His eyebrows jump up. ‘I do, do I?’
‘Yes, you do.’ I say haughtily. There are certain things I need to know. I couldn’t give a toss about his past sexual conquests. Knowing exactly how many there are isn’t going to achieve much, apart from raging jealousy on my part.
‘Come on then, spit it out. What do you want to know?’ He sighs heavily, and I scowl at him. ‘Sorry.’ He has the decency to look apologetic. He keeps his hands over mine, resting on his chest.
‘Who was that woman last night?’
‘Coral.’ he says flatly, with no hesitation, like he completely expected the question.
I roll my eyes. ‘I know her name is Coral. Who is she?’
‘She’s the wife of the nasty little f**ker who got ejected from The Manor the day you found the communal room.’
Oh? I cast my mind back to that wretched day and remember the snide, spiteful creature hurling harsh words at Jesse. He’ll f**k me off like he did his wife? Leave a trail of shit?
‘You had an affair with her?’ I blurt, as the obviousness of it lands in my brain.
‘No.’ He shakes his head on a frown. ‘They came to me to source someone to participate in a threesome.’
I recoil slightly. He doesn’t have to tell me anymore than that. Jesse sourced himself. ‘You?’ I whisper. He nods, almost ashamedly. ‘Why would you do that?’
‘She asked me to.’
‘She fell in love with you.’
His eyes widen a little at my conclusion. It’s obvious. He shifts uncomfortably beneath me. ‘I guess she did.’
Oh, this has opened a whole new can of further questions. I’m not so surprised that she fell in love with him. It’s her surprise visit to The Manor last night and the amount of time Jesse was in his office with her that I want to know about. ‘What did she want yesterday? You were gone for a long time.’
He takes a deep breath and pins me with determined eyes. ‘She left Mike…for me. I don’t know why. I never gave her any reason to believe I wanted her like that,’ He pauses momentarily to assess my reaction. I’m not sure how I feel. He still hasn’t told me why she was at The Manor. He sighs. ‘He’s thrown her out, took her car and seized her cards. She has nothing.’
‘She came to you for help?’ I ask.
‘Yes.’
‘And what did you say?’ I’m not sure I’m going to like the answer to this question.
‘I said I would do what I can.’ He starts chewing that bloody lip.
I was right. I don’t like the answer. What can he do? Helping her will only encourage her and fill her with hope that things could progress. I c**k my head slightly. ‘Has this got anything to do with the police?’
He laughs a little. I don’t know why, it’s not funny. ‘Mike’s playing games. He advised the immigration police that half of my staff are illegal immigrants. It was cleared up quite quickly, no harm done. It was just a bit of an inconvenience.’
‘Why didn’t you just tell me all of this instead of letting my mind race?’
He frowns. ‘Why would I trouble you with that trivial shit?’
I can see his point, but nevertheless, I should know, especially if it involves another woman wanting my challenging man. I hold his eyes as he continues to circle his thumbs over the tops of my hands. ‘So, you took part in the threesome and that was it?’
‘Yes.’ He shifts, avoiding my eyes.
‘You’re lying to me.’ My teeth clench together. ‘That wasn’t it, was it?’
‘Not exactly, no.’ He shifts again, still avoiding my eyes. ‘Do we need to go on with this?’ he asks irritably. ‘She was under the wrong impression that I wanted more, I didn’t. End of.’
‘So you did have an affair with her?’
‘Yes! Okay, yes I did, but it was just sex, nothing more.’ His green eyes are fierce. ‘Now, let’s drop it.’
‘You told me once that you’ve never wanted to f**k a woman more than once, only me.’ I will never forget that comment, and as stupid as it undoubtedly sounds, given how many notches Jesse has tallied up on his bedpost because of it, I like the thought of him only having me more than once.
‘I never said I didn’t have a woman more than once. I said I’ve never wanted a woman more than once. It was a means to an end, that’s all. She offered it on a plate.’
‘So, you haven’t only f**ked me more than once?’ I sound hurt. How ridiculous. He was a pleasure-seeking playboy before he met me. And now I’m delving into territory which is, without doubt, going to send my jealous mind into overdrive.
‘Ava, watch your mouth!’
‘No, not when we’re talking about you f**king other women! You’ve not just f**ked me more than once, have you?’
He growls at me, and I scowl at him. ‘No, I’ve not.’ he admits, rubbing extra fast circles on my hands. ‘But you have to understand, none of them meant anything to me. I used them, treated them like objects. I’m not proud, but that’s just the way it was. They would take me whatever way I came, Ava. They all wanted more, but they certainly never expected it. Now, though, they’ve seen I can be a one woman man.’
I feel slightly nauseous. This conversation was a guaranteed stomach churning discussion. So how many of them can I expect to come seeking out my neurotic control freak? Mikael’s wife already has, and now Coral. ‘She’s still in love with you.’ I say quietly. That’s another reason why Coral was at The Manor last night. ‘She can’t have you.’ I say. ‘None of them can.’ I add, just so he’s aware that I know there’ll be more. I feel like I’m preparing for war.