Abandoned but Not Alone (7 page)

Exiting the
room, she allowed the feeling of humiliation that had heated her skin to
enshroud her in a cloak of anger. 
“
Well my
dear, if you thought this one was sexy then just watch me now!
”
Aviva muttered as she climbed the
curving staircase on the way back to her room to change.

~~~~~~~~~~

“
Hope, that was probably one of the most
ungracious incidents I have ever had the misfortune to witness, what the hell
is wrong with you?
”

“
For goodness sake Steve, it
’
s my party, and I am quite within my
rights to ask her to change if I didn
’
t like what
she was wearing.
”

“
No Hope, it
’
s
our
party, or did you forget about me? And Aviva is
your friend not a recalcitrant child that you order to change clothing because
you don
’
t like what she
’
s wearing!
”

“
What
’
s the big deal, she changing isn
’
t she. If she really objected she wouldn
’
t be upstairs right now.
”

Steve shook
his head in exasperation at Hope
’
s refusal
to acknowledge that her behavior had been hateful. If the expression on both
the men
’
s faces were any
indication, Hope knew she had gone too far and searched for a way to cut
through the steely tension surrounding them. Sauntering up to Steve, Hope
placed her palms against his chest and slowly moved them up to his neck in a
sensual sweep.
“
You know
how I get sometimes baby, I
’
m just
anxious about the party, forgive me
…
please?
”
The whine in her voice grated on Jason
’
s nerves as he turned away in distaste at
Hope
’
s blatant display of
manipulation.

Taking hold
of her hands Steve disengaged himself from her embrace.
“
Jason, we
’
re going to leave, our guests are expecting us and we don
’
t want to be late. Do you mind if we take
the car? I
’
ll ask
Drake to set up another for you and Aviva when she
’
s ready.
”

“
By all means, go right ahead and there
’
s no need to worry about speaking with
Drake, I
’
ll sort everything
out, you guys get going.
”

“
We can
’
t go yet; I need to see what she
’
s wearing!
”

“
Didn't you hear a single word I just
said? As long as she doesn
’
t turn up
bare assed naked, what she wears is not your concern, and we both know Aviva
has too much class to wear
anything
unsuitable.
”
Steve put just enough emphasis on the word
‘
anything
’
to ensure Hope understood that he thought the dress Aviva had
been wearing was perfectly acceptable attire.  Gripping Hope by the arm he
marched her to the door pausing only long enough so she could grab her purse.

Jason blew
out a sigh of relief at their departure and called Drake to make the necessary
arrangements regarding the additional car, before taking a seat on the leather
couch to await Aviva
’
s return.
Allowing his imagination free rein, images of her wearing the shoes she had
accused him of liking popped into his mind. She was right, he did like the
shoes and that
’
s where his
thoughts stopped. Aviva wearing only those sinfully high shoes and nothing
else, draped across his bed
…

Dragged
from his musing, Jason rose to his feet as Aviva returned dressed in a royal
blue mini dress with a blousy top with long bell sleeves and a plunging deep
v-neckline. The glimmering sequined fabric seeming to flow like mercury with
every undulation of her body. Her small waist was encircled by a glistening
silver band and the lower half of the dress flared away from her hips and
stopped mid-way down her thigh. Aviva also wore strappy four inch heeled
sandals with an ankle strap. Her hair was swept back to lay smoothly against
her head on both sides, while the top was arranged in a bouffant at the front
which led into a chignon that rested as the back of her neck, giving an air of
sexy sophistication to her whole ensemble.

Jason
couldn
’
t take his eyes off
her, his glance first stopped at her d
é
colletage, lingering on her smooth brown skin exposed by the
deep V of the neckline before continuing on to the expanse of her toned legs left
bare below the hem of her dress. As his gaze rose leisurely to her face Jason
saw that Aviva was biting down on her lower lip, devilment alive in her brown
eyes.
“
She gonna hate it
right?
”

“
That goes without saying.
”
Extending his hand towards the door,
Jason gave Aviva a slight bow, his own eyes sparkling with amusement.
“
Shall we?
”

Awaiting
them in the drive was a chauffeur-driven limousine. They both climbed in and
settled themselves for the twenty minute drive to their destination. The reception
was being held in a newly constructed mansion Jason and Steve
’
company had completed a few months
prior.

Aviva tried
to concentrate on the horizon bathed in shades of orange, russet and deep blues
as twilight descended all around them. However, Jason was making it very
difficult with his continued silence. Racking her brain in an attempt to think
of a starting point to a light conversation in which to engage him, all she
could come up with was the weather. If she broached such an inane topic he would
probably laugh in her face. Growing more uncomfortable by the minute, Aviva
felt Jason
’
s gaze
boring into the back of her head. She could also feel his continual perusal of
her body; his gaze was making her tingle all over.
