Ignite Me (A Burning Desire Novel) (19 page)

The woman nodded silently as he removed the blindfold.

A frenzy of rampant anger and unwelcomed jealousy ran
through me… It was her… It was Audrey.

I watched as his hand ran over her front and he plunged a
finger inside her. Feeling a hard stab in my chest, I shoved to my feet, unable
to go through with it. I spun around, hearing a series of crop slaps and
obnoxious cries.

When it stopped, I turned around again, thinking it was
over. I was unmistakable wrong. Landon walked away, leaving an angry and
agitated Audrey trying to claw her way out of her restraining latches. One
thing I was sure of while watching her, she wasn’t angry because he hit her,
she was angry with… arousal. Her back arched agitatedly, her eyes hungry and
greedy.

I followed Landon attentively as he moved away. He was
naked from the waist up, wearing a pair of black denim. He steadied himself on
a wooden stool in front of what seemed like a canvas. He reached behind him, I
couldn’t see, but a projector light was immediately set on Audrey.

He was painting her… Oh my god…

My mind drifted instantly to the drawings in his lake
house, the covered ones. It was her. I was aroused by it.

I snapped the screen shut and ran to the wastebasket.
Blood pounded through my face as I emptied my guts, and fell to my knees,
unable to control my sobs. My heart ached, I couldn’t believe what I saw, what
I heard. But what hurt the most was that I knew he kept her paintings, he had
them in what he called his ‘safe haven’. My stomach cramped again. Bracing my
knees, I buried my head between them.

The images were stuck in my head, replaying repeatedly the
sound of his voice, the path of his touch over her, inside her. I sobbed
louder.

Why didn’t he tell me? Or maybe he did and I didn’t
listen… I remembered the spanking, the short conversation we had after it…

I gasped for air, unable to breathe, unable to think
straight. I jolted up, gathered everything, and ran to the elevator.

I came to an abrupt halt, and found Brooke standing in
front of me, “Oh my god Clea, what’s wrong? Are you okay?”

I shook my head silently and walked inside the elevator.

“Clea.” She yelled as the doors closed.

Twenty minutes later, I was walking inside Davis &
Crawley, “Can I help you?” A young blonde stopped me as I was heading towards
the elevator.

I was in Davis & Crawley office building, still
mulling over the events of the last twenty minutes. I stood and glared at her,
I was in no condition to explain myself to her or level with her condescending
look, as if she owned the damn building.

“What’s with the attitude?” She bit out.

“Shit, Christine.” Zee appeared behind her and extended
his hand to try and relieve me from the bazar I held in my arms.

“That’s Mr. Davis’ girlfriend. Come on Clea, I’ll take you
up.”

Christine froze instantly, and apologized as she cleared
the way for me.

I followed Zee as he escorted me inside the elevator. I
gazed at my pale reflection in the mirror and turned away. We rode in silence
until we reached Landon’s office floor, I threw myself out and paced through
the hallway.

Juliet stood up and glanced behind me to Zee; she nodded
silently, and buzzed me inside the office.

I found Landon sitting at his desk, his face between his
hand and his elbows propped in front of him. It took me a moment to realize he
was listening to someone on the other end of the line. It was a man, I did not
recognize the voice, but when I heard the way Landon spoke to him, I understood
he was the one he called earlier in the limousine. “I don’t want you to sleep, eat,
or breathe until you find her.” Landon said to the other man, who didn’t argue
with his demands.

When he finally found my gaze, his jaw tightened and he
stood slowly making my heart skip a beat.

“She did it, didn’t she?”

He caught me off-guard, “She sent you the DVD. It was the
package that you forgot in the car, wasn’t it?”

His eyes were brooding, searching, and seemingly unsettled.

I nodded silently, letting my laptop and purse hit the
floor as I sank after them.

“Juliet, cancel all my calls and reschedule any
appointments I have left.” His tone was flat, and empty.

I glanced up at him; I had never seen him look defeated.
Landon kept silent and unmoving for the longest time. All I could think about
was the way he touched her, provoked her, and teased her. The look in her eyes
haunted me, making me unable to catch my breath.

