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  Posey traced the side of my neck, a sensitive spot for me. Ivy had touched me there when I kissed her, before she realized her mistake and jumped away from me in horror at what she had done.

  I didn’t stop Posey, even though it reminded me of Ivy. Maybe she would help erase the remains of Ivy’s touch from my mind, and the way my body responded to her.

  Posey dropped her head on top of mine and lowered her hand to my shoulder. I kept her palm on the side of my neck. “Keep touching me there.”

  When I turned my face to her, our mouths met, and we kissed. I didn’t rush, letting her take control and set the movements I would end up following. She took her time kissing me, making me respond to the point I clutched her, anxious to lay down with her on top of me.

  “Can we go to your bedroom now?” I nipped her bottom lip, capturing it and sucking down.

  Still tracing that special spot on my neck, she rose from the couch, and we pivoted to her bedroom. There she would help me release all the tension and stress bottled up inside of me because of a blast from my past that made me want something I thought I would never have again.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  “What’s with the girly drink?” Luka snatched my glass and took a sip.

  “You know it’s a virgin drink, right?” I stole my ginger ale and grenadine back. Yup, I drank a Shirley Temple and didn’t care who knew it.

  “The drink is just like you, sweet and untouched.” Luka rapped the top of the bar.

  I rolled my eyes at his attempt at humor and viewed the room. Mom and Uncle Ry had booked the private room at Piccolo’s, my Dad’s favorite restaurant. There were about twenty-five or so family and friends, including my grandmother Ada, my Dad’s mom who sat in her wheelchair talking to one of his Dad’s old college buddies. We’d picked her up at her retirement home after our visit to the cemetery. Dad had been very close with Grandma Ada because his father died when he was a teenager. Even though Mom acted friendly with Grandma, there was an emotional distance between the two that spanned decades. Grandma didn’t want Dad to marry Mom because of her former career as a stripper.

  The bartender came over, and Luka ordered his usual rum and coke. He loved anything with rum, unlike Kenji who usually stuck to beer.

  “Not enjoying the harder stuff during this fine event?” Luka leaned back against the bar, observing the room much like I did. His stare was more intense as he scoped out the guests, which was the norm with him. Dad had been like that also. Out of us kids, my older brother had many of Dad’s traits, down to the way he dressed, and even his haircut. Kenji and I took after Mom. Luka favored our Italian side more, including being more broad and muscular. He could be intimidating at times. But he loved to crack jokes and was always willing to lend a helping hand to family and friends.

  “I don’t drink too often.” I snagged a cherry from my glass and chewed it.

  My big brother thanked the bartender when he brought his drink over. “But the wedding you went to with Mom last week was the exception? The booze you drank there was the reason you went home with Holland’s daughter?”

  I swallowed the cherry before it got stuck in my throat. The biggest problem with being close with my brothers was they found out everything I did, even if I tried to do it on the sly.

  “It was a wedding, so when in Rome…. I took advantage of what was offered,” I said, finishing my lackluster drink.

  “You took advantage all right. Leaving Mom at the mercy of Holland in order to get some ass from his daughter.” He wasn’t teasing now.

  I set my glass on the bar instead of slamming it down. He loved to antagonize me, but his accusation was uncalled for.

  “Mom can handle herself, even with someone like Holland.” I pinched the underside of his arm and twisted. An immature action, but one that always delivered.

  He jerked back and grabbed my hand. His other hand lifted toward my head to mess my painstakingly styled hair.

  Kenji appeared next to Luka, clapping him on the back. “What’s the deal with you two? Mom told me to tell you to cut it out. She’s going to make an announcement.”

  Luka dropped his arms around mine and Kenji’s shoulders. Kenji looped his arm around Luka’s, while I circled my arm around Luka’s waist. He gave me a look of apology, which I accepted. But then he lowered his mouth to my ear just as Mom moved to the center of the room.

  “We’ll talk more about your romance with Posey Holland later.”

