Temporary (Indelibly Marked #2) (11 page)

To indicate he meant to exit he pointed behind him.

“We are looking for the Westwood party.” Tamsin slid her
hand into her pocket and handed the guy a dollar.

“Westwood?” The man turned his nose up at the offering.
“Perhaps you are in the wrong part of Los Angeles?”

“Westland.” Stuck and in order to not be a total tool, he
got out his wallet and handed the man a twenty.

The man stared at him.

He froze.

“You have to decide if you are in it or not.” She tapped her
foot.

Maybe they would have been better off going to another part
of L.A. “I really need to talk to her.” He peeled off another twenty.

“Follow me.” The man turned and walked away.

With each step, another question piled up in his mind. What
was he doing there? Would she come with him if he asked? What if he made a mistake?
By the time they entered the main dining room, a clammy, uncomfortable sweat
had broken out all over his body and his stomach hurt.

Then he saw her.

No other woman in the restaurant compared. He blinked to
bring her into focus. In a room full of two-dimensional, carbon-copied women
placed at different tables to make the place appear busy, Emily stood out.
Different, edgy, confidence mixed with coyness. James might be fascinated by
her, but there was no way he could appreciate her.

He lagged behind, waiting for a sign, trying to formulate a
plan other than going there for some unknown, unreasonable reason.

Though he wasn’t in her line of sight, she lifted her head
and turned, as if sensing him and put her hand to her mouth.

At last he had his answer and disregarding etiquette or
anything else, he charged ahead of the guy in the tux and made his way to the
table.

James stood. “Ivan?”

Tamsin and the man came up behind.

“Sir, the rest of your party is here.” Their guide pulled
out a chair for Tamsin.

With wide eyes and the color leaving her face, Emily stared
at him. “Ivan, is everything okay?”

He knelt down next to her chair. “Everyone is fine I swear.”

She exhaled. “What are you doing here?”

Using her move, he cupped his hand over his mouth.

She leaned over and gave him access to her ear.

He closed his eyes willing himself to concentrate on his
task at hand. “You don’t like French food.”

“I found something to eat.” Her tone came out harsh, her
words curt, but he heard something behind her voice.

“I really don’t want you going to dinner with anyone else.”
He let it out.

“What do you mean?”

“If I were the one getting tattooed by mistake today, what
would you have done?”

“How can you ask me that?” She grabbed his arm.

“Can we get out of here?”

She trembled but didn’t answer.

“If I’m the one who gives you that feeling in the pit of
your stomach, I’m asking you to stand up and leave with me.” His trembling
joined hers.

“Is anything going to change?” She tightened her hold.

Why did it always come down to change? Why couldn’t things
just stay how they were? “Can you come with me, please?”

As any time she was faced with a tough question, Emily
paused, not breathing or moving.

Though the wait seemed to last forever, at least he knew she
was thinking about her answer.

“Damn it, Ivan.” She gasped.

He held his ground.

“Let’s go.” Her voice broke.

No matter what, he wouldn’t allow her to cry and wreck her
makeup. He opened his eyes and stood, taking her with him and turning to the
table. “Hey, Emily and I need to get something done, I’m sorry about barging
in.”

Tamsin broke out in a rare smile. James only nodded.

“Come on.” Ivan took her hand and guided her out of the
restaurant, taking a moment to admire her in a sexy but classy short black
dress. It was up to him to make her leaving worth it.

The cold night air hit them, and she stopped, let go of his
hand and leaned over.

“Are you okay?” He rubbed her back.

“I would have said something.” She shook her head.

“What?” Once more he found himself kneeling down by her.

“I would have never let anyone tattoo you without you
wanting it.”

“I know.”

She looked at him, her eyes flitting to different parts of
his face. “What are we doing?”

“Well right now I’m going to take you to eat since I messed
up your dinner.”

“Okay.”

At last, he knew what he had to do. Actually he knew it all
along and he took her hand. “Emily.”

“Yes.” Her voice came out barely above a whisper.

“I would like to ask you out for tomorrow night.”

“You would?” She searched his face for the truth.

