Page 92 of The Billionaire’s Fake Fiancée
Jace follows me inside, closes the door of the suite behind him. He walks into the room, stops halfway across the floor.
His stance is hesitant.
And that takes me by surprise.
My eyes swivel to his face. His eyes are clear, his face open. His features are relaxed. He, too, has been stripped of the walls he's put up to the world.
Without money, and with a company gone bust behind him, he feels more approachable. Vulnerable too… Sexy.
Yeah, it's very appealing to see him. See past his skin to the man inside for the first time.
There's also a determined glint to his eyes. He's hit bottom, tasted the bitterness of failure. But he hasn't given up. It's tempered him, made him even more determined to succeed. He'll overcome this setback. Make a new life.
Like me.
Even as I'm thinking this, he says softly, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. I didn't mean for it to come out like that. It's just…"
I open my mouth to speak but he stops me with, "Eric made sure the video is down."
It takes me a second to get my head away from that haze that always seems to envelop me when he's around. He means that video.
I redden, and my eyes slide away. I feel exposed, as if I've been caught doing something I shouldn't have. Yet the rational part of me insists it's not my fault. It isn't.
And then a thought strikes me. "You and Eric made up?"
"Yep." Jace nods. "Eric told me he's been helping you, that he's now your business partner.
"Eric and I, we—"
Jace shakes his head. "I know there's nothing between the two of you. I was an asshole earlier, that's all. Jealous and a little insecure that perhaps you'd prefer him to me."
"You're right," I say. "He's everything a girl would want. Strong, reliable, warm. Trustworthy."
"He is?" Jace frowns, eyebrows slashing down. Eyes haunted. Glowing with the beginnings of anger.
An expression I'm already familiar with. So, endearing. My heart twists.
"But he's not for me."
His eyes go stormy, the green swirling in a way that takes my breath away.
"You're beautiful," he says, and I flush.
"No I'm not." The words burst out. "I left you in the lurch. You lost your inheritance, because of me."
"I found you." His voice lowers even more. His words reach out to me, whisper over my skin. It's as if he's touched me across the space.
"Sienna."
I clear my throat, "What?" I ask. My voice comes out husky, aroused.
"You're doing it again."
I stare at him, uncomprehending. His eyes drop to my mouth and I realize I'm biting my nails.
I redden, and he chuckles.
The sound pushes right past the barriers I've put up over the years, touches that secret part of me. So, vulnerable, hidden so deep I've forgotten it ever existed. Until now.
