Page 174 of Boys Who Hunt
The blush that follows is all I need before I march toward the cash register and put down all the outfits she’s had on. Then I slam my card down in front of the old lady, who just stares at me with a blank face.
“Which one?” she asks.
“Allof them.” A smug smile spreads on my face. “Including the one she has on.”
“Oh no, please, I can’t pay for this,” Ivy mutters as she comes up behind me with her old clothes.
“That’s fine because I won’t allow it,” I say as I swipe my card.
The old lady starts packing up the outfits one by one, glaring at us both with disdain.
“But I can’t pay you back. Not for any of this,” Ivy says.
I turn my head to look at those beautiful eyes that have managed to mesmerize me so. “I don’t expect you to. It’s a gift.” I snatch the bag off the counter and push it into Ivy’s hand. “No strings attached.”
She swallows as I grab her other hand and take her out of the store with me, back to the car. I open the passenger’s side door and wait until she’s inside before I run over to the driver’s side and jump in too.
But the moment I start the car, she gazes off into the distance, distracted by whatever thoughts are swirling through her head.
“I recognize that look,” I say.
“What look?” she retorts.
“The one where you wistfully stare off into the distance instead of saying what you really think.”
She narrows her eyes.
“I do it all the time,” I add with a lopsided smile.
“It just … feels wrong to take these.” She glances down at the bag.
“Why? They’re my gift to you.”
She looks my way, concern contorting her face. “Because I don’t normally wear any of these. Each one costs more than a month of rent.” She takes in a deep breath. “We fucked, and I go back to the Skull and Serpent Society with this.”
I grasp her chin to make her look at me. “I didn’t pay you to have sex with me, Ivy. You did that out of your own volition.”
She makes a face and turns away from me.
I hit the gas in response, frustrated that I can’t get through to her because I can’t find the goddamn words I need.
Why does this have to be so complicated?
“Fuck the deal,” I grit.
“But—”
“No. You’re not a whore. Even if we treat you like one. Even if we love making you feel like our whore. That doesn’t make you one because whores sell their body, and I wouldn’t fucking let anyone else touch you, ever. If anyone even so much as tried, I’d chop off their hands.”
Her eyes widen, and she immediately tucks her hair behind her ear like she was shocked she got caught listening.
“Yes. Tuck that hair behind that ear because I need you to hear me out.” My dick twitches from the mere idea of reminding her who she belongs to once more even though I just had my way with her. “No one else fucking touches you. We own you. You are our whore when we want you to be, but we will fucking treat you like a princess if you let us.” I slide my hand up her neck and caress her cheek. “So take the goddamn gift, Ivy. Let me spoil you.”
A hint of a smile forms on her lips before she turns away again.
But I saw it. And I’ll definitely remember it.
Ivy