Beneath This Man (This Man, #2)(17)

I look down at his beautiful, stubbled face and I want to cry. I can see total sincerity in his eyes as he looks up at me. ‘Okay.’ I reply quietly, not knowing what else to say.

He nods and sighs, then leans up and plants a chaste kiss on my stomach before getting to his feet. He leads me away from the alcohol aisle and straight to the cosmetics section where he collects some shaving gel and blades. I look up at his overgrown stubble and wonder whether I want him to get rid of it. The more I look at it, the more I like it.



By the time we get back to Lusso, it’s six o’clock and we find the door has been repaired. Jesse goes to lie on the sofa, exhausted from a few hours out, and I stand in the kitchen after unpacking the shopping, wondering what to do. It’s Saturday evening and usually at this time I would be cracking open a bottle of wine and settling down for the evening. There is no wine and I can’t settle, so instead, I ring Kate.

‘What are you up to?’ I ask as I plant myself on a barstool with a coffee – not wine, but coffee.

‘We’re on our way out.’ she says cheerfully.

‘We?’

‘Yes, we. Don’t ask me who we is, Ava. You already know.’

That means it’s Kate and Sam, and I’m not to make a big deal of it. I am, however, slightly envious. ‘Where are you going?’

‘Sam’s taking me to The Manor.’

What?

Okay, the envy has disintegrated. ‘The Manor?’ I blurt incredulously. Is she winding me up?

‘Yes, don’t get the wrong idea. I asked him to. I’m curious.’

Holy f*cking shit! Kate’s coolness knows no bounds. While I disintegrated on the spot when I discovered exactly what The Manor represents, she wants to go and socialise there? Bloody hell, I can’t believe Sam has agreed to this. Sam is a member which should, but obviously doesn’t, alarm her. The man I’m involved with owns the place, and I’ve still not established all of the nitty gritty with regards to the business and/or recreational side of things. Well, I know it has been recreational, but to what level? Judging by the evil looks I was subjected to by the female members on the few occasions I was there, my suspicions tell me there has been a lot of recreational. The thought depresses me, and I’m hankering after some wine even more now.

‘And Sam’s happy to take you?’ I ask as casually as I can, but there’s no hiding the shock in my voice.

‘Yeah, he’s told me what goes down and I want to see.’ She sounds so matter-of-fact, laidback Kate prevailing again. I’m in meltdown just thinking about the place. I hate her for being so open-minded. And what does go down, anyway?

‘It’s a nice place,’ I shrug to myself, spinning my coffee mug on the counter. What else can I say?

‘How’s Jesse?’ she asks.

I detect the edginess of her tone. Does she still like him as much now? It’s clear the fact that he owns The Manor will not be an issue, but she wasn’t best pleased when I eventually stopped crying for long enough to tell her about the drunken arsehole I encountered when I came back to make amends with him. He seems fine, but I’m definitely not. What to say?

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