Chapter 101: I can’t think when you touch me.

Ivy’s pov

Well damn, Gideon Knight was way too smart and way too dangerous to be fooled.

Which meant Milo had to have been working his ass off overtime the past few years just to be able to cheat or scam the brothers. Honestly all he had going for him was that he had their trust.

The air in Gideon’s study was thick with the scent of old leather, oud, and the faint, metallic smell of antiseptic.

The bruise on my skin stung as he wiped it gently, his touch was a stark contrast to his cold anger that I had witnessed a few moments before.

I bit back a whimper as his long fingers glided over my skin, dabbing the cooling ointment on the raw red marks Milo had left around my throat. Jackass.

Each gentle press sent a shiver through me, a confusing mix of pain and a pleasure so potent it was almost agony.

"I asked a question, Ivy,"

IVY?! Not Miss Harpley?

I swallowed hard, my throat bobbing against his fingers. "Yes."

Of course, he knew. A man like Gideon didn’t miss details. He had already connected the dots.

He didn’t look surprised. His sapphire gaze remained fixed on my neck, his expression unreadable. "Milo has been careful for years. He wouldn’t have been stupid enough to order trackers and have them delivered to our estate."

"I had no choice," I whispered, the words barely audible. "I figured... I figured planting suspicion, pushing him against the wall with something tangible, would drag the truth out into the open. I knew you would investigate."

His fingers stilled, then resumed, tracing the delicate line of my collarbone. "It was very reckless."

"I know," I admitted, avoiding his eyes. I didn’t need to be schooled. He had no idea how pressed I was. Milo was such a cruel guy and he had even tried to rape me. I had to do something. I was desperate as hell.

"Then why did you do it?" His voice was a low rumble, vibrating through his chest and into mine, where I was perched on his lap.

Was it insane that despite the whole situation, every cell in my body was growing dizzy with the heat of him radiating from his suit.

God, it was overwhelming. Like I was in a furnace despite the AC running.

I forced myself to meet his gaze. His eyes, the color of a stormy sea, were burning with an intensity that seared me, stripping away every defense.

My breath snagged in my throat and I looked away quickly, my cheeks flooding with heat. "I couldn’t stand it," I confessed, the words tumbling out in a rush.

"Seeing him here, gallivanting around, acting like your friend while I knew he was planning... planning evil towards you. I couldn’t have that on my conscience. That and he was being such a cruel bastard."

His fingers brushed gently against my skin as he leaned in even closer, examining the slight purple fingerprints blooming on my neck. "Why didn’t you tell us earlier?"

I let out a shaky sigh, suddenly feeling the weight of the past few weeks crashing down on me. "I didn’t know how. Milo... he told me, over and over again, that you would never believe me. That he was your best friend, and I was just the housekeeper. Who would I be next to you?"

His gaze sharpened, the blue darkening like a sky before a hurricane. "Did Milo truly try to rape you?"

I gritted my teeth, a fresh wave of anger washing over me. "Now that, that was not a fucking lie," I met his gaze head-on, refusing to flinch.

"I would never lie about something like that. He was the man in the club that you had seen trying to talk to me on Saturday. After you left me in the car park that rainy midnight... he came back. He..." I choked back a sob, held my head up, refusing to let the tears fall. "It happened. And I will not be shamed for it."

Gideon’s jaw tightened, a muscle ticking in his cheek. "You shouldn’t be and I apologize. For leaving you alone in that car park. It was dangerous and uncouth of me no matter how furious I was."

"No, no, it wasn’t your fault," I rushed to say, my hand flying to his chest, feeling his steady, strong heartbeat under my palm.

"I understand. You were angry. And really... I hadn’t meant to hurt you. Or stalk you. After the kiss at the orphanage... I heard you on the phone, talking about the club. I went because I wanted you. It wasn’t because I had any ulterior motive."

My breath hitched as his fingers, finished with my neck and trailed down. They traced a path down the sensitive skin of my throat, over the curve of my shoulder, then down my sides, stopping just under the swell of my breasts.

The thin fabric of my uniform was no barrier at all to the heat of his touch. I inhaled sharply, my lungs seizing.

"You were very brave," he murmured, his voice a husky caress. "For trying to expose Milo and fighting back. I wonder what thoughts occupy that clever mind, Ivy Harpley."

I swallowed, my throat suddenly dry. "Uh... kinda nothing at the moment. I can’t think when you touch me."

A ghost of a smirk touched his lips. It was gone as quickly as it appeared. "Good."

And then his lips descended on mine. His mouth crashed down on mine, fierce and possessive, fueled by the adrenaline and fury of the last hour.

His lips were demanding, punishing almost, as if he were trying to erase the memory of Milo’s hands on me and replace it with his own. His tongue swept against my bottom lip, a silent command that I obeyed instantly, opening for him.

One of his hands slid up my back, tangling in my hair, holding my head in place while his other arm banded around my waist, pressing me impossibly closer until there was no space left between us.

All I could feel was him. The solid, unyielding wall of his chest, the hard muscle of his thighs under my ass, the overwhelming, intoxicating presence of Gideon Knight, finally, finally, claiming me as his.