Beneath This Man (This Man, #2)(21)

‘How old are you, Jesse?’

He pulls his face up and I can see the cogs of his mind start revolving. I know he’s thinking whether or not he should just tell me his real age and stop with his silly diversion. ‘I can’t remember.’ He frowns.

Oh, I might be able to play this to my advantage. I think we may have got to thirty-ish. ‘We were at thirty three.’ I prompt.

He smirks at me. ‘We should start again.’

‘No!’ I pull his face down and rub my nose across his rough cheek. ‘We got to thirty three.’

‘You’re a rubbish liar, baby.’ he laughs, nuzzling into my face. ‘I like this game. I think we should start again. I’m eighteen.’

‘Eighteen!’ I exclaim.

‘Don’t play games with me, Ava.’

‘Why won’t you just tell me how old you are?’ I ask exasperated. It really doesn’t matter to me. He’s forty, maximum.

‘I’m thirty one.’

I sag beneath him dramatically. He does remember. ‘How old are you?’

‘I just told you, I’m thirty one.’

I narrow displeased eyes on him and one side of his mouth lifts into a semblance of a smirk. ‘It’s just a number.’ I moan. ‘If you ask me anything in the future, I won’t answer – not truthfully, anyway.’ I threaten.

His semblance of a smirk falls away immediately. ‘I already know everything I need to know about you. I know how I feel and nothing you could tell me will make me feel any different. I wish you felt the same.’

Oh, that’s below the belt! It wouldn’t make a jot of difference to the way I feel about him. I’m just curious, that’s all. I wish he would just give up the ghost. I’m already distracted by him and his challenging ways and we still haven’t really talked, but I do feel so much better, not empty and hollow anymore.

‘You said before that I might run a mile if I know.’ I remind him. ‘I’m not going anywhere.’

He laughs. ‘No, you’re not.’ He sounds very confident. ‘Ava, you’ve found out the worst about me and not run a mile. Well, you did, but you came back.’ He kisses my forehead. ‘Do you honestly think I’m bothered about my age?’

‘Then why won’t you tell me?’ I ask exasperated.

‘Because I like this game.’ He resumes nuzzling into my neck.

I heave a sigh and increase my squeeze around his warm, sweat dampened shoulders and my thighs around his tight hips. ‘I don’t.’ I grumble, burrowing my face into his neck and breathing him into me. I exhale in contentment and trace my fingers across his firm back.

We lay silent and completely immersed in each other for the longest time, but when I feel his body shaking, it diverts my thoughts to what lies ahead for us. His shaking body is a reminder of the hardest challenge of all.

‘Are you okay?’ I ask nervously. What should I do?

He squeezes me tight. ‘Yeah, what time is it?’

That’s a point. What time is it? I hope I’ve not missed Dan’s call. I wriggle under Jesse and he moans into my neck. ‘I’ll go check the time.’

‘No, I’m comfy,’ he complains. ‘It isn’t that late.’

‘I’ll be two seconds.’

He grumbles and lifts himself slightly to slip out of me and then heaves his body off of mine, rolling onto his back. I jump up to go and find my phone, discovering it’s nine o’clock and Dan hasn’t called. That’s a relief, but I do have twelve missed calls from Jesse.

Huh? I walk back into the bedroom and find him sat up against the headboard, brazenly naked and unashamed. I look down at myself. Oh, so am I.

‘I’ve got twelve missed calls from you.’ I say in confusion, holding my phone up to him.

A disapproving look jumps up on his face. ‘I couldn’t find you. I thought you had left. I had a hundred heart attacks in ten minutes, Ava. Why were you in the other bedroom?’ He fires the words accusingly at me.

‘I didn’t know how things stood.’ I may as well be honest.

‘What does that mean?’ he asks skeptically.

He sounds offended. Has he forgotten about our little exchange of words last Sunday? ‘Jesse, the last time I saw you, you were a stranger who told me that I was a prick tease and had caused you untold damage. Forgive me for being a bit apprehensive.’

His affronted look falls away instantly and is replaced with one of regret. ‘I’m sorry. I didn’t mean any of it.’

‘Right,’ I sigh.

‘Come here.’ He pats the mattress and I walk over to slide in beside him. We lay on our sides facing each other, our heads resting on our bent forearms. ‘You’ll never see that man again.’

I hope I don’t, but I’m doubtful of his confidence. One drink and I could be faced with the menacing brute, who I really don’t like very much. ‘Will you never drink again?’ I ask nervously. Now is as good a time as any to get the information I need.

‘No.’ He places his fingertip on my hipbone and circles lightly.

I shiver. ‘Never?’

He pauses mid-circle. ‘Never, Ava. All I need is you and for you to need me. Nothing else.’

I frown. ‘You already made me need you, and then you destroyed me.’ I say quietly. I don’t mean to make him feel guilty, but it’s the truth. I can feel myself falling into the needing realms again, after just one love making session, and I really didn’t want to go there.