  Luka was way too protective of me. He had taken over the role after Dad died. Also, Posey and I weren’t having any type of romance. We were simply enjoying each other’s company. I didn’t bring her as my date tonight for that reason, not to mention her father and the strain with him and my family.

  When Mom clapped, everyone gave her their attention. Even though she had been retired from show business for many years, she still had the performance bug in her. People were still drawn to her.

  “Thank you all for coming to dinner tonight. Five years ago, we lost a great man, my wonderful husband, Dante Moretti.” Mom held her fist to her chest. “He wouldn’t want us to mourn him but, instead, celebrate his life that was cut way too short.”

  Kenji raised his beer bottle. “Dante Moretti, we salute you!”

  Everyone raised their drinks and shouted Dad’s name.

  Mom straightened and lifted her head high, a bright smile filling her face. “As most of you know, Dante will be inducted in UNLV’s Hall of Fame this Saturday. Also, one of the dorms will be named after him in honor of his generosity as an alumnus.”

  “Wow, I didn’t know Dad was getting a dorm named after him,” I said to Luka.

  “Also a scholarship. But Mom is still working on it,” he said with a proud tone in his voice.

  “During the ceremony, a very special guest will perform not only to honor Dante, but for the other hall of famers.” Mom moved to the entrance of the room. She waved to someone behind the wall, and Ivy appeared with her mother.

  “Oh no.” I slumped into the bar as Mom hugged Ivy and Mrs. Fallows.

  “Ivy looks amazing. Hot as hell,” Luka said out of the corner of his mouth. I sent him a death stare, but his eyes were zoomed on Ivy, who, for once, didn’t wear some ass-hugging jeans and a faded T-shirt. She wore a burgundy off-the-shoulder Bodycon dress, complete with matching stiletto sandals showing off the length of her toned legs.

  Mom embraced Ivy and Mrs. Fallows, who stood on either side of her and glowed with joy. “Ivy has signed an eight-month residency with the Deus Casino, starting next year. She’ll announce her wonderful news at the hall of fame dinner where she will sing some not-yet-heard songs from her new album releasing in October.”

  The room erupted into applause, and both Luka and Kenji whistled. They then left me and joined Mom in giving hugs to Ivy and welcoming her mother. I remained at the bar, watching my family embrace Ivy, who stared at me, unblinking. She mouthed my name and held out her hand, as if I would come to her. I shook my head and turned my back on her. I asked the bartender for a kamikaze shot.

  As the other guests swarmed Ivy, I took my shot and made my escape, feeling Ivy’s eyes charting my every move as I left.

  ***

  The second floor of Piccolo’s had an open patio bar with a great view of the Strip. The sun had set and night arrived, spotlighting the buildings and casinos as they lit up the sky. It was a view I would never tire of. It was also comforting, especially when enjoying a drink or a smoke like I did now in a corner away from the noise and busy dinner traffic.

  The kamikaze shot sat untouched on the table next to me, but the cigarette in my hand was half finished. I ended up buying a far-too expensive pack of menthol cigarettes at the bar, anxious for a smoke. I started smoking my freshman year of college because of the stress of school, combined with work. I quit after I graduated, but, sometimes, the need for nicotine hit. So was the case tonight because of Ivy’s surprise visit.

  I exhaled a plume of smoke, sinking farther back in my se
at. I was much calmer and not so anxious now. My emotions weren’t out of whack like they had been when I saw Ivy at Diamonds a little over a week ago. I lifted the shot, watching the light nearby ping off the glass. For some reason, I thought the light meeting the alcohol was a thing of beauty.

  “When the hell did you start smoking?”

  I cut off a groan at hearing Ivy behind me. Ignoring her wouldn’t make her go away. I took another drag of my cigarette and set my glass off to the side before Ivy made another observation.

  “I started my freshman year of college. I quit after I graduated, but with your return, and being here tonight, I had the urge for a smoke.” I indicated the pack on my lap.

