She moaned and cried out, releasing his dick from her mouth, only to take it back in a second later even deeper than she had before.
“Fuck me!” Ivan groaned and grabbed the back of her head, guiding her movements and pushing himself farther down her throat.
He thrust forward and at the same time hit the accelerator, causing the car to lurch again. He jerked it hard to the right, and the inertia forced Jaden’s head deeper into his lap.
She sat up on her knees, gasping and coughing for air. “I’m back to thinking we’d better wait until we get home. My gag reflexes can’t take another hit like that. Deep throating is one thing, but I think you were in my stomach.”
“Ooh, sorry, babe,” he managed before bursting out laughing. After a moment he wiped tears from his face. “I think you may be right.”
He looked over and she scowled, which set him off laughing again, and this time she joined him. He took her hand and squeezed. She smiled and settled into her seat to enjoy the rush of speed. Ivan’s laughter hadn’t slowed him down any. Road signs passed by in a blur, and just as she was about to mention their exit, he veered hard to the right and they sped over to the off ramp. The next two miles flew by. Speed limits were shattered, and stop signs were merely suggestions. They both knew what was on the menu for this evening, and it seems they were famished. Gratification was just around the corner…
The Roadster screeched to a halt. Barefoot and dishevelled, she ran to the door and fumbled with the keys. Ivan was right on her heels with fire in his eyes. The front door to her townhouse burst open, and they tumbled into the hall. Before she could turn to face him, his hands were on her shoulders, holding her against the wall. His teeth scraped the skin just below her ear, and his tongue trailed fire across her flesh. Goose bumps rose on her forearms. With a twist she freed herself from his grasp and ran toward the stairs.
“Catch me if you can!”
“Two can play this game,” he yelled after her as he began to run.
She took the stairs two at a time, and she could hear him drawing near. As she reached the top, her toe caught on the step. Red-hot pain shot through her knee as it skimmed the carpet, but that faded in an instant as Ivan wrapped his hands around her ankle and pulled. She slid down the stairs, and he captured her in his arms.
He rested his hands on either side of her head, steadying himself on the stairs, and hovered inches above her. “You didn’t really think you were going to outrun me, did you?”
“You haven’t caught me yet, doc,” she squealed, backing up the stairs.
A glint sparkled in Ivan’s eye. The tables had been turned. He was the cat and she was the mouse. He was the hunter. She was the prey. In a final attempt at escape, she twisted her body and propelled herself up the steps.
She could feel him behind her, his hot breath tickling the back of her neck. They raced into the bedroom, and his arms wrapped around her waist. They collapsed onto the bed, succumbing to a fit of giggles. All around them were mounds of dresses that hadn’t made the cut, and they now provided an extra layer of cushioning. Jaden struggled to rid herself of the emerald green dress she wore while Ivan tossed around on the bed beside her, making quick work of his pants and shirt. This was the last time they’d see each other for weeks, so there was no time for pleasantries.
He rolled onto his back and disposed of his briefs. His erection sprung free and stood at full attention: hard, throbbing, and demanding to be touched. Following his lead, she stripped out of her bra and panties and tossed them to the floor. She straddled his legs and felt him tense beneath her. Leaning over, she opened her mouth and enveloped him, picking up where they’d left off in the car. Her mouth moved languidly down his shaft, and she felt him twitch as the head of his cock hit the back of her throat.
“Stop!” Ivan’s hands circled her forearms, and he pulled her up the length of his body. “If you keep that up, I’m a goner, and I’m nowhere near finished with you yet.”
“Hmm…” she breathed. “I like the sound of that.” Her body slid against his as she positioned herself above him. She reached between them and grasped his cock, positioning it at the entrance to her sex, she began to lower herself onto him. At that moment he raised his hips from the bed and thrust into her, filling every inch.
“Agh!” she cried, and he stilled within her.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” she assured him. “That was just a little…unexpected.”
He eased out of her and relaxed his hips on the bed, letting her take the lead. She rocked back and forth, slowly at first, but her tempo increased with every downward thrust. He snaked his hands around her waist, his fingers biting into her flesh as she surrendered herself to him. God, how she loved the feel of him in her, filling her, the touch of his hands searing her already heated skin.
