Beneath This Man (This Man Trilogy)(67)

I grab it and start mopping up the wine dripping down my chin, still laughing.

Drew looks at me and Kate in turn, a smirk breaking the corners of his serious face. ‘You kind of need to see what you’re doing for what I had in mind.’

‘Stop!’ I howl, trying desperately to rein in my chuckles. I glance across at Sarah, and I’m met with a filthy glare. I ignore her and resist the killing temptation to smash her face into her salmon.

I sit bolt upright – as does Sarah – when I spot Jesse and the mystery woman emerging from the corridor that leads down to his office. John must catch our sharp reaction because he jumps up from the table and makes his way over. They have an exchange of quiet words before John takes over responsibility of the woman and leads her out of the summer room.

Jesse looks across the room until he finds my eyes, and then starts making his way over. He’s stopped a dozen times by various men and women as he passes tables, but he doesn’t hang about for conversation. He just shakes hands with the men and leans down to kiss the women, smiling politely before searching me out again. Why can’t he shake the women’s hands as well? He eventually makes it to me and sits himself down, grabbing my knee under the table. Sam cheers his arrival and pours some water into Jesse’s wine glass, Kate frowns at me and Sarah drops all conversation with Niles in favour of Jesse.

He turns into me and gives me very sorry eyes. ‘Forgive me?’

‘Who was that?’ I ask quietly.

‘No one for you to be concerned about,’ He nods at my half empty plate. ‘How is the food?’

No one for me to be concerned about? Well, that just makes me all the more concerned, but is this really the time to be pushing this? ‘It’s good, you should eat.’ I say shortly, looking for a waiter, but I’m a bit slow on the uptake. It seems Sarah has taken care of that already. His salmon lands in front of him and he tucks in, keeping his palm firmly on my knee, chopping and forking with one hand. I’m prepared to leave this for now, this is not the time or the place, but I want to know what that was about.

When John returns and does his signature nod at Jesse, I throw him a curious stare which he catches and tramples all over by leaning in and lavishing me with his lips. I only half-heartedly return his kiss, fully aware that he’s trying to distract me again.

He pulls back, giving me an enquiring eye. ‘Are you holding back on me?’ he asks sharply.

‘Yes, are you?’ I toss back at him, unimpressed by his attitude towards my concern.

‘Hey,’ he grates, quite loudly, considering the close proximity of our company. ‘Who do you think you’re talking to?’ he asks on a scowl, his grip on my knee tightening.

I shake my head. ‘Let’s see what your reaction would be if a mystery man pulled me away from you for over an hour.’ I look him straight in the eye, noticing Sarah’s sly smile behind him. She can fuck off. I’m in no mood for her.

His eyes soften, his tense jaw easing up a bit. He releases his grip of my knee and strokes up to the juncture of my thighs. I tense. He knows what he’s doing. ‘Ava, please don’t say things that will make me crazy mad.’ His voice has softened, but I can still detect the slight anger in his tone. ‘I’ve told you not to worry so you shouldn’t. End of.’

‘Stop kissing all of the women.’ I turn back towards the table, ignoring his hot touch through my dress. I’m simmering on the inside with possessiveness. I’m getting as bad as him, and this conversation is going to get us nowhere – not here and now, anyway.





Chapter 21




When dessert and coffee has been served and my cheeks hurt from Kate and Sam antics at the table, John stands and announces, in his usual booming voice, that everyone should clear the room so it can be emptied of tables, ready for the band.

Jesse stands and helps me up from my chair, making a meal of showering me with attention, which I petulantly brush off. He’s trying his hardest to distract me from my sulks. I’m stopped from walking away from the table when he grabs my elbow and whirls me around so we’re front on front.

He burns a hole into me with pools of green displeasure. ‘Are you going to behave like a spoilt brat for the rest of the evening, or have I got to take you upstairs and fuck some sense into you?’

I recoil at his animosity as he looks past me and smiles, obviously acknowledging someone who is behind me. He returns his eyes to mine, his smile disappearing instantly. I’m stunned by his reaction to my grievance. He reaches around me and places a firm palm on my bum, pushing me into his groin and circling those damn hips, hard and slow. I curse my treacherous body for tensing, and my hands for instinctively flying up to grab his shoulders.

