Page 34 of As the World Falls

“Where is your jacket?”

“I forgot it at the hotel this morning.”

“Because you’re so tired,” I assume, and she just rolls her eyes again in the way she does, which makes me want to do punishable things to her.

Fuck.

I tore my suit jacket off and tossed it at her in a way I probably could have been more gentle about. She catches it and looks down at it in her hands like I just threw a snake at her. “I don’t need this,” she mumbles.

“Just put it on,” I gripe, not wanting to dwell on it. Her eyes lift in surprise as she stares at it for only a second before wrapping it around her and slipping her arms into it.

“Huh,” she huffs curiously.

“What now?”

“I just didn’t expect it to feel warm.”

I slowly sigh and say, “What on earth are you talking about?”

“I thought it would feel as frigid inside as you are,” she quips. I tear my gaze from her, looking in the other direction as I fight the smile stretching my mouth.

Thankfully, my car finally pulled up to the curb, and I opened the door, letting her inside before following her in. I glance at her as the car takes off and note how my jacket covers her entire body, leaving just her black stocking-covered legs on show beneath it. It feels like the oxygen leaves my body as an unwanted image of her in nothing but my jacket pops into my head. I push it out immediately, but I can’t help but glance at her every few minutes just to see her again in my clothes.

Once we arrive at the warehouse, I see cops parked out front with their lights flashing. “Fuck me,” I sigh, staring through the window.

“What is it?” Cecilia asks, leaning over me to look out the window. Her hand falls onto my thigh, gripping it as she leans on me, her hair falling over my chest. The smell of her catches me off guard. She smells like cedar mixed with roses and something fruity that I couldn’t distinguish. It was incredibly distracting, but not as much as her hand on my thigh.

“Do you always handle men like this or just me?” I ask. Her wild gaze meets mine, and then she looks down at her hand, squeezing my upper thigh.

“Oh my gosh,” she squeaks, snatching her hand away. “I’m sorry.”

“Remind me to add handsy to your list of skills.”

“Ha-ha,” she shoots back.

“Stay in the car while I handle this,” I tell her as I get out.

“Excuse me? I’m not staying in the car!”

I turn around and glare at her. “This is a serious matter, Cecilia. Stay in the damn car.” I slam the door on her, and despite the chaos around me, I can’t help but smirk at the angered expression on her face as I do so. It was for her own good. Mine too. This is the exact situation that she has been fishing around for, and I didn’t need her sticking her nose where it didn’t belong and finding out things that I knew she’d been dying to find out.

On top of that, I don’t want her involved in any of my riskier business ventures. Tobias would probably kill me if he found out she was even here at all right now. Thankfully, he’s been out of town, handling my West Coast business, so he is none the wiser at the moment. Neither is Cecilia, which I’ve also found secretly amusing because she expects to see him around every corner, ready to pounce on him.

I walk towards the officers speaking with my warehouse employees and greet them with a smile that I struggle to force onto my face. “Afternoon officers. Is there a problem here?”

“We got a call about some complications coming from your warehouse,” the one turns and tells me.

“Complications? This is a private warehouse, so I’m unsure who would make such a call unless they were inside.”

“We’re not at liberty to say. We were just told that some unregulated items are being shipped out of here.”

“Unregulated? As in illegal?” I hear from behind me as I look over my shoulder to see Cecilia standing there, and I swear, I think I’m going to choke her.

I thought I told you to wait in the car,” I nearly growl.

“I didn’t want to,” she replies.

“Sir,” the police officer says, returning my attention to him.

---