The Winemaker's Dinner: Dessert (The Winemaker's Feast) (5 page)

“No, you’re up to date,” she said with a laugh.

“Good to know. Gold star for me!” And yet she still stood there, now giggling like a schoolgirl. Ivan looked at her closely, trying to judge her disposition.

Finally she got around to her point. “So, umm…The word on the street is you’re back with your ex.”

Ivan froze, his heart sending a rush of sweat down his back. Relying on his go-to defense mechanism, he laughed. “What? Where did you hear that?”

“Well, a friend of mine is friends with someone whose sister is the concierge at the Fontainebleau.”

“Huh. Is that right?” He wiped a quick hand across his now-sweaty brow. “The Fontainebleau, you said?”

“Yep. She also said she overheard Jaden talking on her cell. She told someone she was staying there a few days until her apartment was ready.”

His mind went into overdrive as it tried to absorb this information. Jaden was back in town,
at the Fontainebleau
, and apparently staying for a while. “Well, I can assure you I don’t know anything about that. That book is closed, my dear.”

“Good!” Liz replied a little too quickly. Catching herself, she shuffled from foot to foot. “I mean, it would be a shame if you were off the market.”

Her flirting caught him off guard—or maybe it was the bombshell she’d just dropped on him. If there was one thing he knew for certain, office romances were a big no-no. He thought he’d always been clear on that point, but then who knew what he’d been doing with himself lately. Slipping behind his best poker face he replied, “I’m still out there and still shopping.” Good God, he needed to clear his mind. He could barely keep himself in his seat.

“Good to know.” She smiled a smile that had no place in an office as she turned to leave. “I’ll go get the next patient ready for you.”

What the fuck?
The door shut with a resounding thud. Was Jaden moving back to Miami? What about the show? Liz’s words were no doubt the sounding bell for another fresh round of heartbreak. He’d fooled himself into thinking Jaden’s life was in California now and that Miami Beach—much like their dead relationship—was a thing of the past for her. Sure, she’d visit Tasha and Micky every now and then, but dodging her on the occasional weekend was a breeze. However, having to avoid her at every turn would be a much bigger challenge.

“Shit.” Ivan scrubbed his hands over his face and pushed back his hair. Would Jaden come knocking on his door? The distance between California and Florida had made it easy to ignore her attempts to reach him, but on an island that was only 18.7 miles wide, if she wanted to see him, she would be unavoidable. He sighed again. Would that be so bad? He’d been so desperate to stop the bleeding that he’d never really tended to the wound. He’d avoided communication with her at all costs, but maybe if he just dealt with it and talked to her, he’d be able to move on.

Then again, maybe Liz’s intel was all wrong. Maybe he was freaking out over nothing.
Liz!
the freak demanded.

“No!” Ivan shouted into his empty office. He was hanging on by a thread, and this was no time to give in to his addiction. He needed to simplify his life, not let the freak complicate it any further. Better to just medicate the fucker now before he did something stupid like picking up the phone and calling her. Reaching for his cell, he dialed the concierge at the front desk of the hotel that housed his office.

“Hello?” The man’s smooth voice came over the phone.

“Hey, boss. It’s Ivan. Tonight I’m going to need a bottle and a table.”

“Any particular table, sir?”

“Doesn’t matter. I’ll be there at ten.” With that, Ivan hung up the phone and slumped back in his chair, his mind numb.

The door opened and Liz peeked in. “Doctor, they’re ready for you.”

Yesssss!
For a moment he forgot she was a lawsuit waiting to happen and narrowed his gaze. “Thanks,” he purred.

“Anything for you.”

The sultry sound of her voice, so ridiculously inappropriate for a work environment, snapped him back to reality. He sighed as the door closed behind her. His job was to help people feel better about themselves. Too bad he couldn’t make it work for himself.

Ivan went to the sink and washed his hands. As he did so he looked himself over in the mirror and shook his head. He looked as shitty and shell-shocked as he felt, but his schedule had no space for any kind of meltdown today, big or small. Good thing he was a pro when it came to quarantining unwanted thoughts and emotions these days, because tucking away the idea that Jaden was in Miami Beach behind door number three was now a priority. He smoothed his hair back, fastened it into a ponytail, and then went in for his next consult.

For the rest of the day, he moved from appointment to appointment, allowing himself no time to think about anything but IV administration, hangover cures, libido-boosting cocktails, and the new club membership he’d secured with the Panamanian VIP couple. And when that was done, the hours between his last patient and his ten o’clock reservation downstairs were occupied with reading patient labs and catching up on dictation.

At nine thirty he gave himself permission to clock out. In an instant, as he shed his lab coat and powered down his computer, the freak began to whisper his intentions for the night that lay ahead. Ivan had spent all day keeping himself together, and he was exhausted. He was left with nothing to fight off the freak, if he even wanted to. Now it was time for surrender to the sweet sedation only the freak knew how to deliver.

Chapter 7

“Dream a Little Dream”

J
ADEN
L
OOKED
D
OWN
A
T
I
VAN
and ran her hands through his hair. His tongue lavished her pussy as waves of pleasure crashed over her. He had one hand wrapped around her legs, holding the flimsy bikini bottoms aside, while the other fondled her naked breast, teasing and twisting her nipple between his thumb and forefinger until she thought she’d burst.

“Oh, God, Ivan! Don’t stop!”

Faster, he worked his tongue in and out of her. She writhed with the sensation as warm ocean water pooled around them. Her body tensed and trembled as she inched closer and closer to orgasm. She grabbed a fistful of hair and forced his face hard into her. The sensation of his rough beard against her soft flesh was unfamiliar, but not unwelcomed, and she ground harder into him, forcing more of his tongue inside. Each stroke brought her closer and closer, and just when she thought she could take no more, he spoke to her, replacing his tongue with his fingers without breaking rhythm.

