Page 37 of Heartless (Scathing Hearts #1)

Chapter Thirty-Three—You can’t, or you won’t?

Jake

“Fuck, kitten.”

I crammed myself inside her slick pussy, and pleasure shot through my spine.

Her neck arched back while her legs tightened around my waist. Sucking on the side of her throat, I moved slowly into her wet heat. When her pussy pulsed, I took her mouth and lunged, taking her deep and hard.

My balls tightened.

“Jake...”

“Come for me, baby.”

“Yes... God... yes.”

She screamed in my mouth, and I came hard. I kept kissing her until the trembling left her body. While I slid my nose along hers, she hummed softly.

“It keeps getting better.”

It fucking did. The more I had her, the more I craved her. On one last slow glide, I pulled out, and she made that low, satisfied purring sound of hers.

“Don’t move, kitten.”

After I’d cleaned her up, I pulled her on top of me. “I want you to sleep here tonight.”

Her lips touched my chest. “Wake me up before you go to work.”

“I’m going to visit my father tomorrow.” I cupped her cheek. “Do you want to come with me?”

Nuzzling my palm, she smiled. “I would love to meet him.”

Still hungry for her, I rolled her under me and kissed her.

****

Sienna brushed the skirt of her pretty dress. After I’d taken her in the shower this morning, she’d rushed to her condo to get changed. She’d come back to the penthouse an hour later, wearing her pretty dress and sexy-as-fuck heels.

I pulled her close. “Baby, you know he can’t see you, right?”

She grabbed my tee and rolled on her toes. “If my mom can be in the rain when I need her, your dad could be anywhere with you, and I want to make a good impression the first time I meet him.”

I tucked her hair behind her ear. “Then he’s going to fucking love you.”

Her little smile clocked me in the chest, and I fell deeper into her. For her.

“Let’s go, baby.”

****

Sienna

Jake and I followed the woman who’d greeted us, and who’d introduced herself as Dr. Leslie Nuys.

She was slim, elegantly dressed, and wearing a do-not-mess-with-me expression that reminded me of my high school math teacher.

When Jake and I had arrived, hand in hand, she’d smiled at Jake and had given me a quick onceover before her thin lips had disappeared from her face.

Okay, so I hadn’t made a friend there. We stopped in front of a cream door, and Dr. Nuys shifted right up to Jake to speak to him, subtly cutting me off from whatever she was about to say. It was fascinating to watch. A little insulting, but fascinating.

Jake didn’t give her the chance to say anything. He curled his arm around my waist.

“Thank you, Dr. Nuys.”

As she disappeared into the hallway, Jake eased the door open.

The morning sun, filtering through the French windows, suffused the pale green walls of the large suite. Sparsely furnished with a light grey distressed chest drawer, and a suede armchair matching the three-seater, the room was comfortable with no hospital smell and no hospital feel.

I touched Jake’s arm, and as his eyes met mine, my throat squeezed at the veiled sorrow in his gaze. “Can I say hello?”

He took my hand and led me to the side of the bed.

Even with the breathing tube and the soft beep of the monitor on the side of the bed, the older Mr. Rhodes looked like he was sleeping.

His white hair was neatly trimmed, and his face was peaceful.

As I leaned over, I was struck by Jake’s resemblance to his father.

I slanted my hip on the edge of the bed and touched the back of James Rhodes’s hand.

“Good morning, Mr. Rhodes. I’m Sienna.”

The light in the room dimmed as heavy clouds rolled in the sky. Rain was on its way. My nervousness ebbed away, and I sat down by his hip.

After sliding my fingers under his, I spoke like I used to do with Mom in her last days.

“You’ve probably been told before, but you look like your son. Or rather he looks like you. Jake and I met at a nightclub called the Silver Shell. Since then, a lot has happened, and I got to know him.”

From the corner of my eye, I caught Jake’s big frame lowering down in the armchair.

I returned my attention to James Rhodes.

“I’ve lost my mother recently, and I think you would have liked her.

Everyone she met liked her. Jake said you liked nature and that you were a lumberjack earlier in your career, and I hate to say it, but the only wilderness I’m not scared of is the one in my mind.

