Page 35 of Heartless (Scathing Hearts #1)

Sienna

Mm. Amazing.

I woke up spooned into his bigger body with my head laid on the inside of Jake’s bicep while his other arm laid heavily around my waist. I snuggled deeper into his warmth. The tip of his nose brushed along the back of my ear, and I sighed.

When his palm curved around my breast, a long shiver coated my whole body.

The vibration of his sleepy hum traveled from my back to land under my ear while his thumb flicked over my nipple. Keeping my lids closed, I pushed my breast into his hand and my butt into his erection.

Jake pinched and rolled my sensitive nipple between the pads of his thumb and index finger, and I moaned under the flash of heat zipping straight to my clit.

His palm glided down my chest. Down. Down. His fingers slid along the lips of my wet sex. When they penetrated me, I moaned. His mouth opened on the side of my neck, and I curled my arm out to clamp my hand around his nape to hold him there.

Pressing the heel of his hand against my clit, he kept his motions slow and steady. Between the steely length of his penis pressing against my lower back and his deft fingers making magic in my sex, the shivers rolled into mini quakes.

“Jake... please.”

His teeth grazed my neck. “Please what, kitten?”

I pushed deeper into his hand. “Jake....”

There was a chuckle in his voice. “Say it, baby. Tell me what you want.”

The need in my lower belly sharpened. “You know... what... what I want.”

He pumped faster. “This?”

Yes. That... When he stopped, I clawed at his skin. “Jake!”

Rocking his erection against me, he hummed. His growly voice made me shiver. “Like your claws, baby. Say it, kitten.”

“I want... Please, make me come. Jake... Please.”

His fingers curled inside me, touching a part that made my eyes roll to the back of my head.

“Jake!”

“That’s it, kitten. Purr for me.”

The sharp nip of his teeth on the lobe of my ear sizzled through me. I purred, moaned, and orgasmed.

I was still floating down my climax when Jake hooked his hand around the back of my knee to hitch it up high. I wantonly tilted my butt while he shifted until the head of his penis butted against my opening.

Cupping my sex, Jake thrust deep.

His grunt poured into my ear. “You feel fucking perfect.”

He lunged inside me, stroking the fire in my body to new heights.

His rhythm sped up. His arm across my chest tightened, and I squeezed my thighs around his fingers.

“Your mouth, baby.”

I gave him my open mouth. He groaned, and that sound lifted me higher.

Jake yanked his mouth from mine and sucked on the side of my neck. I came in a loud moan, seconds before he planted himself in my womb and roared.

When he pulled out, I shivered. God. I loved sex with him.

I was entangled with him, so the tremors of his laughter rocked through me. “Fucking love it too, baby.”

I’d said that out loud.

Jake slid his nose along the back of my ear. “What do you have planned for today?”

Shifting on my back, I looped my arms around his neck. God, I just had two huge orgasms, and the light brush of his fingers on my side still spread heat all over me.

“I have two job interviews. One in person and one online. Then I have a meeting with a financial advisor. What about you?”

“Work. Then, I’m taking you out for dinner.”

My heart smiled. “Like a real date?”

“Exactly like that,” he said against my lips.

****

Sitting beside Jake in the fabulous restaurant, housed in an old greenhouse, I planted my elbow on the table and rested my chin on the heel of my hand to watch him.

In a black dress shirt opened at the collar with its sleeves rolled to his elbows and the ends of his overlong hair curling on his nape, he was beyond gorgeous.

His lips twitched, and he slanted his mouth to the shell of my ear, which elicited a warm buzz all over my body.

“You keep looking at me like that, and I’ll drag you out of here before we get our drinks.”

My heart pinched, and I hid the sharp pang by unfolding the napkin over my lap as slowly as humanly possible. I was back to square one: fluttering belly with my head in the clouds. And my heart laid down for the trampling.

“Baby?”

I lifted my forced smile to him. “Mm?”

Jake’s searching gaze dipped into mine. His fingers curved on the side of my neck, and his bass voice swathed me into everything Jake.

“I’ll wait for as long as it takes for you to trust me again.”

The breathtaking tenderness of the touch of his mouth on mine streamed all the way down to the knot in my chest.

“Jake? You’ve got to be kidding me.”

I jumped at the angry voice and gaped at a woman who must have stepped straight out of a movie set. She had lots of honey blonde hair, and she was dressed in a slinky dress that showed off her body perfectly.

Her fiery gaze was solely directed at Jake. “That’s what you dumped me for? A fucking... cheerleader?”

