Splendor(185)

“Who is it, please?” she asked, unable to see anyone through the peep hole.

The voice on the other side of the door was the familiar Australian accent of the private butler assigned to the owner’s suite. “It’s Geoffrey, Miss Lockwood. I have a delivery for you and Mr. Gregson.”

Tessa still thought it a bit odd that Geoffrey was on duty at this time of the day, but supposed the rest of the staff was busier than usual because of the managers meeting. She unlocked the door and opened it slowly.

And then gasped as Jason rushed past her into the room before she could stop him, grabbing her by the wrist and yanking her along with him as he kicked the door shut.

“What the hell are you doing here?” she demanded. “What’s happened to Geoffrey?”

Jason snickered. “Most likely enjoying his afternoon break, I assume. I happened to notice him leaving this suite the other day, chatted him up a bit. Did you know I lived in Australia for a time, picked up the accent in no time?”

Tessa tugged on her wrist but his grip was like steel. “Let go of me, Jason. You don’t scare me anymore. And Ian will kick your ass if he finds you here.”

“Oh, but he won’t, sweet thing. When I snuck out of that god-awful boring meeting, he was about to start droning on about some budget bullshit. He’ll be there for hours yet. More than enough time for you and I to have a little chat.”

Tessa forced down the sense of panic that threatened to overtake her. “We have nothing to say to each other.”

“Then fucking listen, you little bitch.” His voice was filled with venom, and he twisted her wrist hard enough to make her yelp in pain. “You and your lover screwed up my life big time. He banished me to that stinking hotel, demoted me, all because I dared to put my hands on you. And all the time the fucking hypocrite was banging you himself.”

Tessa shook her head vehemently. “No, no. You’re wrong. We weren’t together then. Ian didn’t know I was separated from my husband at the time and he wouldn’t have - ”

“Fucked a married woman? Oh, yes, noble, honorable Ian, never doing the wrong thing, always the perfect gentleman,” spat Jason. “Well, maybe he wasn’t tapping you then, sweet thing, but he sure as hell wanted to. So he sent me away like I was a naughty child who’d tried to play with his favorite toy.”

Tessa wished fervently that she wasn’t barefoot, wasn’t quite so scantily dressed. She gave another experimental tug on her wrist, which only made him tighten his grip and she knew her skin was already starting to bruise.

“What do you want, Jason?” she asked with a calm she certainly didn’t feel. “Your insults aren’t going to change anything. And your being here is only going to make things worse once Ian learns about it.”

“He can’t fire me, if that’s what you’re thinking, sweet thing,” replied Jason arrogantly. “My father-in-law won’t leave the father of his grandchildren without a steady income. Besides, you and your lover owe me big time. And now it’s time for me to start collecting on that debt.”

Jason shoved her up against the wall, pushing his leanly muscled – and very obviously aroused – body against hers. Tessa turned her head to the side in revulsion as he ground himself against her.

“Come on, you hot bitch. Don’t pretend you don’t want to get fucked. Look at you,” purred Jason. “Mmm, I’ll bet Ian likes to take you for a good, long ride every night. But it’s time for that greedy bastard to start sharing a little. I mean, he’s got it all, doesn’t he? Money, power, prestige, and the hottest, sweetest piece of ass I’ve ever seen. I might not get my fair share of all the rest, but I’m damned sure going to take my share of you.”

Tessa tried in vain to shove him off of her, wishing that she was wearing a pair of her stilettos so that she could drive a spiked heel through his foot. “Guess what, asshole? Ian doesn’t share. And there is no way in hell you’re putting your disgusting hands on me.”

Jason laughed, an ugly, menacing sound. “And exactly how are you going to prevent me from doing that, sweet thing?”

***

“Sir, we have a problem.”

Ian glanced up in irritation as Andrew approached him, an anxious look on his face. “Can it wait? The break is up in less than ten minutes and I’m really not looking forward to hearing all the grumbling from the troops when they listen to my budget talk.”

“Jason is unaccounted for. Shelby was supposed to be keeping track of him but, well – she does tend to get distracted easily.”