“So all of this time, you stayed away because of Grey’s threats?” It was all starting to make perfect sense to Ivy.
“No, not always,” Nicola said reluctantly. “But when I realized that I wanted to be near you, I was forced away because of them.”
“When you wanted to be near me?” Ivy held on to his words. “When was this?”
“I can’t pinpoint an exact date. I just know that when I wanted to reach out, it was too late. And that isn’t all Grey’s fault. It’s mine. It was only recently that I realized there is nothing out in these streets for me.”
“What does that have to do with me?” Ivy wanted him to continue, to say the right words. She moved closer in anticipation. Say it Nicola, she said to herself.
Nicola was on the verge of spilling all of his deepest desires onto Ivy’s ears, but he had to know one thing first. “Are you still going to marry Grey tomorrow…now that you know.”
Ivy’s eyes met Nicola’s and for a moment she was caught like a deer in headlights. Her voice cracked. “Yes,” she said hesitantly. She looked down at him and shook her head. “Is there any reason that I should not?”
“I don’t know. You tell me,” Nicola said tired of his thoughts. “What would make you want to marry a man that would do what Grey has done?”
“The same thing that would make me want to marry you,” she said pulling away. “You and Grey are really not very different. I guess women are attracted over and over to the same type of man. Besides, I can no more forgive one of you than both of you.”
“It’s never too late, Ivy,” Nicola said trying to keep the wanton feeling at bay. “What I feel for you …it’s not just some unquenchable lust. I thought that it was at first, because I’ve never quite felt anything else for anyone, but I’ve fallen in love with you. How many times do I have to say it in order to make you believe me?” He stood up, towering over her with strength and a commanding presence. He allowed his hand to touch her soft exposed shoulders, and she shuddered visibly. He gripped her firmly.
Why won’t you just ask for me, Ivy thought to herself as she listened to Nicola. Ask me to marry you, Nicola! Her eyes gleamed with both excitement and nervousness. Would he do it? Would he at least lean over and kiss her? Would he take her? What will you do, Nicola? She became impatient as her thoughts raced. Telling her that he loved her was a big step, but it still was not enough at this point. He had to go for broke. No more protecting his feelings for her. He had to proclaim his love for her and ask for her on his own. She sighed, exhausted by the urge for him. She searched his eyes but did not glimpse the sign of good things to come. Seeing that he would restrain himself tonight like never before, she caved. “I should go,” she said, mouth quivering. “Maybe it wasn’t the smartest thing for me to come here.” She pulled away.
Nicola’s blood had begun to flow backwards in front of Ivy, and she didn’t even know it. She couldn’t even recognize that she caused such a thing in him every time she was near. He fought with himself trying hard not to reach out for her. He wanted to grab her now and tear the clothes from her body. He wanted to violently rip the engagement ring from her hand and launch it in the sky, hoping that some foul would catch it and take far away forever. He wanted to carry her in his arms to his bed and make her submit in such away that she would never dare to look back! His was mad for her, rabid for her love and foaming at the heart for her to choose him. How could he make her understand it all? Nicola shook his head, unable to find words suitable for the moment. His hormones were raging and atoms in his body split with agony. There was something of insurmountable magnitude blocking him from her, and the sands of time would not stop for him to grasp a better understanding. He grabbed her by the hand, trembling inside and in a calm voice looked into her eyes. “You’re right. You shouldn’t be here right now. Come on, I’ll walk you to your car.”
***
Grey lay between two naked strippers that had fallen to sleep shortly after their long sex session nearly an hour before, thinking of Ivy and his wedding scheduled to take place the next afternoon. He sipped his cognac slowly allowing the burn to rush down into his stomach and ease his troubled thoughts. Even in his deliberate drunken haze, he could not fight his overwhelming melancholy and urge to flee all that he knew, especially Ivy Winters.
Without intention in between his friends giving him the most memorable bachelor party ever and meeting young, desirable women with no inhibitions, Grey realized that he wasn’t quite ready to give up his coveted, playboy lifestyle. His father had pounded in his head for many years that he needed to be married to pursue a safer life in politics, but other men had done it without a wife successfully before him. Surely, he could too. Marrying Ivy would mean that life would be over, as he knew it. Every woman that he brought to his bed would be an adulteress and he and adulterer. And although that would be just fine for him, the public would have him kicked out of the House of Representatives for his lack of control.
Grey’s final conclusion was that he was making a very large, insurmountable mistake by marrying his little college princess, but his word was his
