Billionaire Defiant Wife

Chapter 73: So Jealous

"How dare she make such a provocative gesture in front of all the servants," he thinks furiously.

Evan stares at her viciously, "Get lost!"

Avery freezes but then sneers at her husband, "I've been waiting to hear you say that."

She stands up and starts to walk to the door but Tinder and the servants beat her there. Instead of blocking her path, they all leave. Suddenly, she's alone in the dining room with Evan.

In the next moment, Evan has his arms around her waist. He pulled her toward the dining room table and pushed the food away. Then he picks her up and places her on the table.

"Let go!" she hisses.

"So you can seduce more men?" he asks.

A bit of sauce still clings to her lips and he recalls the provocative way she ate her pasta. Blood rushes to a certain body part, and he can feel it swelling in his pants. He wanted to ignore her, to prove to himself that he's still in control, that she doesn't have any power over him, but Avery's unwitting move destroyed it all.

"It's not my fault," Avery says, wrapping her long slim legs around his waist. She pulls the black credit card from her pocket and holds it casually in her hands, "If you insist on being so stingy with me, I'll have to find other men to pay for my expenses."

Avery makes her expression seductive, knowing that Evan won't be able to resist.

"Ahh, so that's why you're so sullen," he says, "But why do you need all of that jewelry?"

He pinches her jaw between his long fingers and stares at the red sauce on her mouth.

"You can spend 200 million to please Leonie, so why can't I spend the same on myself?" Avery asks.

"Huh?" Evan asks, puzzled.

Before he can give her comment further thought, he's distracted by her hands on his pants. She pulls his pocket open, slips her fingers inside and drops the credit card. As she pulls her hand away, her fingers brush his thigh. Evan quickly removes the card. Holding it between his fingers, he brushes it against Avery's face.

"I'll tell you the PIN if you promise to stop making passes at other men."

"So jealous," Avery says teasingly, "Have you fallen for me?"

A voice in Evans' head screams yes. He spent the whole night smoking and asking himself that question, and he can't deny it any longer. But he knows that a smart woman like Avery will use his feelings to her advantage. The first person to fall loses the game of love, and Evan refuses to admit he's lost.

"I'm only reminding you not to forget who you are," Evan says.

Avery sneers, "I think you're forgetting that I'm nothing to you once the divorce comes through."

Evan ignores her taunt. "You are a wife as long as you stay in this house. If you don't control your behavior, I'll do it for you. Oh, I almost forgot about Dr. Meyer," he says, pausing to watch her reaction.

Avery shakes slightly at the mention of Charles. She doesn't care what Evan does to her, but Charles is innocent. Evan lifts her face up. He has been fighting his urges for a long time, but he's ready to give in. Avery purses her lips, unaware of how attractive her expression makes her.

Suddenly he licks the tomato sauce on her lip; it's spicy and sweet like Avery.

He pulls himself away from her mouth and looks into her eyes, gently he rests his forehead against hers.

"It's your birthday," he whispers in a low voice, "Is that why you wanted the jewelry?"

Avery is shocked to hear that it's her birthday, but she tries to keep a straight face. She doesn't want Evan to know just how bad her memory has become. Besides her birthday provides a great cover for the jewelry. She just wishes she'd known earlier so she could have tried to talk Evan into giving her a gift instead of humiliating herself with the credit card in the store.

Evan seems to sense her hesitation, and he rubs her earlobes, "Let's go for a drive."

"No."

Avery tilts her head to avoid Evan's annoying move. Her earlobes are too sensitive; when he touches her like that her body goes soft and she wants to avoid giving in to him. Besides, the thought of him buying Leonie a two hundred million dollar ring is as disgusting as eating a dead fly. She wants to spit in his face, not let him caress her.

"Maybe I'll give you your phone back if you behave well," Evan says.

He gives her a meaningful stare. He knows that there are other ways he can control her, and he's willing to give up the leverage of the phone.

"Seriously?" Avery asks.

She stares at Evan and tries to guess what game he's playing now.

"Yes," Evan whispers, "Just treat me like I'm your husband."

"Get the car ready," she says.

Evan lifts her down from the table and holds out his hand to her. Avery gives him a blank, puzzled stare.

"Give me your hand," he says.

Reluctantly, she holds out her hand and he seizes it at once, tightly intertwined his fingers with her. He holds her hand all the way to the car. The whole walk she has to force herself to remain calm when all she wants to do is snatch her hand away from him. No one has ever held her hand like this before.

"My palm is sweaty," Avery complains.

"I don't mind," Evan responds.

"Well, I do."

"Behave," he warns.

Avery wants to struggle against him, but she forces herself to submit.

"This is just to get my phone back," she thinks over and over.

Evan holds her hand tighter and smiles with satisfaction. His grip is so tight that Avery can feel the flickering of his pulse. His palm is quite warm, and she begins to feel his hands grow sweaty as well. He keeps her hand captive the entire car ride.

When the car stops, Evan helps her out of the car. Avery allows him to lead her, forcing her body to comply with his. She quickly realizes they've arrived at the luxury mall. An army of Evan's bodyguards marches them into the mall to the doors of the jewelry store.

The shop clerks all stop doing what they're doing and stare wordlessly at the entourage. Finally, one clerk finds her voice to welcome them.

Another clerk recognizes Avery and gives her a despising look, "Her again? Is she not embarrassed enough after what happened this morning?"

Another voice chimes in, "Yeah, what kind of scam is she running? Does she think we're stupid?"

Their voices rise in speculation:

"She's with some guy. Is he her lover?" asks the first, "They're quite intimate."

"Isn't that Evan Howel?" another asks.

"That's not possible!" responds the first, "Evan likes Leonie."

As Evan's team enters the calm, quiet store becomes busy and hectic. The assistants are all confused about what to do. Avery glances around the shop and identifies the clerks who served her in the morning. They try to avoid eye contact with Averynervous about what's to come.

Evan's cold voice rings out above the noise and chaos of the store, "Bag every single piece in the shop."