But sometimes even that is daunting. Jake took me on a hike near his house in the woods. And it was beautiful.”

****

Jake

My throat had gotten tight while Sienna conversed with my father as if he could have responded. She talked about her writing and her favorite books. She told him how excited she was about her new job. She just talked to him.

Eventually, she turned to me and smiled. “I think I’m going to take pity on your dad.”

When I got up, she stood up, bent at the waist, and placed a kiss on his cheek. “It’s been a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Rhodes. I hope you’re having nice dreams.” She glanced at the blue urn on the bedside table. “Goodbye, Mrs. Rhodes. If you see Caitlin Winslow, give her a hug for me.”

She hooked her fingers through mine. “I’ll be outside.”

“I won’t be long, baby.”

“Take all the time you need,” she whispered.

After she’d glided out of the room, I sat beside him. “Wish you could see her, Pa. She’s gorgeous inside and out. Hardest fight of my life, but worth every second.”

On my way out, I touched the blue urn.

There was no sign of Sienna in the corridor. She hadn’t had anything to eat earlier because she’d been too nervous. I peeked at the deserted hallway of vending machines. Walking the halls, I found her in the small, carpeted living room at the south end of the building.

She was bent deep at the waist in front of a wheelchair with her back to me, talking over a man’s laughter.

I’d been coming here for nearly six years, and I’d only ever talked to the staff taking care of my father. She’d been here for less than thirty minutes, and she had an old timer laughing with her.

I approached them in time to catch an older man in the wheelchair grinning. When he clocked me, he jerked his chin. Sienna glanced over her shoulder and straightened up. I wrapped my arm around her waist. “Making friends, baby?”

She tilted her smile at me. “Jake, this is Willie Devereaux.” She turned to the old man. “Willie, this is Jake.”

I shook hands with the old man, who winked at me. “Whatever you did to deserve this little rainbow, keep doing it, son.”

“Planning to, Sir.” I kissed her crown. “Ready to go, baby?”

“Yes. Bye, Willie.”

“Bye, pretty girl.”

After she’d thrown a happy wave at him, I took her hand, and we headed toward the exit.

“How are you?” she said quietly.

I kissed the back of her hand. “I’m good.”

In my truck, Sienna got close, touched my jaw, and placed a soft kiss on my mouth.

“What was that for, kitten?”

“Thank you for taking me to meet your dad.”

She was made of light. Blinding, warm light. “Hungry, baby?”

“Yes. I’m starving.”

****

Sienna

Jake’s low chortle filled the car. “The dragoness?”

I’d just told him how in my haste to avoid Dr. Nuys’s disapproving stare, I’d bumped into Willie Devereaux’s wheelchair and found myself in his lap while the dragoness had incinerated me with her glare.

“The woman likes you, so she obviously has excellent tastes, but my God, she’s terrifying.”

His brow cocked. “Excellent tastes, uh?”

I nodded. “I told you you were beautiful, now you have proof.”

He laughed harder, and I swooned.

****

I slung the strap of my purse over my shoulder before knocking on the ajar door of my boss’s office, Sherry. With her fingers still on the keyboard of her computer, she peered over the tortoise frame of her glasses and smiled.

“Sienna, hey.”

Shifting, I didn’t quite step in. “I didn’t want to interrupt. I was just saying goodbye.”

The tiny wrinkles in the corners of her intelligent eyes crinkled. “How was your first week?”

I loved working. “It was great. Maggie and Olly are super helpful and very patient.”

She slid her glasses on top of her short, curly hair. “Good. I think you’ll do well here with us.” Slanting back in her chair, she smiled. “All right. Go home. I appreciate the dedication, but I’m the only one who stays that late.”

“All right. Good night, Sherry.”

Waving me off with her eyes on the screen of her desktop, she said, “I’ll see you on Thursday. And remember, working from home doesn’t mean working all hours. So, I don’t expect you to read two manuscripts in three days.”

I’d planned on reading three. Chuckling, I walked out of her office.

Jake and I had spent every night together, and the thought of him made my belly warm. But first, I needed to shop. I’d promised I would cook dinner for us, and I was going to make my fish stir fry for dinner.

