Page 75 of Heartless

Jake

I set my coffee on the desk of my office.

Last night, Sienna in my arms had been the most solace I’d felt in years.

What I’d said to her would have cut any woman.But it would wreak havoc on an inexperienced one.Fuck knew how she’d managed to not set the house on fucking fire.

Earlier this morning, her ‘good morning, Jake’ had been sweet.Then, she’d gone back to her room.When I’d return home to prepare for my trip to Denver later that evening, she had retreated to the balcony with her laptop.

I headed for her quarters, and after a knock on her door I knew she wouldn’t hear, I let myself in and strode across the room.She was sitting cross-legged, bent over the laptop balanced in her lap while her long, flowery dress draped over the edge of the armchair.She was lost in her own world with her mass of dark curls pulled up on top of her head in a messy bun that emphasized the grace of her neck.

When I slid the bay window open, she jumped and slapped the lid of the computer down while her face flushed.Hard.

“Jake!H-hi.I uh...what are you doing here?”

Her guilty-as-sin expression was fucking adorable.“What are you writing about?”

She tapped her fingertips on the top of the silver device.“Is something wrong?”

“I’m taking you for a hike.”

Her face angled toward the woods before she returned her frown to me.“Why?”

“It’s a beautiful day.”

“I agree, it’s a beautiful Tuesday, and I intend to be alive on Wednesday, so why would I jeopardize that by going to the woods full of bears and bugs?”

Burying my hands in the pockets of my pants, I tried not to laugh.“I promise there’re no bears where I’m taking you.The fresh air will do your good.”

Tilting her head to the side, the sexy, little insolent drawled out every word real slow.“I’m outside, Jake.Where the fresh air is.”She inhaled deep and let out a long exhale.“See?Fresh air.”

“One hour, baby.”

The workings of her mind played through her expressive face while she was trying to find a way out of it.

Her head jerked up.“I don’t have any hiking shoes or hiking socks.”

“Put on sneakers, comfortable clothing, and you’ll be fine.I’m going away for business, so you’ll have the house to yourself for the next three days.”

“Where are you going?”

“I’ll tell you on our walk.Come on, get your pretty ass into gear.”

At that, she dipped her chin while getting to her feet.“You mean my fat ass.”

What the fuck?I stepped closer.“What?”

“Nothing,” she mumbled.

That wasn’t nothing.I cupped her cheek.“Baby, I’m an asshole but I’m not blind.I’ve never called you fat.”

She shifted away from my touch.“Not in those words, but on the first day you said, ‘Don’t even think about starving yourself.Your ass can miss a few meals, but I’ll force feed you myself if you try that shit’.”

Fuck.Did she remember every word of every conversation?“And what I meant was your ass is fucking perfect, and I’d have noticed if you’d lost any of it.”

Her blinks were fast.“You would have noticed if I’d lost...?”

“It’s perfection, and no one fucks with perfection.”