Jaded Hearts (22 page)

"I'm so sorry Jade. I'll never get over
letting you go." He quickly tucked me in the cab and turned towards
his rental.

Some Things Never Change

*

I walked into Echo with slight apprehension
that night. Even though Jackie swore Edward would not be there and
Julian had been sight unseen for months, I was still wary going
there. I spotted my crew waiting at a VIP table as usual. They both
eyed me suspiciously trying to determine my mood. I was going to
need Prozac if things kept up at this rate. I flashed a smile as I
did a two-step the rest of the way to the table.

I actually felt better after meeting with
Evan. I was going to have to make a habit of this closure business.
 I was also missing my rosè habit that Jackie had waiting for
me at our table, and poured myself a glass after I hugged them
both. As usual, Jackie was too impatient to wait for me to
volunteer what happened.

"OK! Feel free to let us know what happened
at any point. It's not like we have been waiting on it or
anything." She sipped her drink after her outburst.

Drew just shook his head and led one of his
female admirers to the dance floor. I moved closer to Jackie.

"Must you always be so...tactless? Yes, that
was it. Tacky Jackie..." I frowned at her but she just laughed at
the childhood nickname she used to hate.

"Oh c'mon Jade! You practically drank
yourself silly when you found out he was with Colleen. Am I not
supposed to be eager to know how you managed to keep your cute lil
booty out of jail tonight?" She smacked my butt to emphasize her
point.

"OK. Let's see. We talked; he apologized;
then he explained; I forgave him; we ate; he went home, and I came
here. The end." I wasn't in the mood for a long recap.

Jackie contemplated a response but in a rare
instance used her better judgment and nodded her head in acceptance
of my summary. Even though she was pushy I felt bad for being
mean.

"I'll fill you in over lunch dear; I just
want to have a good time tonight." I tried to smooth her over, and
it worked. She flashed me her signature smile and grabbed my hands
to lead me into the throng of dancers.

"Then let's do that!" She cheered.

And fun we definitely had. We danced until
my feet hurt. Then as I was about to have a seat the DJ switched
from his top 40 mix on to Salsa and Merengue. I looked over at
Jackie who was in need of rescue from her more than eager dance
partner. I cut in and twirled her away to the Latin rhythm. I took
the lead and spun Jackie effortlessly around the dance floor, and I
was aware of a growing audience with a few claps and cheers
including Drew's encouraging chant. We laughed, and continued
on.

Something made the hairs on my neck prickle
and my goose bumps sprouted. I had been feeling semi tense since
meeting with Evan. I brushed it off and continued to spin my cousin
around to a Celia Cruz classic La Vida Es Un Carnival. Then I had
one of those moments when your eyes and your mind are not on the
same page and you have to second-guess if you really saw what you
thought you saw. When I saw him my heart stopped. I stopped
breathing and I stopped dancing. He was dressed in a tight designer
V-neck T-shirt and another sexy pair of jeans.

No!

Julian looked so relaxed as he watched us
with great amusement, until he locked eyes with me, and then I saw
that familiar look of a hunter gleam in his eyes. I tried to
pretend that I hadn't seen him and continue to enjoy myself, but I
was too aware of him. Watching me. I ignored him. I didn't want to
face him and the feelings I had tucked away over the last few
months. But my body trembled so badly that even Jackie looked at me
to see if I was OK. When she followed the gaze of my eyes she
understood.

"Do you want to go and talk to him?" She
asked with concern.

"No, screw him. He's always fuckin messing
up my good time. I'll talk to him when I'm ready, or never." She
nodded in agreement with a slight smirk.

Then we continued to dance. Drew was in my
line of sight doing the bachata with a lively partner who sported a
top with a flag of Brazil in the middle. Just his type. He smiled
at me with that devilish grin he always got when he saw a woman he
wanted.  

I was ignoring Julian so well I didn't
realize that he had walked up on us. He moved in behind Jackie and
joined me in leading her around. She gave me a confused look and
turned to see who was behind her. When she saw Julian she laughed
and then twirled me into the middle and handed me over to him.

