16. Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Sixteen

Clara

Clara

My hands shook as I climbed into the back of the limo Luca had ordered for me. It was ostentatious, but after that dinner, I couldn't possibly drive myself home, and the last thing I wanted to do was make small talk with a driver or anyone.

As soon as the door shut, it was yanked open again, and a man slid into the back seat.

Leather and wind.

He wasn't wearing any, and as far as I knew, he hadn't been riding, but Jacob Hayes smelled like the road anyway. I'd know him with my eyes closed.

Infuriating.

"Why are you in my car?"

"Look at me then I'll answer you." He commanded my attention like he had a right to it.

I turned my head, focusing on a spot beyond him. "Remember the last time you ordered me to do something? How did that go for you?"

He breathed a laugh. "Not well. I had a spitting-mad woman storming out of my house—"

"I didn't storm. I left calmly," I clarified.

"Don't deny being spitting mad?" he teased.

My nostrils flared at his amusement. There was nothing entertaining about his asshole behavior.

"I don't like being told to stay like I'm a dog. And while being blindsided by your…I don't know— girlfriend? Wife ?—showing up with your child, whom you never mentioned, was an absolute blast; let me tell you, the things you said about me…that was beyond the pale."

"I get that, but I didn't lie. That was the first time I ever woke up with you. Before that, you let me get in then you got gone."

I finally had to look at him. He was speaking like what he was saying made sense and wasn't the most obtuse way to look at everything that had happened between us.

"That was private. Me spreading my legs for you was private . Staying the night with you happened because I was beginning to think I could trust you." I scoffed at my idiocy. "I should have known. I have no sense of danger."

There was a long pause, and I was finally able to avert my gaze to my fingers twisting in my lap.

Then, like feathers floating in the wind, Jake spoke. "I'm no danger to you, Clara."

"Okay." I did not agree. Any man able to cut me the way he had was definitely dangerous.

He groaned, and I slanted my eyes toward him in time to see him dragging his fingers through the sides of his hair.

"All of that was a fuckup. I should have handled it differently, but I hadn't expected them to show up—"

I scoffed. "Obviously."

He groaned again. "Clara, come on. Do you honestly think that was my wife or girlfriend? You think she would have been laughing if she'd walked in on her man with another woman?"

Of course I didn't think that, even though it had been my knee-jerk reaction at the time. Still, there had been a woman with a key to his house and his child. A woman he'd felt comfortable enough to share how easily I'd spread my legs for him.

"I don't want to talk about this anymore. That night shouldn't have happened in the first place. Now we can both move on like we should have done in the first place."

He twisted sideways on the bench we shared, his arm draping over the top. "Does moving on involve you flirting with that guy barely out of law school?"

I sniffed, slightly embarrassed at being called out so blatantly. Since I hadn't the first clue how to flirt, it hadn't been conscious, but I might've played it up just a little once I saw Jake's grumpy reaction.

Not to make him jealous, though.

I didn't like the implication I was some scorned woman, trying to get back at him.

"It's funny you're calling another man young." There. That'll show him.

He leaned toward me. "Age isn't all about the number, Clara. I'm talking about who he is as a man. I got the impression that suit would let you lead him around by the ear like a little boy. Poor guy's probably going to have blue balls for a week from you touching his arm."

I rolled my eyes. This was ridiculous. "I highly doubt any of that is true."

"You didn't see his tongue wagging any time you looked away."

I was never going to flirt again. I had to work with Trevor, and if what Jake was saying held even a fraction of truth, I was going to feel incredibly awkward the next time we had a briefing.

"Jake…" I sighed. "Let's stop this. Say what you need to in order to clear your conscience and we'll both move on."

He exhaled, long and rough. "Look, I'm sorry about the way that morning went down. I'm not a big talker, and sometimes I say shit I don't mean when I'm put on the spot. The way I handled myself isn't a reflection of my respect for you. That was me trying to close the subject as quickly as I could."

"Okay. Thank you for apologizing."

"Clara," he bit out, "don't give me that haughty little attitude. I know you better than that by now. That's not you."