I jumped up to the sound of his desk hitting the floor in
front of me. A box of several DVDs much like the one Audrey sent me spread
around me.

Tears swam in my eyes, and I sobbed loudly.

Landon ran to me and took me in his arms. I felt my world
falling apart, unable to erase his reflection and the sound of his voice in
that video. I pulled out abruptly.

“Don’t touch me!” I yelled.

His eyes widened and fell to the floor.

The regretful look I saw in his gaze, the way his
shoulders fell, defeated and sad, made me angrier. He lied to me. Worse, he
never told me about his preference, he refused to talk about it.

Reaching out to pick several discs, I threw them at him,
“Are these the tokens she kept from your disgusting relationship?”

His eyes widened again, horrified by my words.

“This is what you like to do?” I pushed to my feet and
snarled over my tears, “Torture women? Show them what a man you are, while they
gasp for the touch of your hand?”

He shook his head, “No.” His voice was raw, “You can’t
understand.”

“No?” I yelled, “No?” I shouted again, “How about when you
spanked me? Did you like it? I know I didn’t, but I remember.”

Wiping my face I inhaled rapidly, “I remember the way you
looked at me that night, your voice, your touch, you were the man in that
torture room in your sick pornos.”

He reached for me again and I pushed him away, pacing like
a wild animal around his office. I stopped when I saw a framed picture of us at
the Crawleys anniversary.

Suddenly, I felt sad and hurt. “I saw the paintings
Landon. You keep them in your safe place.”

His hands tightened into fists, his body went rigid, as if
suddenly stoned to the ground.

“I was aroused by them? Did you now that?” I spoke past my
endless tears, “Now I feel filthy. I was aroused by something you did to
another woman.”

I fell silent again. His gaze never left mine, changing
from dark, to cold, to utterly stupefied.

I snorted, “I can’t believe how stupid I was; I thought it
was your dark side, your imagination, but I was wrong. I saw you painting her;
you were bulging under your jeans. Is that what you like? Do you want to spank
me Landon; do you want to hurt me? Would you enjoy that?”

“Stop.” He whispered.

The pain in his voice felt like a hard stab, I brushed it
off, “Why not?” I retorted dryly, “Don’t I fit the profile? Am I not pretty
enough for you? Am I not greedy enough when it comes to your touch? Am I not
defying and deserving of your punishment, or is it just your sweet little
Audrey? Do you want to punish her for showing me who you really are?”

“Please stop.” He pleaded again.

“I’m sorry. Did I hit a weak spot? Do you want to head
over her place and enjoy a little torture session?”

I moved to his bar, needing a drink. I poured a glass of
scotch and swallowed it.

“You do the same things to me you know?” I came to the
realization, “When you sink those deft fingers inside her, testing her density,
how she responds, and then leave her, aching for more.”

I poured another glass and welcomed the burn, “I usually
want to die when you do it to me, begging you to relieve me, ready to do
anything. But Audrey?” I laughed acerbically, “Audrey is very resilient, angry,
greedy, but resilient. I’m sure you prefer that.”

I poured yet another glass and walked to him.

I gaze at him, not backing down, hurt and devoid of
sympathy for his beaten up posture.

I removed one of the spread around CDs, “How’s that for
our ‘No keeping secret’ rule?” I threw it back to hit his chest.

“We’re over Landon.” I announced drastically, “Don’t call
me, don’t even think about coming near me, and I trust that you’ll find a way
to ship my stuff back to my apartment.”

Shuffling through my purse, I reached for the penthouse
keycard and put it on the sofa.

“When you go back to her, don’t forget to congratulate her
on my behalf, she succeeded in showing me who you truly are.”

I rushed out of his office, passing through the hallway in
a flash; I didn’t have the patience to wait for the elevators and pushed the
emergency exit doors.

Twenty-two floors of stairways later, I walked out of the
building and hailed a cab. I saw his reflection in the rearview mirror and
sagged in tears.

I felt instantly lonely. Landon and I were over… That was
it… I lost him. Sinking deeper in my misery, I switched my phone off and asked
the cabbie driver to take me to the village.

