Ivy scowled, looking more irritated than pleased at this news. “Great. So now we’re even more in his debt.”
What sort of life has she led? Hugh wondered. To be so wary of accepting help…what happened to them?
“It’s not a matter of debt,” he said. “He has a soft spot for you two. Who’s Gaze?”
“My problem.” Ivy squared her shoulders. “And one I’ll sort out.”
Hope looked worried. “Ivy—“
“I said I’ll deal with it. If Hugh can heal you, it’s worth any risk to stay.” Ivy turned to him. “Well? Are you willing to try?”
He opened his mouth to say Yes, of course…and hesitated.
Unbidden, his mind flashed back to his residency. How confidently he’d swept into the hospital, feeling like some all-powerful, benevolent god. Certain that he could save everyone with just one touch of his hand.
And look how well that had turned out.
Am I being arrogant now? What if I’m wrong? What if I can’t heal Hope?
No matter Ivy’s assertion that she’d handle the mysterious ‘Gaze,’ it was clear the pair were in serious trouble if they’d been planning to skip town today. Was he putting his mate at risk for nothing?
Ivy strode forward, breaking his introspection. Planting herself squarely in front of him, she looked him straight in the eye.
“You do whatever it takes to heal my sister,” she said. “And in return, I swear I’ll get out of your life. Forever.”
“Ivy, no!” Hope exclaimed, looking horrified. “You can’t. He’s your mate!”
Ivy ignored her sister, focused on him like a laser. “You’ll never have to see me again. That’s what you want, isn’t it? Here’s your chance. A one-time deal.”
He lifted his own chin, meeting her blazing gaze head-on. “And what if I don’t like this deal?”
Ivy ground the heels of her boots into his oriental rug, planting her feet like a boxer squaring off. “Then I’m not moving an inch. As God is my witness, if you don’t try to heal my sister, I will haunt your steps like your own damn shadow. I will follow you at work. When you go shopping, I’ll be there, staring at you between the aisles. I will break into your house and move all your stuff and sleep in your bed.”
His unicorn thought this was an excellent idea.
“I will rub my scent on everything you own,” Ivy said, apparently warming up to her theme. “Your whole territory will reek of me. I’ll be the last thing you smell when you go to sleep, and the first thing you see in the morning.”
Also excellent. Hugh was distantly aware that he should probably be interrupting, but he couldn’t drag himself away from the captivating vision of waking up to find Ivy in his bed. Naked. Her tousled hair spread over his pillow, her warm curves nestled against him…
“I will hide in your bushes. I will open all your mail and write creepy comments.” Ivy appeared to grope for more threats. “I will—I will sing to you.”
“You really don’t want her to do that,” Hope interjected. “I’ve heard her in the shower. She’s terrible.”
Hugh cleared his throat. It was hard to form words when most of his blood wasn’t making it as far as his brain. He was very glad his white coat hid his crotch.
“Well, I certainly don’t want you to sing at me,” he said. “Or open my mail, for that matter.”
All the rest however, she was more than welcome to do, and twice on Sundays. Damn it, he had to get control of himself. Fifteen minutes in her presence and he was already reduced to a raging mass of hormones. This was a disaster.
He folded his own arms, mirroring Ivy’s belligerent pose. Surreptitiously, he gripped his biceps, reminding himself of what was written there. What was still unwritten. His fingernails dug into his own muscle, the small bite of pain a bitter forewarning of all the pain that he would cause if he weakened.
He took a deep breath, bracing himself for what he had to do. “If I help your sister, you promise you’ll leave me alone?”
“I swear it on my sister’s life,” Ivy said, as Hope stared at him in mute betrayal.
Hugh forced himself to hold out his hand. “Deal.”
Ivy looked down at his outstretched hand as if she’d never seen one before. His heart broke for her as he realized that probably she never had. Not one held out to her, at least.