Page 128 of Heartless

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Jake

After dinner, we were lying down on our sides on the couch.Her half-drunken glass of white wine was sitting on the coffee table beside my beer.

With my hand under her top, I brushed my fingers on the soft skin of her waist.“What will you be doing at your job?”

Her frame stiffened.A shadow blanketed her expression, and her tone was careful.“Admin work mostly.Manage schedules, handle correspondence.That kind of stuff.Do you have an assistant?”

“Tamzin’s a vet, and she organizes my life.”

“A vet?Wow.How does someone go from the military to being an assistant?”

Her interest was genuine, but she’d cleverly moved the subject of the conversation away from her.“What was the appeal for that specific job, baby?”

I fucking hated her little sigh.Touching the side of my jaw, she said, “Jake, I know you don’t think I’m the most interesting person to talk to—”

I rolled on top of her.Her legs fell open, and she hooked her knees around the back of my thighs.Holding my weight on my elbows, I locked my eyes onto her guarded gaze.

“Sienna, I watched you write for hours and lose yourself in your own world.I also know you got offered a fellowship in one of the best writing programs in the country, so I know you’re not only passionate, but you’re also fucking talented.Baby, I’m interested in you.Every fucking beautiful part of you.That includes your incredibly creative mind and the way you see the world.”

She searched for the truth in my eyes, and when her hands glided up my shoulders, I breathed a little easier.

A soft light suffused her expression.“I wanted to learn about the work that goes behind a book, but the part I’m most looking forward to is reading manuscripts and liaising with writers.”

“You think you’ll get inspired?”

“You’re being awesome again, Jake Rhodes.”

My chest expanded.“More than the book?”

Her gaze dipped to my mouth, and the tip of her tongue flicked on her upper lip.Then she gave me that little grin, and I went as hard as a pike.

“You over the Brothers Grimm is a tough choice.”

I scooped her up, and she giggled in my neck while I took her to bed.