Obsessed: Part Two (9 page)

I awaken to the sound of my phone ringing. The moment I open my eyes I realize I'm in unchartered territory. I'm in Jax's bed, naked. I scramble from the bed to search for my smartphone. I find it resting on top of my clothing in my still unpacked suitcase.

"Hello," I mutter into it.

"Ivy?" Jax sounds concerned. "Are you alright?"

I hold the phone away from me so I can clear my throat. "I'm okay. I just woke up."

"Just now," he chuckles.

I scan the room looking for a clock but I don’t find one. I realize that the sun is setting so I must have been asleep for much of the afternoon. "I've been asleep for hours, haven't I?"

"You have." He sighs. "I like that. It means you're comfortable in our place."

I smile when he says 'our.' My mind may still be questioning whether this is moving too fast after everything we've been through but my heart is winning that battle. This bed, this man's heart and this life
are where I belong now.

"I'm going to be another hour or so," he says it with resignation. "I'm doing my best to get out of here as quickly as possible."

"That's okay." I try to veil my disappointment. "I'll take a shower and wait for you."

"No." He says it boldly. "You'll wait for me to shower. I want to shower with you every day."
"I'd love that. I'll make myself something to eat."

He laughs. "That's impossible. There's no food in the house."

"Nothing?"

"Stale cheese and bread would be all that's on the menu." There's definite amusement in his voice.

"I'm not that adventurous. I'll get dressed and go grab something." I stand and search in the darkness for my panties.

"There's a desk in the office. All the takeout menus are there. Choose something and put it on my account."

"Which place?" I turn on the bedroom light and the bright light instantly blinds me.

"Any of them." He hesitates before continuing, "I eat out a lot."
"Should I wait for you?" I finally find my hidden panties.

"No. Order two of what you want and I'll eat when I get home."

I smile when I hear those words. I'm in his home. Our home. This is the first night of our new life. "I miss you."

"I miss you, beautiful. I'll be there as soon as I can."

***

I dress again even though my body is craving the warmth of a shower. I want to wait for Jax for that. I promised I would and the notion of the two of us showering together every day is heavenly to me.

I wander down the hallway in search of his office. I haven't ventured this far into his apartment before and I'm awestruck by the
artwork that lines the walls. It's obvious that some of it is Brighton's but others are more vibrant and have so much more life to them.

I flick on the light switch in the office and I'm greeted by a large oak desk and a library of books covering two walls. I stand still and just drink it all in. This is his life. These are his books and the place where he comes to work. He's let me in and I'm never going to leave.

I sit behind the desk and giggle once I realize my feet don't touch the floor. The chair is luxurious tanned leather. I take in a deep breath and the scent of his skin wafts through the air. I pull open the top drawer of the desk. It's filled with assorted pens, business cards and a few coins.

I move to the left and pull open the top drawer on that side. I laugh out loud when I see just how many takeout menus there are. I gather them into my hand and pick them up. I'll look through them and choose something I know Jax will enjoy.

The silence is shattered by a sharp bump. Something must have fallen from between all the menus. I look down and don't notice anything. I push the chair back and fall to my knees to retrieve whatever it is. I don't want to lose anything that is important to him.

The natural light in the room is fading and the light fixture on the ceiling isn't throwing enough light in my direction for me to see under the desk. I wave my hand blindly beneath it and come up empty handed. I'm impressed by the lack of dust although I can't imagine Jax on his hands and knees doing any housecleaning. I smile at the thought of that.

I reach back onto the desk to retrieve my smartphone. I'll use the light from that to continue my search. I'm beginning to doubt that I dropped anything but I have to be certain. I shine the light in my line of sight and I'm instantly rewarded. It bounces off something shiny that's a few inches farther than my reach. I lie on my belly and stretch for it. I finally have it within reach. I grab it with just the tips of my fingers and finally scoop it into my palm.

I sit back down. I place the flash drive next to the pile of takeout menus. I fan them out so I can look them over. My eyes run across them all waiting for something to jump out at me. It does. It's not the Chinese food restaurant that proclaims to have the
best egg rolls in all of Manhattan
and it's not the Italian bistro that uses only
homemade meat sauce like your mama used to make
. My appetite is lost in an instant. The moment my gaze settles on the flash drive and what's written on it, I can't even fathom the thought of eating anything.

Brooke. That's all that's written across it in dark lettering. Brooke.