“Yes. Just you and me.” He lifted his eyebrows and tried to
lighten the mood with a grin.

“Well, I’m glad it’s tomorrow, because I have plans the next
day.”

“Then I guess it’s good that I asked in advance.” He needed
to make the most of the pardon she’d issued him. Maybe he could convince her
how things should be, but he also needed to figure out what those plans without
him were.

Chapter
Ten

“Look.” Ivan parked the car in the Miracle Mile District of
Los Angeles and pointed out the windshield of his SUV.

With a half open mouth Emily stared at the buildings. “Wow.”
The wow wasn’t for the old retro-cool department stores the city turned into
museums. Instead her exclamation was for Ivan.

Rather than taking her out straight from the shop, he
insisted they both go home and get ready. He arrived a few minutes early, came
to the door to get her and gave her a kiss on the cheek The spicy clean scent
of his freshly shaved skin and just washed hair surrounded her. She was scared
to mention he dressed up, in black dress pants and a grey button down shirt
with his hair pulled back.

No, he didn’t pick her up on his bike, but took his SUV, and
she swore he’d even washed the vehicle. Still, she tried to remain calm and not
make any sudden moves, and she most definitely didn’t want to assume their
outing was something it might or might not be. Namely, a date. An official
date.

“We’re going to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.” He
rubbed his hands together and pulled some tickets out of his shirt pocket.

“You got tickets to the museum?” She swallowed. “Ahead of
time?”

“I didn’t want them to get sold out.” He held the tickets
out to her. “It’s a show about the history of makeup. It’s all part of that
fashion week you like.”

Once more she stared at him with her mouth open. The James
date fiasco and the Ivan plans made her momentarily forget her big fashion show
was tomorrow.

“Oh, yeah.” He held up a finger and reached down under his
seat. “I got you something.”

With her throat drying out from breathing through her mouth,
she gasped when he thrust a clear plastic box in her direction. “You…” Her
voice hitched and she cleared her throat. “You got me a corsage?”

“Yeah, I got it with the wrist thing ‘cause the guy told me
girls don’t like to pin things on their clothes.” He opened the box and
demonstrated the little elastic loop and slipped the corsage of violets and
baby’s breath over her hand. “That looks almost as good as you.”

Her heart swelled to the point where she was rendered
breathless. Though she still needed to make sure they were on a real date, she
had dressed for the occasion she wanted it to be, in a low cut maroon dress and
heels. “Thank you?”

“Stay there.” He got out of the SUV and ran around to open
the door for her.

They hadn’t really talked since he retrieved her from her
date with James. She could only wonder what brought on his abrupt change.
Change? Was it possible? “Ivan?”

“Come on.” He helped her out of the car and took hold of her
hand.

She stayed close by his side as he guided her into the
museum, but she may as well have been gliding. Focused on Ivan and all he had
done for her, she barely noticed they entered the exhibit until they stood in
front of a depiction of Cleopatra and a glass case full of different pigments of
the time such, as kohl and henna.

“Your bangs are better than hers.” Ivan pursed his lips out
and leaned over the case.

Another compliment? Hand holding? Museum? Makeup? She glared
down at the back of his head. “Ivan?” Before they moved on, they needed to get
a few things straight.

“Well, well.” He dragged her over to a display of geisha
girls.

She ground her teeth together in preparation for him to go
on and on about geishas, when he pointed and laughed.

“They used bird droppings for makeup.” He wrinkled his nose
and put his arm around her. “Glad you don’t do that. You always smell awesome.”

“Ivan!” The last compliment and the arm around her shoulders
had pushed her to the limit.

“Are you enjoying our evening out?” He grinned down at her.

She chewed her lip considering her options. Rather than
mulling over and over in her mind if he said ‘evening out’ to avoid the word
date, she decided to dive right in and grabbed his collar. “I have to ask you
something.”

“Go for it.” He kept the smile on his face.

She pulled him down until they were nose to nose. “Are we on
a date or not?”

“Yes, didn’t I just say that?” He gave the tip of her nose a
little peck.

