Chapter 196: Meaningful Smile

Gabrielle squats by the nightstand and rummages through the drawers as she talks to Avery. A long, dark shadow falls over her, and she drops the phone with shock. Then she leaps to her feet and turns to face the tall man.

He's just gotten out of the shower, and his flaxen hair drips water. The droplets fall down his handsome face, and trail down his tanned and muscled chest. Then they continue to slide downward. He's completely naked and hasn't even wrapped a towel around his waist. Gabrielle tries not to look down.

"I—I—I didn't," Gabrielle stammers.

"Shut up," the man says. His voice is rich and deep and distinctly male. The very air seems to vibrate when he speaks.

"Why are you naked?" Gabrielle asks, fighting the urge to look below his waist.

"Do I need to remind you that you're the one in my bedroom?" the man asks with an inviting smile. "Besides, I think you're already familiar with my naked body."

He crosses the room, slowly advancing on her like a predator on prey. She backs into the wall and freezes as he brings his hand to caress her face.

"I haven't seen you naked before," she whispers.

His hand drops to her lips, and he slowly runs his fingers between them. "Your eyes say otherwise," he says. "They say you want to swallow me." Abruptly he drops his hand and steps away from her. "Why are you in my room, anyway?"

"Umm, I was looking for a pen," Gabrielle says, realizing how lame the excuse sounds as soon as it's out of her mouth.

She hopes it's not obvious that she was looking for some way to find out more about his identity. Though he claims he can't remember who he is, she suspects he's lying. She hopes that he's grown careless now that the police have given up trying to identify him, but she's determined to return him to his family. She can't endure him a second longer.

"There aren't any pens in my room," he says, "But I have a pen on my body, do you need it?"

"Your body?" Gabrielle asks with confusion, "I don't understand."

The man smirks and approaches her again. She can feel his breath on her neck and the heat of his naked body against hers. Although she can't see his expression, she can guess his intentions and panic flooded her veins.

"What did you need again?" the man asks.

"A pen," Gabrielle whispers.

"Well, I can let you borrow mine," he says, stepping away and glancing down at his half-erect dick.

Gabrielle covers her eyes with her hands. "You're an asshole!" She shouts, "Get away from me! You're disgusting!"

Jackson Oliver smiles to himself. What a cute, innocent girl! He thinks. It's so easy to tease her. He grabs the clean bathrobe off his bed and glances at the bedside table. He doubts she was actually looking for a pen, but he's not particularly worried. Sometimes he intentionally leaves his address book filled with account information and passwords lying around. Other times he leaves the safe wide open.

He ties the robe loosely around his waist and finds Gabrielle sitting on the leather sofa in the living room. Her legs are crossed at the knee, and she sits on top of her hands. The position is charmingly girlish.

He looks around the apartment and smiles with satisfaction. He's joined the two apartments and redone them in a French Country style. Gray and black wallpaper adorn the walls, and dazzling crystal chandeliers sparkle in every room. Each piece of furniture has been carefully selected by one of the top interior designers, and many pieces were imported straight from France.

He sinks onto the sofa next to her and sees her swallow nervously. He looks sideways as she slides further away from him. He follows her, sliding down the sofa, so they're only a few inches apart. Suddenly, she jumps up and holds out her palm.

"Give me my credit card," she says with surprising boldness. 

"What card?" Jackson asks, running his fingers through his damp hair.

"You used my credit card for all this," she says, gesturing at the apartment. "I want it back. Now."

"Hmm," he says.

"Hmm? Just hmm? If you don't give my card back right now, I'll call the police and have them charge you with fraud and whatever else I can think of," she says.

"You can certainly try," he says.

She flushes with a combination of anger and confusion, and he thinks she looks lovely.

"Are you sure about that?" she asks uncertainty.

"Yeah," he answers, "Go right ahead."

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She chews her lip, and he watches her face change from pink to red to splotchy and livid. "Cook something for me, and I'll consider giving the card back to you," he says.

"And my money," Gabrielle adds, "I want my money back too."

