Like he’s already done enough.
Like I should be grateful.
I take another bite.
And another.
And the worst part is, Iamgrateful.
Because it’s been so long since anyone has looked at me like I matter.
Even if the way he’s looking at me now feels less like care?—
and more like ownership.
CHAPTER 15
IVY
By the time we leave his apartment an hour or so later, I’m not moving on my own anymore.
I’m moving because he is.
Because he decided I would.
Soren doesn’t ask what I want to do today. He doesn’t ask if I want to rest. He doesn’t ask if I want to explore Ravelle on my own.
And that makes me feel a little resentful, and then a little guilty for feeling resentful.
Relax and go with the flow, Ivy. Be grateful for this moment.
He tosses me a light jacket. “Put this on,” he says, already holding it open.
I blink. “I’m fine.”
He pauses like I’ve interrupted something.
Then he smiles, his eyes flat. “You’ll be cold,” he says.
And because I’m tired of pushing back, because I’m still hungover on relief, because I don’t want to ruin whatever this is, I put it on. It smells like his cologne—cedar wood with a hint of smoke.
And as soon as I zip it up, I feel it. That subtle shift. Like I’ve just stepped into his territory.
Soren nods once, satisfied. Then he takes my hand. He doesn’t hesitate, and his grip isn’t gentle.
It’s more like it’s normal for him to do it—like it’s expected. Like we’ve always been this way, and it would be strange if I pulled away.
His fingers lace through mine as he leads me down the hallway and out of the building.
Outside, Ravelle is bright and loud and alive. Too loud, almost. Like it’s trying to drown something out.
The sky is a washed-out blue, the sun already warm on my skin. But there’s a grit behind it, like someone has inserted a grungy overlay.
I take a deep breath and for a moment, I almost feel normal. Like I’m just a woman on a weekend trip with a man who wanted to see her.
Like I’m not carrying a cracked nervous system inside my ribs. In my throat. In my chest. In my stomach. In every cell of my body, vibrating under my skin like a thousand angry dragonflies.
Soren opens the passenger door of his car for me, giving a wave to the valet who brought it to the front of the apartment building.