Jake led me to the space where everyone was dancing. “Tonight we’re having a threesome with your mistress,” he said with his mouth close to my ear so that I could hear him.
My heart beat like a bass drum. I was terrified that my moves might be rusty. I hadn’t shaken my ass on the dance floor since before medical school. Sure, I’d gone to parties with Rich, but I’d always been too exhausted to participate in the fun. Suddenly, I understood Rich’s constant complaints when it came to going out with me. He used to say I would yawn the entire time, and he took it as my sending him a message that I was bored. At the moment, I felt better than I had in a long time. Absorbed by the electrical or neurological chemistry between me and Jake, once we were in position, my body felt free to do whatever the hell it wanted to do next.
First, we danced our own version of the Charleston, moving back and forth in perfect harmony with each other. He was great at it. Then he seized my hand and took me for a few spins. We laughed together. Then he drew me in for a kiss. His dick was hard. The music was faster than our pace. It was as though we were in a slow dance and our lust for each other was playing a passionate tune only he and I could hear.
At some point, the song changed, and Jake and I went at it again. I shimmied my shoulders at him, gyrated my hips against his boner, then rubbed my ass against his man of steel.
When it got to be too much, he would fasten his hands on my hips, pull me against him, and whisper, “Slow down, baby.”
I could hardly believe I was having such a good time in the city again. Jake and I were going in for our hundredth kiss or so when a masked woman nudged him on the shoulder.
“Hey, don’t I know you?” she asked.
Jake peered at her, then she took off her mask.
“It’s me, Renata,” she said.
He watched her a few seconds longer then shook his head. “No. I don’t know you.”
The way his eyes widened just a fraction made me think he had indeed recognized her.
“Oh,” she said, sounding shocked by his response. “It’s just the way you carry yourself and your…” Her eyes narrowed to slits as her hand flew up and her fingers spread across her clavicle. “Really, you don’t remember—”
“I don’t know you, miss. Please excuse us.”
Renata remained still as she watched him, baffled. “I’m sorry,” she said finally. “I must’ve mistaken you for someone else.”
I wanted so badly to ask, Who else? But I merely nodded at her as he guided me away from the scene and said something about getting us food and drink. He led me toward a decadent spread of hot cuisines and a fully serviced open bar.
“That was weird,” I said after Jake ordered scotch on the rocks.
He pointed at me. “What will you have?” he asked.
I could tell he was shaken by his interaction with the woman, even though he was trying not to show it.
“Sparkling water with lime.”
He nodded and ordered it for me.
As the bartender prepared our drinks, Jake seized my hand and kissed the back of it. He put his mouth close to my ear. “I didn’t know you were such a hot dancer. It turns me on.”
Then he kissed me. As our tongues laved each other and my body rose against him, all I could think about was that woman. Jake must’ve forgotten how perceptive I was. He indeed knew her, and I was determined to find out who she thought he was before our night at the mansion was over.
Chapter Twenty
Penina Ross
Jake engaged me in a mission to taste a little of everything on the buffet, like the deconstructed shrimp po’ boy, jambalaya rolls, red beans and rice, and crawfish etouffee. Gumbo shots were served in mini bread cups large enough for us to pour the contents into our mouths and enjoy chewing the one succulent shrimp, a plump piece of crab, and andouille sausage along with the buttery crusted bread that held the delicious surprise in only a few bites.
I knew I should’ve stopped at one, but I was on my sixth gumbo shot.
“Whoa,” I said, savoring the flavors, which were still in my mouth after swallowing. “That was good. How did you get an invitation to this party in the first place?”
“A friend,” he said finally. By his tentative smirk, I could tell that the openness he’d had in the limousine was a thing of the past. That woman had certainly shaken him up.
I smiled warmly at him. “Well, tell your secret friend thank you.”
He took a swig of the same cocktail he’d ordered earlier. Jake wasn’t a big drinker, and I liked that about him.
Then he put his mouth near my ear. “When are you going to trust me?”
The answer was easy. I put my mouth close to his ear. “I trust you. But still, you’re hiding a lot from me.”
He moved his mouth back near my ear. “Like what?”
I switched positions with him again. “You tell me.”
Jake leaned away from me to study me as if he could see my full expression past my mask. Suddenly, my stomach grumbled. I’d eaten too much and needed some relief.
I clamped a hand over my belly and said, “I’m going to the ladies’ room. Think about your answer while I’m gone.” I winked at him. Before I could leave him, Jake tugged me against him for another hot and heavy smooch. When our lips parted, I was dizzy and wobbly as I walked away.
The path to the ladies’ room was down a long corridor where the walls were a long decorative iron screen with frosted glass behind it. Soft light lingered beyond the glass, and I immediately wanted to know what was behind the barrier. Also, the atmosphere was vaporous, and a mild perfume lingered in the air.
I didn’t even notice the women standing in line to use the restroom until I came upon the last person. When I asked her, I learned that I wasn’t the only one having problems digesting the tasty but rich gumbo shots, which were still rumbling in my stomach. I counted all the bodies standing in line.
“There are fourteen people ahead of us,” I said.
The woman stole a glance at me. “There are six stalls, so it shouldn’t be that long.”
