Ignite Me (A Burning Desire Novel) (3 page)

I was blinking at them. He looked young and stylish and
out of a GQ photo shoot for the sexiest man of the decade, or century.

When my gaze finally leveled with his; I had no doubt that I
would be punished.
 
Still, I didn’t
care. His eyes sparked with burn, desire and oh yes, I could see his anger.

 
“Um, we’ll
see you guys inside.”

Brooke spoke awkwardly. Neither Landon, nor I had said a
word after his comment to Liam. When my colleague apologized, Landon had barely
acknowledged it. He just maintained a deep eye connection with my body. His
eyes traveled over every inch of me. My breath escalated. I took a cautious
step to close the distance between us.

It's been happening a lot recently. Whenever Landon and I
were in the same space, it felt as if the whole world around us, crumbled to
non-existence, and we were alone. I brushed my fingers against his initials;
they were carved in a beautiful chrome tie-bar.

His breath hitched in his throat.

In the past few weeks, I’d learned that Landon was all
about delayed gratification, and all it took for him to calm down, was the
simplest, and lightest touch.

“Hi baby.”

My voice was a bare whisper that emerged with the growing
buzz around us.

Landon pressed a kiss to my temple without returning my
greeting.

“I’m in trouble, aren’t I?”

I went for amused. He knew that I was aware, but
appreciated my effort to loosen the tension.

“Big time baby.”

He was dead serious, and I loved it.

“I can’t wait.”

“You can’t wait for what?”

The brightest baby blue eyes I’d ever seen peered from
behind Landon. He was shorter compared to Landon, but I could see his grin
through his eyes alone. It was Alec Avery.

He moved to my still angry lover’s side, to reveal the
most unconventional look I’d ever seen on a man, and an executive.

“Damn, you’re one hot angel Clea.”

Alec was grinning. He meant his words, but I had the sentiment
that he somehow spoke them to tease his partner. I flushed at the comment. He
was a very spontaneous man, unlike his friend, with the aggravated expression
all over his beautiful face.

“Thank you Alec. You're not so bad yourself either. I’ve
never met a guy who can rock a tie-it-yourself, silk bow-tie.”

I said as a way of returning the compliment.

“Damn right I rock.”

He beamed and nudged Landon’s arm.

“See pissy-face? She speaks swag and flatters me. I think
I’m falling in love.”

I knew the situation was getting a little out of control,
especially when Landon stiffened at the ‘L’ word.

All it took was one dark, angry look from Landon, for Alec
to declare his defeat and retract himself.

“Clea!”

I really began to hate my name.

I turned to an outwardly freaked-out Jenna, running towards
us.

“What is it? What’s wrong?”

She came to a halt, and took in the sight of the two,
incredibly handsome, men standing beside me.

“Umm... Hello Landon.”

She chanted, fixated on the boots.

“Who is this marvelous creature?”

Alec had no boundaries.

“Someone you might get lucky with, if you know how to
swing that bow-tie.”

Apparently neither did Jenna.

“Damn!”

He prompted her. She just shrugged with her
I-need-that-man-in-my-bed
look.

I recognized that look all too well.

“More importantly, the flower guy is here with the toques.
Give me the key.”

I shuffled through my bag and produced the keys to the
accessory room.

“Ok, you guys get inside, the show is about to start.”

She said turning away.

“Do you guys need help?”

I yelled and chased after her.

“No, everything is ready. I’ll simply give the keys to
Jude and join you.”

She turned again, and disappeared behind the access door.

I wished she’d taken me with her while Mr. Possessive
calmed his nerves.

“Well I’ll go find my seat.”

Alec pulled away, mouthing ‘AWKWARD’ with an amused
expression.

I stood there, only inches from his face. I’d been longing
for him, I missed him, and I hated that he behaved that way.

“I missed you.”

Landon finally spoke, and I offered him the cheekiest grin
ever.

“Right there with you, baby.”

I nodded matter-of-factly.

“Don’t let anyone do that to you ever again Clea.”

