‘Let’s talk about it in the shower.’
He releases me and drops his pants and boxers, kicking them away. Slides my thong over my hips and down my legs. Kisses my stomach lightly. I roll my eyes and tense at the inconvenient flicker of desire that hits me. For God’s sake. I have no intention of sleeping with my husband. It’s the last thing he deserves.
‘Eau de nil.’ He flicks the little lace thong across the room.
I laugh. ‘How the hell do you know that colour?’
‘I know that colour. I’m good at colours. It’s the same as your dress. It matches your eyes.’
‘You are very good. And it does match my eyes; that’s why I wear it.’
‘It works.’ He kisses me lightly. ‘Let’s get you in the shower.’
He leads me into the bathroom and turns on the twin rain dance shower heads. A torrent of water hits the marble. Jackson tests the temperature and pulls me in. It’s just about tepid, which is as warm as I can handle in this weather. I step under the full flow of the water and tilt my head back. That feelsgreat. Refreshing. Life-affirming.
Jackson gets behind me and wraps his arms around me. He’s already hard. That man is relentless. I lean back against him and remind myself to be angry with him, even while my traitorous hips press into him.
‘Jackson.’
‘Hmm?’
‘Are you screwing Leila? Tell me straight.’
His hand strokes up and down her stomach. ‘I am. We were were filming for so long in Utah. What else was I supposed to do?’
‘I wouldn’t expect anything else, but are you still screwing her? While she’s in the UK?’
A slight hesitation. ‘Yeah.’
‘Did you use protection?’
‘Babe! Always! You know that.’
‘Is it serious? Should I be worried?’
‘No, babe. It’s—it’s always intense, filming with someone, especially when I was so far away from you. So there’s a… habit, I suppose. A bit of a hangover from filming. But it’s not serious. It’s not like—anyway, you’re my person.’
I know what he was about to say.It’s not likeJenna. That schoolteacher he fell hard for a couple of years ago. The one woman, apart from me, who he let get under his skin.
‘Okay.’ I exhale. ‘So why the hell is the press all over this? What about our arrangement? And why aren’t Mara and Alex dealing with it?’
‘Precisely because the press has nothing. There’s nothing to talk about. If they had something concrete, you know Mara and Alex would make it go away.’
Mara would cajole the news outlet in question and threaten to withhold the very generous access they have to the Jackson family. Alex would wave carrots (cheques) and sticks (lawsuits) and threaten and cajole and bully as needed. They’re a formidable team.
‘This is to be expected, babe,’ he continues. ‘We’re doing a tonne of press ahead of the launch. Of course they’re going to speculate.’
‘Can’t you be a bit less… cosy? You’re all over her like a rash.’
His voice in my ear is almost apologetic. ‘You know how it is, babe. It’s good publicity, if they think the leads have chemistry off-screen too.’
And there it is. The truth I have no choice but to accept. Mara’s not challenging the press because, without a shadow of a doubt, Jackson and the studio will have given her a very clear mandate: don’t interfere with coverage that whips up speculation as to the off-screen nature of the leads’ chemistry.
‘For God’s sake.’ I pull out of Jackson’s hold and put my hands over my face while the water thunders down over my head. ‘I get it, but it’s so bloody humiliating.’
‘I know, babe. And I’m so sorry. Let’s do some public appearances together, yeah? Present a united front. It’s really important to me that everyone out there knows I love you, and that we’re a family. And’—his voice drops further and his mouth finds my ear again—‘it’s even more important to me thatyouknow I love you. Jesus Christ, you are so fucking beautiful.’ He comes behind me again, and gently pulls my head back so it’s leaning against his chest.
No.
