Ignite: Book 2 (The Heat Series 1)

by MJ Masucci

  For the second day, Ava had lunch with Luca at the break. He again asserted that he would like to date her if it ever went bad with Xander. She told him that wouldn’t be possible since she was pre-engaged. Luca looked at her with surprise and told her that he wasn’t aware how serious the relationship was. He then asked her to have a drink with him to celebrate finishing the exam. She agreed to meet, and they went to their seats to complete their exams.

  At a nearby bar that evening, she had one too many cosmos with Luca. They were joined by two other men that they had attended law school with who had also taken the exam. She was enjoying herself and didn’t realize that several hours had passed. She was drunk and Luca had to steer her to a cab so she wouldn’t fall in the street. When she got home, Xander was waiting and upset at her lack of consideration. He opened the door after a couple of failed attempts by her to get the keys in the lock.

  “Where the fuck have you been?”

  “I was blowing off some steam. Is that alright with you?”

  “And you’re drunk. You aren’t supposed to be drinking with your medication; it’s contraindicated.”

  “Big deal. So what is one little contraindication? It’s not every day I complete the bar exam.”

  Xander was furious and said something that would cut deep into her.

  “Yeah, you’re real good at ignoring contraindications.”

  She stared at him and blinked, tears springing to her eyes.

  Xander knew he had gone too far in his reference to her getting pregnant while on the pill and taking antibiotics. She said nothing as if his words had sliced off her tongue, and then she was seething when she quietly replied.

  “How dare you. How could you say that to me?”

  He had no defense. It was a low blow, the lowest he could find.

  “You want to have the conversation about our relationship, then let’s have it now, buddy. It’s obvious that you have some deep-seated resentment because I got pregnant. Come on, Xander, why don’t you tell me your true feelings about everything that happened five years ago. You ran like a coward instead of staying. That was probably your intention in the first place. The accident just gave you an out to escape.”

  She slashed him badly, and he was hemorrhaging.

  He went to the entry closet and got his coat. She pursued him continuing to pepper him with insults.

  “Yeah, do what you’re good at, leaving” The venom kept oozing from her.

  He turned to her without disguising the damage she had inflicted.

  “You want a break? I’m giving it to you. Have fun in Georgia. Maybe when you come home, you won’t be as nasty as you have been. I love you, Ava, but not like this.”

  He slammed the door on his way out, and she went to lie in bed. Why had she said what she said? She felt horrible for it. He was trying his best to put the past behind them but was she?

  Xander sat in his boxers on the barstool in his kitchen. He twirled a half full glass of scotch on the counter as he contemplated what had just occurred an hour before. They obviously had things that needed to be discussed. He was a fool to think that they would just pick up where they left off. He didn’t know if this was the end for them. He did know one thing; he couldn’t live without her.

  He downed the last of the amber liquid and left the empty glass on the counter. He was restless, but he didn’t know what to do with himself. It was late, and he had to get up early for court. Thank God that Jacob was co-counsel on the case because he wasn’t sure he would be able to focus after what just happened. But he needed to put on his game face and play attorney.

  He woke with a splitting headache from barely sleeping. Her perfume was on the sheets and pillows next to him. He reached over, and her side was cold. He went to take a shower, and her shampoo and poof were there. Her hair products and deodorant on the vanity. He went to dress in the closet, and there were her clothes. Even the foyer closet contained her shoes.

  Her things were all around him, but he didn’t want things; he wanted her. As the cab drove towards his office, he kept thinking how he could make it right. Though it was tight, he had put one of her hair bands around his wrist. It was a bright pink flat band with white polka dots on it. He also had slipped the ring on its necklace. If she couldn’t be with him at least, he would have symbols of her with him.

  Ava woke to sunshine on the second to last day of February. She had slept well only because when she went to bed, she was drunk. Her mouth was dry, and her head felt slightly fuzzy. Sadness gnawed at her, but there would be no time to lament about what had happened. Upon checking her phone, she saw a text message from Rachel’s phone that had come in at one thirty-three that morning. She was in labor.

  It was already nine, and by now she might have given birth. She called each one of her cousins finally reaching Dani who told her that Rachel was still in labor. She asked if she should come to the hospital, but Dani told her that everyone was just waiting around. Rachel was only half dilated and could take another few hours to give birth, but they’d let her know.

  After hanging up the phone, she went to take a shower. She was free today since she had taken vacation for part of this week and all of next. She had the whole day ahead of her and had no idea what to do. Her usual routine of studying every waking hour was over. She needed to fill that time with something else. As she prepared something to eat, she realized that what had been a nearly empty refrigerator was now occupied.

  Sometime yesterday Xander had gotten groceries. A look around the apartment told her that he had also cleaned probably while she was off drinking. In the corner, on a small table, she spied a vase of lavender roses that she hadn’t noticed last night. There was a card on the table next to them, she opened the envelope.

  On the front was “Congratulations, you did it.” She opened the card to Xander’s bold script.

  Ava,

  I’m so proud of you. You’ll make a fine attorney, and I hope in the future you will do me the honor of becoming my wife. I want to make all your dreams come true. Let’s celebrate.

