At Your Mercy (VIP The Pink Collection, #1) (2 page)

"This hotel is exquisite. You are brilliant
when it comes to designing your hotels, Mr. Ster-Jax."

His crooked smile tells me he is trying hard
not to laugh at my slip-up.

"Maybe one day we can visit my resort in the
islands." Staring down at me, he takes his manicured index finger
and gently lifts my chin. Those gorgeous eyes of his own my full
attention. "Ivy, have I told you enough times tonight how beautiful
you look?"

Not at all
. Jax needs to stop his
flirting. And I need to shut off my emotions.

Jax steps back to examine me, as if he's
trying to memorize every inch of my five-foot six-inch figure.

I flutter my eyes. "There are no limits to
how many compliments you can give a woman." It took me forever to
choose the right clothes to wear tonight. My chocolate, chiffon,
layered, spaghetti-strap dress with flecks of gold on it might have
been too edgy for this occasion. But I love the way it complements
my natural red hair. Sensual. Sophisticated.

As we walk side by side with our arms linked,
we approach a group of people. A few men nod and smile at Jax. The
women look at me as if I'm some odd endangered species.

Jax stops and tucks a loose curl behind my
ear and whispers, "Excuse me, Ivy. I need to speak with these
gentlemen for a moment." His words are a sultry breath against my
ear, and the scent of him stirs a familiar ache between my
legs.

"No problem. I'll just get a drink." Just as
I am walking away from Jax, a woman in an ankle-length, black,
sleeveless dress walks toward us, with her plum-colored lips
pouting at Jax. She looks to be ten years older than us. Maybe
thirty-five.

"Ah, Miranda, how lovely to see you this
evening," he says as he kisses her hand. She stops to give me a
once-over and then returns Jax's affection. "Miranda, this is Ivy.
Ivy … Miranda." He turns and winks at me.

Stop with the flirting, Jax
.

"You’ve been ignoring my calls. Now I see
why." She smirks at me.

"You know I'm a busy man. Miranda, I need to
speak with some people. Would you mind keeping my date, Ivy,
company?"

"Sure, darling. No problem. Anything for you,
Jax." Her smile doesn't reach her eyes.

"Thank you, Miranda." He takes my hand. "Ivy,
I'll only be a moment." Then he kisses my cheek and walks away.

Taking a swig of whatever she has in her
glass, she places it on the tray of a passing server. "Shall we
take a walk?"

"Sure, why not?" As we walk, I notice the way
she exaggerates the swaying of her hips.
Cougar for sale.
We
stop at a stone creek surrounded by trees and vegetation.

And then her claws come out. "Let me give you
some advice," she says, pointing her finger at me.

Damn. I knew it.

"Stay away from him."

"Um, excuse me? Not that it's your business,
but Mr. Sterling and I work together. Nothing more." I straighten
my posture and put my hands on my hips.

Bitch troll continues. "For now you are.
Somehow you will end up fucking him. Word of advice, you will never
be significant enough for him. He will never settle down with one
woman."

"Oh, is that so?"

"Unfortunately for you, yes. He will toss you
out on your butt right after he fulfills his second-brain needs."
And with that, she walks away.

What crazy nonsense was that about? I need a
minute to calm down before I return to find Jax.

"There you are, beautiful." I hear him say
from behind me as he places his hands on my shoulders.

Crap. There goes my minute.

"Did you ditch Miranda?"

"She had to go." My smile is strained.

***

We finally sit down to eat with the other
guests. I can't help but take in all of the elegantly decorated
tables. Godetia flowers in pink and carmine colors match perfectly
with the burgundy tablecloths.

"Ivy, are you enjoying yourself?" He lays his
hand on my thigh for a split second.

I lean in closer to him. "Yes, you proved
yourself to be able to make anything stimulating." I shove another
forkful of crab cake sliders in my mouth. Jax is looking at my lips
as if the movement of them is hypnotizing him.

"Here, I want you to try some of this." He
places his hand once again on my thigh.