Suddenly he flung her onto her back and plunged into her. Her moans morphed into screams as his cock drove deep into her pussy. She wanted to beg, to plead for release, but she was lost to his touch. Ivan stroked into her, and his cock brushed the bundle of nerves buried deep within. Her legs began to tremble. She was on the cusp of a monumental orgasm that had begun at the party, but just as she was about to spill over the edge, to find sweet release, he withdrew.
“Get on your knees,” he demanded before she could utter a word of protest.
She smiled. She loved it when dominant Ivan came out to play, so she complied. She’d barely registered what was happening before he slammed into her from behind, once again bringing her hard and fast to the brink of orgasm. His chest pressed against her back as he laid a trail of fiery kisses from one shoulder to the other. His breath felt warm as he whispered hoarsely against her skin.
“Do you trust me?” His voice was raspy, his breathing uneven.
She glanced over her shoulder, puzzled. “Of course I trust you, but—”
“Shh…” He pressed a finger to her lips, silencing her.
She closed her eyes. The feel of his fingers caressing her clit as he took her from behind was nothing new, but she did not expect to feel his fingers trailing along the crevice of her ass to circle the tight bud of her anus.
“Ivan…” She began to object, but she did trust him…
He slowed to a stop as the tip of his finger breeched the taut ring of muscles, and she let out an audible gasp. “Are you okay? Do you want me to stop?”
“Yes.” She nodded. “I mean no. Don’t stop.” Being touched in such an intimate spot had her senses reeling and made it impossible to form a coherent thought. This was more pleasurable than she could’ve imagined, and she found herself pressing back against his finger, burying it deeper. When at last her muscles relaxed enough to allow him complete entry, he eased a second finger into her.
Jaden had never felt so full in her life, and never had she dreamed that being taken in such a way would make her feel so sated. As her body became accustomed to the sensation, she started to move her hips, thrusting back against him, taking more of him into her. She tilted her hips and pushed against him, and with one final backward thrust, she came. Waves of pleasure radiated everywhere in her body, washing over her like a tidal wave. Her mind was hazy as her stomach coiled and another climax began to build. Not trusting her legs to hold her, Jaden bent over and placed her elbows on the bed for support. She felt a biting sting as Ivan withdrew his fingers from her ass, and the sensation caused her to explode around him and left her wanting more.
As if sensing this, he thrust into her at a maddening speed. He wrapped his arm around her stomach and pulled her up into his chest. His cock twitched inside her, and he pulled out to come on the small of her back. Sucking and licking the base of her neck, Ivan continued to grind against her ass, prolonging the bliss until he’d emptied himself.
She collapsed on the bed, taking him with her, and quivered as remnants of the monumental orgasm she’d just experienced flitted through her body. “That was amazing,” she whispered. “You’re amazing.”
“No,” he responded, kissing her forehead. “We’re amazing.”
They lay, naked and lazy in each other’s embrace, for what felt like hours. Moonlight streamed through the window, and the fluid on her back began to cool. With great reluctance, she extricated herself from Ivan’s arms and stood. “I think it’s time for a shower.”
“Agreed,” he said. He grabbed his shirt from the floor and wiped away the cream that smeared his thighs.
She could feel his gaze on her with every step she took. With deliberate movements, she entered the bathroom and bent over to turn on the shower, exposing everything she had to him. She felt a blush warm her cheeks, but she smiled. The mattress squeaked, and she knew he was coming to join her. Somehow, they’d managed to maintain the perfect balance of love and lust, despite the nearly three thousand miles between them.
Chapter 13
“Listen to Her Heart”
“HEY, SWEETS!”
Jaden gripped the countertop in the studio kitchen, took a deep, calming breath, and counted down from ten. This was her new reality, and she needed to find a way to manage it. She’d been pleasantly surprised by Damian’s on-camera personality during the first few shows they’d taped together. He’d been focused, attentive to her instructions, and professional to the crew. But in the ensuing months, he seemed to believe he’d mastered everything, and he was increasingly difficult and cocky. When her count reached one, she placed a smile on her face and turned around—only to discover just how close behind her he’d been standing. Raising a finger, she warned, “If you call me that one more time, I swear to God I’ll rip your tongue out.”
