Father & Son: Book two of the Jensen Family Series (25 page)

John dropped into the sofa with a deep
sigh before acknowledging his nephew who was hovering at the edge of the living
area.

“What’s wrong?” John sat up, leaning his
arms on his knees as he took in the boys uncomfortable demeanour.

“I er, I sort of have a favour to ask.”
Paul stumbled on the words, asking for help didn’t come easy to him.

“Which is it? You do have a favour to ask
or you don’t, there’s no sort of about it.” John hadn’t meant to snap, he’d had
a bad day, he was tired and he didn’t need teenage dramas right now.

His Uncle’s tone and body language had
Paul seriously reconsidering asking his question but he took a deep breath “I
was wondering if I could borrow your car for the evening.” He blurted.

John grinned and sat back. “Hot date?”

Paul nodded. “I made arrangements to pick
her up before I remembered I didn’t have a car.”

“Idiot.” Delving into his pocket, he
pulled out his bunch of keys and removed the one for his car before tossing it
at Paul, “Take it easy and Paul, no shagging in my car.”

“I have the feeling she’s not that kind of
girl.” He answered. “Thanks John.”

Pulling up in front of iron electric
gates, Paul checked the address he had written down before lowering the window
and speaking into the intercom beside the gate. He had the opportunity to have
a good look at the front of the large house as the gates slowly opened. He was
impressed and confused. This part of town was populated with high powered
socialites which explained the opulence of the house so why on earth would Eve
lower herself to frequent Jokers? True it was the place to be seen at the
moment but its renovation was long overdue and even though Paul loved the club,
his rose tinted glasses weren’t dark enough to hide its many faults.

He eased the Jaguar the through the gates
and around the large fountain that served as a roundabout in the centre of the
driveway before gliding to a stop by the double front doors. His feet crunched
on the loose gravel as he approached the door to be greeted by a butler and
instructed to wait in the hallway.

Looking around him, he had sort of
expected the black and white checked marble floors and sweeping dual
staircases. His gaze landed on some papers on the ornate table next to him and
he quickly realised the house was in fact, up for sale. As wealthy as he was,
even he wouldn’t think of purchasing a property such as this, not at this time
in his life but one day, yes, one day.

After keeping him waiting for exactly ten
minutes, Eve stepped out of the drawing room to greet him. She’d dressed
carefully in slacks and a subtly low cut top which immediately drew his gaze to
her chest. Peep toe shoes complete with ankle strap and a clutch bag completed
her look.

As expected, he complimented her outfit
and offered his arm, she hadn’t expected him to open the car door for her and
help her into the low slung vehicle, she hadn’t thought his breeding would have
extended so far. He climbed out of the car and again opened her door for her,
offering his hand in assistance before handing the keys to a valet and watching
nervously as the young man drove away.

Conversation in the restaurant was stilted
and more than a little awkward. Even though Paul was fairly well known, it
seemed Eve was extremely popular and they were disturbed several times by
people stopping by their table for a quick chat and to sum him up. Not a single
person spoke to him and Eve made no effort whatsoever introduce him.

She was impressed that he didn’t pout or
complain that he was being ignored by her socialite friends. She was even more
impressed that he didn’t flinch when presented with the bill for their meal.
She had deliberately picked the most expensive items on the menu in order to
gauge his reaction but it would seem the young man in front of her also had
expensive tastes and a healthy appetite for red meat.

His manners were impeccable. He used the
correct cutlery for each course and was unfailingly polite to the waiting staff
while maintaining an air of being in total control. His confidence shone
through and she found she was actually becoming quite attracted to him. She
didn’t like the attention his dark good looks garnered him. Even the female
hostess, a woman of utmost professionalism had fawned over him and people of both
genders were detouring past their table to get a better look at him. Yes he was
pin up worthy but that didn’t mean she had to like the attention he was
getting. Credit where it was due however, not once did he engage any of his
admirers. He gave the overall impression that he was well used to the attention
but the only person currently worthy of his attention was her.

