This Man – The Story from Jesse Series by Jodi Ellen Malpas – Read Books Online Free Ebooks good best novels to read

This Man – The Story from Jesse Series by Jodi Ellen Malpas – Read Books Online Free Ebooks good best novels to read http://www.ilovenovels.com Mon, 27 May 2024 20:58:23 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 http://www.ilovenovels.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/favicon.png This Man – The Story from Jesse Series by Jodi Ellen Malpas – Read Books Online Free Ebooks good best novels to read http://www.ilovenovels.com 32 32 This Woman Forever (This Man – The Story from Jesse #3) Read Online Jodi Ellen Malpas http://www.ilovenovels.com/this-woman-forever-this-man-the-story-from-jesse-3-read-online-jodi-ellen-malpas Mon, 27 May 2024 20:58:23 +0000 http://www.booksnovels.com/this-woman-forever-this-man-the-story-from-jesse-3-read-online-jodi-ellen-malpas Genre: Alpha Male, Angst, Billionaire, Contemporary, Drama, Erotic Authors: Jodi Ellen Malpas Series: This Man - The Story from Jesse Series by Jodi Ellen Malpas
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Total pages in book: 235
Estimated words: 227851 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1139(@200wpm)___ 911(@250wpm)___ 760(@300wpm)

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Living a life free of demons and finding forgiveness had always seemed unattainable to Jesse Ward. And yet Ava O'Shea offered him a chance of happiness, the possibility of a happy ever after. Their affair has been an intense whirlwind, full of highs and lows, and now Jesse's finally on the cusp of realizing what he always thought was impossible.

Love. Marriage. Acceptance.

Redemption.

Except for one very important thing. The final part of Jesse's past that he's kept from the woman of his dreams. Because surely Ava will walk away if she knows about the most damaging skeleton in his endless closet.

As Jesse navigates his wild, infinitely passionate relationship with Ava, the demons stir, threatening to damage their love and trust. His domination and fierceness inevitably intensifies, ensuring he's constantly straddling the line between bliss and complete irrationality.

His past is pursuing him.

His forever with Ava is uncertain.

And Jesse's faced with the inconceivable reality that by simply bringing Ava into his world, he's ultimately risked her life.

*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************

1

I look down onto the docks, my hands braced against the balustrade. I can hear Ava and her mother in the kitchen chatting. Everyone else has left after what was a lovely evening on the terrace, a fine meal, a proposal. But Ava’s parents are still here, and I might need to physically escort them out.

“Good view.”

I look over my shoulder and find Joseph on the threshold of the terrace, hands in his pockets. “I can’t say I ever really appreciated it before.”

“Mind if I join you?”

I smile mildly to myself. “Sure.” I can’t claim to know Joseph particularly well, but I do know he’s a man of few words and each one carries weight. I hear him approach and see him in my peripheral vision, joining me to look out across the city. The black sky is illuminated with windows of yellow lights. The moonlight is bouncing off the water. It really is spectacular.

“They’re talking about dresses and décor,” he says, rolling his eyes when I look at him. “Well, Elizabeth is doing most of the talking.”

I laugh under my breath. I can imagine. But she’s wasting her time. By tomorrow evening, everything will be in place. “Thanks for coming all this way.”

“Thanks for hosting us.”

“No problem,” I answer, and a lingering silence falls, not particularly uncomfortable but definitely loud. So I break it. “Is something on your mind, Joseph?” I ask, and this time it’s him laughing under his breath.

“Is it obvious?”

“Well, I know you didn’t come out here to join me in a romantic moment to take in the view.” I face him, showing him I’m ready to tackle whatever he’s going to hit me with. “Please, speak freely.”

He nods, mirroring me, looking back at the doors into the penthouse, where his wife and daughter are, before giving me his eyes. “Is Ava okay?”

I can’t hide my recoil. I wasn’t expecting that question. Can’t they see she’s fine? That I’m looking after her? Always will. “Is she okay?” I parrot, hoping he’ll elaborate.

“She seems a little . . . distracted.”

I can still hear Elizabeth rabbiting on about God knows what. Distracted. “I think she’s a little overwhelmed,” I say quietly.

“And pale.”

I shoot my eyes to Joseph. What the hell do I say? Tell him she’s ignoring all the signs that she’s pregnant?