  All my love,

  Xander

  “You’re an asshole,” she said out loud.

  Here was a man that loved her no matter how horrible she was to him. And she had been horrible. Even so, he had taken care of her needs. She pushed him to the altercation the night before, probably because he was already on edge with her. Now, what was she going to do? He was furious, and she had spoken words that she could never take back. They were floating in the air like a cloud of acid.

  She paced her apartment; two days, and she was leaving for Georgia. She couldn’t go to the office to apologize; Xander would be in court most of the day. She could go to his apartment and do the same for him that he did for her. But he had a cleaning lady two days a week, so he had no need. She knew that buying expensive trinkets was not going to make this better. She decided her best course of action would be to let sleeping dogs lie. He would need time. Maybe by Sunday, he would be ready to accept her into his life again.

  At 5:15, Ava entered the maternity ward of the hospital. Rachel had given birth an hour ago to a healthy baby boy, Mateo Bartolomeo Vicaria. Rodrigo was in heaven passing around cigars even to the women. Ava stopped by to see Rachel then went on to check out little Mateo in his crib in the nursery. He had a full head of black hair like his father. The baby looked so peaceful and sweet as he slept wrapped in a tiny blue blanket.

  As she watched him, she became aware of someone next to her. It was Xander. He looked dejected as she searched his hazel eyes.

  “Hi,” She smiled weakly at him.

  “Hi, yourself,” he said without a trace of anger.

  “Can we talk?”

  He grinned at her.

  “Of course.”

  He looked around to see if anyone was watching and then stroked her cheek with his fingers.

  “Let’s go down to the cafeteria.”

  When they got in the elevator, he reached out to wind his pinkie arou
nd hers.

  “I’m so sorry. I’m disgusted with myself. I said some awful things to you, and I’m afraid I can’t take them back.”

  “Shh, we both said awful things. The point is can we move past them or not?”

  “Do you want to move past them?”

  “Why would you think I wouldn’t? I don’t want to argue, but there is some truth in what is said. Do you think I resent you for getting pregnant?”

  “I don’t know why I said that.”

  They moved back in the elevator to let some other people on and their conversation ceased. They didn’t speak until they took a seat near the window in the cafeteria.

  “We have been through a lot over the past few months. We never fully discussed my leaving you. If you have anger about that, I want to know. I don’t want to keep dredging this up time and time again. I’ve already told you that I beat myself up. I should never have left you.”

  He reached across the table and stroked her cheek with his thumb. He loved her so much, and he needed to know they were okay.

  “I’m not angry at you. You did what you needed to at the time. I just wish you had waited for me to wake up before you left.”

  “If I did, then I would never have left, and it would have been hard for us. Your father was so angry, and it caused a rift between him and my parents. I never wanted that. The relationship improved after I disappeared. I never wanted to hurt you. You’ve seen the journals, sketch pad and my apartment with your pictures. I couldn’t get you out of my mind. I needed something to vent my frustration over being apart from you. But I also needed to give you time to adjust to my leaving. I hoped and didn’t hope that you found someone if you can understand that.”

  “Believe me; I tried to do it but I couldn’t. I felt like I was betraying you. The email that Tim sent was devastating and I just went off the rails. I was barely handling you leaving once but to have it again was too much.”

  “I want you to come home with me. Now.” She rose, and he followed her.

  In the cab, they couldn’t keep their hands off each other. They kissed passionately, and his hand fisted her hair pulling her chin up so he could have access to her neck. He sucked at it and marked her. She stroked him through his pants until he stopped her. Any more and he would have come. His hand caressed her legs and moved under her skirt. He pushed her legs apart, and his hand slipped under the panel of her panties. She was soaked, and he stuck his fingers in her while using his thumb to rub her clit.

  “Be quiet, or I will have to stop,” he whispered.

  She bit her lip to stifle a moan. He pressed his lips hard against her mouth and kissed her, sucking on her bottom lip. He felt her climax as it took hold and squeezed his fingers. She whimpered but not loud enough to alert the driver. After she had finished, he withdrew his fingers and sucked on them. She slumped against him trying to recover. Several blocks later the cab was pulling up to her building, and they got out, hurrying to the elevator. Two other people entered with them, and Xander leaned in to whisper in her ear.

  “I’m going to fuck you the minute we get in the door.”

  She looked at him, green eyes shining and mouthed, “Yes, fuck me.”

  The couple in the elevator car with them took painfully long to exit on the fourth floor. Ava was so full of anticipation that she gently swayed from side to side. She couldn’t wait for him to be inside her. When the elevator dinged, and the doors started to open he pushed at them while pulling her along. She fumbled with her keys, and he used his to open the door, pushing her in and slamming the door after him.

  She pulled at his belt, and he grabbed the waistband of her panties and pulled hard. The band tore and broke freeing her left leg. She felt the panties flutter to her right ankle and pool around her shoe. She tried to kick off her shoes, but Xander told her to leave them on. His cock was free from his pants thanks to her, and he lifted her against the door.

