Consume Me (A Burning Desire Novel) (13 page)

"I'm sorry." I whispered.

I finally knew the reason for his change
of attitude earlier, and I realized it might've been inconsiderate of me to flirt
with his friend. I wasn't aware I'd been doing it, I wasn't attracted to him,
not in the least. I had eyes only for the specimen of a man in front of me, and
if taking a three hour flight to spend time with him wasn't proof of that, I
had to up my game.

I'd thought about the way he'd also acted
when I'd mentioned my shopping break with Liam. I'd suspected it, but thought
it insanely self-centric of me. He was jealous of that, just like he was
jealous of an innocent insinuation.

The notion shook me to my core.

It flattered me, pleased me, and
frightened me.

We
arrived at the club a little after midnight. Initially, we were going to have
dinner, but Jenna kept insisting that we'd join her and the boys at some
lounge. Landon agreed saying that they had one of the greatest cooks in Chicago
and that we'd be able to hit two birds with a stone; I was famished and in
desperate need of a dry vodka martini with at least three olives.

Back at the office, we'd talked a bit
about how I’d planned the whole trip, thanks to Jenna's advice. How Jude and
Ryan had surprised me at the last second, and how Calvin and Zee, conspired to
spy for my benefit.

He'd made me laugh, admiring my skills at
taming two of his most loyal employees and swore to never introduce me to his
assistant in case I'd plan to plot against him in any other way.

He went
down on me a second time, and a third. I didn't think I was able to come so
many times. Usually, when I'd pleasure myself; which didn't occur often, I'd
just go to sleep.

I was sore and my skin-swollen red. I
could barely walk down to the lobby, my muscles shook endlessly, I thought he'd
hit a nerve somewhere in my exhausted brain.

"Mr. Davis!"

A tall brown-haired with full breasts and
collagen lips shouted over the loud music. She held some sort of notepad and
her Smartphone, eyeing him.

He smiled at her.

"Your table is ready."

I didn't even know he took the time to
make a reservation, although I noticed the warm greeting he'd gotten from the
security guards at the entrance. The obvious preferential treatment was
self-explanatory as to his familiarity with the place.

"It's okay Sheryl, we're joining some
friends."

Landon threw a smile in her direction and
her face lit up.

I rolled my eyes. He must be used to that
kind of attention, and although it was only human for women to lose their
self-control around him, I couldn't help the hint of jealousy.

"Hey sweetie."

Jenna appeared from the middle of the
crowd, grinning sheepishly and completely drunk.

"I've been checking on the entry
waiting for you."

Her tone confirmed her inebriation.

"Hello Mr. Davis, so nice to see you
again and kudos for the exceptional ambience of the club."

She gestured to the general direction of
the club and gave him a warm drunk hug.

I frowned.

"You own the place?"

He shrugged and winked at me with
one-drop-dead-smile.

"Let's go, the guys are waiting at
the table."

We followed her past the crowd to join
Jude and Ryan. They were completely smitten with each other. Jude had murmured
something that'd made his partner flush crimson red.

The
club was plush, as were the clientele. It was several shades white from the
ground up, on two levels. There were two bars as well, one on each floor. The
upper level was a restaurant; people were eating and enjoying the view on the
endless row of crowded tables and the dance floor. The menu appeared on a
televised glass table and we could scramble through a variety of food and
drinks. It was truly amazing.

The
boys greeted Landon warmly and he didn't miss on thanking each one of them,
especially Jenna for encouraging the surprise. They congratulated him on his
great club and he responded humbly.

"What can I get you guys?"

Another brunette appeared at our table.

"Mr. Davis... Um...”

She panicked seeing him, but she didn't
ogle him like the other one.

"Two dry vodka martinis and one
scotch, neat."

He glanced at my friends drinks and
continued.

"Two vodka tonic, one Manhattan and
please tell Drake to come and see me."

He finished with a smile while she
finished writing down the order. I was fascinated by his composure; he had such
a powerful vibe.

"How long have you guys been
here?" I asked

"About an hour or so. We went to
another place first, but it was boring as hell. Then Zee suggested Mr. Davis
club; we had to see it."

Ryan explained.

"That club was boring alright. I
don't understand that dub-step BS. It was like going through an electroshock
treatment."

Jenna wrinkled her nose in disgust and
they all nodded.

"What are your plans for
tomorrow?"

Landon asked signaling to all of us, but
kept his gaze on me.

"A spa for the two love birds, some
tourism and architecture sightseeing and probably a club in the evening."

Jenna announced.

"You seem to have a whole day
planned."

They nodded.

"I'd like to invite you to a charity event
my father's organization is holding tomorrow. I wasn't going to attend, as I'd
planned to fly to New York. But since you're here, I don't see why not."

He held my gaze.

"What's the charity for?"

Jude interjected.

"Children of the night."

"Yes, that was your mother's."

Jenna commented.

He nodded.

"We're sorry for your loss."

Ryan said tenderly.

"Thank you. My father likes to think
that carrying her life's work is a way to keep her very much alive."

His tone was composed, but I could see a
glimpse of sorrow in his eyes and I couldn't help squeezing his hand.

His gaze carried a soft tenderness. Landon
was completely vulnerable when it came to his mother, I was sure of that.

"I, for one, am very much looking
forward to this."

I said cheerily, trying to set his mood
back.

"Me too."

Jenna squeaked, followed by Ryan's
excitement.

"I guess we should add some shopping
time, you up for it boo?"

Jude suggested turning to me with a
surprisingly excited tone.

"No need for that, I'll take care of
it."