Incensed, I pinned him with a hard look. "I think it's been proven we hardly know each other. You have a child , Jake. At no point did you think you should have mentioned that? Like, possibly when you sat down to dinner with my child?"

In hindsight, it made sense. The truth was there in the details. He'd been so damn good with Nellie, comfortable lifting her, speaking to her in an age-appropriate way, putting together her kids' meal toy like a professional. I hadn't had the correct information to unscramble all those details into a picture, but looking back, it was so clear. Jake was good with Nellie because he'd done all that with his own daughter.

"Didn't think I'd see you again." He reached across the inches of space between us to put his hand on my knee. "I get you're protective over Nellie. I'm the same way with Sage. I don't bring women around her."

I pointed to the ground like he'd done that day and imitated his gruff voice. "Stay here please. That's my daughter, and I'd rather her not see you." I tipped my head, switching back to myself. "Do you think you could have said something like that?"

He squeezed my knee. "Like I said, I was on the spot, and it came out wrong. She wasn't supposed to be home until Sunday. And if you would've stayed like I told you—"

My jaw went tight. "I don't follow orders."

Letting go of my leg, he cupped the side of my jaw and turned my face so we were almost nose to nose. "And I'm sorry for that too. Can you put yourself in my place? Imagine it was Nellie coming through the front door? My daughter needs protecting more than you or me. Just like Nellie."

I hated myself for it, but hearing him talking about his girl softened me toward him. Part of me wanted to see him in girl-dad action, but a bigger part still found it difficult to believe he was a father. Big, rough biker Jake Hayes didn't strike me as the paternal type. Yet he was.

I sighed and wrapped my fingers around his hand, lowering it to my lap.

"I understand your instincts. I don't think it's an excuse for saying what you did about me, but I respect your fierce protectiveness."

I cut myself off from asking about his daughter…and the woman. It wasn't my business.

He chuckled. "That's it?"

I tried to pull my hand away, but he held on. "Yes. That's it. You apologized, I accepted, we're good."

" Did you accept?"

"Internally, yes."

"How about some words then, sweetness?"

"Why does it matter?"

His thumb moved over my knuckles as his eyes scanned my face. "I'm not sure. All I know is I don't like the idea of hurting you how I did, and I need to know you're okay now."

I raised my chin. Haughty , as Jake called it. "Of course I'm okay."

He shook his head. "I know you are. You've got that spine of steel. No one could topple you. What I mean is you're okay with me. That you get why I said what I did, know it wasn't about you, and those words aren't spinning around and around in your head. That you know my opinion of you is a hell of a lot higher than I let on. That how I treated you isn't going to be a setback. I know you're still trying to move on from whatever it was Nellie's dad did to you, and I would hate thinking I had any part of kicking you off the path to healing the hurt he left behind."

My lips parted, and a soft gasp passed between them.

"I don't know," I said with as much honesty as I could muster since he'd just given me all… that.

"All right. Then we'll get you there."

"How?"

His nostrils flared as he inhaled. "This was supposed to be over."

"It is," I replied, though it didn't feel nearly as honest as what I'd said before.

He gave me a long look that made my head fuzzy and my body list toward his. What was it about this man? I had never understood "like a moth to a flame" until him. His brightness and heat attracted me, but I refused to burn. I couldn't . I had Nellie. What good would I be to her if I allowed myself to fly into what I already knew had the potential to ruin me?

He brought his hand up to cup the side of my neck. "Go on a date with me."

"What?" My eyes flicked to his, and the surprise I felt reflected back at me. Had he not meant to say that?

"Yeah." His brow furrowed as he nodded to himself. He was coming up with this idea on the fly. "Have dinner with me. Take a walk with me. Go see a movie. It's your choice. So long as you give me some time. If you want me to make the choice, I can do that. I'd like to see you in candlelight again. When you're not flirting with another man."

"Date?" We didn't do that.

"Yes, Clara. We're going to date. You and me. We'll see where this goes."

"But…"

"It's complicated. We both have kids we need to protect. But I think we could understand each other and this could be good. I feel that."

He was barreling on about the complications of us…together, and I was stuck on him wanting to date at all. This was the last thing I'd expected him to say.

