This Man (50 page)

‘Oh, I’ll probably make do with something I’ve got in my wardrobe.’ I shrug. I’ve just spent five hundred quid on this stupid, miniscule dress. I go to lean back on my stool, swiftly remembering there’s no back support, prompting me to I grab the edge of the table. My wine flies up in the air. ‘Shit!’ I cry, just managing to save myself from falling arse first to the floor.

I join Kate in her helpless laughter, both our wine glasses swishing about as we titter and splutter like a pair of drunken teenagers, who’ve over indulged on cider.

I need to stop drinking, right now. I’m on the cusp on falling over the edge of merriment and into the realms of slurring and staggering. With my unreasonable Lord due at eight in the morning, I need to ensure I’m hangover free.

‘I think we need to call it a night.’ I hint in my most diplomatic tone.

Kate nods her agreement around the rim of her wine glass. ‘Yep, I’m done.’ She slips off the stool and staggers towards me.

Okay, it looks like Kate’s already slipped into staggering territory. ‘Oh, I love this track. Let’s dance!’ she screeches, pulling me towards the dance floor so she can perform her own little
Moves like Jagger
.

‘Kate, there’s no one on the dance floor!’ I complain. There’s almost no one in the bar either.

‘Who cares?’ she argues, stumbling towards the music, taking me with her.

‘We’ll go after thi…
Oh
!’ She clatters to the ground, dragging me down with her on a yelp. ‘Sorry!’ she laughs.

We both lay sprawled on our backs across the floor, giggling and looking up at the dim lights of the bar. I would be embarrassed…if I wasn’t so tipsy. What must we look like? Neither one of us makes any rushed attempt to scramble to our feet.

‘Do you think the bouncers will come and help us up?’ I splutter over my laughter.

Kate wipes a tear away. ‘I don’t know.

Shall we yell?’ She reaches over for my arm to support herself as she heaves her body up to a sitting position. ‘Oh, shit.’ she curses, her tone altering considerably from mischievous to serious.

‘What?’ I push myself up to find out what we are
oh
shitting
about, only to discover Jesse looming over us, arms folded across his chest, with an extremely irked look on his handsome face.

Oh shit, indeed. I clamp my lips together for fear of laughing and pissing him off further.

‘Oh no, that’s me grounded for a month.’

I titter in a low voice for only Kate to hear.

She spits all over the place as she tries to suppress her laugh, and I lose the battle to restrain mine.

We both sit on the floor of the bar like a pair of drunken hyenas, whilst the colour in Jesse’s face gets redder by the second.

Kate laughs harder when Sam rocks up next to Jesse, rolling his eyes. Why can’t my man give me an eye roll, instead of standing there looking like he’s going to self-combust? I’m not even
that
drunk. My current location is only courtesy of my delinquent best friend leading me astray.

A burly, skin head bouncer approaches.

He looks evil. I nudge Kate with my elbow to signal our imminent ejection from the bar. ‘Kate, if they don’t allow us in for lunch anymore, then I’ll be really pissed.’ I love Baroque’s BLT sandwich.

‘You’re already pissed.’ she snorts, making another attempt to get up, using me as a prop.

‘Jesse, sort your woman out.’ The bouncer drawls, clasping Jesse’s hand in greeting.

‘Oh, don’t worry,’ He hits me with his most menacing glare. ‘She’ll be sorted out.

Thanks for the call, Jay.’

What?

‘Come on, you pest.’ Sam jibes Kate, hoisting her up.

She throws her arms around his neck, giggling in his face. ‘Take me to bed, Samuel. You can tie me up again.’ She flops against him like a beanbag.

I watch as Sam restrains his laughter at Kate’s

performance,

but

he’s

not

suppressing the chuckles because he’s mad with Kate. Oh no, he’s keeping a lid on it because of Jesse. He’s trampling on my night again. I wasn’t expecting to see him until eight in the morning, so he would never have known that I got myself a little pissed. And what’s all this business with the bouncer calling him?

I return my tipsy gaze to Mr Unreasonable, pulling my best hacked off face. His eyes are bulging. I follow his glare down at the ultimate taboo dress. Oh dear, I’ve contravened on two orders. I probably really will be grounded. I start giggling again.

‘Up, now.’ he snarls through a ticking jaw.

‘Oh, lighten up, you bore!’ I chide, more confidently than I’m feeling. I put my hand out to him for some help, knowing he won’t leave me to struggle.