“Oh. I suppose you did.” She loosened her grip and patted
his collar back in place. At last she was given the title she always wanted.
The woman dating Ivan. Every one of his dates with other women killed her, but
she was
the girl
at long last.

“Let’s go see the queen.” He took her over to the Victorian
display.

She stared at the women with their staunch white faces
having no doubt her complexion matched theirs at Ivan’s admission. They were on
a date, and she wasn’t supposed to eat dinner with anyone else, but if their
relationship was to work in any capacity they needed, or she needed, a few more
ground rules.

“Ivan.”

“Go ahead and ask.” He laughed and stepped over to the panel
with the exhibit explanation.

“How do you know I have another question?”

“You’ve said my name three times before the date question so
I thought I had it. But the one after let me know there was still a question
lingering.” He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. “You may ask me
anything as long as we’re not talking about the lawsuit.”

She pursed her lips. They still hadn’t heard about the
mediation, but for the first time in a long time, their legal issue wasn’t on
her mind. “You know how you asked me not to have dinner with anyone else?”

He turned to her. “Yes, that was already decided.”

She swallowed, shifted her gaze to all the different people
tiptoeing through the displays and back to him. He seemed to forget that she
walked out in the middle of date
for
him. Hell, she could have ten men
on their knees in front of her holding out engagement rings, and she would
still leave with Ivan. “If I’m not eating with anyone else, I don’t want you
having sex with anyone else.”

The museum seemed to become absolutely silent.

He pressed his lips together and puffed out his cheeks.
“That won’t be a problem.” His voice shook with restraint.

“Why not?” She ground her teeth together.

His eyes widened and he shook. At last, he exploded into
laughter.

“Ivan!” She pushed him away and several people turned to
them. Yes, she would make concessions to be with Ivan, but she wouldn’t concede
monogamy.

He put his hands on her hips. “Emily.” Another small laugh
escaped his throat.

She prepared to introduce Ivan to the patented Elliott left
hook. “Speak now.”

“Emily.” He cleared his throat. “I haven’t been with anyone
else since you…since before that even.”

“What?” A vital detail eluded her.

He leaned in and moved her hair away from her ear. “Why
would I sleep with anyone else? You know how much you turn me on.”

“Really?” Her body heated at the way he spoke.

He turned to her. “Really.”

Her lungs filled with air. The boulder she’d carried in her
chest for a year, the one that seemed to only pick up weight with the lawsuit
and the baby, lightened a little. She wrapped her arms around his neck, leaning
back to take him all in.

He lowered his face to hers.

She licked her lips in preparation for his kiss.

“Did you know the makeup of the Victorian Era had lead and
arsenic in it?” He graced her with a toothy grin. “You don’t need to do
anything like that to be beautiful.”

“Are you trying to have some sort of line for every stop in
the show?” She held back her laughter.

“It’s my attempt to woo you.” He raised his eyebrows.
“Em-Lee.”

“Woo?” Whatever it was, she liked it. She wanted to absorb
every last detail of the date Ivan planned with only her in mind.

“Yes. I think wooing is definitely part of tonight.” He held
her close and took her past a few more exhibits through the ages, stopping in
front of the one on permanent makeup.

“Where tattooing and makeup come together.” he whispered her
in ear. “Sort of like us.”

She tilted her head, shutting her eyes at the way his lips
tickled her ear. “Do you think so?” She knew his issues—her age, her brother,
Ivan’s own head trips, everything. Maybe, for the first time, he would fight
for them.

Rather than answer, he kissed her.

Every kiss thrilled her, woke each of her senses and made
her want to forget the world. A welcome and wonderful escape for two people who
needed each other, made even more special by the fact his lips had touched only
hers since the night they first kissed.

In her heart she wished he would have answered her last
question, but Ivan was nothing if not genuine. He wasn’t ready to answer
because he didn’t know. However she knew, no matter what, that no one would
ever compare. No one else understood that when she spoke their name, she had a
question. No one else understood why she loved pink but her favorite flower was
a violet. She had no choice but to follow where he led, and prayed the change
she sensed in Ivan meant that they wanted the same thing.

