Burn: Book 3 (The Heat Series)

by MJ Masucci

  She broke the kiss, but he held her tight in his arms. He cradled her head against his chest and whispered his love for her.

  “You have to go.”

  He chuckled, “Are you throwing me out of your office.”

  “I am because you’re distracting me.”

  His chuckle became full on laughter, “So, no office sex.”

  “Get out!”

  “I’ll remember that tonight. I probably won’t be in the mood later.”

  “I highly doubt that, now out!”

  He let her go and rose from the desk. She smacked his ass hard as he headed for the door.

  “I’ll see you at five.”

  After he had left, she opened her door and went to sit at her desk. She replayed the scene at lunch in her head. It was true; Philip had hung on to every word she said, his sapphire eyes fixed on her. To her, it didn’t mean anything other than he was interested in what she had to say.

  At five she was still at her desk working when Philip peeked around the door jam to say goodbye. She told him goodnight and watched as he lingered in the doorway before he was gone. He was just lonely, and she could more than understand that. Her husband’s voice filtered down the hall as he said goodbye to Philip. Seconds later he was in her office.

  “Sweetheart, ready to go? How was your first day?”

  “Busy. I have to drop this file on the server. Give me a minute.”

  She didn’t hear him shut the door and remove his coat, then his suit jacket. As he approached her desk, he was loosening his tie, and she looked up.

  “Are you doing a strip tease?”

  “No, I thought you wanted office sex. I’ve been fantasizing all day about seducing you here.”

  “Can I take a raincheck?”

  He looked at her incredulously, “You’re serious?”

  “I would like to go home. I’m tired.”

  Xander scowled at her and tightened his tie then started to put on his suit jacket.

  “All business today huh?”

  “I just want to go home, get into something comfortable and relax.”

  That is exactly what she had done an hour later. They ordered Chinese food and sat at the dining table eating from the cartons with chopsticks. Not much was said between them. Ava wasn’t sure if Xander was angry with her for denying him office sex or just deep in thought. The entire meal his eyebrows were knitted together as he ignored her and read the sports page.

  He finished eating and left his half eaten carton of food on the table while he headed to his office. She was put off by his attitude and got up shortly after he left to clean the table. She thought about going to his office but decided to leave him to his thoughts. Instead, she went to their bedroom and got ready for bed. She put on the emerald babydoll and climbed into bed.

  The well-worn copy of “To Kill a Mockingbird” that she had brought home from Georgia was on her nightstand, and she began to read. When Xander came into the bedroom two hours later, she was sprawled out on their bed with the book still in her hand. He watched her chest rise and fall as she slept. His mind was wracked with worry.

  Mike Halloran had emailed him on their way home from work. The men that had attacked him while he was jogging were attached to Papi. Mike had located their residence and was watching them just as the men were watching Xander and Ava. The thought was unsettling, and his mind wandered, distancing himself from his wife during dinner.

  He wanted to explain and hoped she would come to his office while he worked, but she had not. Sometimes you can be a real dick. Today was a day of celebration. Her first day of work and he was ruining the memory by being rude. It was still early; the clock read 9:21. He was torn between letting her sleep and waking her up so he could apologize. In the end, she made the decision by waking up on her own. Green eyes swung up to him as he gazed down at her. His face wore regret like a mask.

  “Are you ready to talk to me?” She had a very soft tone to her question.

  “I’m always ready to talk to you.”

  “I thought you were angry with me.”

  “I’m not. I don’t want to be.”

  “Which is it?”

  He sat down on the bed and stroked her face with his knuckles. She closed her eyes to his touch, and he leaned down to tenderly kiss her on the lips.

  “I’m not. I’m sorry about being silent at dinner. I was hoping you would come to me when I was in my office.”

  “Why do we keep doing this to each other?”

  “I don’t know. I got distracted by an email. It’s hard to explain the depth of my feelings for you. We haven’t been to Dr. Hornung for a few weeks. We should go back.”

  “I agree. We’re married; it shouldn’t be this hard. I want the kind of marriage my parents had, what your parents and Daniel and Mavis have. We don’t have anything close to that. I don’t want us to hate each other so much that we divorce.”

  “That’s not going to happen; I won’t let it.”

  He gently prodded her over and got behind her, putting his arms around her.

  “I love you for always,” he whispered in her ear.

  “Xander, do you want to go look at wedding rings tomorrow night?”

  “I can’t. I have a client meeting after hours. I probably won’t be home until after eight or nine.”

  It was a lie. He was going to meet Mike to go through the information that he had collected. It wasn’t something he should keep from her, but he didn’t want to alarm her.

  “Can I have dinner with Philip then?”

  His arms opened their embrace, and she turned back to look at him.

  “Why don’t you see if Sam or Rachel is available? You haven’t spent time with them in awhile.”

  “Sam is going to dinner with Robert tomorrow, and Mateo has a cold. I doubt Rachel is going to want to leave him. Please? I need more friends, and Philip needs one.”

  Xander deeply sighed, “Fine. Call me when you’re on your way home. And I want to know where you are going and when you get there.”