  Ivy dropped in the seat next to me and crossed her ankles. Her toes glittered with gold polish, and she wore a black toe ring on each foot. As her skirt rose up her thighs, I returned my gaze to the scenery in front of me. If Ivy noticed me checking her out, she would comment about it.

  “Vienna never told me.” She shifted in her seat, making the chair squeak.

  Finishing up my cigarette, I tapped it out in the glass ashtray, giving me time to respond to her statement that had much more meaning behind it than she realized.

  “You’ve been in contact with my mom recently?”

  “More than recently.” She turned her face in my direction. “We’ve kept in touch with phone calls and emails through the years.”

  A sting entered my chest, and my throat thickened. “Just my mom? Not Kenji or Luka?”

  “Just your mom, but she did give me updates on you and your brothers.” Ivy sounded more subdued.

  What in the hell? She had a relationship with Mom and still checked up on me, but not once had she tried to get in contact with me after the night our friendship ended. “Why didn’t you ever call me or drop me an email? Why with my mom?”

  The chair under her squeaked again as she moved. The woman never sat still, even as a kid. It became worse when she was nervous.

  “Part of it was embarrassment because of what happened between us in your backyard the night of your father’s funeral. The other….” She exhaled a sharp breath and jumped up from her chair to lean against the brick balcony. “Even if everything had ended up cool between us, our relationship would have never been as good as it was before I left school. We had so much stress to deal with, you with your father dying, and me with my sky-rocketing music career—”

  “Stop with the bullshit.” Grabbing my shot, I downed it and rose from my chair. The sting in my chest changed to a warm burn as the booze traveled down my chest, giving me the courage to confront Ivy like I always wanted to. “I don’t care about your excuses. You’re trying to justify rejecting me to make yourself feel better.” I banged the glass on the table. “You no longer wanted me as a friend because you were going to be famous. Why have me when you had Billie or your choice of any other hot celebrity chick at that time? I could never make you famous like they could, so you pushed me away for something better.”

  She combed her fingers through her hair and tugged. Frustration spread over her face, making her cheeks red. “That’s not true—”

  “Stop, just stop!” I slashed my hands through the air. She could give a million reasons why she thought she was right and I was wrong, and it still wouldn’t matter. “I’m not going to welcome you back with open arms and forget everything. I’m never going to forgive you, so get over it and move on.”

  A growl erupted from Ivy, and she seized my elbow, throwing me into the corner behind some plants. She clutched my upper arms and invaded every inch of my space, making it impossible for me to move.

  “You want me to get over it? What about you, then? Maybe you should take your own advice.” Her teeth flashed as she gritted them and her fingers twitched on my skin.

  “I have.” I found myself grinding my teeth to stop from screaming at her. The humidity, already thick in the air became unbearable being so close to Ivy, to see the sweat lining the sides of her face and the arousing way she licked her lips as her eyes flared with anger.

  “You have?” Her voice dropped to a husky whisper. “How?”

  If she thought she would fluster me by cornering me, she would be in for a big surprise. There was one way she would release me because her ego wouldn’t be able to take it.

  “I found someone to replace you. If I hadn’t been so blind in high school and followed you around like some pathetic lost puppy, she and I would have been together back then.” I smiled but didn’t find any joy in taunting her about my new lover. “She’s a much better kisser than you, and when she touches me, I fall apart in her arms, which usually happens when I’m in her bed, naked.”

  Ivy didn’t let me go. She hung her head to her chest and dug her fingers deeper into my arms, making me gasp with pain. She said my name more like a curse and bent toward me, her face hovering near my ear.

  “You’re saying you’re lost to me because you’re hooking up with someone from high school?” Her mouth brushed the side of my ear, making me jerk. “Does she make your heart zing like I once did?”

  Just my body. I wouldn’t admit it because she would know she might still have a chance with me. But the way she held me now, and how she forced herself in my space, and back in my life made me tremble in want even though it would destroy me if I accepted what she now was willing to give.

