Hunger (Seductors #2) (5 page)

“Thank you for this, Jade,” Mr. Brentford smiled as I began to place leaflets around the tables. It was only the two of us and a few wait staff in the room.  

I’d gone for an elegant backless black dress tonight, with a slit that showed off my long legs. The cut of the dress was very low, so I’d taped my breasts in for extra support. I’d curled my hair, too, tying a few loose strands up. I hoped it was enough to impress Oliver tonight. I knew he wouldn’t be happy to see me at first.  

“It’s my pleasure,” I muttered, keeping a close eye on the door. Oliver was on his way. Alicia had already informed me that he’d left half an hour ago.

“I better go to reception and check if my guest speaker has arrived yet.”

“Are you going to let me know who it is?” I giggled, moving around the table as I tried to get some distance from him. Mr. Brentford always had to stand so close to me. Men!

“Oh, I suppose it won’t do any harm to tell you,” he grinned, looking behind me. “Oh, wait! It doesn’t matter now. You can actually meet him. He just walked in.” I froze, scared to move. My back was facing the door, and as I placed the last leaflet down on the table, Mr. Brentford called out to him. “Oliver! I was just about to come to reception to meet you. I have someone I want you to meet.” I swallowed hard and slowly began to turn around.  

“Don’t worry about it, Brian. I’m early for once,” Oliver chuckled. He was getting closer. Every nerve ending in my body intensified just from hearing his voice. It had been too long.

“This is Jade,” Mr. Brentford commented as Oliver and I locked eyes.

The world around us seemed to slow. Christ, I could have drowned in those dark, hooded brown eyes. Oliver looked good, really good. His hair was a little shorter, but his face hadn’t changed at all. He perhaps looked more tired, but I couldn’t even imagine what he’d been through in the last few months.  

“O…Ol…Oliver,” I whispered, forcing my words out.

“Jade?” His face was full of confusion and hurt. “Is this a joke? You turn up
now?
After all this time?”

“Let me explain,” I pleaded, reaching for him.

“Don’t!” he threatened, taking a step back. “You’re wasting your breath! I’m not interested in
anything
you have to say. You made yourself clear six months ago.” With that, he stormed off.

Ignoring Mr. Brentford’s calls, I rushed after him. My body was moving of its own accord; I didn’t even have to think about it.  

I found him pacing the hallway with his face in his hands.

“Oliver, please,” I whimpered. His eyes snapped up to me instantly, and I was frozen in place by his gaze as he began to stalk toward me. What was he going to do? I couldn’t read his eyes. They looked half crazed.

“What the
fuck
is going on?” he seethed, pushing me up against the wall. “Where the hell have you been?” He pressed his hands either side of my head, holding me in place. I was breathing erratically from all the adrenaline pumping through my veins. Watching his lips, I longed to run my fingertips across them. I’d never wanted a man the way I wanted him. It was all consuming. Every nerve ending in my body was pulsing for him.

“I…I was trying to build up the courage to see you,” I muttered.

“You walked out on me! I confessed
everything
to you and you fucking walked out!” He pushed off the wall, pulling at his hair.

“Oliver, I’m sorry. I…” I tried to reach for him but he pulled back.

“What are you doing here, Jade? It makes no sense.”

“I’ve come back to beg for your forgiveness. I’m sorry. You
have
to believe me.”

“How can I
ever
trust you again? I opened my heart up to you and you walked out on me.” The pain in his eyes paralyzed me. I’d done this to him.

“I’m moving to New York.” He looked troubled by my confession. Six months ago he would have been elated by that news.

“Why?” he snarled.

“Why do you think?” I could feel the sexual tension begin to build between us. “Give me a chance to explain, please?” I pleaded.

Oliver sighed deeply, closing his eyes for a short second. They were softer when he opened them again.

“I can’t believe you’re really here. I thought I’d never see you again.” He moved his hand into my hair, twisting one of my curls around his fingers.

“I know you’re angry with me, but please just hear me out. There are things you don’t know about me.”

“Jade…” He was obviously conflicted as he watched my lips. “I can’t do this. I can’t open up my world to you again knowing you could leave at any moment. It’s too late, I…”

“I was going to come and see you, I promise. I didn’t want to stay away as long as I did, but the longer I left it, the harder it became.” His defenses were faltering; I could see it in his eyes. The hand that was in my hair moved to stroke the side of my face. “Give me a chance to explain, please,” I pleaded, gripping his jacket and pulling him toward me. Our mouths were only inches apart now. Oliver licked his lips, gazing down at me.  

I closed my eyes as he began to close the small distance between us. I wanted to drown in this kiss and never come back up for air.  

As his lips brushed mine, I gasped, opening my mouth slightly to take in his kiss.  Suddenly a voice interrupted us.

“Umm…Oliver?” I could never mistake Alicia’s voice. I tried to control my fury as he backed away from me completely. “I decided to come after all,” she smiled, looking stunning in her tight, red satin dress.
Damn her to hell!
This was supposed to be
my
first meet. She shouldn’t even be here. Not to mention red was
my
color!