But is she pregnant? The doctor said she wasn’t. He also said it may be too early to tell. There’s a box full of pregnancy tests hidden in the laundry room that could answer the question once and for all. Or her imminent period will. I’ve done the mental math. She’s due in a couple of weeks. Can I wait that long to know beyond doubt? Ava’s insisting on condoms. She’s also asked me outright what I’ve been doing with her pills. So she knows of my sins. Or, at least, that one.

And yet she still agreed to marry me. Fuck, I’m so fucking confused by all of these mixed messages. Distracted. Her father has noticed. “I’ll keep an eye on her,” I say quietly, wondering how I’ll handle this. Delicately is that answer. Problem is, I’m Jesse Ward. Not exactly known for a soft approach. I do try, though. I fail, but I try. I can’t fail this time. I clear my throat. “Do you have my number, Joseph?” I ask, pulling out my mobile, prompting him to get his. “I’m sure she’s fine.”

“I’m sure,” he says, albeit with hesitance he can’t hide.

Fuck, is he doubting me? Has Ava’s brother been pouring poison in his ear? “I’ll look after her,” I say, not for the first time, trying to squash any lingering reservations Joseph may have about the man his daughter’s marrying, regardless of the fact that he should be bursting with reservations. Fuck it all to hell. My perfect evening feels like it’s slipping down the pan, Joseph’s doubts unearthing my own. Has Ava changed her mind about marrying me? Did she say yes out of ease or embarrassment?

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With This Woman (This Man – The Story from Jesse #2) Read Online Jodi Ellen Malpas http://www.ilovenovels.com/with-this-woman-this-man-the-story-from-jesse-2-read-online-jodi-ellen-malpas Thu, 02 Nov 2023 21:56:28 +0000 http://www.booksnovels.com/with-this-woman-this-man-the-story-from-jesse-2-read-online-jodi-ellen-malpas Genre: Alpha Male, Angst, BDSM, Billionaire, Contemporary, Erotic Authors: Jodi Ellen Malpas Series: This Man - The Story from Jesse Series by Jodi Ellen Malpas
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Total pages in book: 235
Estimated words: 224334 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1122(@200wpm)___ 897(@250wpm)___ 748(@300wpm)

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Their whirlwind romance was intense, passionate, and fiery, but Jesse knew the woman he was falling for didn’t know who he really was. He tried to protect her from his past, protect himself from her leaving, but his fears were realized when Ava discovered his Manor—the heartbeat of hedonism and pleasure, the place where Jesse has lost himself for years in women and alcohol.

When she walked out on him, he was left lost and even more broken than before, the small taste of heaven he was given taken away.

But their unbreakable connection leads her back to him, and he refuses to lose her again. Except Ava’s only scratched the surface of his broken soul, and as their relationship intensifies and their love deepens, Jesse is pushed to the brink of insanity as his past creeps into his present and risks destroying his future.

*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************

1

I don’t know how many times I’ve opened my eyes and quickly closed them again. I don’t know how many hours or days have passed. I’m moving but not moving. Hearing but not hearing. Feeling but not feeling. My skin is sore, my head thumping. My darkness too comforting to leave. I’m too afraid to open my eyes, too much of a coward to face my wrongs.

Without the energy to fix my fuckups.

There are so many.

You’re one fucked-up sorry state.

You need help.

But . . . I’m beyond help. Especially now—now she’s gone too.

Everyone. Gone.

I melt back into the hard floor, feeling like I’m fading away. Wishing I could finally be spared the mercy of this agony. Never. Because I don’t deserve respite. Every cruel, painful thing that’s happened to me in my lifetime is justified. And offering me the hope of redemption before taking it away? Giving me Ava and taking her away? I had it coming.

I hear some yelling, but it seems far away, and I roll my jaw, feeling it scrape across the decking under my cheek. My mind bends and twists, my past playing on loop, ruthlessly reminding me, yet again, of the endless hole of misery that is my existence. But amid the horrors something shines through. Something good. It’s hazy, barely detectable, but it’s there, trying so hard to overpower the merciless evil.

Ava.

I pushed her away, screamed at her, scared her, made her question . . . everything. I made her run. I made her fight her feelings.

I made her leave me.

But she’s not gone? Not gone, but not quite here either.