He sighs, shaking his head in a demonstration to his exasperation, before reaching down to pull me up. His eyes widen further when he gets the full frontal impact of the taboo dress. I start giggling again. It’ll probably need a trip to the dry cleaners now, after I’ve rolled around on the dirty bar floor.

I calm myself down. ‘Are you mad at me?’ I look up at him in my tipsy state, batting my eyelashes as I grip the front of his grey suit. Has he not been home at all today?

‘Crazy mad, Ava.’ he says threateningly, grabbing my elbow and leading me out of the bar. I spot the bouncer who stitched me up and narrow my eyes on him when I’m guided past. He claps hands with Jesse, giving me a disapproving head shake.

Oh, fuck off!

We find Sam helping Kate into the front seat of his Porsche, holding the top of her head as he lowers her in. She’s still giggling. It sets me off again.

‘Samuel, tonight is your lucky night!’ she sings as Sam shuts her in. I might me tipsy, but I know there’ll be no action in Kate’s bedroom tonight.

Jesse and Sam exchange goodbyes, Jesse keeping a firm grip of my elbow.

‘See ya, chick.’ Sam pecks my cheek, flashing me a quick private grin. I acknowledge it with my own, while concentrating hard on not laughing and pissing off my unreasonable man any more than necessary.

I’m lead to Jesse’s car, placed in the front seat, gently but firmly, and all in complete silence. He looks really mad, but I’m drunk and defiant, so I don’t care.

He reaches across me for my seatbelt, and I insolently bat him away. ‘I can put a seat belt on.’ I grumble moodily. I get landed with a don’t-push-me-look so, probably quite wisely, I place my hands in my lap, letting him lean across me to secure the belt. I steal an inhale of his scent. ‘You smell delicious.’ I inform him quietly.

He pulls back, his face still straight, his eyes still simmering with displeasure. But he doesn’t say a word. He’s giving me the silent treatment. How mature! He slams my door and slides in behind the wheel, pulling into the traffic haphazardly and with no consideration for other road users.

‘Kate’s house is that way.’ I point out, as he roars off in the wrong direction.

‘And?’ Is the terse one word answer I get spat at me.

Oh, for the love of God. ‘And… it’s where I live.’ I state firmly. He’s not completely trampling my night. Kate and I have some of our best discussions over a post alcohol cup of tea.

‘You’re staying at mine.’ He doesn’t even look at me.

‘No, that wasn’t part of the deal.’ I remind him. ‘I have until eight in the morning before you distract me again.’

‘I’ve changed the deal.’

‘You can’t change the deal!’

He slowly turns his face to mine. ‘You did.’

I recoil, giving him my most disgusted look, but I can’t think of anything to say.

He’s right, I did break the rules of the deal, but that’s only because his conditions are so fucking unreasonable! I sit back in the soft, quilted leather and give up. It’s only eight-ish hours until eight o’clock anyway.

We pull up at
Lusso
and I groan. The only time Clive ever sees me is when I’m drunk or being carried in from exhaustion.

I open the door and take cautious steps, lifting myself to a standing position. Jesse is watching me closely. No doubt, waiting for me to stumble so he can scoop me up and give Clive the impression that I’m blotto again.

Well, he’ll be disappointed. I shut the door softly and start walking towards the foyer. I must not stagger, I must not stagger.

I reach the foyer, still in a vertical position, and give Clive a polite nod as I pass, but he doesn’t say a word. He nods back at me, and then flicks his eyes to Jesse. I know when he puts his head back down, without so much as a greeting, that he must have clocked Jesse’s fierce face. I huff to myself, enter the elevator and wait courteously for Jesse to step inside.

‘You need to get this code changed.’ I mutter, punching in the developer code. He only has to notify security and they’ll see to it immediately.

He doesn’t say a word. Oh, he’s really working the silent treatment well. I look up, finding him staring at me, studying me closely, completely expressionless. I’m certain that he’s about to pounce and give me some sort of Jesse style fuck. Would he be fucking sense into me, or would it be a reminder fuck? Oh, it’ll probably be an apology fuck! My tipsy brain relishes the thought, but then the elevator doors open and he steps out before me, leaving me to follow behind. I’m shocked. I would have put my life on the certainty of being jumped. Oh well, we’re not in his apartment yet.

He opens the door and strolls in, without so much as looking at me. I’m left to shut the door behind me and follow him into the kitchen, where I find him grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge. He takes a few swigs before thrusting it at me.