Traitor!!

I shot her the evil eye, and she blew me a
kiss as she walked away and then saw the look of confusion turn to
understanding and then concern on Drew's face.

I knew trying to get away from him was
useless so I let Julian lead me around the dance floor. He was an
excellent dancer. The way he moved so freely and in tune with the
rhythm made me a better dancer, and he was gorgeous, especially
when he was smiling like he was now with his hair grown out and
curling at the ends. And, I had missed him. The ache in my heart
that I felt for John flared but was rivaled by the hole in my heart
that I'd been trying to ignore for months. Despite my anger, my
feigned indifference, and despite my love for John I still missed
him. My emotions were so all over the place that I couldn't even
manage a fake smile.

*

We danced in silence, but the gaze in his
eyes displayed the same look of wanting, and my skin still tingled
wherever he touched me. I was in trouble, again.  As we moved
to the music, he slowly closed the gap in-between us, frequently
pulling me in to brush against my body. Somehow I managed to keep
up with him. Thank God for my grandmother's wide taste in music.
Julian also seemed equally impressed with my moves and gave me an
appreciative nod every so often. I felt my resistance begin to
falter. I wanted him so bad.

"Jade, if it means anything to you, I missed
you like you wouldn't imagine. I promise I will explain it all to
you." I didn't answer right away because I really didn't know what
it meant to me.  Then I came to my senses. I thought about
John, and my anger flared.

"I hate you!" I said it in a very calm but
forceful tone. He didn't react.

"Did you hear what I said? I
hate
you!  What do you think this is, hide and
seek? Hey, look everyone!  Found Julian!" After the week I had
my anger wasn't going to be checked.

His features eased into a glower and a brief
flash of fear shot through me.

"Hate? You have no idea how to feel that
word. You have no idea about many things," he sneered.

"You're right! I have no idea about a lot of
things but I do know a few things very well. You are a stranger to
me and I have played nice with you long enough. Please let me go so
I can enjoy my evening." I tried to enforce my request without
causing too much of a scene. I noticed that Drew was standing watch
close by and didn't want to set him off.

"Is he what you consider enjoying your
evening? I have to hand it to you, never a shortage of admirers for
you." His words were insulting.

"Well, I do enjoy his company, considering
he is my brother, you
ass
! Now get your
fucking hands off of me before I scream!" I was already rather loud
but not enough to cause a stir over the music in the club.

Julian just tightened his grip around my
waist even though he took the time to send a friendly nod in Drew's
direction. Drew returned the nod and went back to dancing, but
stayed close. I tried to struggle away but he just turned it into
part of our dancing. No one noticed I was fighting for my life.

"Jade, I've come too far for you to think
that a few curse words and fake struggling is going to deter me."
Spoken like a true crazy person.

I feel like a crazy person!

I was angry, scared, frustrated, and all the
while fighting my natural reaction to him. I was scared because I
knew the longer I stayed near him, pressed against him and smelling
his scent, I would not be able to stick to my guns.

"Listen, I don't know where you came from,
how far it was or even how long it took you to get here, but you
wasted your time. I have nothing to say to you Julian. It's that
simple."

My eyes shot golden daggers at him as I
decided to stop struggling and stopped moving altogether. This
forced him to stop dancing unless he was going to drag me around
the dance floor. We stood there staring at each other with raw
emotion blazing between us. I shook my head.

"This is unreal! This shit isn't really
happening right now. No way. I can't belie-" Before I could finish
my rant of disbelief he grabbed me and pulled me roughly against
him for a kiss. I continued to shake my head not wanting to accept
what was happening. His lips pillaged my lips and my face in a
display of profound passion.

My anger swelled initially, and I pursed my
lips tight against his onslaught, refusing his advance. But, I
could smell him and he smelled so good, and I could feel the heat
from his body searing into me. And when he began to beg me to kiss
him, I couldn't remember how to stay mad.

