Forcing myself not to be an ungrateful bitch, I came away from the game, and changed into a little black dress that Fletcher had given me as a birthday gift. “Ready to go?” I asked Jared as I exited the en-suite bathroom.
His hands landed on my hips as his gaze explored every inch of me. “If it wasn’t your birthday meal, I’d say skip it so I could roll this dress up and bury myself inside you.” He nuzzled my neck, inhaling deeply.
I smiled, skimming my hands down his chest, and wishing the shirt wasn’t in the way. “You can do that later.”
“You can bet your sweet little ass I will.” He dropped a kiss on my mouth. “Come on, everyone will be waiting.” To my surprise, Jared didn’t teleport us to Antonio’s huge parlour room. Instead, he took us to…the beach. A strangely empty beach.
I frowned. “Where is” He twirled me around, and I gasped at the sight ahead of us.
“You look amazing,” Jared whispered into my ear as he started to lead me across the sand. No, what I could see ahead of us was ‘amazing’. Several tables were set up on the sand, all with white table cloths, lanterns, champagne glasses, and flowery centre pieces. I loved the beach at night, loved the way the moonlight played off the water. That was clearly why they had done this for me. God, I was spoiled rotten by these people and I probably didn’t deserve it.
With the exception of one table, all the others were seated with guests. On the first table sat Antonio, Lucy, Luther, and – groan – Collins and Eloise. On the second were Fletcher, Norm, Ava, and Cristiano. The third seated Butch, Salem, David, and Denny, while the fourth seated Chico, Jude, Harvey, Damien, and Reuben. My heart squeezed as I thought of the three people who couldn’t be here.
Everybody stood, smiling, as Jared and I went to the empty table in the centre. “Oh my God,” I said a little breathlessly. “I can’t believe you all did this.”
Fletcher looked at me like I was daft. “Of course we did this; we love you.”
“We wanted to make your evening special.” Antonio smiled. “I hope we manage to do so.”
I found myself wishing I was better at receiving things because I wasn’t sure what to say. “Thanks…It’s really amazing.” That seemed to satisfy everyone, because they all grinned and sat down.
Most likely sensing my relief, Jared laughed silently as he sat opposite me and laced his fingers through mine. “Neither of us is good at the whole expressing gratitude thing, are we?”
I shook my head. “Luckily they like us in spite of it.”
“You’re wearing your earrings,” he observed, leaning forward to gently finger one.
“Once again, thank you for them.” See, I could do gratitude sometimes.
“You’re welcome. I’m just relieved you like them. You’re not really a jewellery person. In fact, you’re pretty hard to buy for. And you’re even harder to surprise, since you insist on hunting your gifts down – I swear you’ve got a nose like a bloodhound.”
I chuckled, feeling ridiculously happy. A twinge of guilt immediately followed the feeling – here I was celebrating when Evan, Max, and Stuart were stuck in a cell, dying.
Jared squeezed my hand. “Hey,” he said gently. Of course he’d known where my thoughts had taken me. “They’d want you to celebrate your birthday.”
He was right, they would. That was exactly what I needed to hear. I was about to flash Jared a smile of thanks, but then his face morphed into a scowl as his eyes focused on something over my shoulder. Confused, I turned to track his gaze. Ah…Ava and Cristiano were approaching us.
Wearing her usual cheery smile, she bent and planted a kiss on my cheek. Being courteous for a change, I stood and awkwardly accepted the hug she gave me. I wondered if I’d ever be much good at physical displays of affection…Probably not.
“Happy birthday!” She handed me a gift-wrapped box. “Don’t open it yet. Wait until you’re alone.” Leaning in closer, she added in a whisper, “Well, wait until you’re alone with Jared.” Her cheeky grin made me laugh. “This is from me and Cris, by the way…Although it was me who picked it out. He’d blush if he knew what it was.” Well that certainly had me intrigued.
“We just want to wish you a happy birthday,” Cristiano said, his voice uncharacteristically rough. “You look beautiful.” When Jared growled, he held up his hands in a gesture of innocence, though his smug smirk was there. “It was just an observation.”
“There you are,” drawled a familiar and very unwelcome voice. Then the bony form of Joy was lounging all over Cristiano. In Fletcher’s words, Jared’s old consort was a cross between a whippet and a witch. I’d honestly never seen anyone so thin. My brows arched in surprise at the way she was petting Cristiano. Ava rolled her eyes while he sighed tiredly and tried to shift away from Joy. She just moved with him.
After licking her lips at Jared, Joy gave me a sickly sweet smile. “Happy birthday.” She had said it in the same tone as someone would say, ‘I hate you.’ “Hope you’re having a good time. Did Jared get you anything nice? I’m surprised he let you out of the apartment. When it was my birthday, he never let me out of the bed.”
How could I not pity her when this kind of crap gave her a kick? “Aw, such a precious little brat, aren’t you?”
Her smile faltered slightly. “Black is very slimming on you – good thinking, wearing that. Curves don’t look good on everyone.”
Groan. “As for you…I see you’re still a fan of the, um, starved look.” Honestly, if she swallowed a sprout, she’d look pregnant.
Jared, Ava, and Cristiano chuckled quietly.
“Such a joker,” Joy spat bitterly.
“I was actually deadly serious, but sure.”
“Personally, I wouldn’t be so happy if the guy I was Bound to would never be totally satisfied with me. Jared likes a little variety in his sexual diet. Even three consorts couldn’t keep him completely satisfied. Maybe right now he’s happy enough with just you, but that will change. Once the novelty wears off, his interest will wane.”
I was really supposed to believe that? Snort. I gave her a pitying look. “Jealousy isn’t attractive, you know. You don’t wear it well.”
Jared, who I could sense was totally riled, went to say something to the bitch. But then Denny – my very own personal saviour – appeared at her side and held up his index finger. A sting suddenly appeared at the tip, making Joy gasp.
“Two things can happen,” began Denny. “You could walk away of your own accord, or I could stab you with this and drag you away. I wouldn’t recommend the latter. It itches like crazy, and you’ll have an oozing spot tomorrow. So, what will it be?”
Joy shot me an ugly scowl, shoved away from Cristiano, and then marched off.
I sent Denny a smile. “You know I adore you, right?” He laughed and returned to his table.
Cristiano gestured at Joy’s retreating form. “I think she thought she’d find an ally in me.”
Confused, I asked, “Why would she think that?”
Cristiano frowned, apparently surprised by my question. Then he looked at Jared, arching a quizzical brow.
“She doesn’t see it,” Jared explained with a sigh.
Ava blinked rapidly, looking just as surprised as her brother. “Really? But he always” She stopped as Cristiano took her arm and began to literally drag her back to their table. Wearing her cheery smile again, she waved at me. “Enjoy your meal! And happy birthday again!” I noticed that Salem followed the cute little thing with his eyes as she moved. She presented him with a bright, flirty smile to which he grunted. For whatever reason, she seemed to find that hilarious.