Landon didn't give me the chance to
respond.

I stared at him, uncertain of what he'd
met.

"Take care of what exactly?"

My voice came out more tense than I'd
intended.

Landon wore an unfathomable expression,
then addressed the general direction of the table.

"Please, you are my guests; allow me
to take care of your attendance details. It would be my pleasure."

It was utterly out of the question that
I'd let him do whatever he'd planned to do. I eyed Jude quizzically and he
turned to me with the same wondering look.

Ryan and Jenna kept silent.

"That is very considerate, but we can
take care of our 'attendance details', all by ourselves."

I hadn't meant to sound cold, but I
couldn't help feeling annoyed, or somehow diminished.

Everyone around the table fell silent; I
stood my grounds and held his gaze. Something defiantly disturbing gleamed in
his eyes; his silence spoke more than the words that followed.

"As you wish, Miss Dane."

His response didn't sound convincing, not
a bit.

"Ok, how about a dance Boo?"

Jude cut in and I turned beaming at him.

"Of course."

I was consternated by Landon's attitude
towards my friends and me. It was a question of principle for me, and I’d
barely managed to accept some of Ryan's gifts and tried to return them as much
as I could.

Admittedly,
the three other persons around the table are the only ones I accepted gifts
from, we'd grown close to each other, and the attention of choosing a present,
whether there was an occasion or not, was only some-kind of testimony to our
friendship.

Just two days earlier, Jenna had embarked
on a tour around the city and found herself in Hoboken; she'd mistaken a
pathway train with a subway. She came home with a bunch of clothes and a
collection of unwearable lingerie for me, all French, soft fabrics. I'd
accepted them gladly, especially since she argued free living space.

I knew
I wasn't going to be able to find a gown for a charity, that wouldn't crack my
credit card for the rest of the month, but I could still get one and return it
the following day intact. I gulped down my dry martini, rocked my nudes and
head to the dance floor, I was more relaxed.

Jude
and I started moving to
'Kid
Cudy Ft Kanye West' 'Erase
Me'
. The dance-floor was crowded. We swayed through the people
and the endless girls eyeing Jude. I got used to the attention around him; he
was like a human-magnet.

Sadly, Ryan never stopped getting annoyed
by it. Sometimes, when things got out control, he'd blame it on his partner for
clothing ambiguously. He'd argue that fighting other men's attention was about
enough, not to add the female population.

"What was that about boo?"

Jude asked once we settled in a less noisy
ambience.

"I know, right? He can be so
commandeering."

He stifled a laugh.

"That's true. But I was talking about
your reaction sweetie."

I eyeballed him like he'd just grown a
tail - on the head -

"Don't you dare drop your bullshit on
me, Clea!”

“He asked nicely, made his arguments, and
even thought it might've seemed unusual, it was still polite and considerate.
Yet, you jumped at his throat as if he'd just insulted us. If you ask me,
you're no less commandeering yourself."

I couldn't believe what Jude was saying,
and it made me feel guilty. If there was one thing I knew about my best friend,
it’s that he would speak his mind, no matter how he’d feel about the situation,
and more so about the person he’s talking to.

I also knew that he only tagged along to
show that he’d always support me, no matter how it would end up. On our way to
the hotel, he’d made no attempt to hide his skepticism about the whole idea of
me flying all the way to Chicago, and about Landon being the right person for
me, but he showed his support. So, what he said may have aggravated me, but I
had no doubt about his sincerity.

It felt like a hard punch in the belly,
especially coming from him.

“I don’t know what’s gotten into you,
you’re never that aggressive.”

Jude gave another nudge to my guilt and I
shrugged.

“You know how I feel about those kinds of proposals,
especially coming from outside the circle.”

I explained.

“I know sweetie.’

He said pushing a strand of hair, and
pressed a tender kiss to my temple.

“I know you, and I’ve witnessed all you’ve
been through in the past decade; the good, the bad, and everything in-between.
But that doesn’t excuse the way you reacted.”

Jude gave me an understanding look and
smiled.

“Ok.” I pouted.

“I’ll apologize.”

“Get right on it then.”

I had no idea what I’d say, I was still against
the whole idea, and I needed to figure out a way to apologize without caving.

Jude stopped dancing just as
‘Amy Winehouse’ ‘You know that I’m no
good’
filled the air. I felt an arm wrapping me from behind and
pull me from Jude. I blinked in surprise, until I realized it was Landon. A
genuine smile dressed Jude’s features and he pushed himself out from the crowd.

“Dance with me?”

Landon spoke to my ear; the way he said
the words sounded more like an order, and it made me smile as I’d realized that
it was his way of dealing with things. He was on top of the world. That was the
undeniable truth about Landon Davis.

I turned in his arms and faced him with a
broad smile to match his own. I danced in his embrace and laughed at the irony
of the song’s lyrics. He just moved along smoothly, all dark and graceful;
looking at me with scorching gray eyes. I stared at him, thinking about all the
ways I was going to get lost in those eyes.  There was fire in them,
something burning in his gaze. It made my insides melt. I was completely
dazzled by it all.

“I’m sorry.”

I hesitantly said.

“What are you apologizing for Miss Dane?”

Landon squeezed me further in his embrace.
His scent made me lose my course of thought. He smelled heavenly, like my very
own Garden of Eden. But he was no heaven, he was hell; sinful and consuming.

“I’m not in the habit of accepting gifts
lightly. It represents intimacy, a token of friendship. Which is why, I never
accept them from anyone, other than those three back at the table. I didn’t mean
to be aggressive or disrespectful.”