Total pages in book: 204
Estimated words: 193115 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 966(@200wpm)___ 772(@250wpm)___ 644(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 193115 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 966(@200wpm)___ 772(@250wpm)___ 644(@300wpm)
“Excuse me?” Her jaw goes lax, and I smile, reaching forward and applying a little pressure, closing her mouth. It’s doing me no favors hanging open like that. The things I could do . . .
“I’ll leave that one with you.” I release her, moving back, giving her space. The scowl she chucks me is fierce. It widens my smile. She’s shocked? Good. I’ve felt constantly shocked since she stepped into my office on Friday.
I observe her as she walks away, far from stable, her hands twitching by her sides like she might reach out and take the wall for support at any moment. It’s the nail in the coffin I didn’t need. And my determination just skyrocketed.
She sits and virtually dives into her wine, and her friend, the redhead, gets her very own dose of lax-jaw syndrome, her blue eyes taking me in. I can’t hear them from here, but when Ava’s friend points her fork at me and Ava looks away, I can’t stop myself from slipping over to introduce myself. Charm her friend to death, Ward. I need an ally. Someone to convince Ava, along with me, that she needs to give up the ghost and admit she fancies the pants off me.
I meander over, all casual, fixing my suit as I go. Ava’s friend follows my every step, all the way to their table. But Ava? Her head is down, her fingers playing with her food, her body as stiff as a board.
“Ladies.” I blast her mate back with my signature smile.
“Hi.” Her eyes are widening by the second. Bless her. She’s not trying to hide her awe at all. I wish your fucking friend was as receptive.
Speaking of which . . .
“Ava?”
I get nothing but a piece of her lunch waved at me. Good god, she’s a gem. An increasingly infuriating gem. She doesn’t just turn me on, she pushes buttons I never knew I had. She won’t look at me? Fine. I’ll soon fix that.
I pull the knees of my trousers up and lower beside her, casting my eyes across the table to her friend when she appears to start choking. It’s all I can do not to laugh when I see her grab a napkin and wipe her mouth. I return my attention to Ava. Or her profile. “That’s better.” I don’t think I’ve ever encountered a woman so fucking tenacious in my life. It’s infuriating. I blow out air and offer my hand to her friend. “I’m Jesse Ward, pleased to meet you.”
“Jesse?” Her friend nearly chokes on her food again, and I cock my head. “Oh! Jesse.”
Yes, Jesse. I watch, a little confused, as the redhead glares at a still mute Ava, who is now stabbing at her lunch. The penny drops, and I smile like a loon on the inside. She’s mentioned me. She’s talked about me. Well, doesn’t that just inject me with even more fortitude.
“I’m Kate. Ava mentioned you have a posh hotel.”
Hotel. Not quite. But I don’t focus on that little issue. “Oh, she mentioned me?” I turn my smile onto Ava. And what did the lovely Miss O’Shea have to say about her meeting with me? I don’t know. But I want to. “I wonder what else she’s mentioned,” I say thoughtfully.
“Oh, this and that.”
“This and that,” I mimic quietly.
“Yes, this and that.”
I nearly fall to my arse when Ava suddenly decides to give me her eyes, even if she looks slightly pissed off.
I inhale.
“It was nice to see you. Goodbye.” Her gaze falls to my lips. Her façade is laughable, and in an effort to prove it to everyone at the table, I lick my lips slowly, watching intently as her stare follows the trail of my tongue. She’s imagining what I could do with this tongue, and I am desperate to demonstrate. I nearly drop to my arse again when she reciprocates. Whether it’s intentional or not doesn’t matter. It was natural.
“Nice?” I lift a little and lean in, getting as close as I can, my eyes closing. “I could think of lots of words, Ava.” Pure bliss. Total gratification. Earth-shifting. Universe shaking. “Nice isn’t one of them.” Her cheek is millimeters from my mouth. Her leg inches from my hand. It’s an opportunity I’m not prepared to pass up. “I’ll leave you to consider my question.”
I press my lips to her cheek and inhale the goodness, my hand falling onto her thigh. “Soon,” I murmur, certain of that. She’s exhausted. Exhausted from maintaining this pointless, annoying resistance. Good. So next time I call her, she’ll answer. “It was nice to meet you, Kate.” I surrender my touch and rise.
“Hmm, you too.”
I smile at Ava’s friend’s pensiveness and stride away, heading for the men’s room at the back. I need to splash my face with cold water. I’m hot.