Beneath This Man (This Man 2)

I nearly choke on my own tongue as my eyes take in the piece of fine jewellery. I saw it in a glass cabinet as I passed through the jewellery department with Zoe this morning. She pointed it out and it had me spellbound immediately, displayed all on its own, with layers of delicate linked platinum and a chunky square cut diamond suspended on the end. I nearly had heart failure when I read the small piece of card detailing the price that was displayed next to it.

My eyes jump to his. ‘Jesse, that necklace was sixty grand!’ I splutter. I won’t ever forget. I counted the zeros repeatedly.

Oh God!

I start to get really hot all of a sudden as I flick my eyes from Jesse’s to the swinging diamond that’s still dangling from his finger. He smiles and walks around to the back of me, gathering my hair and placing it over my shoulder. My heart is performing jumping jacks in my chest as he brings the necklace over my head and it rests on my breast bone. It feels like a huge burden on my chest. I’m starting to shake.

His hands skim my back as he fastens the clasp and then he slides his palms onto my shoulders and rests his lips on the nape of my neck. ‘You like?’ he whispers in my ear.

‘You know I do, but…’ I reach up and feel the diamond, then instantly want to get a velvet cloth and polish my finger print from it. ‘Did Zoe tell you?’ I feel sick. I know she is technically in sales, but to tell Jesse that I was completely rapt by an obscenely expensive diamond necklace is taking advantage. Sixty thousand pounds? Oh, heck!

‘No, I asked Zoe to show it to you.’ He turns me around in his arms and runs his fingertips over the necklace and down the centre of my chest. ‘You are crazy beautiful.’ He kisses my lips softly.

He asked her? I laugh a nervous laugh. ‘Are you talking to me or the diamond?’

‘It’s all about you,’ he says on a raised brow. ‘As it always will be.’

My laughter abates instantly. ‘Jesse, what if I lose it, what if…’ I’m silenced by his lips.

‘Ava, shut up.’ He replaces my hair down my back. ‘It’s insured and it’s a gift from me. If you don’t wear it, I’ll be crazy mad. Understand?’

His tone suggests I’m not to argue with him on this, but I’m completely overwhelmed and even more nervous than before, now this necklace has been introduced to this evening’s party. I won’t be getting on the underground or walking the streets late at night anymore, that’s for sure – not with this thing hanging around my neck. Mind you, I doubt I would be doing that much, anyway. Not if Jesse has his own way, which he probably will.

I take a deep breath and rest my hands on his chest. ‘I really don’t know what to say.’ My voice is slightly shaky, matching my body.

‘You could say you love it.’ His lips tip at the corner. ‘You could say thank you.’

‘I do love it. Thank you.’ I reach up and kiss him.

‘You are more than welcome, baby. It’s not as beautiful as you, though. Nothing is.’ He takes my hands from his chest. ‘My work here is done. Come on, you’ve made your God late.’ He leads me to the front door and flicks the music off before grabbing his keys and taking us out to the elevator. I notice that the glass has been fixed.

The doors open, we step inside and I watch him punch in the code before standing back. He glances down at me and winks.

‘You’re crazy handsome,’ I say wistfully, reaching up and dragging my thumb across his bottom lip to wipe the remnants of my lipstick away. ‘And all mine.’

He grabs my hand and kisses the tip of my finger. ‘Just yours, baby.’

As we walk through the foyer of Lusso, Clive does a double take and gapes slightly. Jesse’s arm goes firmly around my shoulder, and I know this is a sign of things to come tonight, which is fine because I don’t plan on leaving his side all night.

He helps me into the DBS and we travel to The Manor at high speed. I’ve made him late for his own anniversary party, but he doesn’t seem that bothered. He tosses his eyes over to me every so often and half smiles when I catch him looking at me.

I rest my palm on his firm thigh and relax completely when he places his hand on mine, giving it a reassuring squeeze. I am so in love with him right now and, unexpectedly, I’m looking forward to this evening for the first time. Fun loving Jesse is out to play tonight and it is these little snippets of time when I can see the laidback character who everyone keeps telling me about. I’m not ignorant to the fact that I only see this Jesse when things are going his way, when I’m doing as I’m told and he’s getting what he wants, but I’m at my happiest, my most content when he’s like this. I am well and truly in my element on Central Jesse Cloud Nine.

I’m not surprised to see John on the steps of The Manor when we pull up. Jesse collects me from the car and leads me to the entrance where John is briefing a dozen or so men in full valet attire. Jesse chucks his keys at John, who catches them and passes them to one of the valets with strict instructions to only move the Aston Martin if absolutely necessary.

I put my hand up to John, and he smiles broadly at me as we pass, flashing me his gold tooth. He is in his usual black suit, except he has replaced the black shirt in favour of a white one with a black bow tie. The shades are still firmly in position, though. He looks really smart. He absolutely oozes coolness.

‘There you are!’ Sarah’s panicked voice is the first thing to attack my ears as we enter The Manor. She is scuttling towards us, her legs restricted to small shifting movements due to the tight, red, satin dress that could qualify as a second skin. She must have poured herself into the thing. If there was any doubt previously regarding the status of her br**sts, they have just been completely eradicated. They are hoist up in the strapless dress and if she lowered her lips, she could kiss them.