  “You don’t trust me?”

  “No, it’s not that I don’t trust you, it’s that I worry about you.” What he wanted to say was that he didn’t trust Philip. The man was nice enough, but he paid a little too much attention to Ava.

  “Okay, I promise.”

  He embraced her again, and she snuggled against him.

  “Did you wear this for a reason?” He fingered the babydoll.

  “I just felt like wearing something sexy tonight.”

  “I like it.”

  The conversation ceased as she put her head on the pillow and promptly fell asleep. He unwound his arms from her to change from his sweats to boxers, and he slipped back against her. She didn’t stir, and he placed his face against hers which is how he fell asleep.

  Chapter 31

  The next morning Xander awakened to Ava singing in the shower. Her babydoll was draped on her side of the bed, and he picked it up in his hands. It subtly smelled of her perfume, lavender body wash and her. He put it back down on the bed when he heard the shower stop.

  He climbed out of bed hoping to catch his wife naked; there was some business he needed to attend to. Entering the bathroom, she stood at the mirror wearing her silk thigh length robe. It hugged all the right places. She smiled at him as he came towards her.

  “I thought you would still be asleep.”

  “Some songbird woke me. I was hoping to be woken in some other fashion.”

  “I would have, but I wasn’t sure you were in the mood.”

  “Where you’re concerned, I’m always in the mood. Do you want to come in the shower with me?”

  “I’ve already taken one.”

  He reached in and turned the water on, then undid the tie on her robe. He pushed it off her shoulders, and it fluttered to the floor.

  “Join me.” His hands kneaded her breasts, pinching her nipples and causing her to gasp as his mouth clamped on hers.

  She made no protests and let
him lead her under the warm spray. That was where his passion took over. He pushed her against the tile and his mouth ravaged her neck and shoulders. His lips sucked at her, leaving red marks near her collarbone. He slid his hand down her stomach and to her sex. She was already slick, and he inserted two fingers in her. Moaning as he began to move them inside her. As fast as he had put them in, he took them out and sucked on them.

  She stroked his erection and squeezed him hard. He cautioned her. Then in one movement, he pushed her front against the glass surround and slipped his cock between her legs, slicking it with her juices.

  “We’ve never had sex this way. Do you want to try?”

  His forcefulness was erotic, and she liked it. Instead of saying yes, she nodded, and he pushed her legs wider apart and moved his hips into position. In one swift movement, he entered, filling her. He splayed his hand against her belly and pulled her to him as his hips began to move against her ass. The other hand gripped her left breast tight in his grasp.

  She wrapped one hand around her to latch onto his ass spurring his movement into her. Her nails dug into his muscular backside. Her other hand rubbed the swollen nub between her legs. Over the sound of the water, she could hear him murmuring, “Yes! Yes!”

  “Do you like this?” He breathed gently on her neck and then bit into her ear.

  “Yes! Oh God, yes. I’m going to come soon.”

  At her admission, he slowed, then stopped reaching up to turn her head to him so he could kiss her.

  “Why did you stop?”

  “Because if I move one more stroke, I’m going to come. I want you to come first.”

  He pushed her hand away from her clit and replaced it with his own. He rubbed her in gentle circles leaning over to kiss her face. She wrapped her arms around his head and gripped his hair in her fingers as she began to climax. He grabbed her hips and pounded her hard until he found his release. Several strokes later and he was spent.

  Ava released his hair and bent forward which caused his still hard cock to slide out of her. She turned, and he hugged her.

  “Can it get any better than that?”

  “Are you saying you’ve never had better?”

  “You know what I mean. How come we never tried that position before?”

  “It’s dominating, don’t you think?”

  “Sort of, but I didn’t mind. I liked it.”

  “Ava Wilder, I learn more and more about you every day.”

  They finished washing and dried themselves. Ava checked the clock in the bedroom, and it was close to seven.

  “We have to get ready quickly. You are determined to make me late.”

  “You’re an attorney now. You can make your own hours even though most of us get in around eight.”

  “I still want to be on time.”

  By lunchtime, she was starting to feel tired. Xander had texted her that he couldn’t have lunch with her today. That meant that she would be missing two meals with him. She wondered what Philip was doing for lunch. Before she got up from her chair, he was in front of her open door.

  “Are you going to lunch today or did you bring yours?”

  “I keep forgetting to pack a lunch. If that happens, I usually grab a smoothie from the break room.”

  “That’s all you’re having? You’re slim enough. You should be eating something more substantial.”

  Another one! What is it with everyone bitching about my eating?

  “I need to watch that I don’t gain weight. I used to be overweight.”

  “When was that?”

  “About ten years ago.”

  “You have a perfect little figure now.”

  She blushed at the compliment, “Thank you.”

  “So, lunch?”

  “I’m going to have a smoothie and eat here. You can join me if you like.”

  “Okay, I’m going to get my lunch and be right back.”

  They had a nice lunch together. He told her about his time at Stein and Baker, and she told him about her work at the firm. He was curious about how she began dating Xander, and she explained that their families knew each other.

