He’d turned her down. He’d been so sick with himself that he’d cheated on Sutton that the idea of doing it again was repugnant. He felt the same sense of loathing right now. He didn’t want Ivy. He never had. There was something about her, yes. She was beautiful and smart, but he’d never wanted her like he wanted Sutton.

Ivy grabbed his hand and made a credible attempt to put it down her panties.

“Ivy, stop. She’s your best friend. What are you doing?”

“Anything you want,” she purred.

A lesser man would already have his dick out. Ethan wasn’t even aroused.

Their eyes locked. Ethan looked away first. He pulled his hand free. “I don’t want this.”

The house phone began to ring.

“Yes, you do. You know you do.”

He didn’t give a shit who was on the phone, he needed this situation to end, right now.

He whirled away, grabbed the handset and barked, “Hullo,” into the mouthpiece.

“Ethan? Oh, thank God you’re okay.”

His heart stopped. It literally stopped, and he couldn’t catch his breath.

“Sutton? Oh my God, Sutton, is that really you? Where are you?”

“Ethan, you have to listen to me. You’re in—”

He turned, smiling now, to tell Ivy, but the front door was open.

No one was there.

The room was empty.

“Ivy?” he called.

“Behind you,” she answered. He saw the flat edge of a board a second before it hit him square in the face, and went down, hard, the phone spinning away, Sutton calling, “Ethan? Ethan?”

Poison Ivy

POISON IVY

So now you know.

My name is Ivy. Like the poison.

I told you at the beginning you weren’t going to like me very much. You really don’t like me right now, do you? Am I a horrible person? A loathsome creature? You bet. I’m evil to the core.

And I warned you. I warned you, and you didn’t listen. I know what you’re thinking. Why? Why would I try to hurt the two people who’ve shown me nothing but love and friendship since I came into their lives?

I don’t think I’m quite ready to share the whole truth with you. Sorry. But I will tell you this. They aren’t the people you think they are.

Do you think I don’t care about how Ethan feels? Do you think I don’t care how Sutton’s going to feel when she finds out the whole truth? Well, I do care. I care so much it hurts my very soul.

I’m doing this to make them hurt the way I do. I’m doing this so they understand exactly who and what they’re dealing with. They have no idea what it has cost me, finding her, tracking them, devising this plan. It’s been years in the making.