He broke the kiss and rested his forehead on hers. “I have
dinner reservations for later, but would you like to take a walk down the mile
of miracles?”

Reservations? She didn’t know if this was an incredible
momentary change in Ivan, or if it was all permanent. For the moment she needed
to wait it out. Once more she let him take her. “I would love to take that
walk. The place really lives up to its name.”

~~*~~

Once more Emily found herself driving home from a date.
Rather than the anxiety of figuring out how to get out of a goodnight kiss or
how to keep the guy from following her to the door, her body sizzled with
anticipation. Too much time had passed since she and Ivan were together,
especially in a bed. After an evening of expectation, she squirmed in her seat
wishing he would speed up and get to the destination.

Something tangible had changed between them. The entire ride
home, he held her hand as they listened to soft rock in a comfortable silence.
At the second light before her apartment, Ivan let go of her hand to brush her
hair away from her face, his fingertips skimming her cheek.

The light turned green and he paused to glance over at her
before accelerating.

Her back pressed into the seat. Though her place was less
than a mile away, the ride took forever, and she exhaled at catching the last
red light before their final turn.

He hooked his arm behind her neck, quickly pulled her in for
light kiss on the cheek, and leaned back to look at her again.

Again, the green hue illuminated the interior of the SUV.
Ivan resumed driving and she bit her lip. Apparently Mr. Harlow needed to get
his foreplay in now.

At last, they made the final turn. Wanting to make a run for
her front door, she grabbed the handle. Ivan parked, shut off the car and held
up a finger. “Don’t move.” Like earlier, he got out and dashed around to her
side and opened the door for her. Yes, for the man who never changed, something
about him was definitely different.

“Let’s go.” Normally he would be a caveman dragging her to
the bed, and it wouldn’t be beyond him to throw her over his shoulder.

Without a word, he took her hand, but rather than helping
her out of the car, he lifted her hand to his lips.

If she ever doubted the gauge in the pit of her stomach, for
the rest of her life she would forever trust its accuracy. “Ivan.” The
intensity of the sensation amplified to the point where she needed to shift in
her seat.

As if he were in an old style movie, he turned her hand
over, brushing his lips over her wrist, up her forearm to her elbow where he
gave the spot an open-mouth kiss.

“Oh God.” Only Ivan could create such tingles and shivers.

He put one hand to her waist, pulled her closer and made his
way to her neck.

She tilted her head back, giving him more access.

He took his time, no rush to get her inside. Slow kisses and
nibbles served to stir her growing desire made even more intense by the way he
remained silent, deliberate, and focused.

She squirmed with every bit of attention he gifted her.
“Kiss me.”

Rather than giving in to her demands, he pulled her closer
and paid long overdue attention to her ear, tracing the rim with his tongue and
taking her lobe between his lips.

Her breath caught and she put her hand on the back of his
head, not wanting him to stop, yearning for more. “Ivan.” She twisted her
fingers in his hair. “Please.”

He answered with butterfly kisses down her jaw line, but at
reaching her chin, he pulled back and stared into her eyes.

Caught in his spell, her breath hitched.

His gaze traveled over her. He’d barely touched her, yet she
was ready for him as if they spent an hour making out.

The wait threatened to kill her, and just when she knew she
would have to take matters into her own hands, he moved in and gave her an
almost imperceptible kiss. Light, dreamlike, he toyed with her lips, teasing
her with a series of pecks.

Not able to stand the taunting, she pressed her hand to his
chest and pushed him back.

Still not speaking, he tilted his head.

 “Let’s go inside.” She unbuttoned the top button of his
shirt, revealing a bit of his chest, the blank left side and the right with his
history etched on his flesh. With one hand she undid a second button and snaked
her hand under his shirt, taking in his smooth skin, her fingertip finding his
already hard nipple.

He glided his hand up to the side of her breast.

She continued unfastening the buttons until his shirt fell
open. “What are you waiting for, Ivan?” She scratched one nail down his chest,
flat stomach, and over his belly button to his belt buckle.