He shrugged. ‘I suppose not. So, I tell you what. Grace is all yours if you want her. I’ll stand aside,’ he lied. ‘I have no interest in used goods.’ He leaned towards his companion. ‘But you just remember, if you’re fucking her, that there isn’t one part of her where I haven’t already been. Not one inch of her body that I haven’t already claimed for my own.’

Nathan watched Michael’s reaction closely. His clenched fists. Jaw clamped shut. The vein pulsing in his temple. It was obvious to Nathan that he’d touched a nerve and it confirmed what he’d already suspected, that the rumours about him and Grace were true. Michael glared at him, the rage emanating from him like the heat from a furnace.

‘I owned her first, mate,’ Nathan went on, ‘and that will never change.’

Nathan expected a reaction. He hoped that Michael might even take a swing at him. He was always up for a fight, especially with someone who’d been screwing his wife. But instead Michael’s shoulders dropped, and to Nathan’s confusion and annoyance, he started to laugh.

‘What’s so fucking funny?’ Nathan growled.

‘You still don’t get it, do you? I don’t want to own her. She’s not a fucking car.’ It was Michael’s turn to lean in close to Nathan now. He spoke softly. ‘I know that when she’s with me it’s because she wants to be. Not because she’s too terrified of me. Now I know it was a very long time ago, but you must remember what that felt like? To be loved by her?’

Clenching his jaw so hard he feared he might grind his teeth into dust, Nathan thought about his response. His pride wouldn’t allow him to admit that Michael could get to him. If he ripped the bastard’s head off his shoulders, which was exactly what he wanted to do, then he’d lose face in front of everyone, including Grace. But who did the little prick think he was? Like Michael could possibly know Grace better than he did. Cheeky fucker!

Downing the rest of his pint, Nathan stood up to leave. ‘I could have her back in a heartbeat, mate. And don’t forget it,’ he whispered in Michael’s ear before walking away. But Nathan knew it was a lie. As much as he hated to admit it, Grace seemed to be impervious to his many charms. It pissed him off so much he could hardly bear to think about her, but think about her he did. All the fucking time. To think that someone like Michael Carter, might have his hands on her, made him want to gouge his own eyes out – or better still, Carter’s heart.