Obsessed: Part Three (The Obsessed Series) (7 page)

"Your wish is my command." Mark's overly zealous grin greets me as I swing open the door of my apartment.

I move to allow him to walk in. "Cut out the theatrics, Mark and get in here. The NYPD will be breaking down my door with a battering ram in about two minutes if Mrs. Adams sees you're here."

"Good point, sweetheart." He uses the word naturally and I suddenly wonder if he does it as way to unnerve me. I decide that this time I'm going to completely ignore it.

"Moving back in?" He nods towards the stack of boxes littering the foyer.

"Nope," I say curtly. "I'm moving to Boston."

"Boston?" He twists the word around his tongue as if it's repulsive.

"Boston," I parrot back to him.

"Why the hell would you go there?" He walks into the living room and settles himself onto the couch. I follow behind and take a seat in the chair opposite him.

"My life isn't your business anymore." I growl. "I didn't ask you over to talk about that."

"Fine." He stares at his fingernails. It's a tactic he's long used when he wants me to believe he's not interested in what I have to say. It's childish, humiliating and pure Mark through and through.

"Let's talk about Brooke." I lean back into the chair, relaxing my shoulders.

"So I did peak your curiosity when I mentioned her." He sits upright. "Is that why you left him?"

"Who said I left him?" I purse my lips together.

He studies my face trying hard to mask the look of surprise that is running along his brow. "You're moving away so it's obviously over."

"Jumping to conclusions isn't smart, Mark," I chuckle. "Sleeping with Brooke probably wasn't one of your brightest moves either."

"I didn't sleep with her." The words fall off his tongue so quickly they almost bounce into one another.

"What's that?" I crane my neck forward as if I didn't hear him. "You didn't sleep with her?"

"Jax did." He spits back at me.

"Yeah, no." I shake my head lightly back and forth. "That's a lie."

He runs his hand over his brow pushing away a few small beads of sweat that are forming. "So now you believe him over me?"

I breathe in heavily before I pull a wide grin across my lips. "Actually I believe that if she would have slept with Jax she wouldn’t have gone near your bed."

"What the fuck does that mean?" He jerks forward, his knees banging into the coffee table.

"You kind of suck in bed." I shrug my shoulders. "Jax, on the other hand…" I let my voice trail as I watch him squirm.

"Shut up." A vein on his forehead bulges as he tosses the words at me. "What the hell would you know?"

"I finally know what an orgasm is," I say in a breathy tone.

"You're vile." He lunges to his feet. "You called me all the way over here for that? To tell me Jax is better in bed than me?"

"Better is an understatement, sweetheart." I stand now too.

"What do you want, Ivy?" He moves swiftly towards the door of the apartment.

"I want to know why I keep hearing that there were company shares in my name before we even separated." I place my hands on my hips in defiance. I won't back down from this.

He scoffs, "who told you that, it's not true?"

"Brooke did." It's a lie but it's only skirting the truth. I did hear her say it with my own two ears on that video.

"She's a lying bitch." His hands are trembling.

I know I'm circling something big. I just don't have any idea what it is. "No, she's a whore and a lying bitch but that's just semantics."

"When did you talk to her?" He pushes the question at me as he takes a step towards me.

I don't retreat. I'm not going to allow him to intimidate me a moment longer. "That's not relevant. What is relevant is that you gave me a ten percent share in Intersect Investments when we separated and apparently I owned at least that for some time before that day."

"You did not," he screams at me.

"I've always wondered why you didn't involve any lawyers in that transaction." I tap my index finger to my chin. "Brooke helped me understand why that is."

All of the color drains from his face. "I paid her to keep her mouth shut."

"Obviously not enough." I temper the tone of my voice. I have to keep baiting him. "She told me everything."

His foot begins drumming extraordinarily fast against the hardwood floor. It's a sign that he's panicked. I remember it clearly from the day I confronted him about his affairs. "Fuck her. She told you about the forgery, didn't she?" he asks, his voice cracking.

I nod my head. Forgery? Did Mark forge my name? Was he using my proxy before I signed the documents giving it to him?

"When Tom died I had to do something." He starts pacing back and forth in the foyer. "Jax could have taken over. Putting those shares in your name was the only thing I could think of."