  “Wrap your legs around me.”

  She did as he asked while he positioned himself at her entrance then let her slide slowly down onto him. She let out a loud moan as he pierced her and he wrapped his hands around her ass. Then he pressed her hard against the door for leverage and began to work her over his length.

  He nibbled at her neck, and she gripped his shoulders tightly as they fucked. He was first to release, but he continued, arms burning, sweat beaded on his forehead and upper lip until she climaxed. After, he carried her to the couch and sat down. Her panties were attached to one leg, and her heels were still on.

  She sat on his lap kissing him, and he felt wetness on his face. He opened his eyes to see she was crying silently.

  “No, Ava, stop crying. There is nothing we can’t work through. Just give us a chance. I promise not to push you to marry me. I can wait.”

  “I’m not crying because of that. I’m crying because I thought I’d lost you, pushed you away.”

  “Never. I love you so much.”

  “Thank you for cleaning, the roses, the card, everything. I was so selfish last night.”

  “I wanted to spend the night with you, but when you came home drunk, I was upset. I want you to know I always have your best interest at heart.”

  “I know. I appreciate everything you do and have done for me. I want to be your wife, but I want to know who you are. What’s more, I need to know who I am. I think I got lost along the way.”

  “I want to try with you. I’ve only ever wanted you. I can’t see my life with anyone else.”

  They kissed then went to the bedroom to make love. They spent most of the weekend in her bed, only leaving for quick showers and food. They couldn’t get enough of each other.

  On Sunday, Xander sat in bed watching Ava pack for her trip to Georgia. She was to leave on a late morning flight from JFK on Monday. He wasn’t happy she would be away from him for a full week, and he verbalized this to her. When he asked her if she was staying in the main house, she told him she would be staying in the pool house. This started an argument. David was still living there, and the fact that she previously had sex with him did not sit well with Xander.

  “But he knows I am with you. In fact, he was thrilled when I told him that we were back together.”

  Xander snorted, “Do you think that is how he feels? I saw the look on his face when he danced with you at Sam’s engagement party. He’s in love with you. Answer me this, when you went there for Christmas did he try anything with you?”

  He had, and Ava didn’t want to reveal this to him. But she and David had an understanding. What happened so many months before was a one-time thing. It wasn’t going to happen again since their parents were married and they were now related. She lied to ease his tension.

  “No, he didn’t.”

  “I would prefer that you stay in your old bedroom. Promise me that you will.”

  Her phone rang distracting her from answering him. She went to the other room to talk to Sam. When she came back, she had some things to tell him about the bachelor/bachelorette party.

  “Sam told me that they are planning a group trip to Vegas for the wedding party. Do you want to go?”

  His face brightened, the conversation about the sleeping arrangements at her father’s house forgotten.

  “Of course I do. What date are they planning?”

  “Sam said mid-April sometime. They’re going to get two large suites, one for the guys and one for the ladies.”

  He scowled, “You mean we can’t get separate rooms?”

  “Why would you want to do that?”

  “I want some alone time with you. I want to be with you and since no one, but Sam knows; it’s going to be hard to spend time together.”

  “We will figure it out. Why don’t we discuss it when I get back from Georgia. We will have more than a month to decide what we want to do.”

  He seemed satisfied with this and pulled her to him, pushing her shirt up to kiss her stomach. He looked up at her.

  “I’m going to miss you so much.”
r />   “Ditto.”

  He pulled her into bed for another round of lovemaking. By the time they came up for air it was early evening. She finished preparing her clothes for her trip, and they ate a quick meal of sandwiches. She didn’t have much fresh food since she wouldn’t be in the apartment for a week and he was taking the cats back to his place after work.

  The next morning they woke before the alarm. Xander showered for work, and she tidied her apartment. She didn’t want to walk into a mess when she got home. He dressed, and when he was ready to go, he kissed her and reminded her of their conversation they never got to finish.

  “Remember what I said yesterday. Please stay in the main house.”

  She didn’t answer him, only nodded. She wanted to be non-committal about it. She was sure that David had no plans to make a pass at her. She liked the pool house better than the main house. It was cozy, and she didn’t have to tiptoe around after ten, which is when her father and Felice usually turned in for the night. Besides, David was working and wouldn’t be able to hang out with her.

  She promised to text Xander when she arrived in Atlanta and then again when she was in Sandy Hills. After he had left, she finished getting her things ready and took a shower, dressed and packed her toiletries. By 8:00 AM, she was in a cab heading to JFK for her 11:10 flight to Atlanta.

  The plane was only half full, and she had the whole row of seats to herself. She put the arm up on the seat next to hers, so she had plenty of room. Some time into the flight she dozed off and was awakened by the squawking of the captain over the radio. They were on the descent to Atlanta.

  She arrived at her father’s house just after 3:00 PM. She was overheated since she was still wearing the winter coat she wore to the airport in New York. Manhattan had been forty-one degrees that morning, Atlanta was sixty-eight. Ava removed her coat as soon as she pulled into the driveway and got out of the car.