Chapter 77: Anderson Is Crass

Chapter 77: Anderson Is Crass

Ivy

Nothing in my life had ever been more humiliating than this. Absolutely nothing.

Okay… maybe that one time at the lake. With Andy watching.

Julia stood framed in the open doorway of the gym, one hand still on the handle, face drained of color. Behind her, Poppy’s eyes were wide with a mixture of shock and something that looked dangerously close to amusement.

And next to them—God help me—was Andy. Fucking Andy was watching us.

He was staring at us like he had just walked in on his wife actively cheating on him. His jaw was locked so tight the muscle jumped. His knuckles had gone white where he gripped the doorframe.

I wanted the floor to open and swallow me whole.

The only mercy was that my back had been to the door when they walked in. They hadn’t seen Leo’s mouth on my naked breasts. They hadn’t seen the full, filthy picture.

But they had seen enough. Me grinding on him. His hands all over me. The hungry, desperate sounds that had been coming from both of us only seconds earlier.

Had they heard the things he had been saying? The dirty, explicit promises?

I wanted to die. Please, dear ground, open up and take me.

“Leopold!” Julia’s voice cracked through the air a second time, sharper now.

Leo exhaled through his nose, the sound heavy with pure frustration. His hands never left my waist. If anything, his fingers tightened, holding me in place like he refused to let the interruption take me from him.

“Mom.” His voice was low, almost lazy. “You never said you were coming.” He ran a hand through his damp hair, still breathing hard. “You could have just knocked. That's what people do.”

I heard Julia stepped fully into the gym. I held my breath and kept my fingers fisted in the fabric of Leo’s sweatpants, silently begging the universe not to make this worse.

Please don’t call my name. Please. Please. Please.

Luck had never been on my side.

“Ivy?” Julia’s tone softened. “Don’t tell me you’re going to hide there all day.”

Leo’s quiet chuckle vibrated against me. I forced myself to untangle my fingers and stand. My legs felt unsteady. I prayed the wetness between my thighs hadn’t soaked through the thin fabric of my pants in a way anyone could see.

“H-hi, Julia.” I tucked a nonexistent strand of hair behind my ear and kept my eyes on the floor. My face was literally on fire.

She crossed the remaining distance and pulled me into a warm, unexpected hug. “Sweet girl. What are you so shy about?”

I shook my head against her shoulder. “Nothing. Nothing. I just… didn’t expect to see you all here.”

When she released me, I finally forced myself to look at the others.

Poppy was leaning against the doorframe with a wicked little smile playing at the corner of her mouth, like she was filing this entire scene away for future blackmail.

Andy, on the other hand, looked ready to commit violence. His stare burned into me, then shifted to Leo with pure hatred.

Leo rose to his feet in one smooth motion. He didn’t bother trying to hide the fact that he was still very much hard.

He stepped in behind me until the length of his cock was pressed firmly against my lower back and the curve of my ass.

I nearly expired from the fresh wave of humiliation.

He nodded toward Poppy. “Thought I threw you out. Came back with reinforcements?” His voice dripped with dark amusement. “I see you ran straight to my mom. And you brought your brother along for the ride.” The low rumble of his laugh moved through my entire body.

Poppy’s eyes narrowed. “We’re here to stay.”

The words hit me like a slap. “What?” I blurted.

Leo’s arms tightened around me. “Stay where? Here?”

“No, douche. On the roof,” Poppy deadpanned, rolling her eyes. “Of course it's here.”

Andy’s voice cut in, rough. “Ivy, are you okay?”

I kept my gaze carefully averted, fingers fussing with the zipper of my tracksuit even though it was already closed. Heat crawled up my neck in a fresh wave. “Yes. I am. Don’t I look okay to you?”

“You don’t—”

Julia clapped her hands once, the sound bright and cheerful. “Andy! Poppy! I’ll show you to your rooms—”

“What are you doing in my home, Anderson?” Leo’s voice stayed deceptively calm, but the edge underneath was unmistakable. His arms slid around me from behind, chin resting lightly on the top of my head. “Seems like none of you are planning to explain yourselves.”

