Page 59 of The Heiress

I crossed my legs because even justthinkingabout being near him made me wet.

That was some damn powerful attraction there.

“So he was still mostly boy and you weren’t even thinking about sex yet. Of course she didn’t see himthat way.” Hazel said that mostly to Yara. “Meanwhile I couldn’t get enough sex to satisfy me at eighteen. We’re all different.”

Yara agreed. “Same. I fucked my way through freshman year of college.”

And they were both still extremely sexual people. They suited each other perfectly.

“Childhood love that grew into sexual chemistry.” Hazel grinned. “God, he’s so perfect for you.”

I blushed inside and out again. I wanted him to be my romantic hero, just like in the books I read, but I had a feeling we were more like dystopian characters doomed to be tortured until the bitter end.

“But, I don’t mean to be a bitch here, what about his role in the MC?” Yara asked.

“What about it?” Hazel shrugged.

Yara rolled her eyes. “You’re not exactly club material.”

No I was not. All it took was a very small glimpse and I knew I stuck out like a sore thumb. “Look, like any good story, we have some obstacles in our way.” I looked pointedly at my friends who most definitely had to deal with their own array of issues. “We’ve admitted we have feelings. We’ll figure that out as we figure everything else out.”

“All right,” Hazel grinned, leaning forward, “tell me about being rich.”

* * *

David’s passionfor my future was overwhelming. It left me unsettled, even after Jace came inside the building and met my boss and coworkers. Seeing them all together should have been comforting. My past and present becoming one.

But instead I was just raw and empty inside.

Everything was happening too fast and on too big a scale. Add in the fact that Jace declined to have dinner with Hazel and Yara for unspecified reasons? Yeah, I couldn’t really get my feet under me.

“Did you get your things taken care of?” I had a shower and was in clean pajamas, reading in bed when he finally got back to the hotel.

“Yeah,” he said more as a grunt than a well-articulated word. He looked stressed, removing his wallet and keys, then unstrapping the ankle holsters and setting his gun on the dresser. “Fuck, I’m exhausted.”

“A shower might help. I felt much better after.”

His eyes moved to me, hungry. “How long have you been waiting?”

I glanced at the time in the corner of my tablet. “Almost two hours.”

“Fuck.” He ruffled his hair and stretched. “I’m sorry. That took much longer than I planned.”

“Club business?” I didn’t want to pry...except that I absolutely did.

His eyes darted away. “Uh, yeah.”

That...was obviously a lie. Or at least a white lie. Club business adjacent, maybe? What could he possibly need all the way out here in the middle of the state? Maybe it was another club they worked with? Or a shared business interest. The possibilities were endless.

I pulled my knees up under my chin. “Did it have to do with me?”

He froze, the muscles of his neck flexed and his shoulders worked. Then he spun and stalked across the room to sit beside me on the edge of the mattress. “No. This wasn’t about you. It…” He pushed out a breath while he stared at my shoulder. “It came upbecauseof you, but it doesn’t have anything to do with you. This shit is mine.”

I didn’t understand anything he said and was pretty sure there wasn’t anything I could ask that would tell me more. Jace was Fort Knox when it came to secrets, which was both comforting and frustrating as hell.

“While I’m staying at the club...will I see Todd?” I didn’t know if I’d be able to have a reasonable conversation with the man.

Jace’s face was a blank slate, but his words were low and surprisingly deadly. “Absolutely not.”

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