  “My heart stopped zinging because of you a long time ago.” I turned my head away from her, which was a big mistake. She responded with a cruel laugh and set her mouth on the crook of my neck.

  Oh no. Of course she found the one place that weakened me. I locked my legs together to stop from opening them and letting her enter. She kept her mouth still, her breath rushing from her nose and expanding along my skin, making me shiver.

  “If I kissed you now, you wouldn’t respond?” She ran her lips up the side of my neck and stopped on my cheek. Her hands fell away from my arms, and she shifted back but still kept her mouth on me.

  “I would respond to anyone who kissed me. You probably have enough experience to know that.” The thought of her kissing many others renewed my anger, and I pushed her away.

  She locked her hands around my wrists, keeping them on her chest. Her mouth dipped near the corner of mine and pressed down.

  “Why don’t you just kiss me and get it over with?” My voice finally broke. I fisted the front of her dress, grabbing a handful of her breast.

  She sighed at my touch, and I swore she laughed. She was killing me slowly by stretching out this sexual torture.

  She would learn not to mess with me.

  I cupped her harder and twisted head, my mouth finally meeting hers, taking her in the way she wanted to claim me. I smashed my lips to hers, sucking and licking with my tongue as she tried to take control and join in.

  I took without giving her what she wanted. I used her for my own pleasure, stealing the type of kiss I had always wanted from her, but never had the courage to take. The last one we shared had been too quick and rough, as if we were on borrowed time. I would be the one to end it this time.

  I jabbed my fingers in her chin and swooped in for another hungry kiss. I threw everything I had into that kiss, sucking away her breath and curling my tongue around hers. Ivy’s whimpers of surrender were my reward.

  Thrusting my hips at her, I swung us around until I pinned her against the wall. I now dominated the situation, biting down hard on her bottom lip, enjoying her gasp of pain. I smiled in satisfaction and broke off and moved to her shoulder, to mimic the move she had done to me. Opening my mouth wide, I sucked the side of her neck, intending to leave a mark.

  “Yes, Jade. More.” She arched to me and her hands drifted over my chest.

  I let her touch me, cup me like I did her, not for my pleasure but to make her think she had won. I gave some hard pulls on her skin while my hands roamed elsewhere on her body, playing her ruthlessly, with the intent to make her beg.

  She moaned my name then lurched, curling her arms aroun
d my head. But I jumped back, watching her come undone, and actually slide to the floor, limp, with a sweaty sheen covering her face. The black-and-blue bruise I gave her swelled on her skin.

  I clapped a hand over my mouth, amazed by what I had done, and to whom.

  Ivy stared at me with drowsy pleasure as she stretched her arms over her head. “Help me up, and I’ll return the favor.” She held out her hand to me.

  I knew how she would return the favor. If I allowed her to do what I had done to her, I would never recover.

  Shaking my head no, I walked away.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  I wiggled my toes in the water, tempted to take a dip in the pool, but it would mean going to my apartment and putting on my bathing suit. Also, at this time of night, I would be the only one in the pool. The solitude should have helped, but it didn’t.

  I was frustrated and annoyed because of what happened earlier, and how I ran away to avoid Ivy again. I was driving myself insane, and becoming addicted to smoking again.

  Two cigarette butts lay next to me as I tapped the pack of cigarettes on my knee while circling my feet in the pool. I had been here for over an hour, after leaving the restaurant without telling anyone and catching a car home. But I had texted Kenji, so my family wouldn’t worry about my disappearance.

  Damn Ivy for popping back into my life and making me want things I would never have, like her limp with the pleasure I had given her.

  Flashes of our heated kisses and rough embrace at the restaurant tore through my head again. I thrust my fingers into my hair and yanked, hoping it would stop thoughts of Ivy and the ache I had inside, the growing urge to feel her lips on mine again and her hands on me in ways no one else could, not even Posey.

  Posey was another complication I didn’t want to face, especially if Ivy wouldn’t quit talking about us. I laughed at the idea of Ivy and I being an item, an “us.”