"Oh God, Jade I hated being away from you.
Baby, kiss me. I've been dreaming of nothing else since I last saw
you." His words were desperate and my common sense was thinking of
better things to fight against. My body quivered against his. I
couldn't resist the urgent pressure of his succulent lips against
mine.

"Julian, please! Please don't do this to
me." The act of talking against his lips gave him the chance to
keep them separated and he slowly sucked and pulled at my bottom
lip.

"Kiss me baby. Please,” he urged.

This felt so wrong. Last week I was with
John and I was happy. Now I was trying to fight the very reason
John had left me. But, he
had
left me and
now Julian was here, and I was lost. I pressed my lips against his
and then slid my tongue across his lips slowly sucking on his lip
after I licked it. I could feel the desire raging in him like a
volcano as a moan from deep inside of him exploded against my lips.
He opened his mouth and when our tongues finally met it was like
lightning. We kissed as if this was the last kiss. I held onto his
shoulders for support and his free hand moved to my neck pushing me
upwards into the kiss while winding his fingers through my hair. I
breathed hard and ragged into his mouth. My need growing and raging
inside and mixing with my anger until my mind couldn't
understand.

This was the mindless abandon that I had
always heard of, not caring who, what, when, where or how. I began
to murmur soft protests against his lips.

"Stop! Ah! No! No! No! Oh..." Even my
protests went on strike. He just whispered his response against my
lips.

"Please don't fight me baby." The winding of
his waist increased as he guided mine against him.

He was so fucking hot. Yes, dammit!! I
wanted him. I returned his intensity to our kiss and he pulled me
against him, up off of my feet and walked me off of the dance
floor. He grinned mischievously as he carried me past our VIP
table, past the bar and past the restrooms into a back office. He
kicked the door closed behind him and sat me on his large cherry
wood desk. It was hard to assess from the dim lighting what else
was in this office. He stood in front of me almost unsure of his
next move.

"You see what I mean? In a crowd full of
people..." He ran his hands through his hair. "What am I going to
do with you?"

He ran one hand across my cheek, down my
neck, and over my breasts. My thin dress was no protection from his
touch. With his other hand he moved my hair so my neck was more
exposed, and kissed his way up to my lips. I sat there frozen in
anticipation of what was going to happen. I didn't want to have sex
in some random office in the back of a club, not after he had left
me for so long, but I felt like I had no power to stop wanting
him.

He let go of my hair and slid his hand down
further pulling my dress off my shoulders and the top of my dress
fell forward to expose my bare breasts. He pulled away from the
kiss to admire his handiwork. His hunger deepened as he grasped
both of my breasts and bent down to allow his mouth access. He
licked and sucked at one nipple at a time with slow
deliberation.

"Oh, God..." I leaned back placing my palms
into the desk for support. He made a sound as if he loved what he
tasted. I had to close my eyes, as the sight of him giving me so
much pleasure was too much. He let one hand fall to my ankle and
slowly slid it back up my leg. When he reached my thigh he slowly
began to massage my skin as he made his way to the center of my
desire. I could feel my tell tale sap sliding out of me before his
fingers even found me. When they did he cursed harshly against my
breast.

"Fuck! You're so wet. You're so wet! Mm. I
can't believe it's been so long,” He groaned while he slid his
fingers around the entrance toying with me. He pulled his finger
out and rubbed the slickness across my lips. I hungrily licked and
sucked at his fingers.

"Damn baby, save some for me." He licked his
finger with me and then licked what he could off of my lips. I was
over my limit and ready to pay up. He grabbed my hips pulling me
closer to him so that he could bury his face into my sweet spot. I
moaned and squirmed against him, feeling my release growing. I was
faintly aware of a constant buzzing sound.

Who cares?

Julian didn't and he continued to feast
away.

Then there was a loud bang on the office
door after that. Julian slowly pulled his head away and scowled at
the door.

"What!!" He bellowed at the door.