Page 39 of Heartless (Scathing Hearts #1)

Jake

I bundled Sienna in a thick towel and carried her to the bedroom where I sat her gently on the edge of the bed. After quickly drying myself, I tagged some fresh clothes and got dressed.

“Don’t move, baby. I’m going to get some ice then I’m going to take care of your dress.”

She shook her head. “Throw it away. I don’t want to see that dress. Ever again.”

Settling beside her, I hauled her into my lap. “Don’t let him do this to you, baby. When you put on that pretty dress this morning, you were happy. Let the dress be just that and not what that motherfucker did.”

A tear rolled down her cheek. “H-how? I’m coming from him.” Her voice cracked. “He’s half of me... he’s my—”

“He’s nothing, Sienna. You’re you and Caitlin. Let him be nothing.”

“He’s...wretched. The worst. Just—”

“And you’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen in my life.”

Her fingertips grazed the corner of my eye. “Your butterfly?”

Emotion jammed my throat. “Yes. My gorgeous butterfly.”

The little smile was lopsided, but it lit up the gold of her eyes. And I knew then that I would do anything to see that smile up-close. Every fucking day. For the rest of my life.

Her lips trembled. “The man who... he’s... is he dead?”

Very. “Don’t think about him.”

At that, she sucked in a breath. “You hit him. And you kept hitting him.”

I wrapped my hand on the side of her neck. “Sienna, I know I scared you, but no one fucking touches you. Never.”

“The other man... the one with the knife. He didn’t...”

“He’s one of Edo’s men.”

Letting out a shaking breath, she whispered, “What if... what if he hadn’t been there?”

I pulled her closer. “He was, baby.”

She burrowed her face in my neck, and her breath hitched. I held my Sienna until her quiet sobs and the shaking of her body lessened. Eventually, her shoulders relaxed, and mine did too.

Then, she sat up. “I’m tired of crying. I’m going to make us dinner.”

“Are you sure, baby?”

Her gaze dropped to the towel around her chest. “Can I borrow one of your t-shirts?”

I kissed her in a brief touch and got on my feet. After tagging one of my tees from the chest drawer, I slid it over her head, careful not to touch her face or jar her arm.

She rubbed her unmarred cheek on her shoulder. “It’s soft. I think I’m going to keep it.”

I liked that she wanted to keep my tee. A fucking lot. I caught her hand. “Ice and food.”

****

Sienna

The knock on the door intruded into my pre-work morning routine, and I raced to the hallway to open the door for Jake. My car was still being repaired, so he was going to drive me and pick me up from work.

I pecked his jaw. “I’ll be two minutes.”

As I pivoted toward the bathroom, he caught my hand. My smile pulled on my almost healed bruise while he drew me in his arms. His heated eyes made me roll on my toes and loop my arms around his neck.

“Good morning again,” I whispered.

I’d just left his bed less than an hour ago, hence my tardiness. When his tongue slipped in my mouth, I opened my mouth wider. The panty-melting kiss ended but Jake kept his mouth close to mine.

“You smell like dessert, baby.”

I was still recovering from our kiss, so I half-panted, “It’s the vanilla extract on my bruise. Under a ton of makeup.”

Jake’s jaw tightened. His arms did too, so I was plastered to him. It’d been a week since the cemetery incident, but his rage hadn’t receded in the slightest.

I traced my fingertips over his frowning brows. “I’ll check in with you regularly, and I’ll wait in the building until you pick me up.”

“Sienna.”

His expression sent my heart hurtling. “What?”

“Baby, have a care. If anything happens to you, it’ll fucking kill me.”

This time his kiss made my heart sing.

****

As Olly lumbered back to his desk after his fifth meeting of the day, I finished typing an email.

We were preparing for the Writer’s Conference, and between meetings both external and internal, we’d barely seen each other.

After grabbing my purse, I stood in front of his desk, waiting for his attention to lift from his computer screen.

When they did, his grin slashed his strawberry blonde beard.

“What’s up, Sienna?”

Before I could answer, he sprang to his feet, sending his chair against the window, and I jumped back.

“What happened to your face? And don’t say it was a fucking door,” he growled.

“I—”

“Shit. Sherry said you were in a car accident. Why aren’t you resting at home?”

Because if I’d stayed home any longer, I’d been afraid I’d never want to come out of the apartment.

While he sat back down, I said, “It was a car incident.” I pointed at my face. “And except for the third cheekbone, I’m fine. I’m going to Puccini’s, and I’m taking lunch orders.”

His bushy brows twitched, and I couldn’t help but giggle. “I’ll have the veal schnitzel sandwich with fries and salad and the black forest cake. And a Fresca. I’m cutting off on sugar.”