“Come for me, baby,” he commanded in a low, sexy tone as he continued to stroke her from the inside out. “Now.”

At the sound of his voice she began to tremble. When he curled his fingers inside her and flicked his tongue over her clit, she shattered. She couldn’t even pull in a full breath and instead managed only short, desperate gasps as he continued to tease her with his mouth and fingers. She rode out the first orgasm, tugging at his hair as her legs trembled around his head.

“Do it for me again, Jaden. I want to hear you scream,” he demanded as he worked her toward a second, more powerful climax.

“Yes!
Yes!
Oh, Iv—”

Beep. Beep. Beep.

She sat up in bed, disoriented by the sound and the aftereffects of the amazing feeling that had eluded her for so long. After a moment she realized where she was (in her new condo) and that she was alone (no Ivan). She glared at the bedside table and slapped the alarm on her phone silent. She blew out a heavy breath and fell back into the comfort of her new bed. She hadn’t known dreams like that were possible.

Dreamgasm?
She nearly managed a giggle. People have wet dreams all the time, she reminded herself. She’d just never experienced one quite so intense or with such a spectacular finish. Dreaming of Ivan in such a raw, sexual form had awakened feelings she’d tried to pack away months ago.
There’s something to be said about the beard and longer hair. He looked bigger, too—his arms were huge. God, I wonder what else has changed?
Fighting off a wave of sadness, she shook her head, hopped out of bed, and headed for the shower.

As the water ran over her body, she thought about what she wanted versus what she needed. She
needed
to tell Ivan the whole story, to explain how she’d lost her way, been foolish and selfish, but her heart had held fast to him. It had kept her true. She
needed
to tell him how sorry she was and beg for his forgiveness. He needed to know she hadn’t slept with Damian and that no amount of emails, text messages, or phone calls could convey how sorry she was. And what she
wanted
was for everything to go back to the way it was, for them to make their peace with what happened. She
wanted
Ivan to forgive her and pick up where they’d left off, rebuilding on the foundation she hoped still existed.
But wants and needs are not the same
, she reminded herself.
And it’s the needs you should attend to first.
If she could just get Ivan to listen, if she could know for sure that he knew the truth, maybe then she could find her way to peace no matter what the outcome.

Jaden stepped out and wrapped herself in a towel. Should she tell Ivan she was in town, or should she rely on fate to place him in her path? What if he’d already heard she was there? Four days wasn’t long, but word traveled fast in South Beach. She and Tasha had enjoyed a pool day already, so of course Micky knew she was in town. Jaden wasn’t sure how she felt about the fact that Ivan and Micky had become such great friends, but she supposed it was comforting to know Ivan had at least one good friend left who didn’t want anything from him—didn’t have any underlying business plans or shady, self-promoting motivations. Further proving his loyalty, Micky had made it clear he had no interest in being in the middle of this situation and planned not to discuss either of them with the other. But still…There was probably some kind of bro-code necessity that would eventually wear him down.

She needed coffee. Fortunately, in addition to furniture, her condo had come equipped with a convenient little single-serving coffee machine, with all the flavors of the coffee rainbow to choose from. She tucked the tail of the towel deeper and tighter under her arm and headed for the kitchen. Just a few quick clicks and a couple of minutes later, she moved into the living room with a steaming mug of coffee in hand. She stood quietly, enjoying the view from the condo. Finding this short-term sublease had been a stroke of luck. She smiled down at joggers on the boardwalk below. Not long ago, she’d run along that same path and wondered what the view looked like from this building. Now she knew.

Jaden pushed open the sliding glass door, stepped out on the tiny, standing-room-only balcony and looked out across the bay. For six months she’d been away from Ivan, and from Miami Beach. She’d played out countless scenarios and had a thousand imaginary conversations with him, trying to sort out how she might actually begin reconciliation. None of her phone calls, texts, or emails had done anything other than prove her tenacity, but even if he hadn’t read them, she hoped he realized she wasn’t ready to let him go.

And though she continued to have moments of self-doubt, when she wondered whether she’d ever deserved Ivan at all, something about seeing him her first morning back in town at the Fontainebleau had galvanized her resolve. And in a way, her dream this morning now pushed her forward as well. She had to speak with him. She had to try in person to get him back.

What if he’s dating? What if he’s dating
a lot?
What if he really doesn’t want you anymore?
Jaden thought for a moment and realized she could live with the answers to those questions, no matter what they were. Of course he was dating. She’d be surprised if he wasn’t. And perhaps he’d even met someone else to care for. She’d be crushed, but she had to know. At least then she would know for certain whether she’d have to continue to live alone with the consequences of her actions. Perhaps she’d finally mourn the loss of true love and move on. That’s what she
needed
.

What she couldn’t live with would be more of his evading and her being forced to pretend that everything was okay, in both her personal and professional lives. She knew he had never let Irena back in, even if only to cinch up a relationship gone bad with an ounce of closure, and eventually Irena gave up. And because she did, Ivan had been available when Jaden came along.
Huh
…It wouldn’t be easy, but what they had was real and worth saving. She had to try. No giving up.

A warm breeze kicked up around her, as if the universe approved of her tactics. She couldn’t control Ivan’s actions, but she was definitely in charge of her own. No matter how long it took or how desperate it became, the way forward for her, the way to find herself again, would be to seek Ivan’s forgiveness until he told her there was no chance in hell he could ever love her again.