“Je m’en fous,”he ground out. “I don’t give a fuck.”
The man’s hand hovered in the air, still outstretched, and then fell away.
“That was rude,” Shaundra chastised him. “He was only—”
She couldn’t finish, because Nathanael had grabbed her around the waist and slammed her body against his so hard that he almost knocked the air out of his own lungs. No time for her to catch a breath. He began kissing her, hard. Open-mouthed, exploring, not letting up even as she struggled. Holding her until her struggles died away, and she began kissing him back.
Aware of an uncomfortable pair of eyes on them, and then sensing the other man’s gaze as it slid down to the dying grass. Nathanael’s other hand came to grab her bottom, fingers kneading that plump fullness. So sensitive that he could feel she was wearing one of those damned non-panties again. Strips of cloth that had no right being worn anywhere else than in the bedroom.Theirbedroom.
He wondered with mounting anger if this was the man she’d been going to meet that night. Who she’d gotten so dolled up to dine with, in the short little dress he’d almost torn from her body in that restaurant bathroom.
Surely not. Surely Shaundra had better taste than that, demanded more of her men. And then the phrase ‘her men’ filled him with so much outrage that he knew if he let his attention waver from his wife even for a second, if he turned away from her towardshim,he was going out swinging.
He kissed her, teeth grinding into her lower lip, fingers sliding down the crack of her ass through the material of her skirt, until he could no longer sense that third, unwanted presence. He kissed her until the guy was gone.
Only then did he let her go.
She wiped the back of her hand against his lips, glaring at him. Her lipstick was gone, her pupils dilated with a fatal combination of anger and arousal. “I hate you so much,” she grated unconvincingly.
“Good. I’ve never demanded your love. Just your loyalty.”
He took her by the arm and led her back inside, where her siblings and mother were sitting in the living room, trying to act casual, like nothing had happened. He noted with pleasure that the kids were already poking at the phones, setting up their new accounts, no doubt.
Shaundra gave him a suspicious look. “You bought them iPhones?”
“Oui.”
“And he got me steaks!” Irene rang out jubilantly.
She looked even more aghast. “Who the hell brings a woman meat?”
He shrugged. “A man who knows the woman loves to cook.”
She gave an exasperated grunt. “You really think you can buy anyone you like, don’t you?”
He smiled sardonically. “I don’t need to buy anyone in your family. They adored me from day one.Pas vrai,Cedric?”
Cedric gave them the thumbs-up without even lifting his head.
Nathanael sent Shaundra a triumphant look, and she threw up her hands. “What you did out there was rude and unforgiveable. This visit is over. I’m going home.”
“Great. Get your stuff. I take it the child is asleep upstairs?”
She glared. “What do you mean, ‘get my stuff’? Are we really doing this again? Benji and I are going home alone—”
He looked at his watch. “Not happening. You have no car, no driver. As of an hour ago, Monty has proceeded on retirement—”
“You fired my driver! Not even you would be such a—”
“Not fired, sweet.Retired.Try to keep up. I merely explained to him that you and I were moving to France in a week, and that his services were no longer needed. I offered a handsome lifetime annuity and a six-month bonus package. He’ll be fine.” He added, with a mischievous twinkle, “As a special thank-you for all he’s done for you, I’ve even thrown in a three-day Vegas weekend at one of our hotels, for him and the missus.”
She was staring at him with her mouth slightly open, too stunned to speak. It wasn’t often that this feisty woman was bereft of words, so he decided to relish the moment.
Then, he added, “He understood that you were too busy with your family visit to speak to him properly this evening, but he’ll be popping by early tomorrow to say his goodbyes to you properly. And pick up his check.”
As if in a daze, she walked off, heading upstairs to collect the child. He said his own goodbyes to the family and walked out to his car. Evening had begun to fall. He stood at the driver’s side with his back to the house, staring down at his feet as he heard the chatter of his in-laws walking his wife out.
He was aware of her fussing with the car seat he’d strapped into the back but never used before, and only when she herself was seated did he get in. In the back seat, there was silence. Only the faint sweet smell of baby powder let him know there was someone there. He adjusted his mirror, hoping that it reflected nothing within the car itself. Thank God the baby seat was rear-facing, because heaven forbid he looked up and see a small, all-knowing pair of eyes holding his.