Obsessed: Part Three (The Obsessed Series) (5 page)

"I have questions." I adjust the hem of the pajama top that Jax gave me to wear.

"Drink your tea." He motions to the cup of herbal tea he brewed for me that is now sitting atop the nightstand.

"It's too hot." I wave my hand in front of my lips as if to warn of the impending heat.

"That's adorable." He settles in across from where I'm sitting.

I smile before I continue, "I'm serious, Jax. I came here looking for some answers."

"I want to answer those questions."  He sits up straighter. "You watched the rest of the video on the flash drive?"

I nod my head. "I did."

"You understand then." He reaches for the cup of tea. He blows on the liquid before he hands it to me.

I manage a small sip and then realize my hands are trembling. I nervously place the cup back down. "I don't understand everything."

"About Brooke?" He reaches for my hand to quiet it within his own.

"About Brooke, Mark, your parents, the woman who hurt you, the…"my voice trails as he brings my hand to his mouth and gently brushes his lips across the palm.

He looks up and into my eyes. "Let's start with Brooke."

I nod and feel my breath quickening. Even though I watched the full video I still feel a sense of uneasiness about watching Jax in bed with another woman. I'm not naïve enough to think there was no one before me. He's told me there were many but still the burned images in my mind of him pulling her body into his are hard to carry within me.

"Brooke worked for my dad," he says quietly as he squeezes my hand. I run my index finger back and forth against his palm to reassure him that it's okay to continue. "She was in college at the time. She was one of the interns they hired over a summer."

"Did you work with her too?" I press.

"No." He shakes his head slowly. "I was traveling back then, ignoring my responsibilities. I was running from things."

"What things?" I ask, wondering if this is another road into Jax's life that will unveil secrets I'm not ready for.

He raises his eyes from my hand to my face. "Life things. I wasn't ready to grow up. I wanted the wealth my dad could give me without the responsibility."

I can see the pain in his eyes when he talks about his father. It's the same pain I've long felt knowing I haven't lived up to my dad's expectations.

"I didn't know who Brooke was until my father was dying." His body trembles slightly when he says the words. "My parents had separated months before that and my mother was a mess. She was destroyed by his affair but they wouldn't talk about it."

"The affair was with Brooke?" I ask the question even though I'm already certain of the answer.

He nods. "She was decades younger than my dad. She told him she loved him and he left my mother for her. He hid it…her from me."

"But you found out about her before he passed?" I try to say it diplomatically. I've seen the wrenching pain that Jax is in because of his father's death and I don't want to exacerbate that.

He pulls in a heavy breath. "The hospital called one morning and said he was asking for me. I didn't know he was there."

I'm taken back by the admission.  It offers me clarity. I now understand how estranged Jax and his father really were. I squeeze his hand again reassuring him so he'll continue, offering him understanding.

"He was so weak. He was frail," he whispers, his voice cracking. "We talked for hours. He told me all about Brooke. She had used him."

"That's horrible."

He pauses as if he's gathering up the will to continue. I can tell he hasn't talked of this before but it's been weighing heavily on him. "He asked me to make things right. He knew she was sleeping with Mark too." He casts his eyes downward. "I knew he was cheating on you then."

I wince, not wanting the confirmation that he held that knowledge for so long. "You didn't know me then," I offer in response.

"I knew Mark had a girlfriend." He smiles slightly. "You two were just dating back then."

I flash back to the night that Mark proposed. Part of me hadn't wanted to admit that his philandering had been a part of our relationship before that day. I know now that when he dropped to his knee and pledged his undying devotion to me that he was already being unfaithful. I briefly stare at my now vacant ring finger.

"When did you know we had become engaged?" I know it's a selfish question given Jax's emotional confessions about his father but my curiosity is peaked.

"I didn't know who you were." He pulls himself across the bed so his knees are now touching mine. "When I arrived at the gala that night I heard someone say that Mark and Ivy were engaged. Any woman in that room could have been Ivy." He traces his finger along my ankle. "It didn't matter at that moment to me who she was." He puts extra measure on the word
she
.