He leans into my ear. ‘Do you feel that?’ He grinds hard again.

I lose the battle to restrain my moan of pleasure. I do not want to be getting horny here because there is not a chance in hell I’m going to let him take me while we’re in this place. Not ever.

‘Answer the question, Ava.’ He clamps onto my earlobe and drags it through his teeth.

My grip of his shoulders tightens. ‘I feel it.’ My voice is broken and low.

‘Good. It’s yours. All of it.’ He pushes harder, further into me. ‘So stop with the fucking sulks. Do you understand me?’

‘Yes.’ I exhale into his shoulder.

He releases me and stands back, raising expectant eyebrows at me. I nod, trying to gather myself together. Will he always have this influence on me? I’m trembling and seriously rethinking my vow to avoid sex at The Manor. I could, quite easily, drag him upstairs to one of the private suites and let him eat me alive.

I glance past him and catch the viper glare of Sarah, and in a pathetic stamp of ownership, I put myself into Jesse’s chest again and look up at him with sorry eyes.

He gives an approving nod of his head and leans down to rest his lips on mine. ‘That’s better.’ he says into my mouth. He turns me around and starts guiding me out of the summer room. ‘I’m struggling to deal with all of the admiring stares you’re attracting.’ he says, placing his hand firmly at my lower back.

I scoff. He has to be joking. I’m surrounded by women, who all, for absolutely sure, want me gone. I’m severely gatecrashing their party. ‘You’re attracting quite a bit of attention yourself.’ I muse, just as we pass an attractive brunette.

She smiles brightly at Jesse and strokes his arm. ‘Jesse, you’re looking as delicious as ever.’ she gushes.

I can’t help the small shocked burst of laughter that flies from my mouth. She’s got some front, and I’m hugely offended that she clearly thinks I’ll just take her brazen flirting without so much as a word. I’m about to stop and put her in her place, but Jesse pushes me on, preventing me from following through on my intent. I’m shocked by the shameless hussy.

‘Natasha, you are an intolerable flirt as ever.’ Jesse retorts wryly, draping his arm over my shoulder and landing me with a chaste kiss, obviously sensing my irritation. She smiles slyly and narrows slutty, easy eyes on me.

Has he slept with her too? I feel my new found possessiveness simmering steadily inside me. I can’t imagine that I’m going to be spending much time here if this is the response I’m going to be getting whenever I do. Not that I particularly want to be here, but with it being Jesse’s place of work, it would be handy if I could come here and feel comfortable and not feel like I’m stepping on a million attractive women’s toes. And that’s another point; does Jesse only offer membership to women who are of an eight or above on the good looks scale? Retirement is looking more likely as time goes on. I want to spend every second stuck to Jesse so I can slap down these brazen, desperate tarts. I’m mentally trampling again.

As we walk into the bar, we find the stool that I always seem to get positioned on is taken by a man. He soon makes way when he sees us approaching, raising his glass in greeting. I’m lifted onto the stool and Mario is with us without delay, leaving the members of The Manor to be served by one of the other bar staff.

‘What would you like to drink?’ Jesse perches on his stool opposite me and takes my hand in his. ‘Most Marvelous?’ He raises his eyebrows.

I turn to a waiting Mario. ‘Please, Mario.’ I say, and he smiles his usual fond smile, but looks a little more flustered than he did earlier. I’m not surprised; he’s being run off his feet.

‘I’ll have one of those.’ Kate joins us and leans on Jesse’s shoulder with a huff. ‘These shoes are killing me!’ she exclaims with a look of true pain on her pale face. ‘Seriously. A man categorically devised the high heel and he did it in an attempt to make it easier for you dudes to rugby tackle us womenfolk to the ground and haul us back to your beds.’

Jesse throws his head back and laughs a proper belly laugh as Sam and Drew find us.

‘What’s the score?’ Sam asks as he eyes Jesse laughing hard. He looks at me and Kate and we both shrug on wide smirks. Kate slaps Jesse’s shoulder affectionately. I can’t help but share in Jesse’s amusement at Kate’s dry comment. When he laughs like that, faint lines spring from his twinkling greens and fan his temples. He looks so handsome.