I had no idea what to do, I couldn’t see him, and I knew
he would try to go to my building. I decided to seek comfort in some place he
wouldn’t think about and Mario’s bar was the first thing that came to my mind.

******

I shuffled endlessly under the quilt searching for
Landon’s back, only to realize he wasn’t there. He wasn’t there… My head
twirled as I tried to lift it from the pillow. My whole body ached.

Landon wasn’t there...

We broke up. It was over.

Struck by reality, everything I said and did to him came
crashing down on me and added to my throbbing headache. I sobbed silently.

“Good morning.” An unfamiliar voice of a woman greeted me,
and I pushed the blanket from over my head.

Standing in front of me was a beautiful, tall, and dark
skinned woman with a bright smile and curly hair to make my own blush in
embarrassment. She was holding a coke and a bottle of Advil.

“Who are you?” I asked, sitting on my ass to realize I
wasn’t in my apartment, or any place I’ve been to previously, “Where am I?”

She smiled at me and placed the drink and pills on the
table next to me. I was definitely out of Manhattan, that much was clear to me.
I was in a condominium, a beautiful and cozy one.

“I’m Bonnie.” She said, sitting at the other end of the
sofa, “I’m Mario’s fiancé, and you’re in our house, you spent the night here.”

I swallowed, not understanding how I ended up on Mario’
sofa in the first place.

She stood up again and walked to the kitchen counter, “Mario
says that it’s your ultimate hangover cure.” She gestured to the coke and
pills, “Drink up, I’ll make us some coffee and tell you everything.”

I nodded and resigned myself to her out.

“So I finally meet the infamous Clea.” She says with a
soft chuckle, “You’re like Mario’s best friend and client, even though you’re
not.”

I frowned not understanding what she meant.

“I mean when he talks about you, it’s as if he’s talking
about his closest friend, but you two only see each other when he’s driving
you, or when you go to the bar.” She explained.

Sipping my drink, I shook my head, “That isn’t true, I try
to see him, but he’s always working or with you, so I try to adapt any way I
can.” I explained truthfully.

“Sugar or cream?” She asked.

“Neither thanks.”

She nodded and added some half-and-half to her coffee and
came back to sit next to me.

“Your boyfriend called, he’s on his way.” She announced.

I jolted up, spilling the rest of my coke, “What?”

She shrugged apologetically, “He called Mario twenty
minutes ago, and he gave him the address.”

I frowned. Landon didn’t know Mario.

“You’re talking about Jude?” I asked.

She nodded and sipped her coffee when she saw me calming
down, “Isn’t he your boyfriend?”

I shook my head no, “My best friend, my brother, really.”

“He sounded angry; you had some angry people worried. We
don’t get lots of action in Jersey.”

I gasped, “I’m in Jersey?”

She nodded, “Let me clean up and I’ll explain.”

“I’ll do it, I’m sorry.”

“No, you rest, I’m okay.”

Deflating, I pulled the quilt and hogged the sofa sipping
my coffee.

“So you went to the bar and you got drunk after three drinks.
It seemed to Mario that you’ve been drinking before you went to see him. You
dosed off on the bar, and when you woke up you were frantic and crying about
hurting someone.”

She started recounting the events of last night, “When he
drove you to your apartment, apparently you found someone waiting for you and
you asked him not to stop and drive you elsewhere. He then took your friend in
west village, but it seemed that someone was also waiting for you there. Are
you running from the mob?” She giggled and sat next to me.

“In the end, you asked him to take you to a hotel; he
refused and brought you here. Long story short, you’ve been out for eighteen hours.”

I inhaled, “What time is it?”

“It’s ten past seven.”

I jumped up, “Oh my god.”

“It’s okay, Mario called your office and told them you
weren’t feeling well.”

“He did?”

“Yes, he’s a very attentive man.”

Sinking back on the sofa, I scrambled through my handbag
and didn’t find my phone.

“You threw it.” She said

I glanced at her.

“If you’re looking for your phone, you sent it out the
window.” She announced with a shrug.

“Do you want to tell me what’s going on?”

She was a very friendly, and I didn’t want to be rude, “I
had a fight with my boyfriend.”