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I look toward the ladies’. She’s been awhile, and I wonder if I’ve missed her coming out. Did she spot me and run for it? I pull my phone out and dial her, just as the door opens and she exits, rootling through her bag. I drop my mobile from my ear, smiling as she walks toward me.
It's all I can do not to laugh when she pulls her phone out and rolls her eyes at the screen. So cute. “Reject.” She declines my call haughtily, tossing her mobile back into her bag as she marches on.Reject?Ouch. I put myself in the center of the corridor, filling the space, and her head starts to lift. My heart braces for impact.
And when it happens, my whole world goes up in smoke, and I inhale, feeling like I’ve been taken out by a boulder. My arm is out fast, holding on to her waist, not just to steady her, but to steady myself. I’m dizzy, my head spinning, her scent saturating my senses.
“Oh God, I’m sorry.” She freezes, her face practically squished into my chest, and I drag in air, fighting for breath. This. This is why I feel like I’m going crazy. This feeling. This madness.
“Reject?” I whisper, looking down at the back of her head. She looks so right nestled into me. “I’m wounded.” I really fucking am. In agony, in fact.Reject.She can’t. I won’t let her rob me of these new feelings. She’s spiked them, so she can damn well deal with the consequences of them.
She pushes herself away quickly and laughs. Yes, I agree.This whole situation is quite funny, Miss O’Shea, and if you knew me at all, you’d laugh even harder.
“Is something funny?” I ask, wondering why she won’t face me.Look at me!
“I’m sorry. I wasn’t looking where I was going.” She goes to move past me, and my hand shoots out in panic, grabbing her.What?There she goes again. Running. I’m not prepared to let her walk away without at least looking me in the eye, and when she does, I hope she sees what I need her to see. Want. Desire. Promises.A desperate need to be fixed.
I shake my head and silently implore her to face me. See me. But my silent prayers aren’t answered.Stubborn.My natural magnetism fails with this woman. I can’t smile at her if she won’t look at me. Can’t admire her if she avoids me. Can’t talk to her if she refuses to listen. Fuck this. I’ve tried to be diplomatic. I’ve tried the softly, softly approach. I’m working my bollocks off here, stepping outside my box, and she’s stonewalling me at every turn. Enough of the games. It’s back to boldness.
“Just tell me one thing before you leave, Ava,” I say quietly, and her gaze slowly climbs my body until we’re eye to eye. That’s better.Hear this, Miss O’Shea. Let’s see you try to ignore this...“How loud do you think you’ll scream when I fuck you?”
“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.