He ordered between gritted teeth.

“It was innocent, he’s just playing around.”

His mouth set in a hard line.

“There is nothing innocent about the way that guy looks at
you. Trust me.”

“I don’t care, he knows I’m with you and that there is no
way I’m going out with him.”

I explained firmly.

“Yeah but I don’t.”

There we go again with the insinuation.

“Well, I’m telling you. He’s just spontaneous and I have
no interest in him, or any other man for that matter.”

He raised a beautiful, perfect, garnished eyebrow.

“Is that so? You have no interest in ‘any’ man?”

“You’re not any man, you’re mine.”

I prompted, pulling him from his tie for a kiss.

“Good girl.”

He brought his lips over mine and pushed his tongue
lusciously, demanding admittance. I accepted him, sweeping my tongue with his. I
missed the warmth of his lips; the past three days, were the longest period
we’d been apart. He never stayed in Chicago more than thirty-six hours. I
hadn’t spent more than one night without him. However, since he had to
finish-up his move, I hadn’t seen him, or been with him for three nights. I
really didn’t need that Liam moment to happen and ruin the perfectly planned
night I had in mind.

I relished every lush, every low groan, and every hot
breath.

A camera flash snapped us back into the real world.

“Hey, no photography allowed outside the showroom.”

One of the Shwarzman security guards gripped the camera
from the photograph.

I took a relieved breath when I saw him shuffle through
the device.

“There you go buddy,” he scorned at the not-so-happy
photographer.

“But that’s a violation of my professional right.”

The large, framed, security guard pointed to the
‘No-Photograph allowed’ sign.

“Now feel free to snap pictures in the enclosed event
space, or you can go ahead, and sue me.”

He turned back and walked to stand by the entrance.

I grew tired of the exposure. I avoided every article
about Landon Davis’ ‘New Flavor of The Month’.

Ryan, of course, collected them and felt proud about it. I
hated the attention, especially after the first time it had happened. It was
during the lawsuit that Landon’s ex-girlfriend and employee had filed against
him, and the senator he worked with.

We were getting out of
The Victoria
and heading to have
dinner at the Crawley’s for their thirty-fifth anniversary celebration.
Photographers came out of nowhere snapping pictures and throwing questions from
every direction.

Landon had gotten angry, and once he was proven innocent,
by representing himself and Senator Anders; he’d asked every newspaper to make
an official apology. He’d threatened the ones that refused with a defamation
charge.

Ever since that moment, I’d been exposed to Landon’s media
crowd.

However, it calmed down after a while and I became old
news.

Thank goodness for that.

                                                                                       
*****

The music faded in, gradually filling the space with a new
melody accompanying
Zooey
Deshanel’s smooth voice,
and just as soon, the first model stepped out from behind the curtains. She
wore a beautiful, two-toned in black, and blue, form-fitting dress and Turkish-Pagne
jacket in hues of blue.

It was the daytime, ready-to-wear collection. Ryan had the
idea to mix up the styles, between Manhattans powerful, active women, and
harked back to the Golden era of the Golden State. He wanted to impart a fresh
perspective, and keep it chic and genuine.

The cameras flashed from every corner of the runway,
snapping pictures of celebrities and other attendants. People were exchanging
looks and murmurs, commenting on each design. I was a ball of nerves, wishing I
could find out what they were saying about the designs.

“For fuck sake Clea, stop cogitating, before I stab you in
that leg.”

Jenna was sitting next to me. I couldn’t help brooding,
and it was obviously weighing on her.

“Don’t worry baby, people are enjoying it, trust me.”

Landon leaned in, and spoke into my ear. His voice was
softly reassuring.

“Oh yeah, I forgot, you can read minds.”

I teased, not calming down. It was my friend’s big night,
and, alas, I didn’t have the ability to read their thoughts, or make a
difference between a smirk and an appreciative smile.

It was slowly killing me.

“Yes, in fact, I can assure you that most people in this
room like what they are seeing.”

