Obsessed(21)

"I promise it will be fine." He reaches to touch my shoulder.

I instinctively pull back.

"We're all set." Madeline pops up by the open office door. "Lunch awaits."



***



Two hours and a few bites of braised cod later, I'm ready to make my timely exit.

Madeline, on the other hand, has settled nicely into our lunch and into a lengthy conversation about how her divorce and how amazing it's been to reconnect with Jax.

"Can I get you anything else?" The waiter's voice is a welcome reprieve from Madeline's incessant ramblings about herself.

"I'll have another vodka soda." Madeline holds up her empty glass. "What about you Jax?"

"I'm fine." He turns to me. "Ivy?"

"No, thank you." I sigh, knowing that Madeline's desire to have a third drink means at least another thirty minutes of chit-chat with her and Jax.

"Ivy." Madeline turns her attention and gaze on me. "I've always wanted to ask you something."

I silently curse hoping she's not about to ask me a question about Mark. She never hid her obvious infatuation with him when we were together. It wasn't surprising given the fact that he is one of Manhattan's preeminent real estate investors and he's much closer to her age than mine, which she eagerly reminded me of constantly. Madeline had a reputation for chasing after men with money and Mark unequivocally fit into that category.

She leans in, her warm breath tickling the hair on my arm. "What's Mark like in bed?"

"Excuse me?" I say, my face flushing instantly.

"We're all friends here." She presses on, "there's something about him. He's got that certain je ne sais quoi as they say. I've always wondered what it would be like to fuck him."

I swallow hard wanting my legs to pick me up and run me right out of the restaurant. I look at Jax who has a small grin on his face. He raises his brow expectantly when my eyes lock with his.

"He's so hot. I…." She falls silent as the waiter delivers her drink to the table. She snatches it up before downing half in one single gulp.

"I need to get going." My voice is shaky. Talking about Mark and what we used to do in bed isn't something I want to do with Madeline, especially in front of Jax.

"I always wanted to do him." Madeline ignores how uncomfortable I obviously am as she continues, her words now slurring from one into the next. "He's single now, right? Would you mind if I called him?"

I shake my head, unable to string any words together into a coherent sentence.

"I couldn't even get this one into bed." She points her index finger in Jax's direction.

I feel a way of nausea wash over me. "I'm not really comfortable..."

"Madeline," Jax interjects, his voice tinged with anger. "That's enough."

"I've waited three years to ask her this." She raises the heavy glass to her mouth, swallowing a good dose of the clear liquid. "So tell me, Ivy, what's he like?"

I take a moment and look first at her and then at Jax. I know that if I give her what she wants I'll be able to walk out of the restaurant sooner rather than later.

"As good as you imagine him to be, multiply that by a thousand." I giggle internally knowing that it's exactly what she wants to hear and also hoping that it will sting Jax to hear the words.

Madeline leans in closer, the glass still firmly fixed in her hand.

"Giving your body to a man like that is liberating." I sigh heavily to get my point across. "He takes intimacy to a completely new level."

Madeline stares at me wide-eyed as she quickly finishes her drink. "Christ. I knew it. Do you miss it?"

"Miss it?"

"You know…" Her voice shifts to a whispered tone. "Do you miss the sex?"

"What woman wouldn't miss it?" I smile at Jax now. It's clear from his expression that he's lost in our conversation.

"Do you still want him?" Madeline's voice is filled with confusion.

"Let me explain it this way." I take a deep breath before continuing, "When a man takes control in that way, he's completely focused on you. He owns your pleasure. He wants you to feel amazing bliss that lasts and lasts. Long after it's over your body still longs for it."

"Oh. My. God." I need another drink," she says before bringing her glass to her lips and emptying it in one last gulp.

"I do need to go." I move to pick up my purse, pushing my chair back.

"But, Ivy, do you think I have a chance with him? Do you think he'd want me?" She barely whispers the last two words.

"Yes," I say even though I want to blurt out that I'm shocked he wasn't fucking her when we were engaged and as long as she's got a pulse and he's willing he'll be all over her. I start to stand and Madeline grabs my arm to pull me back into my seat.