Because she can’t find her way through the darkness to me. I have to get to her . . . but someone pulls me back, stopping me. I feel something press into my back, my brain rattling as my head is lifted, hands rubbing all over my face, through my hair, all over my naked chest. There’s talking. Words that sound miles away. I can’t decipher what they’re saying. Can’t make out the voices.

But then there’s one I recognize, and it’s begging me to open my eyes. Saying my name repeatedly, sounding distressed. A face appears through the darkness, and my heart races as I reach for her. She’s too far away.

No!

My legs start moving, frantic and fast, trying to run to her and yet I get nowhere, watching her drift farther and farther away from me. Soon, she’ll be out of reach completely. Soon, she’ll give up trying to find me. Soon, she’ll be gone forever.

Soon, all I’ll have is this darkness and more regrets.

No hope to cling on to. I don’t think I can shoulder anymore grief. I can’t lose the only piece of relief and happiness I’ve found in years.

I’ll never survive it.

Don’t leave me!

Warmth penetrates my hand, and something seeps into me, something soothing. I still, concentrating on feeling it. It’s familiar. Comforting.

And then it’s gone, and I’m suddenly weightless. Moving. Don’t take me away from that feeling! Something soft meets my back, and something softer meets my cheek.

It’s back. That feeling is back, and as it rubs gently up and down my face, the darkness starts to fade again. Something subtle and delicate invades my nose, and something presses to my forehead. Lips. Soft, full lips. My arm shoots out, grappling at the lingering darkness, trying to seize the source. “Ava?” My eyes sting just trying to get them open, and the glare hurts, but I frantically search everywhere, looking for her.

And then I find her.

Her mouth moves, she’s speaking, and yet awe is clouding my ability to hear her. A rush of memories takes me hostage—our row, the drink, her face a picture of shock and devastation. Disgust.

You’re one fucked-up sorry state.

You need help.

I try to lift my head, but it’s so heavy, so painful, and I slump back down, out of breath. Broken. My mouth is dry, words sticking to my tongue, but I force them out. “I’m so sorry. I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry . . .”

She takes my hand and lifts it to her face. Her touch is like a sedative. My mind shuts down, the weight of my regrets too much, and I succumb to my exhaustion.

I have only enough energy to pray she wasn’t a dream.

2

I’m warm. So damn warm. I gingerly allow my eyes to peel open, the dusky light not quite dusky enough not to hurt. I look down my body, squinting, seeing blankets coating every inch of me. My sensitive skin feels tender under them. I’m sweating, suffocating, so I lethargically push the stifling material down my body in search of some air. How did I get here? With blankets and a pillow?

I reach up to my pounding head, putting pressure on my temple to try and dull the pain. “Fuck,” I murmur. There’s only one cure.

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This Woman (This Man – The Story from Jesse #1) Read Online Jodi Ellen Malpas http://www.ilovenovels.com/this-woman-this-man-the-story-from-jesse-1-read-online-jodi-ellen-malpas Fri, 18 Nov 2022 16:25:20 +0000 http://www.booksnovels.com/this-woman-this-man-the-story-from-jesse-1-read-online-jodi-ellen-malpas Genre: Alpha Male, Angst, BDSM, Billionaire, Contemporary, Erotic, Romance Authors: Jodi Ellen Malpas Series: This Man - The Story from Jesse Series by Jodi Ellen Malpas
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Total pages in book: 204
Estimated words: 193115 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 966(@200wpm)___ 772(@250wpm)___ 644(@300wpm)

<<<<1 2 3 11 21 >204

Jesse Ward has stumbled through life drinking and indulging himself within the rooms of his high-class sex club, The Manor, numbing himself to the pain, grief, and guilt of his wrongs. Pleasure and alcohol are his medicine. Hedonism is all he knows.

It’s how he copes.

How he survives.

Until Ava O’Shea strolls into his office and knocks him back with her breathtaking beauty, ambition, and drive. It only takes one look into her eyes, one touch of her skin, and one word murmured, before his heart is kick-started, offering him something he never thought possible. A distraction from his daily torment. A semblance of peace.

Women never reject Jesse Ward. They fall at his feet, melt from his charismatic, devious smile, and obey his every salacious command. All except the one woman who unwittingly becomes his obsession and the only thing that can keep him from the brink of self-destruction.

He needs Ava and will do anything to have her.

Even hide every last skeleton in his large closet.

