Chapter 287: Ivy Sherwood, I Want to Be with You
Her legs relaxed, and Quentin wrapped an arm around them to keep her from falling.
This was the first time Quentin had ever given her a piggyback ride. His back was incredibly solid. Ivy Sherwood wrapped her arms around his neck.
She rested her head on his back, looking at the back of his head. If she tilted her head just slightly, she could see the curve of his ear, his cheek, his Adam’s apple.
Quentin’s Adam’s apple was very prominent, exceptionally sexy.
Nina had once said that men with big Adam’s apples were usually...
At that thought, Ivy Sherwood quickly cleared the trashy thoughts from her mind. ’Even if there’s no scientific basis for it, Quentin does seem to be exceptionally talented in *that* department. A natural gift.’
Thinking of this, Ivy Sherwood let out a soft laugh.
"What’s so funny?" Hearing the laugh by his ear, Quentin couldn’t help but smile too.
"Nothing!" Ivy Sherwood definitely couldn’t tell Quentin what she was thinking right now.
She quickly changed the subject. "I was just kidding, you know. If I’m too heavy, you can put me down. I can walk on my own."
"You barely weigh anything. I could carry you even if you gained a few dozen pounds."
On the contrary, Quentin thought Ivy Sherwood was too thin. She always felt so light whenever he held her.
Especially recently. It seemed she was even lighter than before. ’I’ll have to make sure she eats more from now on.’
Quentin’s steps were steady as he walked slowly toward the villa.
They passed other people along the way. Ivy Sherwood noticed some of them turning to look, and she seemed to be on the receiving end of a wave of envy.
’It makes sense. There probably aren’t many people Quentin Blackwood would give a piggyback ride to.’
The walk wasn’t actually short, but Ivy Sherwood felt it went by so quickly. The villa was just ahead.
’Is it because Quentin’s legs are longer, so he walks faster?’
"Quentin." She said his name.
"Hm?" He always responded to her.
"When are you going back to Aethelgard?" Ivy Sherwood asked. "DG Group is centered in Aethelgard, so you have to go back, right?"
"Yes," Quentin replied.
"So when are you planning to leave?" Ivy Sherwood’s voice was right by his ear.
Quentin’s steps faltered for a moment before he continued walking.
In truth, he should have left long ago. He had only returned to Lustre to watch the Blackwood Family’s downfall.
The Blackwood Group still existed, but the Blackwood Family was already under his control. It only looked prosperous on the surface. He could pull the plug at any moment and watch the family sink into ruin.
Yet he kept delaying. If he made his move against the Blackwood Family, it seemed he would have no reason to stay here.
And right now, he didn’t want to leave.
"I don’t know," Quentin said.
It wasn’t that he hadn’t thought about it, but he hadn’t come up with an answer.
Perhaps there was something here that made him want to stay, something he was reluctant to leave behind.
Or perhaps he was waiting for the right moment, wanting to take something—or someone—with him when he left.
The woman on his back, Ivy Sherwood, chuckled softly, but Quentin felt it wasn’t a happy sound.
’Quentin was always going to leave, so we’ll be separated sooner or later. We’re not from the same world anyway.’
’So it’s better if we don’t start anything.’
’These past few days, I’ve been really happy. I...’
"Would you be willing to go back to Aethelgard with me?"
"What?" Ivy Sherwood’s head shot up, and her arms tightened abruptly, choking Quentin.
They had arrived. Quentin set Ivy Sherwood down.
"I don’t like Lustre, but I know this is where you grew up. I’m going to leave sooner or later. Are you... willing to leave with me?"
Ivy Sherwood smiled, a completely different smile from before.
"So, is Mr. Blackwood inviting me?"
"Yes," Quentin admitted freely.
The surrounding streetlights were dim. Their eyes met, and they could both see the depth in each other’s gazes.
"Then in what capacity is Mr. Blackwood inviting me?" Ivy Sherwood was very close to him, her bright eyes drowning in his.
At first glance, it was Ivy Sherwood who was testing the waters.
But in reality, the reluctance and possessiveness in those intense eyes belonged to Quentin.
Ivy Sherwood said, "I don’t want to be a homewrecker, and I won’t be some secret lover. If you just think our bodies are compatible, that I can be on call whenever you need a release, and that you can just give me some money to send me away when you don’t, then I don’t think there’s any need for us to continue."
"That’s not what I mean. Even before, I never thought of you as a secret lover, much less tried to pay you off."
It was just their repeated entanglements that had made him sink deeper and deeper, his reason crumbling.
’Even though she’s that woman’s daughter,’ Quentin thought, ’the affairs of the previous generation have nothing to do with Ivy Sherwood. She’s the innocent one.’
When he saw Ivy Sherwood with other men, he went crazy with jealousy.
He wanted to possess her completely, to make her his and his alone, to have her gaze follow only him forever.
Quentin moved closer to her, his hot breath grazing her ear.
"Ivy Sherwood, I want to be with you."
Ivy Sherwood stared blankly at Quentin, unable to believe those words had come from his mouth.
She could clearly hear her own heartbeat, fluttering along with her feelings. THUMP, THUMP, THUMP... it was beating for Quentin.
Quentin didn’t give Ivy Sherwood a chance to react. He moved closer, wrapping an arm around her waist.
"Are you willing? To be with me, to go back to Aethelgard with me."
His voice was full of a bewitching charm, and combined with that face, Ivy Sherwood almost nodded.
But reason told her that being with Quentin would come with many difficulties.
She had always just wanted a peaceful life. She disliked conflict, disliked scheming and infighting. If she chose this path, it was bound to be a rocky one.
But Ivy Sherwood still wanted to try. Because she liked Quentin, and she wanted to be with him!
"I’m willing, but—mmph..." Ivy Sherwood hadn’t finished her sentence before Quentin kissed her impatiently.
As long as Ivy Sherwood was willing, that was enough. Nothing else mattered.
"Mmph... we’re outside... over there... there are people..." Ivy Sherwood’s voice was muffled.
She had a feeling someone would see them!
Quentin swept Ivy Sherwood up into his arms and used facial recognition to open the villa’s main door.
Quentin carried her inside, placed her on the sofa, and pressed his tall frame down on her.
His lips were searing hot, like a branding iron. The skin he touched felt as if it had been scorched.
Ivy Sherwood tilted her neck back, passively enduring it. Quentin was always so rough, like a greenhorn who’d just gotten his first taste, but this was the happiest she had ever been.
Her dress was simple, easily peeled away by Quentin.
The sofa wasn’t small, but with their two bodies tangled together, it might not be big enough.
Ivy Sherwood’s dress was a slip dress. Quentin pulled down her strap, his fiery lips landing on the skin of her shoulder. A gentle bite left a small tooth mark.