Beneath This Man (This Man 2)

I settle for, ‘He’s fine. His hand is just muscle damage and he insists he’s not an alcoholic.’

‘I’m glad.’ Her sincerity is sweet, and I’m relieved she isn’t hurling explicit language down the phone and demanding I walk away. ‘Well, he doesn’t fall out of bed and wrap his lips around a bottle of vodka, does he?’ She laughs.

‘No! He just doesn’t know when to stop when he does start, apparently. It’s still a problem, though, Kate.’

‘You’ll be fine, Ava.’ she assures me.

Will I? I’m not so sure. I thought being here with him would start to mend the mess, but it hasn’t. I’ve told him what I want, but he doesn’t seem to be all that keen on giving it to me, attempting, instead, to distract me as he knows best. I decide to give him until the morning. If he hasn’t talked to me by then, I’ll leave. I’ll cave into his touch soon if I’m not careful.

‘Yeah, listen,’ I snap my attention back to Kate. ‘I would say have fun tonight, but I’m more inclined to say… keep an open mind.’

‘Ava, you don’t get more open minded than me. I can’t wait! Speak to you tomorrow.’

‘Bye,’ I hang up and run through my times at The Manor, when I thought it was an innocent hotel. I shake my head at myself. How could I have missed it all when everything seems so obvious now? I should cut myself some slack because I was completely diverted by a tall, lean framed man with dirty blonde hair and hypnotising green eyes. He was perfect. He still is, if a few pounds lighter and a few issues heavier.

I make my way upstairs to change out of my dress, throwing on a pair of cotton shorts and a vest before removing all of the grips from my hair.

When I get downstairs, Jesse is still asleep on the sofa. I mess around with the T.V cabinet for a while, but I can’t get the damn thing to open and reveal a television, so I slump into the chair and watch Jesse sleeping, his mangled hand draped over his solid chest and rising and falling with his steady breaths. As my thoughts wander naturally to chocolate éclairs, calla lilies and Angels, I drift off to sleep.

Chapter 5

‘I love you.’

I come awake in a daze of darkness and rub my eyes as I sit up in the chair. It takes me a few moments to figure out where I am, but when I begin to focus, I find a handsome, dark blonde man crouched in front of me.

‘Hey,’ he says softly as he brushes my hair from my face. I gaze around the vast open space to try and grab a hold of my bearings.

‘What time is it?’ I ask sleepily.

He leans in and kisses my forehead. ‘Just gone midnight.’

Midnight? I’m sleeping for England, and I could drift straight back off again, but I’m properly woken up when the shrill sound of a phone ringtone stabs at the silent air.

‘For f**k sake,’ Jesse complains.

I watch as he yanks his phone from the coffee table and looks at the screen. Who would be ringing at this time?

‘John,’ he greets calmly down the phone, ‘Why?’ He glances at me. ‘No, it’s fine…yeah…give me half hour.’ He hangs up.

‘What’s the matter?’ I ask, fully awake now.

He shoves his Converse on and stalks for the door, clearly unhappy. ‘Problem at The Manor. I won’t be long.’

And just like that, he’s gone.

So, I’m wide awake, it’s past midnight and Jesse has just disappeared in the middle of the night. How is he going to drive with one hand? I sit in the chair like a loose part and contemplate what is going on at The Manor of such urgency.

Oh no, Kate is there.

I run into the kitchen and find my phone to call her, but she doesn’t answer. I try repeatedly and with each unanswered call, I get more worried. I should just call Jesse, but he seemed pretty pissed off. I pace up and down, make myself a coffee and sit at the island repeatedly dialing Kate. If my car was here, I would be on my way to The Manor. Or would I? It’s easy for me to say I would, especially when there is no way I can.

After pacing the penthouse for an hour and calling Kate endlessly, I give in and go to bed, crawling into the plush, soft sheets of the spare room bed and curling up.

‘I love you.’

I open my eyes and find Jesse looming over the bed. I’m somewhere between sleep and consciousness and my mouth won’t work. What time is it and how long has he been gone? I don’t get a chance to ask, though. I’m gathered up into his arms and transported to his room.

‘You sleep here.’ he whispers, lowering me into his bed. I feel him crawl in behind me, and I’m tugged back against his chest.

If I wasn’t so contented, I would be asking questions, but I am, so I won’t. My head hits the pillow and with Jesse’s warmness surrounding me, I’m gone again.

‘Morning,’

My eyes open and I’m pinned to the mattress under a heady scent of fresh water and mint. My morning brain is desperately trying to convince me to struggle free, but my body is blocking all of the sensible instructions trying to filter through.

He sits back on his heels. ‘I need to do this.’ he whispers, clasping my hand and pulling me into a sitting position.

He takes the hem of my vest and slowly pulls it up over my head before leaning into me and kissing the middle of my chest, running his tongue in a light, flicking circle up to my throat.

I’m tense.

He pulls back. ‘Lace,’ he says softly as he removes my bra.

I battle between my body’s desperate need for him and my mind’s strong need to talk. I want to clear the air before I’m dragged back onto Central Jesse Cloud Nine where I lose all cognitive reasoning. ‘Jesse, we need to talk.’ I say quietly as he kisses my throat and works his way to my ear. Every nerve is buzzing, pleading with me to shut up and accept him.