Because the truth could destroy them both.

*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************

Prologue

May 1991

* * *

Numbers. Fucking numbers. I stare down at the mock exam paper, the equations, fractions, and percentages all blending and blurring into one. I hate numbers. I can hear Mum behind us stirring a pot of soup and Dad in the garden mowing the lawn. I look up at the clock. Five fifteen. I have another forty-five minutes to get this shit done before I can escape.

Glancing across to Jake, I find his head down, his pen darting across the paper—as if his brain is working too fast for his hand to keep up. Probably is, the brainy bastard. I slip down my chair and kick my leg out, catching him on the shin. He stops writing. Looks up at me. His green eyes, a perfect match to mine, stare at me tiredly. I grin, harder when I spy his killer smile, and take my pen to my mouth. Slip it between my teeth. Start thrusting it back and forth. His lips purse as he tries in vain to hold back his laughter. He fails, snorting over his math paper. Of course, Mum’s quick to whirl around, abandoning her soup, to find out what the disturbance is. And, of course, she’s quick to reach her conclusion, despite it being Jake falling apart in his chair.

“Jesse.” She clips me around the ear, and I flinch but smile wider. “Stop distracting your brother.”

“I had a tickle in my throat,” Jake says, fast to defend me as always. “It’s fine, Mum.”

“Sure you did.” She gives him a fond smile and goes back to her soup. “You’ve forty minutes left.”

I glance at Jake’s paper. He’s on the last page. Kicking him under the table again, I get his attention and then point to my own paper. The first page. Then I shrug. He shakes his head in despair, peeking across the kitchen cautiously. Mum’s in the pantry, out of sight and earshot. Jake knows I could do this shit if I put my mind to it. I just can’t be bothered; I have better things to do. And I want to get on and do them, for fuck’s sake. Jake turns his paper over, back to the first page, and I lean across to see.

“What are you doing?” Amalie whispers, appearing beside me. “Cheating?”

“No. Using my initiative.” I flip my little sister a wink and send her on her way after a quick peck on the cheek.

Thirty minutes later, I have all the answers I need. “Done,” I say, slapping my pen down on the table. Mum looks over her shoulder, her face suspicious.

“Done,” Jake mimics, refusing to look at her.

I jump up from my chair, keen to escape. “I’m going.” I’m out of the kitchen before Mum can protest, grabbing my jacket and shrugging it on as I jog down the hallway to the front door.

“Jesse,” she yells after me. “We have guests arriving.”

“Which is exactly why I’m going out,” I mumble to myself, not slowing my pace. I swing the door open.

And come face to face with our guests.

“Jesse.” Dad’s friend, Alan, thrusts his hand out to me, smiling his usual jolly smile. He’s a doctor. Thinks he’s superior to the fucking world.

“Hi, Alan.” I accept, because that’s the polite thing to do, and try my hardest to avoid, Lauren’s, his daughter’s, eyes. She makes me . . . uncomfortable. We would never work, no matter how much my parents try to convince me—and themselves—otherwise.

“Are you going out?” he asks as I smile my hello to his wife, still avoiding Lauren’s eyes.

“Meeting some friends.” I skirt past them and make my way toward the lane. “Good seeing you,” I call back, feeling untold guilt for leaving Jake at the mercy of our parents, their insufferable friends, and their daughter.

I pull out a pack of Marlboros, slowing to a stop when I hear Jake calling me. That’s a crisis call. He wants saving.

I turn . . .

And crash into my father. Fuck. It was a warning call.

Jake gives me apologetic eyes. “Get back in the house, Jake.” Dad’s voice is cold, stoic, and nearly a whisper. It pisses me off, and Dad knows it. My irritation only multiplies when Jake backs up, his silent apologies multiplying. He has nothing to be sorry about.

I pull a drag of my cigarette and exhale over my words. “I did the math paper. I helped Mum chop veg for her soup. I swept the patio. What more do you want?”

“I want a respectful son.”

“You have one,” I say, pointing over his shoulder to Jake’s retreating form. “Expecting two would be greedy.”

“Don’t give me your smart mouth, boy. You’ll be out on your arse faster than you can blink.”

I shake my head to myself and turn, getting on my way. He won’t throw me out. He’d never be able to face the questions posed by his equally arrogant friends at the country club. “I’m just meeting some friends.”

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