‘
Think of something to say, other than the weather, think of
something to say, other than the weather
’
, was the mantra churning around in her mind.

Jason
’
s deep baritone voice startled Aviva out
of her thoughts as she turned to him with a blank look on her face. She had
been thinking so hard for something to say she had no idea what he had just
said.

“
I
’
m sorry, what did you say?
”

“
I asked what perfume you were wearing.
”

“
Oh
…
Aviva.
”
Seeing his
look of confusion she quickly offered a more lengthy explanation hoping to keep
the conversation going. Anything was better than the tension charged silence
that had preceded his question.

“
Do you like it? A friend of mine
developed it for me a few years ago. It was the first fragrance he developed
when he opened his New York store.
”

“
The first
…
really and why was your fragrance the first one he developed,
Aviva?
”

“
Oh because he was my first
…”
 
Oh no, note to self, remember to
engage brain before mouth.

“
Your first what, Aviva?
”
, Jason drawled one eyebrow raised. On
the one hand he was amused once the realization of what she had revealed
registered on her expressive face, and on the other, he was encompassed by
feelings of growing jealousy towards this faceless man who had been her first
lover.

Turning
swiftly back to the window Aviva whispered softly, embarrassed at what she had
so unwittingly revealed.
“
It doesn
’
t matter
…
forget I even said the word
first
.
”

“
Do you still see him?
”
  The seriousness of his question
transferred through the tone of his voice.

“
Yes I do, he
’
s a good friend, the kind that will stand by me no matter what;
the kind that are very hard to find, so when they come along I cherish them.
”

“
I agree, good friends are indeed hard to
come by
…
and yes I do like your
perfume. He captured your essence exactly. I
’
ll remember to offer him my compliments when we meet.
”

“
When you meet, what makes you think you
’
ll ever meet him?
”

“
Because I have every intention of being
the one you cherish above all others, and I always get my way through fair
means or foul
”
Jason
said, his voice dropping to a deep rumble that Aviva was beginning to recognize
as sexy Jason.

Aviva's
heartbeat picked up to double time at Jason
’
s words; her eyes descending to his mouth, subconsciously
running her tongue over her bottom lip, slowly leaning towards him as though
being pulled by anothers will. Realizing what she was doing, Aviva dropped her
eyes to his bow-tie with the pretense of straightening it. Jason removed her
trembling hands and placed them against his chest, covering them with his warm
palms and waited patiently until she lifted her eyes to meet his. What she saw
reflected there made her catch her breath; it was desire, she could feel it
even through his fingertips, the tingling of awareness transferring to the
nerve endings throughout her body.

“
What do you want, Angel?
”
Jason whispered, raising one of her
hands to his lips to place a gentle kiss in the middle of her opened palm. 
“
Is this what you want
…”
he continued, slowly pulling her
unresisting body against his. Lowering his head Jason applied little nips to
her throat before he ran his rough tongue along her jawline. Aviva didn
’
t want to wait another moment to feel
Jason
’
s mouth against her
own; he had taken up more of her thoughts than she should have allowed since
the first time she had seen him. Grabbing hold of his head she crushed her lips
against his taking what she wanted. Jason groaned deep in his throat, the sound
reverberating through his chest moved straight to her core. Jason wanted more
so he took more; deepening the kiss, tightening his embrace, pulling her
against his body so he could feel the impression of her full breasts against
the muscles of his chest, at the same time thrusting his tongue into her mouth
in an imitation of what he wanted to do to her body.

Pulling his
lips away, he ran his tongue over the shell of her ear as his hands roamed over
her back pulling her as close as he could. From the moment he first touched her
he felt something shift within him. She felt right, the touch of her hands as
they ran over his chest to clasp the nape of his neck, the feel of her smooth
lips as he rubbed them with his own, he couldn't get enough of her scent. Since
he had met her earlier in the day, her aroma that was so uniquely hers had
stayed with him, drawing him in, surrounding him, driving him crazy.

His hands
drifted below her dress and contoured his fingers against the smooth skin of
her bottom to pull her flush against his growing erection.
“
You feel that Angel, this is what it
feels like when two people fit.
”
Rotating
his groin again and again against Aviva
’
s core Jason simulated the motion of penetration, thrusting
harder and harder each time, pushed her towards release.

Aviva
gasped in shock at the realization that she was almost there, almost at the
point of perfect release when abruptly she was picked up and deposited against
the leather seat of the car. Startled by his sudden withdrawal Aviva stared
straight ahead, mortified at what had just taken place
.
‘
My goodness
’
she thought
to herself
,
‘
I
’
ve just been grinding
on a man I only met today, in the back of a car, and on the way to my best
friend
’
s wedding
reception. Who is this person, where did the real Aviva go?