A Man Without Mercy

‘Possibly not,’ he replied to his mother’s question. ‘But hopefully she will soon.’

Jack knew as soon as he said ‘hopefully’ that it was a mistake.

He glanced up to find his mother looking intently at him.

‘You like this Vivienne, don’t you?’

Jack saw no point in denying it. ‘Yep,’ he said succinctly, and stabbed a spear of asparagus.

‘And does she like you back?’ his mother persisted.

‘Yep,’ he said.

‘Are you sleeping with her?’

Jack put down his fork with a sigh. ‘Mum. Truly. I’m thirty-seven years old. Who I sleep with is none of your business.’

‘You’re my son and your relationships will always be my business. It’s not as though I’m going to start nagging you to settle down and get married, am I? Though I would if it would work. For what it’s worth, I’ve always thought you’d make some lucky girl a great husband. And you’d be a great father as well, so there!’

Jack rolled his eyes, then went back to eating his salad.

‘What if she falls in love with you, Jack? She might, you know. On the rebound.’

Jack scowled. ‘Look, she won’t fall in love with me, our relationship isn’t like that. We’re just having fun, no complications and nothing that serious.’ Jack said the words, knew they were true, but for some reason he suddenly found himself wishing it were otherwise.

‘Oh, Jack, physical intimacy often leads to a deepening of feelings for a woman. It’s hard to be intimate with a man and not become emotionally involved. And what if you fall in love with her? Have you thought about that?’

Jack practically ground his teeth in exasperation. He should never have told his mum about his relationship with Vivienne. Vivienne was so right: it was best to keep this kind of relationship a secret.

‘Don’t be silly, Mum. I don’t do love.’

She laughed. ‘You don’t do love, Jack. It just happens.’

Jack ignored her.

‘I’d like to meet this Vivienne.’

Jack slammed down his fork again. ‘Mum, our relationship is not that serious. You don’t need to meet her and I don’t think she would appreciate it either. Vivienne and I are both completely relaxed about our relationship and there will be no falling in love from either of us!’

Eleanor sighed. He really could be very difficult. Of course, Jack might proclaim that he wasn’t falling in love with this Vivienne girl, but perhaps he didn’t know that was what was happening to him yet. But it was. She’d heard the jealousy in his voice when he’d been talking about Vivienne’s ex. On top of that, this was the first girl he’d ever actually told her about in years. That had to mean something.

‘Okay, I’ll stop bothering you about her,’ she said at last.

‘Good,’ Jack snapped. ‘Now, I’d like to finish my meal, if you don’t mind.’

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

‘HOW DID THE visit with your mother go yesterday?’ Vivienne asked Jack shortly after they took off for the drive up to Nelson’s Bay the following morning. ‘I forgot to ask you last night.’

In truth, she’d been looking forward to being with him so much by Saturday evening, having not seen him the previous day, that she hadn’t been able to focus on anything but how much she wanted him. Dinner out had been a trial and she could hardly remember what she’d eaten or what they’d talked about. It had taken a lot of control for her not to do outrageous things to him during the taxi ride back to Jack’s place after dinner—he hadn’t taken his car, saying he wanted to have a few drinks—especially after he’d kissed her, slipping a hand up under her skirt at the same time. She’d read about women who went down on men in the back of taxis but had always thought it utterly outrageous. But she’d been tempted. Oh, so tempted.

She shivered as she recalled how close she’d been to coming as Jack had stroked her through her panties. He’d withdrawn his hand—the knowing devil—before she did, leaving her desperate with wanting. She recalled how annoyed she’d felt at how unaffected he had seemed at the time. But that had just been pretence on his part. He’d shown her within seconds of closing his apartment door that his desire for her had been just as great. He’d taken her up against that door, not bothering to undress properly.

That he hadn’t used a condom only sunk into them both afterwards, Jack profusely apologetic whilst she’d just been shocked, not worried so much. After all, she was on the pill. Which she confessed when she saw how upset he was. For the rest of the night, Jack hadn’t used protection, assuring her that she was safe from any other kind of health hazard. It had been wonderful not having to bother with protection, not to mention deliciously pleasurable.