I furrow my brow not quite understanding what he's saying. "You didn't know I was me?" I giggle and shake my head once the words leave my lips. "I mean you didn't realize that I was Mark's fiancé?"

"Once I knew that he had gotten engaged to his girlfriend I was determined to tell her… to tell you about his relationship with Brooke." He taps his index finger against my leg. "Then I walked into the room and standing in the center of all the madness was the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen."

My heart stops for what feels like an eternity. I lock eyes with him and wait breathlessly for him to continue.

"You were searching the room for something. I watched you for so long. You were wearing a beautiful long black gown that showed the gentle curve of your back. Your skin looked so soft." He studies my face as he continues, "your hair was pulled up onto your head." He lifts his finger to trace a line along the side of my chin. "It was falling down in places though so you kept pushing it back with your hand."

I remembered the night but not the details the way that he did. Everyone in the room had melted away because I was so caught up in Mark and in planning my happily-ever-after with him.

"I walked up behind you," he says, his eyes widen as if he's seeing that moment right in front of him. "I breathed in the scent of your skin and I heard your voice for the first time as you said hello to a woman passing by."

I'm awestruck by his recounting of that night. I'm hit by how different things might have been if we'd met then. If he'd pulled his arm around my waist and slid his body next to mine.

"I was reaching out to touch your shoulder and then…" his voice trails as he casts his eyes downward.

"Mark," I murmur.

"He walked into the room and you waved at him." He raises his hand in the air as if to mimic my movements. "There was a flash and something bounced off the light."

"My engagement ring," I say weakly.

He nods in response. "You walked away then. You moved across the floor and into his arms. I knew then that you were Ivy." His hand clenches into a tight fist on the bed between us.

I place my hand over it willing him to let go of the anger. "I still believed in him then."

"I know." His hand softens and he cups it over mine again. "I knew that night that I couldn't let you marry him. I didn't want you to be hurt the way my mother was."

"Would you have told me if I hadn't found out myself?" I ask meekly.

He hangs his head low, his eyes focused on the bed. "Yes," he offers in a shallow voice.

"When?" I press.

"I went back to California after that night at the gala to take care of my mother. Well, actually after that night with Brooke." He corrects himself. "I made it my mission to find out everything I could about you."

"That's how you knew about the article. The Dialogue article that you brought up at Brighton's opening?" I ask excitedly. The pieces are starting to fall into place.

"Yes." He nods.

"What about the woman you said you dated who was wearing one of my bracelets?" I ask.

"There was a woman months ago. It was the only date I went on after seeing you at the gala," he says gently. "She was wearing one of your bracelets."

"How is that possible?" I'm confused. "What are the chances that a woman you'd go on a date with would be wearing one of my designs?"

He pulls back and swings his legs over the bed. "I met her the day I bought into Veray. I was in the showroom with Madeline. There was a blonde woman looking at your pieces."

I move next to him, my feet dangling inches from the floor.

"I thought it was you." He squeezes his eyes shut. "I wanted it to be you. I stood right behind her. She wasn't wearing a ring."

I reach to wrap my arm around his neck and I pull him into me. "I'm sorry it wasn't me. I wish it had been."

He gently rubs his hand over my leg. "Me too, beautiful."

I pull back as a heavy yawn takes over my body.

"Get under the covers." He stands and moves back the blanket exposing the sheet. "It's very late."

"We're not done." I protest kicking my legs against the side of the bed.

"We're never going to be done. You'll always be mine." He scoops me up and lays my head on the pillow.

I smile at him in the dim light. He looks different tonight. He's happier, lighter maybe. "That's not what I meant."

"We'll talk more tomorrow." His lips graze my forehead. "Sleep now, beautiful."

I sigh as I close my eyes and drift off into a heavy sleep.

I feel his breath on my thigh before I open my eyes. I struggle to process where I am. It's Jax's bed. The room is dimly lit. It's just the breaking of the new day. I can make out a small silver of light bursting into the room.

"Jax," I murmur as I fumble for him. I reach down and my hand wraps itself into his hair. He's there. He's so close. He's going to make me come again.

"Relax, beautiful." His lips tickle my hip. "This is how you're going to wake up every morning."

