I shield my eyes from the low morning sun and get my focus on him. 'I did better than last time.' I splutter between dragging in long, wheezy breaths.
He smiles. 'You did, baby.' He drops to his knees besides me and lifts my leg, rubbing firm, slow circles into my calf muscle. It has me groaning and him laughing. 'I'm proud of you. Give it a few days and you'll fly through it.'
What? My eyes bulge under my closed lids. If I had enough breath, I would cough in disgust. Has this man ever heard of the term, baby steps?
I lay on the grass as he works his magic hands on every burning muscle. I could lie here all day, but all too soon, he pulls me up into a sitting position and waves a twenty under my nose.
'I came prepared. Coffee?' He nods past me, and I look to see a Starbucks over the road.
I could kiss him. I throw my arms around him in gratitude for his forward thinking. I've been rubbed back to life, and now I get a Starbucks. The run was worth it. He laughs and stands with me still wrapped around his neck.
'Stretch your legs.' he demands softly, unlinking my arms from him. I comply immediately, remembering the last time he told me to stretch after our run - I didn't. I was too busy being distracted by his unreasonable demand to have me work at The Manor constantly. As a result, I spent all day drawing my foot up to my backside to try and alleviate some of the aching.
He stands and watches me as I see through my muscle stretches. He looks so happy, his eyes twinkling, his frown line nowhere to be seen.
'Come on.' He takes my hand and we stroll over to Starbucks, getting served super quick due to the early hour. I'm hungry, but if I eat anything I'm only going to load my body back up with the calories I've just burned off. Everything smells so fresh and yummy, though.
'Do you want something to eat?' Jesse asks. He must have seen me staring longingly at the pastries.
'No.' I answer quickly, dragging my eyes away from the mouthwatering temptations in the glass cabinet.
He smiles and wraps his palm around the back of my neck, pulling me into him and resting his lips on my forehead before turning his attention back to the swooning sales clerk. 'A cappuccino, extra shot, no chocolate, a strong black coffee and two blueberry muffins, please.' He smiles brightly at the young girl, who giggles nervously. He returns his eyes to me. 'Go and get a seat.'
'I said I wasn't hungry.'
'You'll eat, Ava. End of.'
I shake my head at him, but don't argue. Instead, I find a window seat and flop down in the leather couch. What a perfect way to start the day, ten mile run aside. I would still take sleepy sex over this, though. I would take sleepy sex over anything.
My mind starts drifting to Jesse's plea for me to go to The Manor's party. What sort of party would it be, anyway? Visions of semi-naked people, all milling around, springs to mind, along with hazy, dim lighting and erotic music. Oh yes, and grid-like contraptions, hooks, hoists...whips.
Fucking hell!
It would be like a giant gang-bang with kinky toys! Oh Jesus good Lord above. Not only do I not want to go myself, I'm not that crazy about the thought of Jesse being there either. An assault of jealousy spikes at me repeatedly as I imagine women drooling all over him, trying to entice him with promises of wicked sex. There's no doubt he is up for a bit of rough, and he's bloody good at it. Oh God, he's used to all of that shit. Okay, I'm having complete mental breakdown in Starbucks, and again I'm reminded that he's had a lot of practice...with sex...and toys...and...
STOP!
What a depressing thought. I saw the look on those women's faces when I was at The Manor. I was an interloper, and I can imagine the reception I would get if I did go to the party. It certainly wouldn't be any warmer than my previous visits. I would be, in effect, gatecrashing their gang-bang. This is horrible.
'Dreaming?'
I pull my eyes from the lush greenness of the park across the road, to the lush greenness of my Lord of the Sex Manor. I smile a really unconvincing smile. I feel depressed and slightly inadequate all of