On my way to my car, I was reciting my shopping list when goosebumps plucked the back of my neck.

When I’d started my job, Jake had hired a bodyguard, a man made entirely of muscles called Ruiz.

It had felt weird at first. People like me didn’t have bodyguards, but I’d gotten used to it.

And as promised, Ruiz had stayed mostly invisible.

After a quick glance at the dashboard, I started the engine. The market was closing in thirty minutes. With a bit of luck, traffic would be on my side.

Twenty-eight minutes later, I was back in my car with a linen shopping bag full of my bounty on the back seat. After consulting the G.P.S., I took the backroads, which were usually longer, but at this time of the day, they would be less busy.

I turned up the volume of my latest favorite pop song and bopped my head.

The chorus was coming up. I opened my mouth.

A fast shadow zoomed past my window. My heart punched my throat.

A bike appeared. Right in front of my car.

I screamed. I stood on the brakes. The back of my car lurched before coming to a brutal stop on the side of the road.

Too shaken to move, I took a deep breath through my rattling chest. And another.

Then, I slowly unpeeled my fingers from the steering wheel.

Once I’d gotten my breaths under control, I scanned the area. Daylight had faded, but the statue of an angel was clear to see. We were at the back of the catholic cemetery.

Shit. The bike.

I spotted it a few feet ahead of my car. It was laid on its side, but there was no sign of the rider. Maybe he’d fallen in the ditch? Maybe he was dead.

Oh God. Had I just killed someone?

Snagging my cell, I rounded my car and ran toward the bike. Headlights of an incoming car behind me further lit the path ahead.

Thank God. I waved my arms to flag it and exhaled a shaky sob as the black car came to a stop in front of my car. A second one parked behind it. The scratching sound of gravel behind me had me swivel toward the bike.

The rider was up. Dressed in black leather with his helmet on, he heaved the bike up, swung his leg over it, and sped away. I stared at the disappearing motorcycle and squeezed my cell. What the...?

The creeping feeling from before slapped the back of my head, and my heart vaulted in my throat.

I pivoted toward my car, which laid half on the road, half in a ditch, and trapped between the two black cars.

Two men now stood on each side of the car that had parked in front of mine. One of them opened the back door to let someone out, and I lurched back.

A slender figure unfolded out, and a chilling but familiar voice rose in the breezy, crepuscular air.

“Sienna, dear.”

Nigel leaned heavily on a cane as he limped toward me. Two burly men flanked his sides while his driver stood by the open passenger door. His tall frame was slimmer, and his hawkish face was gaunt.

The man was a monster in expensive clothes, but he was a person. A person I shared DNA with.

When he lifted his hand, the well-trained human guard dogs bookending him halted. His mouth was bracketed by deep grooves made more visible by the greyish undertone of his skin.

He was really sick. I swallowed hard and exhaled a calming breath. “Hello, Nigel.”

“Let’s talk in the car, little dear.”

Right. The car that was going to take me to a secondary location.

I could easily outrun him. But I wouldn’t be so lucky with the two goons who were staring at me as if I was prey.

I took another step back. “I’m fine right here, Nigel. As I’ve told Joel and Kimberly, I can’t help you.”

His face darkened. “You can’t, or you won’t?”

I bristled under his glower but managed to keep my tone calm. “Nigel—”

“I’m dying, Sienna.” His shoulders slumped. “Little dear, just come with me, and we’ll discuss this as adults.”

What was it with him that when he was trying to force his point of view, he wanted to discuss ‘as adults?’

“I am an adult.” I leaned in. “The answer is no. To make it clear, I’ve signed a living will, and my organs will die with me.”

His jaw clenched. “Jake Rhodes is a manipulative low-life—”

“Stop.” The freaking nerve. “Jake is a better man than you’ll ever be.”

The malevolence glittering in his gaze brought the sleek sociopath in him to light, and a shudder seized my whole being.

He susurrated, “Then you leave me no choice.” Shifting to his side, he jerked his chin toward the huge men. “You know what to do. She’s to stay unharmed.”

As he started back toward his car, one of the men took two giant steps toward me.

My heart leaped in my throat, my legs sprung, and I ran.

Away from my car and deeper into the cemetery.