I stare at his face. How could I have not realized how destructive he was? How did I not see through the thin veil of goodness that he wore for me?

"You're not going to the FTC with this, are you?" He lunges at me and grabs my arms. "Is she going to testify that I made her impersonate you? Or that I paid her off to keep quiet?"

I almost feel my knees buckle. I can't speak. I can't believe that all of this has poured out of him. All I wanted when I called him over here was some closure. I just wanted to know why Brooke had mentioned those shares right after the gala when Mark and I were still together. I wanted this to be the last time I'd ever see him.

"What do you want?" He takes a step back from me. "I'll give you the apartment. You can sell it and buy one in Boston. Do you want money? What? Tell me what?"

"Nothing," I whisper. "I want nothing."

He glares at me as he marches towards the door. "I'll be back. Think about what you want and I'll be back."

I slide to the floor as the door slams behind him.

"If you knew something about someone that you didn't care about but that information could damage someone you love, what would you do?" I ask while I stare at my hands in my lap.

"That depends, dear." Mrs. Adams takes a heavy breath. "Is this about your fellow?"

"It is." I smile lightly. "Someone has done something that is illegal and if I report it, the consequences of that could hurt Jax and me."

She squints her eyes as she looks toward the midday sun pouring into her apartment. "I think you need to ask him about it."

"I'm not sure I can do that." I rush back in my mind to that moment at the restaurant when Jax was seething with anger about Mark and his father. If I give him this ammunition there's no telling what he will do with it. At the very least the three of us will be pulled into a very complicated investigation with the FTC. All I want at this point is to leave Mark behind me. I just want him to stop being such a force in my relationship with Jax.

"Ivy, come sit here." She pats her wrinkled hand on the couch next to where she's sitting.

I move from my position in a chair next to the window, to sit with her. She reaches for my hands. "Dear, lies break people apart. You know that."

I nod. I know she's talking about Mark and it's ironic that she has no clue that my problems have come full circle right back to him.

"Don't be like Mark. You're better than him." She lightly squeezes my hand. I can tell it takes a lot of effort for her to do it. "Do the right thing. Your fellow will understand."

I sigh. I know that she's right.

"Never tarnish your heart." She taps my chest with her finger. "You have to tell him. If you don't, you're a liar too."

Her words bite not because they are cruel or malicious but because they are grounded in fact. She's completely right. I have to tell Jax and I have to report Mark.

***

"You're such a good cook," I say as I place the fork down on the plate. "Where did you learn how to cook pizza that's this good?"

"My mother was an amazing cook." He reaches for my plate and places it in the sink along with his own. "It was one of the things we always did together when I was child."

I smile. I love when Jax talks about his childhood. Each time he has it's always brightened his face and brought a lilt to his voice. "That's such a beautiful memory to have."

He reaches for my hand to pull me from the chair. "It's one of my favorites."

I watch his back as he leads me down the hallway to the bedroom. "Isn't there a rule about waiting at least a half hour after you eat before having sex?"

He stops,
turns and lets out a ferocious laugh. "Do you know how charming you are?" He brushes his lips across my forehead.  "I just wanted to show you something?"

"I've seen it and it's impressive." I giggle. The one glass of white wine I had with my dinner is already having the desired effect on me. I need to bring up my conversation with Mark but first I have a few questions for Jax.

He shakes his head as he chuckles. "There's something in your drawer for you." He motions towards the dresser. I flash back to the day I was moving in and he had shown me the emptied drawers that were reserved for my unmentionables as he called them.

I glance up at his face and his gaze is clear and steady. There's no apprehension there. Tonight he's just my Jax. He's not the ruthless businessman determined to ruin Mark. I don't want to tell him what I've learned about Mark but I know I have no choice.

"Open the drawer, beautiful." He reaches for my hand and holds it to the metal pull.

I yank it open and I'm greeted with the sight of my lingerie I left behind when I raced out after seeing the video. Beside it is a plain white envelope with my name on it. On top of that is the necklace. The beautiful necklace that Jax had designed for me was now fixed.