He said, matter-of-factly.

“How can you tell?”

I prompted gently.

“Well it is simple; most people experience a cognitive
reaction that relates to their lips, which means; if they like something
they’re seeing, their lips would twitch to the right. It’s the portion of the
brain, which responds to stimuli, and arousal. But then, when they don’t
approve of something, they react with the left portion of the brain.”

Landon explained confidently, and continued.

“So yes, some of them aren’t responsive, but most are.
Trust me baby, it’s my job.”

“Well thank you Dr. Lightman.”

“You are welcome baby,” he said, smiling sarcastically.

“Now can you relax? The second part is about to start.”

Jenna urged me on.

“Hi guys, I’m sorry I’m late.”

Evelyn appeared from behind us, and slid next to Landon.

The lights changed to cover the runway flooring in royal
shades. We’ve all put some great deal in searching for those. I didn’t know
that royalty had its own colors, but it did. I still couldn’t identify them,
but they were different shades of white, blue, red, and green. The floodlight
and the cameras flashing brightened every hue. The first princess came out in a
crystal blue, strapless gown and raised the first round of applauds. The dress
was truly gorgeous, and royal. Ryan had the idea to accessorize every model,
with a toque, braided in Belladonna Amaryllis flowers.

Once the princes, strutted out with their royal jackets,
and acquiring more appreciative right lip twitches, I calmed down. Landon
clasped my hand and brought it to his lips, brushing feather kisses, and
smiling tenderly. Every touch against my skin sent a heated flare of yearning
through my body. It was becoming harder for me to concentrate on the show.

I glanced at him; his eyes were a sight of pure desire and
longing. I wanted to kiss him, but refrained and turned from him, attempting to
focus on the runway and failing.

“You have no idea how much I want to be inside you right
now.”

His voice was hot, and low.

“I love the dress.”

Landon brushed his knuckles all the way down my spine.

I stiffened; the motion was so discreet, even so, it
awakened every fiber in me.

“I can’t wait to rip it off into small pieces, then maybe,
just maybe, you’ll stop dressing like this and giving every man in this fucking
building an open view and a hard on.”

He was furious, but I was a big, ball of wanton, aching
for him. I should’ve known he wouldn’t like the dress; it hardly covered
anything.

“Stop it Landon, this isn’t fair.”

He was making me nervous on purpose, I was sure of it.

After we’d discussed the spanking punishment, during which
I stated firmly that, there was no way in hell I was letting him do it again, Landon
had established some new forms of torture. Consequently, I had no doubt that he
was going to get back at me, and make me beg for a long time, before he’d get
me over that excruciatingly delicious precipice I grew addicted to.

“Fair?”

He whispered with a light smirk.

“How about wearing this fucking dress, and letting your
colleague touch you the way he did? Is that fair Clea?”

“Okay Davis, you made your point.”

I snarled and brushed his hand.

“Don’t you ever…”

“What the fuck?”

Evelyn and Alec murmured in unison, and got our attention.

Landon, Jenna, and I followed their gaze to the wedding
dress.

It was a genuine piece of art, beautiful. The way the
sequenced white gold fabric flowed, was electrifying. Pearl beaded around every
detail; it fell into a spiral of lace and satin. They glinted discreetly, as if
they were just there. Long, mahogany strands of silken hair, fell over the
model's naked shoulders, and danced swiftly.

The dress molded her upper body, and shaped it perfectly.
Lights beamed directly at her, exposing her features.

Jude was right; she was stunning.

“What’s wrong Davis? You look like you swallowed your
tongue.”

Jenna snapped me back from my reverie.

I looked at him. Jenna was right, the blood drained from
his face, and he was motionless.

I frowned.

“What’s wrong baby?”

His face sobered, erasing any worrying expression.

“Nothing baby, I’m sorry.”

I frowned again, in the short time I’ve come to know
Landon Davis, I never heard him apologize, not even when he was at fault.

I knew it was a lie.

“Rule number two, Landon.”