In truth, Paul struggled through the meal.
He fought to keep his gaze from her amazing cleavage but he fought harder
against his rising temper at each and every upper class twit who gave him the
once over then succinctly ignored him. His only solace was the admiring looks
and smiles he was receiving from the other patrons. While more than used to the
attention, he could see that it was irritating Eve but she was far too much of
a lady to voice her opinion.

Once at the cinema, to see a film of her
choosing, he escorted her to her seat. As always, he preferred the back row for
the privacy it gave him but when she sat and folded her hands primly into her
lap without a second glance at him, she unwittingly gave him the proverbial “Do
Not Touch” signal that had him dreading the chick flick she’d chosen.

A torturous few hours followed during
which he’d tried to take her hand and put an arm around her shoulder but the
ice cold daggers she shot him cooled his ardour sufficiently and had him firmly
in his place and behaving for the rest of the film.

She placed her hand over his on the gear
stick as he drove her home, “I had a lovely time Paul.” She smiled warmly at
him for the first time that evening.

“You did?” He asked, shooting a glance at
her.

“Yes. I’d very much like to see you
again.”

“Ok.” He frowned as he drove, he could
have sworn she’d deemed him not worthy and he wouldn’t see her again after tonight.
“Only if you’re sure. I guess it won’t hurt to see each other unless of course,
you are moving out of the area.”

“Moving?” She feigned surprise. Obviously
he’d seen the paperwork carelessly left by her father. “Oh, no, we aren’t
moving; we are just having the house valued for insurance purposes.”

Now he wasn’t sure if he’d caught her in a
lie or if she was simply being misled by her parents. He chose to let it go and
smiled as he stopped at the electric gates. “That’s good. I’ll be better placed
to take you out once I’ve bought another car.” He told her as the gates opened
silently in front of them allowing him to crawl up to the front door. He raised
her hand to his lips and placed a soft kiss on the back of it but made no move
to get out of the car.

She blushed as his lips brushed her hand.
He was indeed a gentleman when the need arose. She was beginning to fall under
his spell and made the mistake of looking into those deep brown eyes seconds
before he moved towards her and pressed his lips to her. She let out a startled
gasp which only allowed access for his tongue. At the invasion of the warm
wetness, she pushed him away and shook her head.

Sliding from the car, he couldn’t help the
smile that split his lips as he walked around the back of it. True, he liked a
woman to make him work for his rewards but he had to wonder exactly how hard he
was prepared to work. This one wasn’t going to just roll over and spread her
legs. She was going to test him. Challenge accepted. He reached for the
passenger side door handle, extending his hand to her as she swung her legs
over the sill. As she came elegantly to her feet before him, he placed a
further kiss on her hand before walking her the few feet to the door, bidding
her goodnight as the butler stood aside to let her in.

Stopping on his way home to fill the
Jaguar up with petrol as a gesture of thanks to his Uncle, he found he couldn’t
tear his thoughts away from Eve but for the life of him couldn’t fathom why he
found her quite so intriguing.

John was where Paul had left him, slumped
on the sofa, the only difference being the older man had changed out of his
business suit and into more comfortable clothing. John looked at his watch as
Paul came in. He turned and peered behind his nephew, puzzlement clear on his
face.

“Bloody hell, you’re home early.” He
stated. “I might have been entertaining and you just waltz in.”

“I’ve never seen you entertain here let
alone dressed like that. “ Paul quipped as he handed the car key back to his
Uncle.

Giving due consideration to his nephew’s
words, John nodded, stood and reached for the boy, turning his head this way
and that, examining Paul’s neck for love bites, finding none. “Ok, what did you
do to her?”

Paul stepped away from his Uncle,
grinning, “Nothing. She’s a lady.”

“A lady? Meaning she didn’t let you get a
hand in her underwear.” John scoffed.

