You Smell Like... Mine (Book 1 in the 'You Smell' series)

Chapter 8- Protect You

Asher's POV

Everything was going so well. I mean mostly. Kind of. I keep saying stupid things, and that sucks, but Ivy seems to enjoy it, so I guess it isn't so bad. And then I had to go and ruin it. All I had to do was watch where I was going. I know better than to walk backward, but I was just so happy to be out with Ivy that I forgot myself. Then it happened. I ran into one of the biggest men I have ever seen. It wasn't hard, he didn't even move because he is so massive. But unfortunately, none of these things mattered to the big man. Before I could apologize, I noticed him rearing back to punch me.

I squeezed my eyes shut, accepting my fate. There was no way I could stop him, so I would have to endure getting beaten up in front of Ivy, and she would see just how weak I am and realize that I am not worth her time. I keep my eyes closed as I wait for the punch to come, but instead of the pain I expected, I hear a grunt.

I open my eyes to see Ivy, standing in front of me, with the guy's fist in her hand. Before I know it, she has him on the ground, straddling his abdomen as she rains punches on his face. "How dare you try to hurt him! He is mine!" She roars at him. Her voice doesn't even sound like her own. I'm frozen for a moment before I realize that I have to stop her. I quickly sit our coffees on a nearby table and step around so I can see her face, but when I do, I'm shocked. Her eyes are so dark they are almost black, and the rage I see there staggers me. I shake it off though, because I know I need to do something. I reach out to her, grabbing her under her arms before dragging her off of him. " Ivy, hey, look at me. It's ok. Calm down. I'm fine, you're fine. Everything is just fine." I soothe while rubbing my hands up and down her arms. She is practically vibrating with anger.

The guy just lays there, looking dazed, with blood oozing from his mouth and nose as if he doesn't even know where he is. The other people outside just stand there looking shocked, but I ignore them all as I continue to try to calm Ivy down.

I pull her closer, wrapping my arms around her. My left hand goes to her back, rubbing soothing circles, while my right hand strokes her hair. After a few minutes, she finally seems to come back to herself. "I'm sorry if I scared you." I almost miss the whispered apology.

I push her back a little, looking down at her face, but she wouldn't meet my eyes. "Hey, look at me. You didn't scare me. Heck, you saved me. Thank you." I smile at her. While, yes, I was a bit unnerved by what I saw, I somehow know that she would never hurt me. "We really need to get out of here, because I'm pretty sure you broke that guy's face."

She looks surprised by my gratitude. " I will always protect you," Ivy tells me earnestly. "Always." She looks over her shoulder at the guy still laying there and cringes. " But yes, you're right. Let's go. Could we maybe go back to your tree?" I smile while nodding and grab our coffees before offering her my arm. She smiles winningly at me as she starts to slip her arm in the crook of my elbow, but she stops when she sees the blood on her hand. She smiles sheepishly at me before telling me to go ahead and start in that direction, and she will catch up after she washes her hands in the restroom.

I haven't made it very far before she rejoins me. She falls into step beside me and takes her coffee in one hand, and my now free hand in the other. " Um, Ivy? Can I ask you something?" I feel her tense, but she nods at me, so I continue. " How did you do that back there? I mean that guy was easily 3 times your size, and you pummeled him."She seems to relax at my question, and it makes me wonder what she thought I was going to ask.

"I grew up with an older brother and father that wanted me to be able to defend myself. I began training basically when I learned to walk. I know how to handle myself." She says confidently. " I could teach you some things, you know if you want." Her shy smile completely contradicts the confidence she was radiating with just moments before.

"I'd like that." I reply honestly. She beams at me.

We finally make it to our tree, yes, our tree, and she drops my hand before sitting and patting the spot right next to her. I sit and she scoots closer so that our sides are touching. I still don't know what this beautiful creature is doing with me, but I wouldn't change it for the world. When I am with her, I feel happier than I ever have in my life. I look over and see her open her mouth to say something before snapping it shut. After she does it a couple of more times, I tilt my head at her and ask," What is it?"

She reaches for my hand and looks up at me. The blush on her cheeks surprises and charms me all at once. " Do you think maybe you might want to, you know, be my boyfriend?" She asks while pulling her bottom lip between her teeth. Her question shocks me. I mean I know there have been signals, but I assumed I was misreading them. I stare at her with wide eyes and an open mouth. She seemed to interpret my silence as a rejection because I see her eyes start to water, but she smiles anyway and says, "Oh, ok. That's alright. We can just be friends. I understand." By the end of her statement, her smile had started to tremble and I still couldn't find my voice. So I did the only thing that I could force my stunned body to do.

I kissed her. 

A/N: Thanks for reading. Are you enjoying it so far? Please comment and vote.