is this business?”

“It is now.”

I tuck my head down to hide the grin. “OK,” I say, looking back up at her. “Let’s make a deal. What do you want?”

“The truth about that night.”

“Can’t do it, Ivy. I haven’t told anyone. Not my sister, not my friends, not my father, not even my mother. And if I were going to tell someone, it would be my mother, not you.”

Her shoulders relax and she takes a deep breath. “So you’re a mama’s boy?”

I shrug. “Maybe. But I’ll tell you what. I’ll play the game with you, if that’s what gets you off. I’ll draw you. I’ll pose you and draw you. Naked, out there in bedroom. And then you’ll see that what I just said is true.”

“What do I have to give you?” she asks.

“Turn around. Press your hands on the tile above your head. And open your legs.”

“What will you do then?”

“You’ll have to wait and see.”

“I want to know now, Nolan.” Her chest is rising and falling even faster now, letting me know her heart is beating fast. She’s scared. Really, truly scared.

“Do it and I’ll show you. You know you want to. Or you’d be out of here. And don’t give me some stupid excuse that you have no ride or you’re on the wrong side of the country. If you think I’d strand you with no ride home, then I don’t want you here.”

I wait her out as she considers her options, but the seconds tick off and I know she won’t make a decision unless I push her. “Decide, Ivy. I’ve got better ways to spend the day than standing here in the shower waiting for you. How will you ever be in charge of anything if you can’t make your own decisions?”

“That’s not fair.”

“Who said anything about fair? Fuck fair. If life was fair, I’d have my college degree right now. If life was fair, my father would still care about me. If life was fair, I wouldn’t have been accused of rape. Life has never been fair. Not for me. Not for you. Not for anyone.”

Chapter Twenty-Two - Ivy

I shouldn’t believe him. I should just push him away, put my clothes on, and demand that he takes me home.