Jackson stands and approaches her. He's a head taller than her, and he guesses that her head would fit perfectly at his neck. He's tempted to close the gap between them and try, but he stops mere inches from her. "Do you think I'm rich?" he asks, "Do you think I just have that kind of money to return to you?"

Gabrielle shakes her head despondently and walks into the kitchen. 

Avery hurriedly lifts the blankets and tries to climb out of the hospital bed. She needs to find her sister immediately before she becomes the victim of another bad man. 

"Mrs. Howel, where are you going?" Robert asks with alarm, "The doctors say you can't leave your bed yet."

"I'm going to find Gabrielle," Avery answers firmly.

"The doctors said you need to rest for two days, Mrs. Howel," Robert says. "Please, think about your health. Think about the health of your child."

Avery grimaces at the mention of the baby, but she continues to wobble across the hospital room. She's barefoot, and the cold tile floors feel cold against her small feet — Robert groans and runs to grab her a pair of shoes. Avery stumbles out of the door and immediately collides with Leonie.

Leonie is dressed in a well-cut pink suit, and she's carrying a wicker basket filled with exotic fruits. She gasps and drops the basket, and the fruit goes bouncing across the floor. She still clutches a piece of paper in her hand. "Avery, dear, where are you going?" Leonie asks, "Why are you in such a hurry?"

Avery squints at the paper in Leonie's hands—it looks suspiciously like medical records. Leonie quickly shoved the paper into her purse, as if she hopes Avery won't notice.

"Why are you, barefoot?" Leonie asks, glancing at Avery's feet. "You know, you're an odd woman, Avery—aren't you worried that you'll catch a chill and hurt the baby?"

Before Avery can answer, Robert, jogs into the hallway carrying a pair of ballet flat style shoes. He places them on the floor in front of Avery's feet, and graciously helps her slide them on.

"Robert, Avery needs to eat more fruits," Leonie says. "I brought her some mangos, papayas, and passionfruit, but I've clumsily dropped them all. Can you help me with them, please?"

Robert immediately stoops over to collect the fruit, carefully inspecting each piece to make sure it's not bruised or damaged in any way. He places them all in the background and jogs away to leave it in Avery's room.

"Avery, I heard that you were hospitalized, so I come to see you," Leonie says. She smiles nastily, "I was worried when I heard the news—it's so dangerous for a pregnant woman to experience any kind of stress."

"Well, Leonie, I'm sorry to disappoint, but I'm afraid I haven't miscarried," Avery says.

"What are you talking about?" Leonie asks, smiling slightly too big. "I really am worried about you. Tell me, how are you? Do you feel better? What have the doctors told you to do?"

"The doctors recommended silence," Avery says dryly.

"I don't mean to bother you," Leonie says in an injured tone. "I just care about you."

"I don't need you to care about me," Avery says. "Now, if you don't mind, I have places to be."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to keep you," Leonie says. "I guess I just feel especially invested in your pregnancy, you know. The Howel family means so much to me, and I know how important this child is. Besides, I have to admit that lately, I've been hoping that one day I'll be pregnant too. Anyway, I know you have things to do, so I'll be on my way now."

Avery frowns—Leonie's speech seems strange and rambling. In the old days, Leonie was always artful and scheming, but now she seems flighty and confused. Avery shakes her head to clear the thoughts of Leonie. She needs to focus on rescuing Gabrielle for now; she can wonder about Leonie later.

Avery follows Leonie down the hall and toward the elevators. Quick footsteps following behind her, and she turns around to see Evan.

"Why are you here?" Evan asks Leonie.

"Well, I was incredibly worried about Avery," Leonie says, "And I was already at the hospital for some tests anyway. I have to go now, though." Leonie smiles and rushes into one of the elevators.

Avery watches the elevator doors close with a strange feeling in her stomach. Just before the door slides shut, Leonie smiles strangely. Evan clears his throat and grabs Avery from behind, scooping her into his arms.

"Why did you run out of the room?" he asks. "You're not well enough to be on your feet yet. Don't you care about this baby?"

"I want to find Gabrielle," Avery says. "She's in danger again."

"Well, I won't let you risk the life of our child for your sister," Evan says.

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