I close my eyes. Mark couldn't have been right. He was so smug and boastful. He knew about her. He knew about the woman this flash drive contains information on. I pick it up and hold it gingerly in my palm. Brooke. It can't be her, can it? How would Mark know about the woman who broke Jax's heart? Was her name Brooke? Why hadn't he offered her name? Why the hell didn't I ask her name?

I push the takeout menus to the floor so that I can open Jax's laptop. I flip the cover open and the screen pops to life. I stare at the flash drive. My gaze shifts back to the computer. I shouldn’t. I should put it back and ask about her.

I slowly pull the cover back from the drive and hold it next to the USB port on the side of the laptop. He said he didn't have any secrets. There can't be anything on here that will shock me. He would have told me. He promised.

I push the drive in and the computer begins to whir and whine. The light on the flash drive flickers and my heart stalls. I wait with baited breath. A box pops up prompting me to open a folder. I hover my finger over the enter key. I know when I press it I can't turn back. I lower my finger and close my eyes.

A video screen appears and I'm instantly struck with the image of Jax in a bed. He's naked save for a white sheet covering his groin. He's talking to someone off camera. I turn up the volume and crane my neck towards the speaker hoping to hear what's being said.

"Do you think this is good, handsome?" The unmistakable sound of woman's voice bursts through the speaker.

I pull back and clench my hands against the edge of the desk.

"It's perfect, angel. Now get in bed." Jax motions for her to come in his direction.

She pops onto the screen. She's wearing lingerie. She's tall, brunette, and strikingly beautiful. She's Brooke. I know it without him saying her name.

"You're so naughty, Jax." She snuggles in next to him pulling the sheet over her body. "I can't believe you want to tape us making love."

Tears instantly flow from my eyes. I know that I should turn it off now. I don't want to watch him making love to anyone else. I don't want to know if he did the same things to her that he's done to me.

"You're so gorgeous," he says it while staring directly at her. "How could I not want to watch you coming over and over again?"

"You're amazing." She kisses him then and I turn away. He's going to make love to her. He recorded it and kept it.

"No, you're the amazing one. I'm still in awe of how far you've gotten with Mark."

I twist the chair back around. I strain to hear the recording. Did Jax just say Mark's name to her?

"You've made no progress with Ivy yet, have you?" She traces a path down his chest with her finger. "Remember you're not allowed to fuck her."

I feel faint. This isn't happening. She didn't just say that to him.

"Why would I do that? I have you, Brooke." He grabs her hand in his and brings it to his mouth.

"Do you think I'm blind?" She throws her head back with a hearty laugh. "I saw the way you were staring at her at the gala last night. You want her."

"I want her shares." He grabs both of her arms and holds them over her head. "Just her shares. Don’t forget that's what this is about, angel."

"How could I possibly forget?" Her voice has taken on an overly sweet tone. "I seduce Mark. Then I blackmail him into giving me some of his shares. You seduce Ivy into selling her shares to you and we take over. I get half and you get half and they get nothing. Your father would be so proud of you, Jax."
He pushes her harder onto the bed. "Of us, angel."
"And what's our number one rule?" He brushes his lips against her forehead as she moves beneath him.

"No sex with Mark. No sex with Ivy."

"You belong to me," he purrs. "Only me."

A loud crash breaks my concentration and I almost fall from the chair. I turn to the side and through my veil of tears I see Jax. A broken vase is at his feet. Daisies scatter the floor.

Thank you for purchasing and downloading my book. I can’t even begin to put to words what it means to me. For those who also purchased Obsessed: Part One, you are part of making my dreams come true. I’m truly humbled by your support. I mean it.

The thrilling conclusion,
Obsessed: Part Three,
will be released shortly, so please stay tuned to my website
http://www.deborahbladon.com
for more information.

If you want to chat with me personally, please LIKE my page on Facebook. I love connecting with all of my readers because without you, none of this would be possible.
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Thank you, for everything.

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Deborah Bladon has never read a romance hero she didn't like. Her love for romance novels began when she was old enough to board the bus, library card in hand to check out the newest Harlequin paperbacks. She's a Canadian by heart, and by passport, but you can often spot her in New York City sipping a latte and looking for inspiration for her next story. Manhattan is definitely her second home.

She cherishes her family and believes that each day is a gift for writing, for reading, and for loving.