I was still smiling when I sauntered out of our office. “I’ll be back in twenty minutes.”

****

“Would you like a coffee while you’re waiting?” the manager slash owner of the trattoria said from behind the counter.

I slid my wallet in my purse. “Can I have a latte, please?”

After I’d gotten my drink, I slid in the booth of the small table designated for pickups, which was slightly separated from the rest of the restaurant by a half a wall. Then I texted Jake.

Sienna: Picking up lunch at Puccini. How’s your day going?

His reply came a minute later.

Jake: Better when I see you.

I grinned at my phone. Jake called me his butterfly, but he sure had a way of creating an army of them in my belly.

“Is that Jake Rhodes?”

The woman’s voice startled me, and I gaped at Rowena Wheelan. Kimberly was also there, as well as a woman I’d never seen before, but who was examining me. My cheekbone was still discolored, but I knew this wasn’t why they inspected me.

Seriously? What now?

A male voice cut through the room. “Sienna, you good?”

The three women spun toward the door where Ruiz had appeared.

“I’m okay, thank you,” I replied.

After a quick scan over the women, he jerked his chin at me and strode away while their attention returned to me. Taking advantage of their stunned silence at the realization of who Ruiz was, I started.

“Rowena, I want nothing to do with—”

“We’re here to talk to you about Jake Rhodes,” Kimberly declared.

Those people had to stop. “I’m not interested in—”

“God. You do have his eyes,” the third woman whispered.

I took a calming breath. “And you are?”

She readjusted her purse on her shoulder. “I’m Cecily Morrison, now Inglewood. I was Nigel’s second wife.”

I’d had enough of Nigel and his people. “Why are you here? Seriously. Why? Nigel only approached me because he needs pieces of me.” I looked at Rowena. “I guess when you told me that you didn’t care about him, you were not truthful.”

Rowena Wheelan’s face flushed but that didn’t stop her from gliding in the booth across from me. “Sienna, we just want to talk.”

“Like Nigel did last week when he tried to kidnap me?” Pointing at my cheek, I leaned in. “How do you think I got this?”

Cecily’s hand flew to her mouth. Rowena’s eyes turned into saucers while Kimberly’s gaze dropped to her feet.

“My God, Sienna... I... we didn’t know—” Rowena started.

“And yet, none of you seemed surprised.”

They actually did. In fact, they seemed horrified, but they’d been lying to me in one way or the other, and I was done.

Kimberly was the first to recover. “Sienna, Nigel didn’t send us. We just thought you should know that you’re just a tool in Jake’s vendetta against Nigel. We all were.”

My heart jumped in my throat. “What?”

Cecily spoke then. “He and your father—”

“He’s not my father,” I snapped.

She nodded. “Sorry. In his feud with Nigel, Jake seduced all of us. Him and his friend, Silas.”

Oh God. My heart began galloping. “They seduced you? Did they force you to sleep with them?”

Kimberly’s mouth tightened. “It’s not what we’re saying—”

“I know what you’re saying. You came here to tell me you all slept with Jake and Silas.” I crushed the scream building in my chest. “What is this, anyway? Some kind of Jake Rhodes’s anti-fan club?”

Nigel’s current wife spoke next. “It’s not. I know you’re in love with him. I was too. When I told him, he laughed and said he just wanted to break one of Nigel’s toys.” Her head jerked toward Cecily Morrison whose gaze was downcast. “He did the same with Cecily, and it led to their divorce.”

My throat dried up. That sounded like something Jake would say. Rowena answered the question I was about to ask.

“When Nigel said you were being manipulated by Jake Rhodes, I told Kimberly, and we realized we’d both slept with him. I didn’t sleep with Silas, but we contacted Cecily, and she confirmed she had an affair with them.”

Cecily nodded, and her tone was that kind of resigned sympathy. “We’re not lying, Sienna. We just wanted you to know who you’re sleeping with.”

I slanted back. “I know who I’m sleeping with.”

Kimberly leaned down. “You think you do because he gave you the best orgasms of your life. He’s great in bed.

We all know how good both of them are. I bet Jake wipes his mouth on the inside of your thigh after going down on you.

That’s kind of his trademark. You’re not special, Sienna. He did it to all of us.”

He’d kissed me there.

My stomach twisted, and I forced my hand to uncurl from the mug.

The icy sheet of my anger blanketed my sinking heart, and I rolled my shoulders back.

“Let me get this right.” I pointed at Cecily.

“You...” My finger swept to Kimberly. “... And you slept with Jake and Silas while you were married to Nigel.” I looked at Cecily Inglewood.

“You, you’re just a cheater, and liars are incredibly trite. ”