“Oh, feisty! I like that.” He seemed about to add another snappy remark, but instead raised his arms and took a step back. “I was joking around,” he said. “You know, trying to lighten the mood. I promise to behave now.”
“No, you weren’t, and no, you won’t. It seems you don’t know how to behave, Damian,” she retorted. “This is a professional workplace, and you’ve met my boyfriend, so please stop with the sleazy antics.”
“Listen, Jade…”
Sweets? Jade? Was it too much to ask that he call her by her proper name?
“I really am sorry,” he added. “I’m not trying to step on your boyfriend’s toes. I just want us to have some fun together. If my sense of humor offended you, I’m sorry. For the sake of the show, can we at least try to be cordial to each other?”
She couldn’t make heads or tails of this guy. His mischievous look did not at all match the sincere tone of his voice. But for a moment he seemed almost…vulnerable? No, a voice in Jaden’s head warned. There wasn’t a sincere bone in Damian’s body.
However, because of the show, and to spare her fading patience, she nodded and gave him the benefit of the doubt. “Apology accepted. Now, can we please finish this shot so we can go home?” Filming has taken extra long today because you can’t seem to figure out how to read your lines and not talk over mine, she added silently.
“Sure thing, boss,” he replied. With a spring in his step, he returned to the back of the kitchen and the task at hand.
Five minutes passed, and then ten—without so much as a peep from Damian. Jaden busied herself with putting the final touches on the plate of steamed clams, and the camera crew readied themselves for the final segment.
Bang! She turned to find her favorite serving platter shattered into a million shards and scattered across the tile floor of the set. Damian stood beside the stove, his hands now empty. He looked at the mess, but instead of bending down to pick it up, he just shrugged and turned away as if nothing had happened. It’s not my platter, it’s the network’s, she reminded herself, but deep breaths were of little use now. She’d had just about enough of Damian and his entitled attitude.
“All right, boys and girls. Let’s wrap it up and call it a day. Everyone take your places,” the cameraman called as the crew finished cleaning up the set.
Damian looked down at Jaden, smugness oozing from every pore in his body, and winked. “I have a date with Cathy from editing tonight,” he whispered. “Let me know if you’d like to join us.” He raised his eyebrows meaningfully, then turned toward the camera and began to speak. “So with your seafood feast prepared…”
Jaden swallowed her shock and composed herself as quickly as she could, but not before Damian had taken the liberty of describing the clams she’d prepared. Poor Cathy, she thought. And poor me.
The next twenty minutes felt like the longest of her life. When the cameraman finally yelled, “Cut!” she hightailed it to the closest exit, not bothering with a final review or even a change out of her kitchen whites.
She hurried around the corner to the spot where Adam parked. She didn’t have the patience to text him and wait for him to pull around to the front of the building.
As she slipped into the backseat, he looked up from his newspaper, surprised. “You’re in a hurry, Ms. Thorne!”
“It was a long day.” She laughed half-heartedly. “I’m ready to be somewhere else.”
“Straight home tonight?” he asked.
“Yes, please.”
She sank into the black leather seat and was thankful when he raised the partition between them. Somehow he always seemed to know when she needed time to herself. As the studio disappeared behind them, she fished her cell phone from her purse. As she suspected, not a single message from Ivan. He’d been consumed with his new practice and busy supporting various local charities. Mostly by attending their cocktail events, she thought bitterly. And now he was out of town on some trip. She didn’t even know this time where he was…There was, however, a text from Tasha. It was short and to the point:
Call me…NOW!
Jaden calculated the time difference between LA and Miami…a little past eleven pm on the east coast. With any luck Tasha would be asleep and she could postpone the inevitable tongue lashing she was sure to get from her best friend. They didn’t talk nearly often enough.
“Hello?” Tasha answered, her voice heavy with sleep, after a few rings.
“Hey, it’s me,” Jaden whispered. “You sound tired. Why don’t I call you back tomorrow?”
“Oh no you don’t! I’ve been waiting to talk to you.”