I leaned back into him without thinking. The scent of him wrapped around me. Even after everything, even with an audience, my body still responded to him like it recognized it's master.

“They’re my guests,” Julia said firmly. “Can’t I have my stepchildren over? Or are you planning to throw us all out, Leopold?”

“I never said that, Mom.” Leo sighed, the sound more exasperated than angry. “I’m just asking because your lovely stepson can’t seem to stop glaring at my girlfriend.”

I glanced at Andy.

He wasn’t even trying to hide it. His eyes were locked on the way Leo’s arms banded around me, on the possessive way Leo’s hands rested against my stomach. The look on his face was pure, simmering resentment.

I didn’t want Andy here.

Not in this house. Not under the same roof where I slept in Leo’s bed. Not when I still felt the ghost of Leo’s mouth on my skin and the ache between my legs that he had put there.

But I was also glad Leo was solid at my back. Glad that when night came I would be in his room, where he could keep me close. Because I knew exactly why Andy had come. He hadn’t driven over here out of concern for Julia.

He had come for me.

“Tell your stepson to back off my girlfriend,” Leo said, voice dropping into something colder. “Then we might not have a problem.”

I expected Andy to stay quiet. We were standing in Leo’s house, after all. On Leo’s territory.

He didn’t.

“Keep your hands off her,” Andy answered, “and we might not have a big issue.”

I felt Leo go still behind me.

Then he chuckled—a dark, almost delighted sound—and his hand slid slowly up my torso until his palm settled over my breast. He squeezed, deliberate and open, right in front of everyone.

“Leopold!” Julia gasped. “Stop that!”

But he didn't. And honestly, I didn't want him to stop.

A tiny, breathless sound nearly escaped me. My breasts were still sensitive, still aching from his mouth only minutes ago. The sudden pressure sent a jolt straight through me.

“When you say that,” Leo murmured, loud enough for the entire room to hear, “do you mean this?” He squeezed once.

“Hey!” Andy surged forward like he had been shot. “You bastard!”

Poppy grabbed his arm and yanked him back hard.

Leo only laughed harder. “Anderson. Still as sore as ever. Once a sore loser, always a sore loser.”

“Want a repeat of last time?” Leo taunted, pressing his erection deeper into my ass.

“Enough. Both of you!” Julia’s voice cracked like a whip. “You two need to learn how to speak to each other without insults and threats.”

Leo shrugged, completely unbothered. “Anderson is… crass. He starts acting like he was raised in the jungle the second he notices my girl.”

Andy’s face twisted. “You know what’s crass? Putting your hands on Ivy because you can’t control your fucking temper.”

Poppy gasped. “Andy!”

I felt the shift in Leo immediately. The playful edge drained out of him. His arms loosened around me, just enough that I could feel the sudden absence of his heat.

“Oh…” His voice was very quiet. “I put hands on her?”

Andy’s eyes locked on me. “Ivy. Show everyone the handprints he left on you.”

The room went completely still.

Every gaze turned in my direction—Julia’s worried, Poppy’s sharp, Andy’s demanding, and Leo’s… blank. Like he was simply waiting to see what I would do.

Julia stepped closer and touched my arm gently. “Sweetheart… is what Andy saying true? Did my son hurt you?”

Andy took another step forward. “Speak up, Ivy. Show us your arm. Don’t try to cover for him.”

My heart was hammering so hard I could hear it in my ears.

I could feel the faint, lingering tenderness on my upper arm where Leo’s fingers had gripped me in the kitchen few days ago.

It wasn’t a brutal bruise. It wasn’t black and purple. But the marks were still there if someone looked closely enough—faint fingerprints that hadn’t fully faded.

Everyone was waiting.

I turned my head and met Leo’s eyes.

The blankness was still there, but underneath it something else flickered. Not anger. Not fear. Something closer to quiet curiosity.

As if he genuinely wanted to know which version of the truth I was going to give them.

My throat felt tight.

“I’m sorry…”