No, her wyvern said, unexpectedly. You do not trust him.
She’d never before heard her inner animal speak of itself in the singular before. Always, always it said we or us. But now she had a sense of it pulling away from her. The ever-present burning core of rage at the bottom of her soul faded into nothing.
I will always protect you, her wyvern said to her. Its mental words came slowly, haltingly, as if it found it unnatural to refer to the two of them as separate beings. But you must stop being afraid now. You are hurting our mate.
She could almost see it standing behind Hugh. He glanced up, looking startled, as if he too felt the shadow of emerald wings closing over him.
He trusts us, her wyvern said, very gently. Trust him in return. He will never hurt us. He will always treasure us, always defend us, as we treasure and defend him. You don’t have to be afraid anymore.
In the strange silence of her wyvern’s withdrawal, she could finally feel what its anger had always masked. Her own deep, terrible fear.
Not the fear of hurting others, but the fear of being hurt herself.
Letting other people get close, letting them in, meant that they could hurt you. Deep down, she’d wanted to keep the world at arm’s length, to never be vulnerable. Her wyvern had only been trying to protect her.
But she didn’t need to be protected from Hugh.
He was still standing in front of her, head cocked and a slight frown on his face, as if trying to catch a conversation right on the edge of hearing. His eyes widened a little as she stepped forward, but he didn’t flinch. He held her gaze, and there was nothing but love and faith in his own.
She let go of fear…and took his hand.
His fingers folded over hers, warm and strong. He smiled down at her.
“Let’s go home,” he said.
Chapter 30
Ivy’s phone beeped as they arrived back at their house. Hugh’s whole body thirsted to stay in contact with her, but he reluctantly relinquished her hand so that she could answer it. The brief separation was worth it though, for the way her expression changed into a relieved, thankful smile as she listened to the voicemail message.
“That was Betty,” Ivy said, lowering the phone again. “Apparently Hope woke up, demanded one of everything from the vending machine, and is currently asleep in a pile of empty cans and chocolate bar wrappers.”
“Sounds like she’s going to be fine,” he said, smiling back. “Do you want us to go pick her up?”
Ivy shook her head. “Betty says the doctors still want to keep her in under observation for a while.”
He reclaimed her hand. He never, ever wanted to be parted from her for a second longer than was strictly necessary. A deep, quiet joy filled him as her strong fingers intertwined through his.
“Then we have the house to ourselves tonight,” he said, drawing her up the stairs.
Ivy’s lips parted a little, her breath coming faster. Nonetheless, she hesitated in the doorway to the bedroom.
He paused too. A part of him—a very specific part—wanted to pull her straight into bed. But even more than that, he wanted this to be right for her. That meant that she had to come to him whole-heartedly, without reservations or fear.
“Are you still nervous?” he asked.
She dropped her gaze, peeked up at him shyly through her dark lashes. “A little.”
He raised their joined hands to his lips. She drew in her breath as he gently kissed the tips of her fingers, lingering over each one.
“You won’t hurt me,” he murmured.
“I know.” Her cheeks flushed a delicious pink as she made a vague, embarrassed gesture at his crotch. “But, uh, I’ve seen how big you are. And this is my first time like this.”
He let out a low chuckle, relief sweeping over him as he realized the true reason for her hesitation. “Oh. Don’t worry, Ivy. I won’t hurt you. I’ll make sure of that.”
She raised her eyebrows at him, a naughty smile tugging at her mouth. “But this is your first time too. Are you sure you know what you’re doing?”
“Trust me,” he said, pulling her into his arms. “I’m a doctor.”