“Oh, what a lovely surprise,” Oliver muttered, a little flustered. “You look beautiful, Alicia.” My heart sank as I watched him walk over to greet her with a soft peck on the cheek.  It didn’t seem like a professional thing to do to me. Had he fallen for her charms?

“Who’s your friend?” she asked, looking in my direction.

He gazed at me with sad eyes before speaking. “She’s no one.” I tried to stop the tears from stinging my eyes at his cold words. Was I really nothing to him?

“Well, I think the drinks reception is this way,” Alicia smiled, pulling Oliver away from me. With one last glance in my direction, he let her lead him away.

“How do you know Oliver?” Mr. Brentford asked once I’d joined him back in the now full ballroom.  I picked up a glass of white wine that was offered to me by one of the wait staff.

“It’s a long story,” I stressed, taking a large gulp of wine.

“Do you know him on a personal or professional level?” I widened my eyes at his question. “I’m sorry, that was rude of me. It’s just…I’ve never seen Oliver react that way before.”       

“Have you been friends long?”

“Almost ten years,” he replied, touching my arm. “Jade, if you need me to keep him away from you, I can. He can be a little intense.”

“I’ll be fine.” I smiled shyly, pulling away from his touch. Oliver and Alicia walked in at that moment with fresh drinks in their hands. His gaze instantly fell upon me, and I began to burn as I watched the hunger in his eyes. I was sure it matched my own.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes,” I muttered, walking away to network with a few of the guests.

I felt Oliver’s eyes on me throughout the evening. Whenever I turned to look at him, I found him already watching me. He didn’t make any attempt to talk to me, though. It seemed as if Alicia was keeping him on a tight leash.   

I’d forgotten how much I loved watching him converse with people. Sitting at the bar for an hour, I observed him with four different groups of people. Everyone seemed to be in awe of him, and I could understand why. I’d fallen hard for the Oliver Kirkham charm myself.

“You aren’t going to win this mission, Jade,” Alicia whispered into my ear as she joined me at the bar.

“Oh, really?” I crossed my legs, turning to give her my full attention. This I couldn’t wait to hear.

“I’ve
had
him, Jade,” she goaded, running her hands through her fake hair. It took all my strength not to raise my hand up and slap her. That was what she wanted, though. She was trying to make me blow my cover. Jade Gibbs wouldn’t confront anyone, let alone a stranger.

Okay, so Alicia might have slept with Oliver, but he wasn’t in love with her. I’d left him months ago. He was a free man.

It didn’t stop my heart from aching when I imagined the two of them together, though. “Give up now,” she whispered as we both watched Oliver make his way over toward us with a slight frown on his face.

“Never,” I muttered before he reached us.

Chapter Three

“I was just asking Jade how you two knew each other,” Alicia stated as Oliver handed her a fresh glass of wine.

“Jade is an acquaintance of mine.” His tone was indifferent. He didn’t even look in my direction as he spoke. Was that really all I was to him now?

“Really? It looked like you were more than that outside,” she giggled into her wine glass.  She was enjoying this, I could tell.

“I have no idea what you mean,” he muttered.

“If you’ll excuse me,” I sighed, standing up. I wasn’t going to sit here for Alicia’s amusement.

“Don’t leave on my account… What was your name again?” she asked with an almost sickening smugness.

“Jade,” I snapped, starting to move. “It was nice to see you again, Oliver,” I whispered, not meeting his eyes. He moved closer toward me, which meant I had to brush past him to leave. I held in a groan when I felt his hand on my bare back as I walked past.  How could one simple touch ignite so much inside me?

I quickly joined the closest group of people I could find. A few of them were interior designers that I would be working with here in New York, which made it easy to fit right in. I tried to focus on my conversation with them, but my eyes kept wandering the room, trying to find Oliver.

“Have you been in this business long?” a tall, dark, and extremely tanned man asked me.

“About five years,” I muttered as Oliver came into view again. It looked as if he was heading toward me.

“What area do you specialize in?”

“Artwork, mainly.”

“Miss Gibbs helped me purchase a couple pieces of artwork a few months ago,” Oliver called from behind me. The whole group began to fall over themselves simply because Oliver Kirkham joined in our conversation. “She did, however, leave the design on my office unfinished.”

“You never actually agreed to any of the designs, Mr. Kirkham,” I countered, quirking my eyebrow at him. He tried to hide the amusement in his eyes. What? Now he was talking to me. Why?  

He stood close to me while the group began to quiz him about his life. Alicia was nowhere to be seen. Had he asked her to leave?  

“Are you talking to me now?” I whispered when we were finally alone a little later.

“Yes.” His tone was still guarded.

“Does this mean you’re going to give me a chance to explain?”

“I’m thinking about it,” he sighed, looking into the crowd.