After some chatter about the weather, Tasha seemed awake. And she jumped right in, as blunt as ever. “So, how are things working out with Ken?”
“You mean Damian?” Jaden spat, the day’s frustrations coming back in a rush.
“Yeah, pretty boy. Who else would I be talking about?”
But talking about Damian was the last thing she wanted to do. “Can we please talk about something else?”
“Sure!” Tasha said much too agreeably. “Do you want to tell me why, in all the weeks since you went to Napa—what was that? Almost two months ago?—you haven’t mentioned that Ivan dropped the M-bomb during your trip?”
“What? Wait…how do you even know about that?” Ivan had been talking about their weekend? “Never mind. I got it: Micky.”
“Yes, Micky. It certainly wasn’t my best friend.”
“Tasha, I’m sorry. Things have been so hectic since Damian showed up, and Ivan’s been so busy…Well, that just seems like a million years ago. I can hardly believe it happened. And it’s not like he proposed or anything. He mentioned it hypothetically.”
“And did you hypothetically say yes?” Tasha asked.
“Of course I did!” Jaden filled her in on the vineyard conversation, hoping that would satisfy her. But as she knew it would, the conversation found its way back to Damian.
“Now, do you want to tell me what’s bothering you?” Tasha asked. “I can tell there’s something, and you haven’t called me in a week.”
Jaden proceeded to give Tasha a full account of the past week, including all of Damian’s blunders. “So not only did he break my favorite serving platter, he also set fire to the stove. He’s hit on every single female on the crew—successfully, I might add—insulted my makeup artist…Oh, a
nd today he invited me to be in a three-way with him just as the camera started rolling.”
“Seriously? That guy has some balls. But he can’t be all bad, can he? I mean, just look at him. He’s sex on a stick. Those blond curls and—my God, girl—his ass! How can you not stare at that all day? He has to be good for the ratings.”
“Yes, I think his boost to the ratings might be his most endearing quality at this point. Every once in a while I catch a glimpse of a real person in there—someone who isn’t putting on a show for everyone,” Jaden conceded. “But for the most part he’s just unbearable. And, by the way, of course I’ve noticed how he looks. I may be dating Ivan, but I’m not dead. Truly, I think that makes him more annoying.”
“Ah, just relax. He may be a bit of a man whore, but he’s one fine piece of man candy too. Just focus on the ratings and forget about the rest. You’re not having any fun, and you’ve worked too hard to have some Ken doll take that away from you.”
“Maybe you’re right.”
“I’m always right,” Tasha joked. “Besides, if he messes up enough, I doubt the studio will keep him around. By this time next year you’ll have your show back, and Damian will be licking his wounds on the beach in Maui.”
“Hmmm…I like that idea,” Jaden said with a laugh. “But enough of this. Tell me about you. How’s the real estate biz? How’s Micky?”
As Tasha launched into an animated story, Jaden closed her eyes. Though she loved catching up, she always felt homesick talking to Tasha. As they said their goodbyes, she swallowed a lump in her throat. She missed Ivan, she missed Miami, and she missed gossiping over lunch with her best friend.
Chapter 14
“Time of the Season”
TWO MORE WEEKS. Two more weeks. Two more weeks. The mantra repeated in Jaden’s head like a Gregorian chant. Just two more weeks until her trip to Colorado to see her family. She needed all the stress-relieving and anger-reducing help she could muster to continue handling her co-host’s endless line stealing and inappropriate flirting. Also not helping was the fact that she and Ivan’s usual two-week rendezvous had been postponed because he’d been called away on business to New York. So he’d be going there, rather than coming to LA this weekend. He’d told her it was something of great importance and would explain everything to her when the time was right. When the time was right? What the hell did that mean? He’d been overly busy and constantly on the phone the last few times they had managed to be together, which made her even more anxious. Despite these unsettling feelings, she comforted herself with the knowledge that her dad’s retirement party was right around the corner. Ivan had sworn he could still make that trip. Knowing she’d see both him and her family soon was the one positive she could come up with in her otherwise dark and dreary mood. Two more weeks. Two more weeks. Two more weeks. The mantra continued.
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