  Philip was very attentive when he was with her. He always looked in her eyes. She found his eyes almost hypnotic and had never seen such a deep shade of blue on anyone.

  “You’re very pretty. Are all the women in your family as pretty?”

  Shivers went down her spine since it was very forward of him to say something like that.

  “Yes, they are, but it’s not just the women. All the men are good looking, too. You met Jacob haven’t you?”

  “You’re related to him?

  “Yes, my maiden name is Keene.”

  “So you’re related to Daniel.”

  “I am.”

  As if a flick of the switch, his attitude towards her changed, “I have to go back to work. I’ll talk to you later.” He grabbed his leftovers and headed out the door to his office.

  What the fuck was that all about?

  She got up to close her door so that she could place a call to her client. Two hours later she heard a knock. Since she had been sitting all that time, she got up to answer the door; there was Philip.

  “I feel I should explain my abrupt behavior from earlier.”

  “I would appreciate if you would. I was a bit bewildered.”

  His face clouded, “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have acted that way. It’s about my ex-wife. There are things I should explain, but I prefer not to do them here.”

  “Could you hold that thought? I have to run upstairs a minute. Xander has a client meeting this evening. Maybe we can grab some dinner and have a discussion.

  The clouds parted, “Sure, that would be great. I really am sorry.”

  “Stop apologizing. We can go to this Italian place not far from here. The food is very good unless you don’t like Italian.”

  “I love Italian. But I feel I should explain.”

  “You can do it at dinner.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “I’m sure.”

  He smiled at her and turned to leave.

  She hadn’t seen her husband all day, and she missed him. The stairs were near her office, and so she ran up to eighteen. Sam passed her in the hall, and they chatted for a few minutes before she continued to Xander’s office. When she got there, his office was empty, but the door was open, so she sat down and waited for him.

  Several minutes went by, and she got up to pace the length of the floor. She walked by his laptop and stopped to watch the picture scroll. He had so many of her, some funny poses and some provocative in lingerie and bathing suits. One was of her in Las Vegas when she was sleeping in his hotel room before they got engaged. She had no idea he took so many.

  “Snooping?”

  Xander startled her when he entered.

  “Not at all. I didn’t know you even had half these pictures. I’m not comfortable with the ones in lingerie. When did you even take those?”

  “I need as many of you as I can get.”

  “Can you at least take them out of the scroll? Suppose someone sees them?”

  “I can do that. I’m sorry if you’re uncomfortable with them. What are you doing up here anyway?”

  “I missed you. I wanted to see you before I left and you had your client meeting.”

  “I missed you, too. I would love to take you up on the offer of office sex. Your office.”

  “Shh, your door is open and so is Jacob’s. The last thing I want is for him to hear we have office sex. We can make that happen, soon.”

  She strained her neck to plant a kiss on his chin. The buzzer on his phone went off indicating a call.

  “I need to take that. I’m expecting a call from a client.”

  “I’ll leave you to it. I’ll see you tonight.”

  She closed the door, and as she did, she thought she heard him say the name Mike. Philip was waiting for her when she came back to her office.

  “Ready to go?”

  “I jus
t need to clean up a couple of things. You can sit on the couch if you like. I should be done in ten minutes. She was engrossed in what she was doing, but if she bothered to look up, she would have seen him staring at her. A few minutes later she shut down her laptop and got up to get her coat. Philip got to it a split second before she did and held it out for her.

  “Thank you.”

  “I’m starved, I hope they have Fettuccini Alfredo at this place you’re recommending.”

  “They do, among other delicious dishes. It’s chilly out but do you want to walk? It’s only a couple of blocks.”

  Al Forno was a rustic Italian restaurant that she and Xander had frequented on several occasions. The portions were generous and the atmosphere comfortable. After they settled at a table, had wine in hand and the waiter had taken their order, there was an awkward silence.

  “Ava, I want to tell you about my actions this afternoon.”

  “Sure.”

  “Four years ago I started working at Stein and Baker. I enjoyed my work, and in several months I met my ex, Sheila. She was beautiful and fun-loving. She worked as a legal secretary for Frank Stein. They had no non-fraternization policy, so I asked her out. I had no idea that she was related to Francine Baker and it turned out she was her daughter. Even though I knew it a bad idea, I continued to date her. I was too far gone by the time I found out about the relationship. She bewitched me, and I was in love. A year later I married her, and for a time, we lived in domestic bliss.”

  “Okay…”

  “Sheila became demanding, especially if I had to work long hours. She often accused me of taking our marriage vows for granted. I tried to make it work, but less than two years later our relationship was crumbling around us. She often complained to her mother, and I was maligned at work. It was a bad situation, and I finally decided to move out of our home. That made my time at the office even worse, and I felt I had no choice but to quit.”

  Ava looked at him with sympathy, “I’m sorry. How horrible for you.”

  “I thought about bringing a suit against them, but I figured it was better to go quietly. We finalized our divorce, and I moved to the city.”