“I can help you with that,” I offer softly.
He smiles and then he bends down to kiss my collarbone. My breath catches.
“Get a room!” Dion calls from the other side of the table.
Étienne raises his head and smirks at him. I look at Jackson. He’s glaring at Étienne. Étienne meets Jackson’s eyes. Three seconds pass. I squeeze Étienne’s leg and he jerks, breaking out of his stare-off to look at me.
“Do you want to come back to my place?” he asks.
His arm is still hooked around my neck, but now he runs his fingertips along my throat. His pupils are dilated.
I nod.
“I’ll get the bill.”
Jackson jolts with alarm as Étienne stands up and strides inside.
“We’re going back to his,” I say.
His brow furrows as he looks at me.
Étienne returns and shakes his head as I get out my purse. “I’ve paid. We can go.”
“How much was it?” Jackson asks with a frown, retrieving his wallet.
“It’s fine, all sorted,” Étienne replies.
“Let me give you some money,” Jackson insists.
“It’s fine.” Étienne repeats as I get to my feet and sling my bag over my shoulder.
Dion’s nonplussed; he’s finding the back-and-forth entertaining.
Jackson stands up and leaves a fifty-euro note on the table,declaring that the waitress can have it as a tip. Then he bypasses Étienne to give me a hug.
“Come over tomorrow?” he asks in my ear.
I pull back a little to meet his eyes. “Why?”
He shrugs. “Swim?” He gives me a meaningful look.
I nod. “Maybe in the afternoon.”
“Okay.” He presses a kiss to my cheek and holds out his hand to Étienne.
They give each other a hard stare as they shake. Jackson’s farewell to Dion is markedly friendlier.
Étienne follows me out onto the pavement. He leans over and sniffs my neck, then retreats with a scowl.
“What?” I ask with alarm.
“You smell of his aftershave.”
I think I might have just witnessed a battle of alpha males.
32
“I wish we could goto the house,” Étienne says as we approach his apartment.