"I'll have to think about it," I replied. "I don't have a lot of spare time and give what I have to Nellie—"

"What time does she go to bed?"

I frowned. "Seven thirty, usually."

"Fine. We go out at eight, after you put her to bed. You're not missing any time with her, and I get your undivided attention without you feeling guilty."

"What about you? Won't you be missing time with…Sage?"

His mouth hitched. "She's with her mom every other week. I can fit you into my life away from her if this works out. And, sweetness, I think it could."

"I don't know..."

The car slowed. Outside the tinted window was familiar. Relief unfurled in my belly. This ride was almost over. Soon, I'd be able to breathe air that didn't remind me of danger and hot, hot nights. Maybe then I could think properly.

"Yes you do," he crooned roughly.

We stopped in front of my house, and my hand shot toward the handle as my heart leapt into my throat. Part of me didn't think he'd let me go.

"This is me," I said.

"I see that."

"I'll see you later. The driver will take you back to your car." His hand was still on my neck and showed no signs of dropping. "Good night, Jake."

He slowly shook his head, his eyes never leaving mine. "You haven't said yes."

"I'm not going to. Not tonight." Leaning forward, I touched my lips to his. I'd done it so suddenly he didn't have a chance to take more before I moved away again.

"Clara…" he growled.

"I have plans this weekend, and you probably have Sage next week. We can take that time to reevaluate whether we actually want to see each other again. You know, when everything isn't so fraught. If you take a pause, I think you'll most likely find you're in this limo to prove a point, not because you actually want to date me."

"What point?" he asked, a jagged edge to his tone.

"That I want you more than Trevor—"

"Who the hell is Trevor?" His hand on me was as gentle as ever, but his question carried a sharp bite.

That made me grin. "The lawyer boy. Trevor."

He scoffed. "Trevor doesn't stand a chance with you."

"You think you do?"

"Yeah, sweetness, I do. I'll give you the next week to take a breather, then I'm coming for your yes."

A wave of desire shot to my core at his cockiness. It should have been a turnoff, but I'd found there were few things about Jake Hayes that turned me off. Right now, I couldn't name any. Not with my thighs pressed together and him inching toward me. As he got closer, I tipped back until I hit the door.

Then there was nowhere to go.

He spoke to me in a low, private tone, just for me, even though there was no one else around. "One thing you need to know? When you say yes, you're going to be safe with me. I want you to think about that. Think about the first time you took me back to your room, how your instinct guided you into trusting I wasn't going to hurt you. You were right then, and when you say yes, you'll be right again. You take all the time to think about that. I'm for damn sure going to be thinking about you—and it'll have nothing to do with that pipsqueak Trevor. "

As quickly as he'd advanced, he retreated, leaving me alone against the door, my chest heaving, lips tingling from the kiss that never happened.

It took me a moment to collect myself, and all the while, Jake watched, satisfaction tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"Don't be smug," I murmured as I grabbed my purse and opened the door.

"When you look at me that way, I can't help it."

Ugh. He had to stop. I was one heartbeat away from mounting him right here. Luca didn't pay his driver enough to bear witness to that, and my suburban neighborhood would be scandalized by the rocking limo parked on the street.

With those thoughts, I stumbled out of the car and scurried up my driveway. When I got the door open, I took a chance and looked back.

Jake was still there, the window down, gaze pinned on me. When I didn't move, he jerked his chin as if telling me to get in there. So I did. Only when I was locked behind the door did the car pull away.

He'd waited to make sure I was safe inside.

That was nice.

So nice.

I pressed my back against the door and groaned. This was supposed to be over. Jake Hayes shouldn't have even been a thought anymore. But he was a devious man. If he'd kissed me like I thought he was going to, I could have easily written all this off as physical.

Instead, he'd used his clever mind for evil, planting these…ideas that were already taking root.

What if we could date in a way that worked for us both? What if I didn't have to be entirely alone?

There was still the woman in his house and things he'd said showing me an ugliness I didn't trust.

Double ugh.

This called for Bea and Shira time. They might not know what to do, but they'd make me laugh, and I could use some comedic relief right now.