Chapter 0250

“Sure,” he says, quiet. “I can handle a Brunette or two. Though I prefer a redhead.”

I can’t help the little smile that curls my lips. “Heathcliff's a redhead,” I say, nodding to my horse. “And you've only been rude to

him, when the whole point of today was for you to come and meet him.”

“Really, Fay,” lvan says, his voice dry. “That was the whole point of today? To meet Heathcliff?”

“Sure,” I answer, taking a step closer to him, holding his gaze. And then there’s just a long moment of silence where we just...

look at each other.

And the tension between us builds and builds.

My smile grows a little when Ivan’s the one to break it.

“Fay,” he breathes, taking a step closer to me, his mouth falling open with my name on his lips.

But before he can do anything else, I hold up a finger between us, making him go still.

“Jerome?” I call, and there’s a silent pause before I hear Jerome sigh and see him step into sight right outside the stall door. He

was lurking there, I knew. Spying. Making sure I behaved.

“What, Fay,” Jerome answers, his arms crossed over his chest as he stares at me from the door to the stall.

“Can you go get my phone?” I ask, blinking innocently at him. “I think I left it in the car.”

“Fay,” he growls, shaking his head at me.

“Go get my phone, Jerome,” I snap, returning his glare. And then he sighs and, muttering something about trouble, stalks away

from the stall and back towards the parking lot.

I'm smiling then as I turn back to Ivan, who instantly closes the distance between us. “Look at you, Fay,” he says, standing over

me now, so close that I can feel the warmth his body gives off. “Coming into your own little mafia wife status, aren’t you?”

“It looks good on me, doesn’t it?” I whisper, earning a little laugh, which makes me smile.

And then I see lvan’s hands twitch, as if he wants to put them on me, but he doesn’t, and I bite my lip, wondering if I want him to.

“Why am I here, Fay?” he asks, his voice softer than I usually hear it.

“Why do you want to be here, Ivan?” I whisper back.

“Stop fucking with me, Fay,” he snaps, his voice still low as he looks back towards the door, back towards where Jerome

disappeared. “Do you want me to take you out of here? Get you away from them?”

“No,” I answer softly, instantly, blinking as I realize that that’s why Ivan thought I called him here today. And it’s the truth — I do not

want to be taken away. I just — I just wanted to talk -

“Fuck,” lvan snaps, turning away from me, frustrated. “Fuck, Fay! Why are you being so stupid?!”

“I'm being stupid?!” I gasp, honestly a little hurt by it.

“Yes!” he hisses, coming back and grabbing me by the shoulders, leaning down to look directly in my eyes. “Yes, Fay, you’re

being a real god damn idiot by not getting out of there now! This is going down! How many times do I have to tell you — you could

be killed!”

“What?” I gasp, shocked by it. I mean — I knew he told me to get out of the house — but he never said killed —

“Are you hearing me now?!” he asks,

almost oneruiile now ee ghakés I

inwnysre ou even staying

erect e? What's holding you back?”

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“Daniel,” I say, the rehearsed answer

instantly on my oy “He's m fangs.

— I love hi Boy rds’ ade

away att ae aie I can see in

lvan’s face that the lie isn’t working.

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.

Ivan just stares at me for a moment

in disbelief and then he drops his

hands from my shoulders, stanging,

up strai to iowendvecne again,

shaking! his head from side to side.

“Seriously, Fay?” he says, his words

rich with irony. “You seriously want

me to believe that it's Daniel, you're in

love with? Daniel keeping you in that

house?” Please read the original

content at .

And then, as I stare up at lvan, my mouth falls open because...

I don’t know how I know it, or he knows it, but lvan knows.

He knows that it’s not my affection for Daniel keeping me in the house.

And he knows that it’s Kent.