Violet
“Can I ask you something?”
Ivore handed her a cup of hot chocolate. They were alone in his apartment. His brothers were elsewhere. Probably with Andria at the pub. They’d been spending a lot of time there lately.
“Of course,” he answered, sitting down next to her on the couch.
“What you said back there. To Malkin.”
“What about it?”
“Did you mean it? Would you really sacrifice yourself like that?”
Ivore’s response was immediate. “Yes.”
“You’re crazy.”
He smiled. “For you. However, before you go laying those accusations, can I ask how you came to be his prisoner in the first place?”
“Well, I certainly didn’t get picked up off the streets by his goons, if that’s what you’re saying.” She took a long sip of her drink, ignoring the scalding sensation from the hot liquid.
“So how did he get you?”
“He didn’t. I’m not that easy a target,” she said with a sniff. “I walked into his office and told him to take me if it meant leaving you alone.”
Ivore’s jaw fell open. “Why on earth would you do that?”
“I could ask you the same thing.”
He shook his head. “I went there because I love you, because you are my mate, the only woman I will ever want to be with. If it took my sacrifice for him to leave you alone so that you could live out your dream, then so be it. It’s not what I wanted, but I would have done it for you. I would still do it for you if it were required of me.” He bowed his head. “I just wish you could understand that.”
Violet’s stomach clenched from the pain. “Oh, Ivore. No. Ivore, it’s never been about that. I understood. I’ve known from early on that you were serious about me. But I had to keep you away, don’t you see?”
“No!” he shouted. “I don’t understand why you have to reject me. I don’t understand why you would go and offer your life for mine. That makes no sense!”
“Because,” she whispered. “I felt like my life was forfeit already.” She sighed. “I should have died years ago, Ivore. I shouldn’t be here.”
“What are you talking about?”
So she told him. About the accident, about how it was her fault that Chris was dead. How she’d pushed her fiancé to keep driving through the storm. The more she spoke, the more her sense of guilt over Ivore faded. It was like by confiding in him, telling him the truth about her ugly past, that she was finally revealing who she was. Now he could make a real judgment about her. He would see that she wasn’t worth it.
“Oh, Violet. I’m so sorry you had to go through that,” he whispered.
She could see his arms twitching, likely wanting to hug her.
“Now you know the truth,” she said plainly. “And you know why I’ve tried to keep you away.”
“Yes. I do. And why you reacted so strongly when I got hurt.” He nodded. “You saw it happening all over again with me. You didn’t want to be responsible for getting me killed either.”
“Yeah. That, and…” she hesitated. A few minutes earlier she’d been dead set on not saying anything more. But the way Ivore was reacting was not what she’d expected. “You still want to be with me, don’t you?” she asked suddenly.
Ivore blinked. “Of course. Why would that change anything? I feel pain for you, and I wish you would lean on me, let me help. That’s not something you will ever forget, Violet. But it’s also not something that you need to blame yourself for. Everyone has the power to make decisions. You said yourself the crash should have been survivable. Bad luck is not something you control. You aren’t that powerful, I’m sorry. Not even a dragon can handle that. You don’t need to forget Chris to love again, Violet. That’s not the way love works. You create more, you don’t share it.”
She stared at him. Something about those words resonated within her in a way unlike anything else had. So much advice and kind words and support had been given her way, but Violet had ignored it all, turning inward on herself as she spiraled into a depression. Even Andria, with the physical reprimand that she’d so deserved the other night hadn’t truly been able to get Violet to open her eyes and see.
Ivore though, with a few simple words, was somehow able to make her feel more at ease with herself than she had felt since before the accident. She stared at him in wide-eyed wonder. For just a moment she allowed herself to truly imagine what it might be like to be with him. To open up to him and let him into her world. Into her heart. Would it always be like that?
Yes.
She wasn’t sure where the word came from, but it certainly wasn’t her own brain. Was it?
“How do I do that?” she asked nervously. “I…I don’t want to lose you. But I don’t know how to do this, Ivore. I’m scared.”
The gentle giant of a man smiled softly. “As slowly as you want. There’s no rush. If I may suggest though, you might find it calming after everything that’s just happened to let me hug you and to curl up in my arms.”
Violet thought about it, then she nodded. It had been a stressful day. Her shop had burned down with her in it, she’d been threatened with violence and death multiple times, she’d jumped out of a building and—though he’d told her to cover her eyes—had watched Ivore turn into a massive arctic-white dragon that turned half a dozen floors of an office building into an ice sculpture.
Yep, it had been a day.
Ivore scooped her up into his lap, and she rested her head on his broad, powerful chest, feeling the muscles of his core engaged as he held her tight. It was an interesting feeling. She wasn’t ready to explore that more, because fatigue caught up to her just then and she yawned, her eyes settling close.
“Sleep,” he whispered, stroking her head gently with one hand, threading fingers between her hair.
Violet shivered happily, and before she realized it, she was fast asleep.