Total pages in book: 235
Estimated words: 224334 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1122(@200wpm)___ 897(@250wpm)___ 748(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 224334 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1122(@200wpm)___ 897(@250wpm)___ 748(@300wpm)
My plan works, and she smiles for the first time in what feels like forever. I live for these smiles. “I distracted your appointed guard.”
I laugh on the inside. Clive appointed himself bodyguard. For a fee, of course. “I shall have to sack him.” I’m sure the old boy will be panicking now, thinking I’m going to demand my cash back. I might. He’s costing me a fortune in favors. “How did you manage that?”
“Jesse, he’s sixty, if a day. I disconnected his telephone system so he couldn’t advise you of my escape from your tower in the sky.”
“Our tower,” I correct her. “Disconnected?” I’m worried, even more so when Ava disappears into my body, hiding.
“I ripped the wires out.”
“Oh.” I can’t laugh. Clive will be pissed off. Even more so when I tell him about the elevator doors. This is going to cost me again.
“What are you playing at, getting a pensioner to try and keep me indoors?”
“I didn’t want you to leave,” I admit, feeling at her damp hair.
“Well, you should’ve stayed yourself then.” She moves, focusing on my torso, yanking my shirt from my trousers and slipping her hands onto my skin before settling again.
“I was crazy mad.” I hold her tighter. “You make me crazy mad.” Sinking my face into her dark waves, I breathe easy again.
The cause.
The cure.
“How’s your hand?” she asks, prompting me to lift it and look at the renewed bruising.
“It would be fine if I didn’t keep smashing it into things.”
“Let me see.” She comes out of her place in my chest and I watch her as she inspects the damage.
“I’m fine,” I say quietly.
“You smashed the elevator door.”
“I was really mad.” It could have been worse. I could have found Mikael or Matt.
“You already told me that.” She strokes over my fist, head tilted. “What about the hijacking of my office this afternoon?” she asks, looking up at me, curious. “Were you crazy mad then?”
“Yes, I was.” Always fucking crazy. Always owning my crazy. “A bit like you were just now.”
“I wasn’t mad, Jesse.” She’s nonchalant as she returns to my hand. “I was marking what’s mine.” She sure was, and I quite liked it. “She wants you. She couldn’t have been more obvious if she’d straddled you and thrust her tits in your face.” Fire. Passion. Possessiveness. It tells me she really does love me. Maybe I’ll get a yes after all. I smile wide and Ava looks up, catching it. “You look very happy with yourself.”
“Oh, I am. I like it when you’re all possessive and protective.” I have no problem confessing it. “It tells me you’re crazy in love with me.” And, actually, as I thought before, sometimes it takes a woman to put another woman in her place. Ava’s got it in her, and I can see more sass, more fight, rising to the surface.
“I am, even though you are stupidly challenging. And don’t be calling Sarah, sweetie.”
She’s so cute. As if. I smother her, kiss her, indulge her, my problems forgotten for today. “I won’t.”
“You’ve slept with her.”
Or maybe not.
Fuck.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
I’m trying so hard to look disgusted. Offended. Is this female intuition or Ava intuition? “A dabble,” she eventually says when it’s obvious I’m stuck for words.
I look away, letting my gaze fall between our bodies. This is one question I’ve certainly expected. Doesn’t mean I want to answer honestly. But . . . “Yeah.” I brace myself for a blowback, cringing, wondering if I’ve just made a monumental fuck up telling Ava about me and Sarah. She’s put herself between Ava and me more times than I ever imagined she could. But Ava’s reaction?
She doesn’t explode. She just looks at me like she feels a little sorry for me. I’m feeling pretty sorry for myself. “I just want to say one thing.”
Just one thing? Really? I don’t believe her. I’ve just confessed, under pressure, mind you, that I’ve slept with a woman who works with me. Don’t tell me that will be that, forgotten, never to be discussed again. I don’t even want to think about if the boot was on the other foot. Ava would be chained to our bed and he, whomever he may be, would be crushed.
She falls forward and kisses me lightly. “It’s all about you.”
“It’s all about me,” I repeat, making her smile. So she’ll accept when I propose?
“Good boy.”
I absolutely do not deserve this woman. “I love you, Ava.”
She settles, peaceful, accepting. “I know.”
“Take the day off work tomorrow.” I chew my lip for a moment, thinking. She’s amenable right now. Accepting. Giving?
There’s silence for a moment, while she obviously considers my request. Or demand. “Okay.”
“Really?” Wow. That was surprisingly easy. “You’re being very reasonable. That’s not like you.”
She appears outraged for a split second before she curtails it. “I’m ignoring you.”