"No." I protest lightly. I don't mean it. I want this. I want him. I want to wake up in this bed every single day.

"No?" His body shifts and his lips are touching my chin. I feel his fingers trace a lazy path along my clit. "What do you mean? You don't want this?" He pushes a finger into my wetness. "Your body is screaming for me."

"We just made love last night," I say breathlessly, my voice rising when he slides another finger into me causing me to involuntarily move my hips.

"So?" He traces his tongue over my lips pulling back when I reach to kiss him.

"It's so much." I lick my lips wanting him to taste them.

He catches the tip of my tongue with his, pulling it lazily across. "It's never going to be enough." He presses his lips against mine as he speaks, "I could make love to you all day, every day until I take my last breath and it won't be enough."

I wrap my hand around his head and pull him hard into a kiss. He responds in kind, pushing himself up from the bed, plunging his fingers deeper within me.

"Oh, please." I moan at the sensation.

He pulls back from the kiss and drops his mouth to my breast. I feel his tongue trace a circle around my erect nipple before he yanks it between his teeth and bites it softly. "Your breasts are amazing." He grazes his teeth along the skin of my chest before claiming my other nipple.

"Fuck me, please," I say it without candor. I don't care how it sounds. It's all that I want.

"Not now. Not yet," he says softly. "You're going to come like this. Open, exposed and wanting me."

I gasp as I feel the pad of his thumb push on my clit. I stare into his eyes as the pleasure ripples through my body.

"Take it all. Own it beautiful. "He edges me on, circling my clitoris with just the right amount of pressure as his fingers hone in on my most sensitive spot.

I relish in the feeling of being so exposed, so open to this man. I move my hips below him, moaning with each touch of his fingers and thumb. I push his lips into mine, pulling his tongue between my teeth. "Fuck, it feels so good," I purr. "So good. Never stop."

"Never," he growls before kissing me deeply. "You're going to crave my touch."

"I do," I whimper. How can I lie? He knows it already. My body can't shield the desire I feel for him. It's there, always on display. I can't get enough of him. I ache for him.

He takes my breast in his mouth again, circling the now aching nipple with his tongue. I buck against his hand harder, reaching down to push it into me.

He moans. "You're so wet." He weaves my fingers between his so they're gliding over my wetness just as his are. "Touch your clit. Show me how you do it when you're thinking about me."

His brazen words spur on my desire and I greedily stroke my clit, pushing my finger around it, racing to the edge of my desire. "Jax, yes," I whimper through clenched teeth.

"Come for me, now." He pushes his fingers deeper still as I plunge off the edge and feel intensity unlike any other charge through my body. My body moves uncontrollably, my hips pushing off the bed, my legs thrashing.

I gasp for air. "That was…" I can't speak. I can't breathe.

"That was just the beginning." His lips brush lightly against mine. "Go back to sleep. I want you rested for round two."

***

"You didn't come back to bed after…well, you know." I blush as I open the shower door to see Jax soaping his body.

"You're finally awake." He pushes his lathered hair away from his face. "Get in here."

I acquiesce quickly, shedding the pajama top before stepping into the warm water and wrapping myself in his arms. "How long have you been awake?"

"I didn't sleep much at all." He motions for me to push my chin back. I do and I feel his hands pull my hair through the water.

"Why not?" I close my eyes as he pours shampoo onto my head and starts massaging it into my scalp.

There's silence as he pushes me back slightly so he can rinse my hair. I bite my lip wondering why he's not responding. I don't know that my heart can take any more Jax surprises at this point.  He gently pushes the water from my forehead before he kisses my nose.

I open my eyes. "Why didn't you sleep?"

He casts his eyes downward, kicking the water that's gathered near the drain with his foot. "You deserve to know everything."

I freeze. He's going to confess something to me. Last night was still part of the lie. He's going to tell me he's really the cold, heartless man I thought he was.

"I did sort of arrange for Liz to be at Brighton's opening."

"Why?"

He studies my face before he responds," I was scared."

"Scared of what?" I push.

His hand reaches behind me to retrieve a bottle of scented body wash. I watch him pour some into his palm before he brings it to my arm. "I couldn't just walk up to you on the street and say, 'hey, I'm Jax Walker and I'm your ex fiancé's business partner and oh, by the way, I'm in love with you.'  I didn't know how else to approach you."

