Chapter 16

Ana was sitting a little rigidly in her seat. She felt uncomfortable. It wasn’t that she didn’t like the place she was in or that she felt insecure about her appearance. No. It was simply because of the man who was sitting opposite her. He was staring at her like his life depended on it.

After coaxing her into meeting him for lunch, they had gone to a small cafe. There was some weird silence. The only words they had uttered were the orders they had passed to the waiter. Ana didn’t know how to feel but she knew she needed the man to stop looking at her like she was some kind of chocolate drizzle.

It had not been hard for Jack to convince Adams to let Ana go with him. After all, the interview was the only thing she had planned as major work that day. And it had gone brilliantly so she definitely deserved a break. Plus, he was Jack Knight. And no matter how much Adams wanted to pretend hierarchy and people in power had no influence over him, it was embarrassing to see how quickly he had obeyed Jack.

But Ana wasn’t saying anything. It was none of her business.

"So all we're going to do is stare at each other?" Ana asked, a bit of snark in her voice.

Jack's lips lifted into a small smirk. Ana was convinced he didn't have a sense of humor. He smiled (if at all those lips lifts were smiles) at things that she didn't find remotely funny. She wondered how the photographer had managed to make him laugh during the photoshoot.

"And what if I like staring at you?" Jack countered and Ana fought with her inner fan girl in order to conserve her composure.

"And if I don't like staring at you?" Ana asked with a straight face. Jack chuckled, then let his lips rest in his famous half smirk.

"That's not what you were saying a month ago," he answered, the smirk still present on his face.

Ana was secretly pleased that he had remembered her. It would have been a huge who bruise if he hadn't. But her only reaction at his words was an exaggerated eye roll.

"I was clearly drunk."

"Not drunk enough to forget me," he said, then after a suggestive pause, added, "And what i did to you." He was leaning towards her and Ana could swear that the temperature in the room had gone up a notch.

She swallowed. "It was clearly not as epic as you say it was. Cause I don't remember much," was her breezy reply.

Jack smirked again. "I clearly remember you screaming yes, daddy, more! But my brain could be faulty."

Ana clenched her legs and shot Jack a dirty look. "It's surely faulty. And your imitation of me is not accurate at all."

"Yeah and I surely imagined the part where you told me fuck me harder, dammit!" Jack said mad leaned back into his chair. Ana furrowed her brows with her lips set in a straight line.

As she was about to retort though, someone cleared their throat above them. Both looked up and Ana noticed with mortification that the waiter was standing there.

He looked really young. About nineteen and his face was flushed. He had probably heard all what Jack had said. Ana shot Jack a dirty look and watched as he placed the food in front of them.

She smiled up at him but to her dismay, he didn't return it. He averted his eyes, then walked away. Ana stared at him till he disappeared then turned her gaze on Jack. He had an amused smile on his lips and Ana felt like slapping it off.

"What the hell Jack?" she asked and his smile widened.

"Was simply trying to refresh your memory. Should I continue?" he asked and Ana actually felt like punching him.

"If you dare.." she trailed out, leaving the trait unfinished. Her expression was meant to be threatening but it only amused Jack.

"Kitten, you don't frighten me. Not even one bit. Your claws aren't sharp enough to scare me," he said.

"I bite too. Don't forget," she retorted sassily and rolled her eyes. All of a sudden, her tummy growled. She looked down at the fresh soup in front of her and sighed.

It looked good. But she wasn't sure she was going to get full. Of recent, she had started eating more. She knew it was probably because of the baby. So she needed to control her weight and diet.

"Have you eaten since morning?" Jack asked, his voice stern now, the playful traces gone.

"I– no," Ana said hesitantly, not knowing what to make of his expression and tone.

"Why not?" He asked and she swallowed.

"I wasn't really hungry," she said slowly.

"Eat. And we'll bag some stuff for you to eat later," he said in a tone that's brooked no arguments.

Ana had never heard him speak like that. And to be honest, it was a turn on. He was being all dominant and it made her hormones go all over the place. He called the waiter. It was the same one from a while before and he still refused to look at Ana. It was almost like Ana had committed a crime. Jack said some things to the waiter and he nodded then walked away.

She followed his command meekly, looking up at him from time to time. She noticed he hadn't touched his food yet. So she asked, "Aren't you eating? You said you were hungry right?

Jack looked at her with a smile. "Trust me, I am hungry. But definitely not for this soup," he responded and Ana looked away, blushing. He was something else.

***

Jack looked at the girl he had been searching for with a smile on his face. He didn't know how lucky he had been. Just when that incompetent Powell was telling him to give up, he had found her.

Jack watched her eat. She was delicate and it shows even in the way she was eating. She was holding the spoon lightly and she made sure that none of the soup leaked. Seeing her again was strange for Jack. He had thought his emotions that day had been magnified because he had consumed a lot of liquor. But seeing her here, in front of him, made him believe that it wasn't an effect of alcohol.

He felt protective over her. He didn't know why. Of course Jack was turned on by her. He felt like taking her right there and fuck what the rest of the people said. And the slurping sounds she was making definitely weren't helping his case. He shifted a bit in his seat. She looked up at him with those whiskey coloured eyes and he almost kissed her then and there. She was attractive in ways he didn't think she was aware of.

"What?" she asked and Jack knew immediately that she was nervous. There was a smile playing around her lips; a clearly nervous one.

"What?" Jack posed her question back to her. He enjoyed teasing her. Her reactions were genuine and funny. And her sass was incomparable. Made him want to turn her over his lap and spank her till her ass turned red.

"Why do you keep staring at me? And won't you eat?" Ana asked and Jack smirked.

"I like staring at you." It was the second time in the day he had told her this. And her reaction this time was just as priceless as the first one. She widened her eyes and he could see clearly that she was trying hard to keep her composure "Well, there are much better things to do at a restaurant than staring at me. You could eat for example," Ana pointed out. Jack chuckled. She was funny.

"You're by far the best 'thing' in the room," he said, smirking his signature half smirk.

"Oh. Okay," was all she said and Jack chuckled again. He loved making her flustered. And he loved seeing her flustered. She was adorable.

As soon as she was done eating, Jack called the waiter to come. This one was carrying two bags in his hands and Jack watched as Ana's eyes widened a bit.

The waiter placed the bags on the table as well as the bill. Jack slipped an appropriate amount of bills under the bill then stood up. He went to Ana's place before she could get out of her seat.

He helped her up then picked her purse that had been resting on the floor up. Ana picked the food and they walked out of the restaurant, towards Jack's car.

"Why did you pay for my food?" Ana asked. Jack didn't say anything. They both put on their seatbelts and settled in before he gave her an answer.

"Whenever we're together, don't think of paying for your food."

Ana swallowed and looked out of the window. Jack stared at her for a while then started the car. He wasn't going to let her go. Not anytime soon.