Yes.
This time I cover his hand with
my own. He offers to feed me some white meat with dark red coloring
on the outer parts along with a few bumpy spots dipped in an
orange-colored sauce. Opening my mouth, I take a bite. "Not
unpleasant. What is it?"

"Spanish octopus."

I'm going to vomit.
"What? You should
have told me first." I grab my glass of water and drink it all in
two gulps in hopes of getting rid of the remains of what I just
ate.

"But if I did, you wouldn't have tried
it."

We simultaneously laugh. I can't remember the
last time I laughed like this.

Thinking back, I swear it was with Jax when
we were kids.

My mom would say,
Ivory, honey. Don't
brood. Get on with living and loving. You don't have
forever.

Just as I'm taking a spoonful of some caramel
pudding, a man with all-white hair, which doesn't match his
youthful appearance, questions Jax. "Your brother seems to be doing
quite well with his ski resorts. Aren't you a bit worried,
Jax?"

Jax lays his fork down and clears his throat.
"George, if I worried over every single statistic that is presented
on
Forbes
or
Fortune
, I wouldn't be where I am today.
My brother, Andrew, seems to be doing quite well with his resorts,
and I only wish him the best. There is no competition between the
two of us."

"That may be true, but-"

I purposely cut George off. "What about the
upcoming resort on the northern coast of Morocco?"

"Yes, the Ritz-Carlton," says a lady two
seats down from me.

"They say it's going to be extraordinary." My
hope is that I averted the conversation that I could tell bothered
Jax. I don't recall Jax having a brother. Maybe he was younger than
Jax. If so, he would have been a baby when I was a kid. As I glance
around the table, everyone's eyes are on me, including Jax's. Some
faces look confused or surprised, I can't tell which.
Yes, I do
have a brain, people.

Looking back at Jax, I see an expression on
his face I can't name.

"Thank you." Jax leans toward me. I stay
frozen as his lips brush mine, and then he kisses the corner of my
mouth.

***

The rest of the evening unfolds without any
drama. Jax's success comes from his no-nonsense, self-driven
attitude. I keep getting looks from women who secretly want to
scratch my eyes out.
Meow.
Their eyes continuously drift to
Jax. And his eyes are always on mine.

"Ivy, before we leave, you need to see
something." He grabs my hand, and we walk down a dark path between
the trees, away from the party. "You see out there?" He points
toward the ocean, where I see an island with twinkling lights.

"Yes, Catalina Island." We stand hand in
hand, saying nothing for a long while. Three words come to my mind:
Peaceful. Happy. Safe.
Three words that are strangers to
me.

***

"I really had a good time," I say as I lean
on the door of my condo.

Jax totally ignores my words. "I want to make
it clear to you that I don't go around having sex with women and
then act as if they don't exist." His eyes are searching mine.
"What Miranda said to you is not at all how it was between us. We
had sex on more than one occasion. But that woman—Miranda—knew
upfront that it wouldn't lead to anything more."

The word "player" comes to mind.

I place my finger on his lips. "Shh. Listen,
Jax, most of my life, I've seen how love can be a trap. I avoid
heartbreak, and I hope to keep it that way. Don't waste time
convincing me you are an honorable man."

"Ivy, listen to me-"

I rest my hand on his cheek, caressing it.
"I'm incapable of having a relationship other than a friendship
with any man."
I desire more than friendship with you, Jax.
"
I'm your Companion right now. That's it."

"Sometimes I wonder if you are what I've been
holding out for. We have a connection, Ivy." He stares down at
me.

"Jax you're not listening to-" Unexpectedly,
he presses his tall muscular body up against mine, and we crash
into my closed door. His lips are on mine, and Jax begins to lick
my lips, gifting me intermittently with little kisses on my
face.

Tilting my head, he licks and bites up and
down my neck. "So sweet, Ivy." Then he slides his tongue in my
mouth.

My response is urgent and full of longing as
I open for him without hesitation. Jax's tongue explores the
insides of my cheeks; he slides it over my teeth and then very
gently sucks on my tongue.

As I reach up with trembling hands and tug on
his dark curls, a sigh escapes me. "Mmm, yes."