I step back so I'm just out of his reach. "So instead you went to all the trouble of getting Brighton to accept Liz as a prospect in his program so by some off chance I'd come to his opening with her?"

"You make it sound far-fetched." He laughs as he steps closer to me again. He picks up soaping my shoulder where he left off before I pulled away.

"It's convoluted. Why would Brighton agree to it?" I cock my head to the side.

He massages my shoulder, driving his finger into the stressed muscles. "You've met my brother, Ivy. If he thinks any woman sees him as the second coming of Picasso, she's in his inner circle at the drop of a hat."

"How did you know Liz loved his work?" I ask pensively. I'm scared that he's about to tell me that he had someone following Liz.

"I didn't." His hand moves down to my right breast. I don't react as he pulls his fingers across it, covering it with the sweet scented soap. "I actually had little to do with her getting onto that prospect list."

"Don't say it was all by chance." I stare into his face.

"Hardly." He shakes his head as his hand runs to my other breast. "Mark actually set the wheels in motion."

"Mark?" I take a step back. I can't focus on what he's saying when his hand is touching my breasts. "Why would Mark set that up?"

"He didn't, at least not knowingly."

"What do you mean?" I fold my arm across my chest. I feel exposed even just talking about Mark when I'm standing here naked with Jax.

He motions for me to come closer so he can continue to wash me. I wave my finger in the air playfully. "Answer the question, Jax."

"One of the sticking points between my dad and Mark was the art in the corporate offices." He steps back into the water holding out his hand for me to join him.

I ignore the gesture and wait for him to continue.

"Mark was in charge of design and he commissioned a bunch of Liz's work. Those paintings were everywhere. In the personal offices, the boardroom, waiting areas, even in the washrooms. You couldn't escape them and all their glory." The sarcastic tone in his voice makes it evident he's not a fan of Liz's work.

"And your dad didn't want that?"

"It should have been Brighton's work hanging on those walls," he snaps. "Instead there's some nobody getting the recognition that my brother deserved."

I flinch when he calls her a nobody. That's exactly who she is to me now too.

He steps out of the water and moves his body closer to mine now. I try to step back but the cold shower wall is waiting for me. I pull back suddenly as a chill runs through me.

"Come here." He wraps his arms around me coaxing me back into the heat of the water.

"I remember how excited she was when Mark ordered all those paintings. I thought he was doing my friend a favor," I say, my lips breezing across his chest.

"I didn't give it much thought until a few months ago when I saw her in Mark's office. It dawned on me then that she was your friend. I saw you two together a couple of times."

"Where?" I push for more anticipating he'll be hesitant to offer any more details.

"I asked Brighton to come see my office before lunch one day." He proves me right and skips over my question as expected. "I played up Liz's work and threw in a few comments about how attractive she was and he took the bait."

"You did that so she'd be at the opening and you assumed I'd be there too?" I pull my lips into a tight pucker. "That's so much trouble just to bump into me."

"Actually." He strokes the small of my back with his palm. "I did that because I wanted to do something nice for your best friend. I knew that she was important to you."

"Oh," I murmur trying to absorb the kindness of the gesture.

"When Brighton added her to the list I do admit I suggested strongly that he invite her to his gallery opening and I pressed him to tell her to bring you," he says sheepishly.

"That's why Liz was so adamant about me attending with her." I pull up memories of Liz insisting I go with her even though I had whined about how boring it would be for me.

"I took Brighton to Veray to see some of your collection a few weeks before the opening and then mentioned you were a friend of Liz's and I'd like to meet you." The words come out slowly and purposefully. It's almost as if he's choosing each one very carefully.

"So, you did manipulate him into inviting me?" I stare at his face hoping to catch his gaze.

"I wanted you to be there. I just wanted to be close to you." He locks his eyes with mine. "I can't tell you what it felt like when I saw you standing there alone."

I pull my arms around his waist and rest my head against his chest again. "Jax?"

"What is it, beautiful?" He softly caresses my shoulder.

"Thank you for making sure I'd be there."