Paul took a healthy swig from a bottle of
water. “She didn’t even let me French her.”

“Oh! Damn. That’s cold. So when are you
seeing her again?”

Laughing even though his mouth was full of
water and having to swallow quickly, Paul answered, “As soon as I have a car
sorted. Filled yours up by the way because I’m nice like that.”

He kept in touch with her via phone calls
and the odd sneaked moment at the club. He absolutely refused to see her until
he had his own car despite her offers of collecting him in her chauffeur driven
car. He didn’t trust himself enough to keep his hands off her while being
driven by someone else, no; his hands needed to be firmly grasping a steering
wheel if he was going to be sitting next to her. He had already decided which
form of automobile would be his next purchase. He’d toyed for a while with
simply buying another Audi but decided he could never replace his first love
and while sticking with the German theme, went in a different direction.

Paul didn’t breathe a word about his new
car as he sat diligently going through proposals for further upgrades to
various council owned properties, the radio playing quietly in the background
was barely audible over the ringing phones and the voices of the three ladies
responsible for answering them. The deep growl of an engine and the crunch of
tyres in the yard was worthy of everyone’s attention. The tone of the engine
making it clear the vehicle wasn’t one of the vans arriving back from a job.
Taking a quick glance out of the window before coming to his feet and almost
skipping around his desk, Paul jumped down the steps out of the Portacabin and
greeted the new arrivals.

He took a slow stroll around his new car, an
ear to ear grin splitting his face as he took in the gleaming black paintwork
and just downright sexiness of the beast in front of him.

“Now there’s practicality at its finest.”
Phil spoke from the top of the steps.

Paul opened the door of the car and slid
into the driver’s seat, pushing it back further to accommodate his legs while
he looked around the interior. “Want to come for a drive?” He asked Phil.

“No thanks, I saw the state of your last
car remember.” Phil quipped.

“Bloody cheek.” Paul laughed before
climbing out of the vehicle. He turned to the beaming salesman who was no doubt
thanking his lucky stars for the large commission he would earn on the sale of
this car. Taking the paperwork from him, Paul invited him into the office to
complete the necessary documentation before taking possession of the keys and
hitting the phones to get the thing insured before he could legally take it out
of the yard.

Insurance sorted. Paul was now officially
the legal owner of a brand spanking new Porsche 911 turbo. The bucket seats in
the back were sufficient for Gavin’s child seat for now but knowing Carmen
would complain bitterly about him splurging, he had something up his sleeve to
quieten her complaints. He made two further phone calls. One to Carmen, arranging
to visit at the weekend and one to Eve asking if she was free that evening.

He spent much of the remainder of the day
looking longingly at his new prized possession. He considered just taking off
for the day but his work load was such that he knew slacking off now would only
cause him headaches later. He was the first one out of the door when the day
drew to an end.

Not wanting to be confined in a restaurant
with all this new smelling power at his fingertips, he asked Eve if she
wouldn’t mind taking a drive with him and that perhaps they’d stop for a bite
to eat later. She readily agreed and made the correct noises of admiration when
he collected her from her home. He drove them out of town and turned the car
towards the motor way. Eve was chatty this evening and he found he enjoyed her
company even though her sense of humour was a little out of whack with his own,
he found her anecdotes amusing.

A healthy blast of speed and a full tank
of petrol later, Paul returned them to London and parked on Embankment, taking
her hand as they strolled by the River Thames. He’d managed to pry from her
that she’d had three previous boyfriends, only one of whom had been a physical
relationship. That news had him heaving a sigh of relief; he’d begun to think
he was dealing with a virgin here. He spoke to her honestly about his vast
experiences but made sure to tell her that while he was incredibly attracted to
her, he wouldn’t pressure her into anything she wasn’t comfortable doing. Even
as the words left his mouth, his brain was thinking no, he wouldn’t pressure
her but persuasion was a powerful tool.