She’d meant to insult me, but I had never, ever been compared to, let alone called a cheerleader, and I had to admit it was hilarious. And a tiny bit flattering. So much in fact that I giggled.

Jake’s jaw clenched. “Margo.”

That was all he said, but the very pissed off snarl quelched my spurt of amusement.

The woman’s coral-painted lips snapped shut tight while her face flushed so hard, she looked like she was about to implode.

Flicking her hair over her tanned shoulder, she set her incensed gaze on me. “You can stop smirking, you stupid girl. He’ll have his fun and toss you away like garbage like he’s done to all of us.”

This time, his fingertips tapped on the table, and I recognized that frown.

I cleared my throat. “I wasn’t smirking. It would imply I’m mocking you, which I’m not. I’m just smiling because I’ve never been called a cheerleader. And that’s funny.”

She gaped for a few seconds, but as she slanted closer, about to say something rude or undoubtedly mean, Jake leaned in. Only slightly, but enough for the woman’s body to jerk straight. When she turned on her high heels, she did it with great panache.

I curled my hand around his fist and grinned at him. “A cheerleader? Isn’t that awesome?”

His fingers interlaced with mine and his lips twitched. “You really are a fucking ray of sunshine.”

I liked the way he said that. I loved it. So, when he kissed me, I kissed him back and lingered.

Our first real date was phenomenal.

****

Jake

I’d just entered my office when Sienna called. “Hey, baby.”

“I’ve got the job!”

I sat behind my desk, grinning at the joy in her voice. “Yeah?”

“Yes! Editorial assistant for a publishing company. Well, assistant of the assistant. The company is big, but I’ll work with a small team, and the person who’ll be training me is away until the eighth, which gives me a whole week before I start.

It’s mostly remote, so I’ll have plenty of time for my own writing, and Sherry, my future boss is—” She went silent.

“She’s what?”

She cleared her throat. “Sorry. I was just excited, and...”

I leaned into my cell. “Talk to me, baby.”

After a sigh, her voice pitched low. “I didn’t mean to bore you with the details, and I’m sorry for interrupting. I just got the call and I uh...” The smile returned to her voice. “I’m going to text Camila and Bianca and I’m going to share the news with my mom. See you tonight?”

“See you tonight, beautiful.”

I clutched my cell in my fist. She had an inquisitive mind, a quick, derisive wit, and she laughed easily, but she hadn’t shared anything about what made her tick, or her writing. And I hadn’t questioned it.

But she remembered every word of every conversation, and I’d fucking trashed that too. Fuck.

****

Sienna

The grass was soft under my knees, and the sun was gleaming on Mom’s tombstone.

While I replaced the faded, dry flowers with a fresh, vibrant bouquet, I talked about my new job and my first real date with Jake.

Then I took a deep breath and pitched my voice low.

Not because I was afraid of being heard, but because my chest was strangling the words stumbling out of my heart.

“I don’t know what to do, Mom. He was cruel to me, but he’s wonderful now, and he treats me like I’m precious to him.” I could almost hear Mom’s voice. “I know, Mom. I know I shouldn’t stay with someone who doesn’t respect my mind.”

After picking up the wilted flowers, I stood up and brushed off the grass blades from my skirt. As I tossed the withered bouquet in the iron garbage bin, the ring of my cell made me jump. I’d left a voicemail to Camila, who was calling me back. Hurrying back to my car, I picked up the call.

“We have to celebrate, Sia,” she declared, and I laughed.

“Yes, we do. What do you have in mind?”

While I pulled out to the road, I giggled harder at her grand plan rivaling my birthday party.

“Camila, it’s just a job.”

Her tone turned bossy. “No, Sia, it’s an achievement. Achievements are successes, and successes must be celebrated.”

I liked that.

“And how are you, Camila? Have you decided on the type of business you would like to open?”

“I’m still undecided. A mix of both would be perfect, or maybe something else altogether.”

Yes, she was clearly undecided. While I veered into the underground parking of my condo, she paused, and her voice dropped to a near-whisper. “Sia, I’ve met someone.”

I parked and put the cell to my ear. “What’s his name? What does he do? How did you meet?”

When silence met my questions, I unbuckled my seatbelt and sat back. “Camila?”

She cleared her throat. “She. It’s a woman, and her name is Jo. Jodie. She’s one of my teachers.”

Getting out of my car, I smiled while hooking my purse on my shoulder. “Ooh. The teacher and the student. How romantic. What is she like?”

She chuckled before telling me about the woman who’d put that warmth in her voice.

After making plans for Jake, Silas, and I to go over to her place for dinner in two weeks, we rang off.