He reaches past me to pick up the delicate chain. "Turn around," he whispers into my ear. 'I'll put it on you."

I do as I'm told and I feel a shiver course through me as he grazes my neck with his fingers after securing the clasp. "Thank you," I say breathlessly. I feel complete again. I cradle the necklace in my hand, wishing that I could make the world swallow everything up and chase it away so that all that existed was Jax and me in this moment, in this room, forever.

"It belongs on you." He kisses my neck. "Now open the envelope." There's a giddy edge to his voice and I whip around to look at the expression on his face. It's exuberant. He's excited and I feel my stomach flip flop as he hands it to me.

I raise an eyebrow expectantly as I watch a wide grin take over his face. "I can't wait." He's almost bouncing up and down. "Rip it open."

I do it knowing that if I hadn't at that exact moment he was liable to take it from me and do it himself. I stare down at a beautiful invitation. I run my finger over the raised lettering before I pull it closer so I can read it. The information is sparse. It only lists a date and time and an address in Soho. "Is this another of Brighton's shows? If it is I'm going to have a headache next Friday." I scrunch my nose up.

He chuckles. "I won't subject you to another of those. No." He takes my hand and sits me down on the edge of the bed. "Next Friday at eight o'clock you need to be at that address." I'm so focused on his words that I don't protest when he starts to undo my dress.

"Why?" I moan as I feel his hand brush against the thin lace of my bra. "Is it another apartment?"

His finger plunges beneath the lace pulling on my erect nipple. He buries his face into my neck. "No, you don't need that. You're going to move back in here."

"I am?" I ask faintly. Of course I am. I want to.

"When you're ready this is your home. This is your bed." He pushes me gently onto my back and the invitation flutters out of my hand and onto the floor.

I catch his lips with mine and pull him into a deep kiss. I need this. I want him like this. I have to have him one last time before I arm him with what he needs to ruin Mark. "Please, Jax," I purr into his mouth.

He tears at my dress, pulling my body from it. I'm tangled within the sheets, trying to undress him. He stands and quickly unburdens himself of his clothing. I stare at his body. His beautiful, magnificent body. It's the body that taught me what pleasure really is. It's the only body that I can imagine having within mine.

He reaches behind me to unhook my bra. I watch as he carefully traces my right nipple with his tongue. Pulling it into his mouth for light kisses followed by bursts of pain when he clamps his teeth around it.  His hand moves between my thighs, dipping below the lace. He traces his finger along the wetness, tempting me, taunting me.

"I want you," I beg. My body is trembling. The ache to be one with him is almost immeasurable.

"Not now. Not yet," he murmurs against the tender flesh of my nipple before pulling his finger from my folds.

I hold my breath as he reaches behind me to unhook my bra allowing both my breasts to spill out. He traces his tongue from one nipple to the other. Biting, licking, kissing. I reach down to touch myself. I want to come. I need to.

He shakes his head to warn me off. His hand clasps mine pulling it to his cock. I eagerly take it. I love how it feels. I can't close my hand around it but I stroke it. I want him to feel as much pleasure as he gives me. He lets out a guttural moan.

I feel as though I'm floating as he pulls the panties from me just as his lips find me. He tugs my bottom lip between his teeth. He nips it, sucks it. He's tempting me, pushing me closer and closer to the edge.

"Please," I almost sob.

He inhales sharply the moment he slides himself into me. "Fuck." The word rolls slowly off his tongue and onto his lips, spilling into my mouth with his breath.

I grab his hips, pulling desperately. I need him. I can't let him go. "So good," I whisper into him.

He moves faster, thrusting harder, pushing with everything he has. My head thuds into the mattress, my whole body moving with each measured plunge he makes. He speeds the rhythm and I reflect it in my own movements. I push harder, pull more.

"Look at me." I scream.

His eyes pop open and he stares into mine as he fucks me. "Ivy." The word leaves his body as a moan.

"Now." I command. I can't hold it any longer. I have to come. I stare into his eyes.  I see deep into his soul.

"Christ." He grunts as he falls over the edge with me. His body trembles. I hold fast, wanting him to pump everything he is into my body.

"I love you." His breath caresses my cheek. "I love you, Ivy."