Jax shifts, so he is standing between my
legs. "Hold on. Put your arms around my neck. Now wrap your legs
around my waist," he says with a strained voice.

Then he begins to grind his thick erection
against my wetness. Jax pulls the strap of my dress down and
releases one of my heavy breasts. He consumes my nipple in his
mouth, sucking hard, but slow, with a hungry rhythm.

I'm going to come.
"Oh, please … Jax,
please." The heat is rising in my core, waiting for something to
kindle the flames. At this moment, all my restraint has diminished.
Here we are, outside my door in my condo building. Anyone could see
us, but I don't give a damn.

"You have my cock throbbing. Driving me mad.
Your body is so soft and luscious." He kisses the valley of my
breasts. "I want to devour these."

Ivy, you want this; you crave this.
"I
have to touch you now. I need to …" I reach down between our bodies
and rub his long hardness from the head to the base, where I
massage his balls. As I stroke him over and over, I feel a wetness
at the top of his pants. I love that I can arouse him this way.

He moans loudly. "Ivy, I want to lick between
the folds of your sweet passion. My fingers are aching to feel the
wetness I know is between your legs." He slowly pulls away. "Can I
come in and stay with you tonight? I need to be near you, touch
you, breathe you …"

My heart is saying yes. I want to give myself
to him completely. It seems so right with him. In the back of my
mind, that part of me that always seems to creep its way to the
surface makes the decision.
Love makes you weak. Love hurts. Run
away from it
. I abruptly remove myself from his waist.
Standing, I put my hands on his chest and push him away. "Jax, I'm
sorry. I can't—I want to, but I'm screwed up. You know how
dysfunctional my life used to be. I can't let it go."

He looks so hurt. "We don't have to do
anything. This is all my fault. I moved too fast with you. I'm
sorry."

Standing on my tiptoes, I press my lips to
his cheek and keep them there for a moment. Unlocking my door, I
walk in and shut the door with my heel without a backwards glance.
And then the floods come pouring out of me. I wail like a child as
I slide down the wall and go into a fetal position, wishing I could
be loved and return affection like a normal human.

I am a nervous wreck through the entire ride
to LAX Airport. I feel as though I can't quite catch my breath. It
was kind of Jax to send his driver to transport me to the airport.
I don't think my legs can carry me to get on his private jet. I
really was not expecting to hear from him after what happened a few
nights ago. The evening was actually going great, and I enjoyed my
time with him, even his flirting. Then something deep within me
wanted to surface, and I was not familiar with that feeling. I
handled it the only way I knew how. Shut down all emotions.

Now here we are, just the two of us on the
plane.

"Ivy, I had the pantry filled with snacks and
drinks I thought you would like. Have you ever been to New
York?"

Jax is sitting across from me. He gives me
his full attention. He looks so sexy in ripped blue jeans and a
tight white T-shirt. "Yes, on many occasions. A lot of my past
clients have business there," I say, avoiding eye contact with
him.

I don't know why I agreed to come. We should
have ended our work relationship after the cocktail party on
Saturday. Jax decided to call Violet and ask for an extension-just
one more social event. Of course, she agreed.
Thanks a lot.
Tough it out, Ivy. You can do this.
It will be the last time.
Then Jax and I can go live our lives as if we never had a
reunion.

Rocking back and forth in his tan, oversized,
leather chair, Jax brings his index finger to his mouth, rubbing it
along his lips. I can't help but stare at his full lips. Those lips
that were sucking and kissing me into pleasurable insanity a few
days ago.

"We should go over the agenda for the next
two days. First off, just to clear the air, we will be in separate
rooms." He smiles, showing all those pearly whites.

"Thanks for putting that out there, Jax, but
I had assumed that. Why would it be any other way?" I put on my
best poker face.

"After Saturday night I just thought-"

I place my open hand towards him to prevent
him saying anything further. "I feel so stupid the way we ended
things. The evening was actually going great, and I enjoyed my time
with you. Things just got out of hand. Let's just enjoy our last
event together."
Please let's move on from this.

He nods in agreement, but I can tell he is
battling something. Jax wants to say something. I grab my iPad and
begin writing down our plans in New York for the next two days.