“I think you’re full … .”
Ivy didn’t get a chance to finish the sentence because Jack’s soft lips covered her mouth. She returned the kiss, sighing into his mouth as he held her close for a moment. When they parted, her face was flushed.
“Why did you do that?” Ivy asked, her voice low.
“Because I didn’t want it hanging over our heads all night,” Jack answered. “We’re both nervous. We’re both … excited. I wanted to do that so we wouldn’t worry about it all night. Don’t you feel more relaxed?”
Ivy’s sea-blue eyes widened. “Actually, now I’m thinking about you being naked.”
Jack barked out a coarse laugh. She wasn’t afraid of saying anything that came to her mind. He absolutely loved that about her. “I’ve been thinking about that since I met you,” he said. “Why don’t we start with dinner?”
Ivy graced him with a beautiful smile. “Then maybe we can go for a walk,” she suggested. “I love downtown Bellaire and they have a great ice cream shop.”
“You had me at ice cream, honey,” Jack said. He knew that wasn’t true, though. She’d had him since the moment their eyes locked.
“THIS is a nice place,” Jack said, scanning the romantic restaurant before flipping the menu open. “Is everything here vegetarian?”
Ivy pursed her lips. Jack was a carnivore. It didn’t especially bother her even though she didn’t eat meat and considered herself adventurous when choosing food options. Still, she was trying to get a feeling about his preferences in case she wanted to cook a meal for the two of them in the future. “Do you like anything vegetarian?”
“I like you,” Jack replied, causing Ivy’s cheeks to burn when he shot her a seductive smile.
“You know what I mean,” Ivy said, tamping down her raging hormones. “We really don’t know that much about each other.”
“That’s not true at all,” Jack replied. “While this is technically our first date, we’ve been hanging out in dreams for almost three weeks now. I think we know a lot about each other.”
Ivy stilled. She was still getting a handle on the dream walking. She was a spiritual naturalist, taking a lot of her beliefs from the Wiccan faith and making up the rest as she went along. Her aunt Felicity was a full-blown witch, boasting the power to read auras and even cast the occasional spell when she felt like it. Ivy never thought about magic until she found herself visiting Jack’s dreams.
They’d fought off his nightmares together – memories of being shot by his partner on a Detroit street haunting him – and then they’d proceeded to picnic, fish, and take walks in the woods. After an initial freakout regarding the shared dreams, Jack seemed fine with Ivy’s presence in his head … mostly because Ivy informed him that he was the one calling to her without realizing he was doing it. Now he found joy in the dreams, and she couldn’t help but share his enthusiasm despite her inner misgivings that he would grow to dislike them.
“I liked the dream you had last night,” Ivy said, tracing her fork with a shaky finger. “I didn’t know that Detroit had such beautiful scenery.”
Jack snorted. “I don’t think that most people who live in the city find the Detroit River beautiful,” he said. “I wanted to show it to you, though. I spent a lot of time in that area when I lived down there.”
“How come we couldn’t fish? You usually want to fish because you claim it relaxes you.”
“Because anything you pull out of the Detroit River is poisonous,” Jack answered. “It would’ve literally killed you to eat it.”
Ivy chuckled. “It was a dream. We wouldn’t really have been eating it. You know that, right?”
Jack shrugged, nonplussed. “We’re not really kissing in those dreams either and it still feels real to me.”
Ivy pursed her lips. “You’re trying to make me uncomfortable.”
“No, I’m trying to get you hot and bothered,” Jack shot back. “There’s a difference.” He was charming when he felt like it, and now was one of those times. “The last thing I want to do is make you uncomfortable. I don’t think you’re really uncomfortable, though. I think you’re embarrassed because the dreams make you emotionally vulnerable. There’s a difference.”
Emotionally vulnerable? Ivy frowned. “I think you’re as vulnerable in those dreams as I am.”
“I think I’m more vulnerable in those dreams than you are,” Jack countered. “I’m okay with that because … you never push me. You have a lot of different types of magic, Ivy. I think that’s your neatest trick, though.”
Ivy’s heart clenched. “I … .”
“Oh, wow, I’ve rendered you speechless,” Jack teased. “That has to be a first.”
Ivy struggled to collect herself. “I think you like pushing my buttons,” she said. “You like to fight, don’t you?”
“I like to fight with you,” Jack clarified. “You get my heart racing when you fight. I have no idea how to explain it.”
Ivy didn’t know how to explain it either. He had the exact same effect on her, though. “You never answered my question,” she said finally. “Do you like vegetarian food?”
“Well, so far you’ve only made me a few things and I’ve thought each and every one of them was delicious. I guess that means I like vegetarian food … or maybe I just like the woman who made that food for me. Either way, I guess I like it.”
Ivy smiled. She couldn’t help herself. “You make me want to kiss you.”
“Oh, honey, you’re going to have to wait until we get our ice cream to do that,” Jack said, leaning forward. “This isn’t the type of establishment where you can make out with me. You’re going to have to control your hormones.”
Ivy’s smile tipped upside down. “I’m going to show you my hormones. Just you wait and see what my hormones are going to do to you.” It took Ivy a moment to realize what she said. “Wait … that might’ve come out wrong.”
“Oh, no,” Jack said, his smile mischievous.