I thanked her. It was nice of her to take the sting out of waiting for me.
As I settled at the end of the line, a masked man wearing a red suit with a ruffled white shirt appeared out of the vapors beyond the bathroom door and headed in our direction. I stood straighter when he stopped beside me.
“Ma’am, you’re VIP. Please proceed upstairs to the VIP restroom.”
My jaw dropped. How in the world can he identify me as VIP? My stomach grumbled again, so I chose not to question him about it.
“What stairs?” I asked.
“Continue up the hallway, and you’ll find them.”
The woman standing in front of me stole a glance at me, curiosity in her eyes. Whatever was in my stomach wanted out, so I nodded and started walking as fast as I could. When I reached the end of the corridor, there was only one way to turn. But instead of moving forward, I stopped in my tracks. The woman who’d questioned Jake earlier was right there.
I thought she was going to walk past me without saying a word, and I was about to say, Hi, Renata.
However, Renata pressed a hand over her chest and said, “I’m sorry for disturbing you and your partner earlier. I really thought I recognized him.”
I looked deeper into her eyes. “I’m sorry. May I ask who you thought he was?”
She rubbed her elbow nervously. “Umm… just an old acquaintance I’d run into from time to time.”
I tilted my head curiously. “An acquaintance? That’s pretty casual.”
She cracked a tiny smile. “Well… our circle is small but mighty.”
I was thrown off a little by her bragging.
“But it’s the way he carries himself. Like….” She shook her head as if it was difficult to come up with the words to explain it. My heart sank because I knew exactly how she felt. “Just… I’m sorry.”
I imagined myself taking up all the space in the hallway and not allowing her to g
et past me. But she was talking, and that was good.
“Was his name Dr. Jake Sparrow?” I asked, sounding desperate for an answer.
“Doctor? No.” She shook her head adamantly.
“What about Jake Sparrow?”
“No.”
“Then who did you think he was?”
Suddenly, she directed her attention above my head.
Two large hands clamped down on my shoulders before I could turn around. I recognized his touch. Slowly, I faced him, and I stared into Dr. Jake Sparrow’s eyes. I’d never seen such anger in them until then.
Jake gave me space to use the ladies’ room, but as soon as I was done, he led me out of the party. The limousine driver held the back door open for us. I slid into the back seat first, and he entered behind me. On the way back to the penthouse, unlike our ride to the masquerade party, Jake sat on one side of the car, and I sat on the other. As the car rolled along, he kept his eyes forward. I felt as though he was refusing to look at me.
I sighed hard to fill the aggressive silence.
“Why are you angry with me?” I blurted.
“I’m not angry,” he said.
“You look angry. You feel angry, and distant.”
Jake scratched the back of his neck. “I think we should cool it for a while.”
My heart sank to my knees. “But why?” I couldn’t believe I sounded so desperate. And he still hadn’t looked at me yet.
“It’ll be best that way.”
I shook my head. “I don’t understand. Why would it be best?”
“Because I’m your boss,” he snapped.
I sniffed sarcastically. “You were my boss the first time you kissed me and fucked me.”
His Adam’s apple bobbed. “That’s correct, which is why we should stop.”
I could hardly believe what was happening. Before he’d caught me questioning the woman, we’d danced, laughed, kissed, and eaten well. We were falling in love with each other. Does any of that matter anymore?
“Jake?” My tone was stern.
His jaw tightened. “Yes, Penina?”
Still, the way he said my name set my heart on fire. “Look at me.” He hadn’t moved a muscle. “Please,” I whispered.
Jake turned his head slowly. When our eyes met, I wondered if his pulse was pounding as hard as mine was. I also noticed how his harsh expression softened a bit before hardening again.
My mouth opened as I considered saying I was sorry. But I didn’t think I was.
“Did you know who that woman was?” I asked.
His eyes narrowed to slits.
“I take your silence as a yes,” I said.
“You can stay in the penthouse as long as needed, but we’ll keep our distance,” he said.
Suddenly, anger raced through me. Then tears flooded my eyes. My picker was still picking the wrong type of man to fall in love with. If everything was going his way, then we were in bliss. The moment something challenged his power and control, he was ready to walk out the door. Fuck him. I refused to let my tears fall.
I turned to gaze at my mistress beyond the window. She was so beautiful, so attractive when night fell upon her.
“Fine,” I said, making my voice clear and unaffected.
I thought I could feel his eyes upon me, but I refused to look. I had to sleep at the penthouse that night, and in the morning, I would wake up and pull my shift. It was great that I had forgotten to call Deb and ask for another day off. The sooner I got back to life before Jake Sparrow, if that was even his real name, the better. After my shift ended and handoffs were complete, I would return to the penthouse, collect my things, and finally get a room at the W Hotel.
Through the reflections in the window, I could see Jake watching me. But I wouldn’t turn to watch him back. He hadn’t said anything, and neither had I. We were done. My heart had been shattered into a million pieces.
