Undressed By His Arrogance-Chapter 252: You Cannot Make Me

"Because you still love me too." Winn whispered into her ear.

"I don’t, Winn." The lie scraped her throat.

"Admit it."

"You cannot make me." Ivy snapped back, brows knitting tightly.

"You know I can, love."

"The world doesn’t revolve around you, Winn." Ivy hissed, stepping back just enough to glare. "A woman can fall in or out of love with you. Irene did it. Why can’t I?"

"My favourite thing to do, love," he murmured slowly, "is to prove you wrong." His hand slid lower down her waist, fingers tracing the curve of her hips. "I own your heart and even up until this very moment..." He pulled her flush against him, their bodies aligning with sinful familiarity. His palm cupped her ass—just a little, subtle enough that no one else would notice, obvious enough that Ivy felt it in her lungs. "...I own your body."

"Winn..."

Winn dipped his head lower, lips brushing the shell of her ear.

"It doesn’t matter what I do to your body, you still won’t stop me. You cannot. I own it. I own you."

Precaution was out the window. Playing it safe had taken the nearest exit.

With one hand anchored firmly at her waist, drawing her rhythm into his, his other hand drifted to the slit in her dress, slowly.

Ivy clutched his arm, fingers digging into the fine fabric of his suit. Her skin was hot, fever-hot, betraying everything her mouth tried to deny.

"I could move my fingers up, Ivy." Winn murmured. "Look—all these people here..." His breath ghosted her cheek as he leaned in. "Won’t you stop me? Prove to me I don’t own you."

"You don’t own me." she whispered.

"We were made for each other." His fingers skimmed higher, teasing her through the slit.

"Moulded for each other." Higher.

"Connected to each other." Higher still.

"Soul mates."

His fingers found her core. The contact was electric—sharp, intimate, devastating. Her breath punched out of her lungs in one trembling exhale. Her knees nearly gave way. Her eyes fluttered open wide, shimmering with panic, want.

Her world shrank to his touch.

To his heat.

To his certainty.

To everything she fought every day to deny.

Then—

His phone vibrated in his pocket. A harsh buzz against her thigh where their bodies pressed, slicing through the moment. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

Ivy jolted as if waking from a spell. A moment of clarity—raw, desperate—flooded her system. Her reality came crashing back: Eugene. Loyalty. Morality. Her own sanity.

She jerked herself away so abruptly Winn’s hand fell back to his side. His eyes snapped open, confused, frustrated, hungry.

But Ivy was already turning.

She spun on her heel and rushed through the crowd.

Her heart raced so violently she could feel it in her palms.

She needed air.

She needed space.

She needed a life without Winn choking every breath out of her.

But God—

God—

She also needed to stop shaking.

Her hands trembled as she pushed through the doors and stepped out onto the terrace.

Winn pulled out his phone and barked into it. "What?!!!"

His blood was boiling, his pulse pounding. His hand still tingled with the ghost of her warmth.

"Wow! Someone is saucy," Joey drawled on the other end, utterly unbothered by Winn’s tone.

"Your timing is always impeccable, Joey. What do you want?" Winn hissed, glancing toward the ballroom doors, already calculating how long it would take to find her. She wouldn’t have gone far.

"Just wanted to give you a head’s up. Sharona made bail," Joey said.

"Fine. Make sure you inform the guards at the Tribeca house not to give her access into the building."

"Already on it. But hey—how’s it going? You sound—"

"Get lost, Joey!" Winn snapped.

"Clearly not going great...." Joey muttered, but Winn ended the call before he could finish.

He shoved the phone into his pocket and scanned the ballroom. Bernard’s wealthy guests floated around—smiling, whispering, dancing.

But Ivy—

Ivy was nowhere.

He strode through the crowd.

Where the hell did she go?

*****

Ivy was still breathing heavily as she made it to the front door.

She didn’t even remember walking—only the desperate need to get away from the ballroom, away from Winn’s hands, away from her own traitorous body. A couple more guests were being screened by security.

Her hands were shaking so violently she had to tuck one against her stomach as she moved.

She took a sharp left and followed the long metal railing, its cold bite steadying her only a little.

Then—

She heard her name distantly behind her.

"Ivy!"

She quickened her pace.

She stopped at the very end of the railing. She bent her head, tears spilling freely now.

She cursed under her breath.

He was right.

Damn him.

Damn her.

He was absolutely right.

He had her everything—her heart, her rhythm, her cravings, her softest moments, her darkest impulses.

Always had.

Always would.

And there was nothing—nothing—she could do about it.

Her shoulders shook silently as she tried to smother the sobs.

She squeezed her eyes shut.

Why couldn’t she stop loving him?

Why couldn’t she switch it off?

She felt his arms hold her shoulders and she melted all over again. The warmth of his chest pressed against her back, the grounding weight of his touch ... it undid her. She turned around, tears clouding her vision, and wrapped her arms around him as if he was the only solid thing in the world. "I love you too. I love you too. I want you too. God...but..."

"Then let’s get married."

What the fuck.

Her entire body stiffened. That was not Winn’s voice. That was not Winn’s commanding, dark, infuriating tone that made her knees forget the meaning of structure.

She blinked rapidly. The face looking down at her with affection—soft, open, hopeful affection—wasn’t Winn. It was Eugene.

"You came?" she whispered.

"Yeah," Eugene said, smiling. "Marissa hooked me up with an invite. Told her not to tell you. Figured I’d surprise you. She was quite excited about it too."