Free Jessie's Jewels [Submissive Sirens 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) by Charlotte Smith Page B

secretly grateful for his presence. As annoying as he was, he was wonderful to have close by during sticky situations.
    The silence stretched between them, and Jessie cleared her throat, trying to think of something to say. “Your Grace is welcome to stay the night. It will be very late by the time we arrive.” Belatedly, Jessie recalled the unconscious man in the back seat. “And of course your driver will be welcome to stay as long as necessary for him to recover.” She cursed inwardly, knowing she’d have to ask Liam to give up his bed. She didn’t have the extra rooms in the house open, and even if she did, there was no furniture in them to speak of. She’d give up her own bed, but she knew Gabriel and Liam would never accept.
    “Thank you, Your Ladyship.” Gabriel was intent on the road ahead of him. “Once Paul here is back on his feet, I’ll have someone come and pick him up, and at the same time drop off my things.”
    Jessie blanched. “Your...things?”
    Gabriel glanced at her for a moment, and Jessie was startled to see that he was amused. “Those men told you they’d be back. You didn’t honestly think I’d leave you on your own, did you?”
    Jessie stared at him. “I have Liam with me. I’m sure, Gabriel, that it won’t be necessary.” Even as she said the words, she thought about the threat the masked men had made against her, realizing she hadn’t considered that they could attack her in her home. The thought made her shiver, and she kind of hoped Gabriel would insist on staying with her. She realized she needn’t have worried and rolled her eyes as his innate arrogance took over.
    “We don’t even know who they are,” Gabriel asserted. “If I thought you and Liam would consent to staying at Hartley House, I’d be driving you back there right now. But I know how headstrong you are”—Jessie snorted, and Gabriel looked at her disapprovingly—“and I know you’d never leave your home. So this is the next most reasonable option.”
    Jessie sighed. “And if these men never come back?”
    Gabriel didn’t look at her when he answered. “Then I suppose I’ll be a permanent houseguest. I’ll stay as long as it takes.”
    As they drove on and the lights of the manor came into view, Jessie stole a glance at Gabriel. She could have sworn he was smiling.

Chapter 11
     
    Jessie winced as she braided her hair, the tugs on her locks harder than necessary. She scowled at her reflection and kept going, annoyed at herself for noticing. Once finished with the braid, however, she sighed and conceded defeat. The French braid she’d constructed was so tight it was already making her forehead throb, and her eyes were pulled into slits, giving her the appearance of having had a truly unfortunate face lift. She undid the braid and ran her fingers through her hair, massaging her scalp that still felt like it was on fire. Rather than rebraiding, Jessie grabbed a jaw clip and clipped her hair into a careless knot high up on her head before whirling away from the mirror and grabbing her riding boots. She flounced onto her bed and tucked a foot into the first boot, zipping it up before giving the other boot the same treatment. Once she was ready to go, Jessie sighed.
    It had been just over two weeks since the night of, as Jessie liked to think of it, The Incident , and Jessie was feeling seriously uncomfortable. She was also seriously annoyed, and she flopped backward on her bed, throwing an arm over her eyes and groaning as she thought of the various sources of her annoyance.
    First, she didn’t like living in fear. She’d spend so much of her life feeling like a prisoner of her family, and now that she was on her own she wasn’t used to this horrible nervousness that seemed to affect her all the time. She’d tried her best to dismiss the threat the masked men had uttered before they’d run off, but a small part of her couldn’t let it go. She was always on alert now, and it was exhausting! She