Page 84 of Love Lies Bleeding

I smell him before I feel his hand on my hip and see the fear morph over Lorelei’s features before she recovers her composure.

“Still peddling your bullshit, Lorelei? We both know the last time my cock was anywhere near you, I was still growing out the baby fluff on my chin.”

My snort is inelegant, but I don’t care as Jake squeezes my side and looks down at me with a conspiratorial smile and a wink that makes my belly flutter like an army of butterflies just took flight.

“Why are you with her, Jake? She’s not even in the same league as you.”

My skin bristles at her swipe, reminding me of the deep void of wealth between Jake and me.

“You’re right, she isn’t.”

I stiffen at his words and watch as a smug smile spreads across my enemy’s face. Jake better pull something out of the bag with this or he’ll be having a painful meeting with the pointy end of my shoe.

“Cherry is so far out of my league we’re not even in the same stratosphere. I’m the luckiest bastard in the world that she chose to come here with me tonight and grace me with her time.” His body moves closer to mine and I lean in as he continues, his words like a balm over my skin, chasing away the doubts this woman has torn open and exposed.

“That I failed her by allowing someone such as you to speak to her with such disrespect is unacceptable, and I only hope she can forgive me.”

With that, Jake turns and lifts his chin at two muscular guards, who have been watching from a respectful distance.

“Please escort this woman out and ensure she doesn’t return to any future events held by, or for, Lungo.”

“Jake, what are you doing? This is a silly mistake. I didn’t know she was with you.”

Jake holds his finger up and Lorelei goes silent at the deadly coldness emanating from him towards her.

“Stop. You’re boring me. This isn’t a mistake, this was another attempt by you to try and assert power over someone for your own enjoyment. I am telling you and anyone else that even wants to think about it, Cherry Baker is off fucking limits. She’s mine, she’s the woman I love, and if you fuck with her, then you fuck with me and you do not want that.”

As the two men escort a pissed-off Lorelei from the room, I’m left reeling from all the confessions of the last few minutes. The fact he says I’m out of his league is nice and flattering but can be put down to showmanship, no matter how much I enjoyed it. But him declaring I’m the woman he loves is a lot, and I don’t know how to feel about it, or even if it is real.

“I’ve left you speechless. Not quite the way I expected it to happen, but we adapt. How about a dance?”

Jake whisks me off my feet onto the dance floor before I can process his words, and maybe that was his intention.

As the upbeat song plays, I shove the encounter to the back of my head as I let the music thrum through my body. Jake catches my hand and spins me out, before pulling back in as I laugh and let myself just feel. His hands skim over my body as we dance, and the release of the music flowing through my veins becomes something heavier, something headier.

My gaze falls to his lips, the memory of how soft they are, how much pleasure they give me, how his words hold such power over me floods through my brain. Warmth spreads through me, making my nipples pucker and my pussy ache for his touch.

The band slows things down, and I feel Jake’s heated stare on me as he snags me around the waist and hauls me against his chest. His scent is so familiar and intoxicating that it makes my head fuzzy as oxygen is stolen by his hands on me.

“You’re so fucking beautiful, Blossom.”

“Thank you. I am a ten, after all.”

It’s the first time I’ve referenced our past in any way but bitterness, and I see pleasure stain his cheeks as one hand smooths over the skin of my spine, and the other moves slowly over my hip and up.

“No, baby, you’re a twelve and I’m still your humble servant.”

“You remembered!” Surprise makes me stop moving and Jake looks down at me as he holds me like I’m something precious, his eyes revealing every emotion he’s feeling.

“I remember everything about you, Blossom. I remember that you hate olives because you think they look too much like grapes, and then you’re disappointed when you eat them. I remember how it feels to have your legs wrapped around me as I fuck you. I remember you love dark romance and your belief that all men should be made to read them so we can understand what a woman really wants.”

I place a finger over his lips, and he stops speaking to nip my skin and press a kiss to the pad. My skin is feverish, my body tingles, and I know I’m about to take a huge risk. What is life without risk though but a rolling monotony of days until you die?

“Come with me.” Taking his hand, I wonder if he’ll follow and look back to see a bemused smile on his face as he lets me drag him from the room. I’m not thinking right now, I’m acting on instinct and my instinct is telling me to show Jake what his gesture with Lorelei means to me.

Spying the door to the restroom I know is cleaner and posher than any bathroom I’ve ever been inside, I head towards it. Once Jake is inside, I close and lock the door before turning to him and finding him watching me with a dark look of a man starved. His gaze trips over me from head to toe, and I let him.

I don’t know if it’s the dress or the way he looks at me, but I feel powerful. Like I could own this man if I choose to, but I also recognize he owns a big piece of me, too. With my eyes still on his hungry gaze, I lift the hem of my dress and sink to my knees.

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