I don’t bother pushing it away. Last Saturday and the memory of my aching head when I came around is enough of a motive to accept his offering. I drink the water under his watchful eye, placing the empty bottle on the worktop when I’m finished.

‘Turn around.’ he orders.

Oh, here we go! A million fireworks light up inside me as I follow through on his command, turning away from him, my libido screaming, my skin is prickling. The feeling of his warm hands skating over my shoulders has me clenching my jaw and drawing steadying breaths. He grasps the zip of my dress and slowly pulls it down, making a point of sliding his hands down my sides as he drags it down my body, kneeling as he goes. My ankle is tapped and I step out of the pooling material, turning back to look down at him knelt before me.

He gazes up at me, slowly rising to his feet, dragging his nose up between my breasts until he reaches my throat. He breathes into my neck. Oh, yes, I’m mentally begging for him, as per usual.

Latching on with his lips, he nips and licks at my delicate flesh. My skin is burning for him to touch me, I want to grab him. But I know this will be done on his terms.

‘Do you want my mouth on you, Ava?’

he asks softly.

My breath catches in my throat as his voice vibrates against my ear. I sigh, long and breathy.

‘You need to say the word.’ He brushes his lips over my ear. My knees shake.

‘Yes.’ I gasp on an exhale.

‘Do you want me to fuck you, baby?’

‘Jesse.’ I jerk as he strokes between my thighs.

‘I know. You want me.’ He bites down on my ear lobe, the metal of my silver studs chinking against his teeth. I shudder, panting and desperate for him. But then he pulls away, leaving me standing a wanton mass of hormones in front of him. ‘Stay there.’ he orders firmly, walking away.

He’s still fully dressed in his suit as I watch him stride away from me and open a cupboard, taking something out. Chocolate spread? My pulse accelerates.

Calmly, he makes his way back over to me. I run my eyes down his lean physic, delighting in the stiff bulge at his groin. I wait, undemanding and tolerant of his leisurely pace. When he finally reaches me, he gets up close and personal with my face, breathing his hot, minty breath all over me as his lips skim my cheeks, my eyes, my chin, finally resting gently on my lips.

I hum in pure pleasure, opening my mouth, but he breaks our kiss and starts lowering himself down my body. A barrage of heat floods me, my short, sharp breaths becoming suppressed and ragged.

Looking up at me as he descends, his nose grazes my lace knickers, triggering my hands to fly out and grab his shoulders for support. He gives me that knowing smile and starts rising again, pressing his body against mine on his way.

‘You’re so affected by me,’ he breathes in my ear.

I shiver, catching my breath. ‘Yes, I am.’

‘I know you are. It…really…fucking…

turns…me…on.’ He steps away from me.

What’s he doing? His hands come up, and I register him holding my dress in one. And in the other…a pair of scissors.

He wouldn’t? He calmly opens the scissors and sets them at the hem of my dress. Then, very slowly, he snips up the centre as I watch on a gape. It seems he bloody would. A five hundred pound dress? I can’t even locate the ability to stop him or shout at him. I’m utterly stunned.

Not content with having my five hundred pound, taboo dress in two pieces, he proceeds to calmly chop it up into a further few scraps before placing the mutilated material, calmly and precisely with zero emotion, on the island with the scissors.

He turns back to face me.

I find my voice. ‘I can’t believe you just did that.’

‘Don’t play games with me, Ava.’ he warns, all calm and controlled. He slips his hands in his trouser pockets and regards me closely as I stand in front of him, unequivocally staggered. All fuzzy tipsiness has completely gone. I’m sound minded, steady and absolutely astounded by his demonstration of so called power.

‘You,’ I point my finger in his face, ‘are crazy!’

His lips form a straight line. ‘I fucking feel it. Get your arse to bed!’

What? Get my arse to bed? The man is way past unreasonable – he’s completely impossible. I feel my brow knit. If I spend any more time with this man, I’ll be having Botox before I’m twenty seven. ‘I’m not getting in bed with you!’ I kick my heels off and pivot, leaving the kitchen and my simmering control freak behind. With me in my underwear and my dress in a dozen pieces, I’m pretty much screwed.

I take the stairs, slamming my feet down, huffing all the way. I could scream! He’s a raving fucking nutjob! Barging into the bedroom, I spot my gym bag at the end of the bed, but I know there are no clothes in there. I found that out this morning when my dress was set out waiting for me. Well, I’m not staying in here. No fucking way!