The drive felt as though it went by in a blink of an eye. At some point, I’d taken my mask off, but I couldn’t remember when. I couldn’t even recall the movement I made two seconds ago. The car rolled slowly down the ramp and into the subterranean parking garage then stopped in front of the elevator. That was the first time I turned to look at Jake since he’d suggested we keep our distance. He was already watching me. I felt my breath slip heavily across my lips as we stared at each other. As soon as Jake ripped his eyes away from me, the driver hopped out of his seat and opened my door.
One of my feet touched the concrete. “You’re not coming up?”
“No,” Jake said, sounding strained.
I was sure my eyes conveyed the depths of my disappointment. Sadness pervaded my soul, and even if I searched, the right words weren’t ready to come to me. My shoulders slumped as I got out of the vehicle and dragged myself to the elevator. The driver pushed the up button. I hadn’t realized he was standing there. I thanked him by smiling at him faintly.
“Penina,” Jake called.
I squeezed my eyes closed, braced myself, then opened them as I turned. His electric pale-blue eyes made me rub my palm over the heaviness in my chest.
Again, we stared at each other. I prayed he would jump out of the back seat, take me in his arms, and apologize for saying we needed some space. I was willing to forgive him. Then the elevator dinged as the doors slid open. Still, I waited for him to say something.
“Rest well, Penina,” he said.
I pressed my lips into a grimace. Instead of waiting for him to roll up his window or order the driver to leave, I turned away first and entered the elevator. I forced myself to accept the fact that he and I were over as I studied the woman in the gold panels, wearing the beautiful dress. A sigh escaped me as I thought about all the ways Jake had touched me that night, his hard body against mine and his hands sliding up and down my hips or resting on my derrière or back. We were so intimate, our interaction so natural.
As the elevator opened to the penthouse floor, I talked myself into believing we were through. I had to, or else my anger would ignite me into a ball of fire. The lonely, hollow sounds of my footsteps moving down the marble-floored hallway helped convince me Jake and I were a thing of the past. With my arms crossed, shoulders slumped, I refused to cry. I will not cry.
Chapter Twenty-One
Jake Sparrow/Asher Christmas
It took years to perfect the art of observation. One must sit still, barely breathing, and keep the eyes fastened on the object of one’s desire. Penina slept in the bed. I had slept with several women—slept with, not fucked—and none of them appeared so restful as she. Her soul was at peace, and I wasn’t sure if she knew that about herself.
What I had said to her earlier wouldn’t disturb her rest. And I was glad she was getting plenty of it. We were surgeons, and that meant we lived in a perpetual state of fatigue. Before I met Penina, I’d savored the exhaustion. Fighting weakness in my body made me feel feeble, as if I kept one foot in the grave. Maybe that was the goal—to die as Jake Sparrow. But that had changed. I could smell my former life drawing nearer, getting ready to close in on me. I didn’t want to be wiped off the face of the Earth anymore. I wanted to live happily ever after with her. What a fool I was to think I could put distance between us. But here I am. What a fool.
She snored, and I raised my chin to see if I could get a better look at her face. I couldn’t catch a view of it, and that was disappointing, so I had to imagine the sexy and beautiful face of the woman who was slowly becoming everything I thought I never needed.
I had Kirk, my driver, drop me off at the Christmas family property on Third Street, and I used Bryn’s security code to enter. Since the house hadn’t been prepared for arrivals, it held stifling heat and humidity. There was no relief from its heaviness. It also felt as if the ghosts that haunted the hallways refused to scramble even after I turned on the lights. I wasn’t frightened of anything tortured and non-human, though. I’d grown up in a house where evil spirits permeated every corner. As a child, I was afraid of them. They
haunted my sleep and dashed across my ceiling, taking advantage of my vulnerability. When I was a teenager, I ignored them, and by adulthood, I knew they had no bite, no power beyond convincing humans they were mightier than what they were.
With a garment bag over one shoulder and a duffel over the other, I took off my mask and walked briskly. I hadn’t planned on staying long. I went into one of the bedrooms, opened the duffel bag, took out a pair of black pants, a T-shirt, and a pair of sneakers and put them on. Then I hung my suit on the hangers in the garment bag.
Next, I walked the mask down to the darkest part of the house, the cellar. I used Bryn’s code to open the secured entrance. I was being reckless by entering the room twice in one day. If my brother Jasper had nothing better to do than monitor all the family estates for movement, then it wouldn’t be difficult to figure out that a family member had visited the mansion. Knowing my brother, he kept tabs on Bryn and Spencer. He could’ve easily figured out it was me and set Nestor or one of his other investigators on my trail to find me. Our investigators were the best in the business, so they would’ve found me. The only reason I could think of why they hadn’t located me yet was because Jasper wasn’t looking. That was why I figured it was safe to go to the mansion, get masks, and accept the invitation to Bartleby Leonard’s masquerade party.
Bartleby threw the same masquerade party every year. He changed the cities, though. Last time I attended, it was in LA—the year before that, Manhattan. I’d introduced Si to Bartleby during a trip to St. Barths. As far as Bart was concerned, I’d dropped off the face of the Earth, so he’d invited Si, who accepted the invitation and handed the details over to me. Si didn’t like Bart, which was why he’d never attended any of the guy’s parties. Si referred to him as a pretentious, lazy narcissist.
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