Chapter 16

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Jake

There is no amount of working out that could take the edge off my tension. And I don't even like working out.

In fact, until this little adventure, I hardly ever touched the inside of the gym.

Now, I'm in here constantly and I still want to rip the world apart.

Or maybe I just want to rip off Nia's panties and plunge tongue-first between her thighs. She was so fucking delicious. Sweet with the perfect amount of musk. I've been dreaming about her taste.

She's not talking to me, but she is walking around the house with the smallest amount of clothing possible, hair and makeup making her look even more like a Hollywood starlet on vacation.

And the little dresses she's been wearing…

They hug her curves, highlighting her flat stomach and her lush ass.

I keep replaying our morning together, over and over in my mind. I know that Nia isn't experienced, but that woman turned vixen in my hands, and I want her again, the way I want my next breath .

I'm increasingly thinking of her and not of what I'm here to do or what might be happening back home.

I'm sure the guys can sense it. Maybe it's my silence, but I'm not surprised when I get a text from Mason saying that he'd like to talk this evening.

The meeting is scheduled for two in the morning, Mason understanding that I'm in a very small space with Nia and that late at night is the only time I have an opportunity for privacy.

I respond with only a thumbs up as I hear Nia leave the bathroom. I'd been cutting up fruit while she's been working out. When she entered the bathroom, I'd stopped entirely, just listening to the shower, remembering how I had her pushed up against the wall, her ass against my cock.

When the door clicks open, I finally come to my senses and start chopping again.

None of my nephews would believe it, but I actually like cooking. The act is somehow soothing, and I like it even better when I'm feeding Nia.

I can't explain why giving her nice food makes me happy.

Though the idea of being in the kitchen with her makes me a little crazy. It's a small space and I'm ready to break.

I know she'll want breakfast and coffee, but everything in me clenches as she enters the kitchen with her hair and makeup done but still wrapped only in a towel.

It's barely long enough to cover the generous curve of her ass, as she walks in and takes the cup I've poured her.

She drinks one sip, pauses, and then bends over to get the sugar out of the cabinet on the island.

I lean back, getting the barest peek between her legs as she bends before she is straightening back up.

If she isn't careful…

I had my cock cradled against those sweet cheeks once and I would give anything to bend her over this counter right now and?—

"Thanks for the fruit," she says and grabs a piece from the bowl I've left and pops it between those plush lips .

The tiniest bit of watermelon juice coats her lips and all I can think about is licking it off. I press against the counter, discreetly adjusting my now-stiff cock as I don't respond.

I've spent the last few days considering how I protect Nia and still exact my revenge on Toni.

She's right about her family. If her marriage was supposed to save the Italians, they'll see this as a betrayal. Especially since I took great pains to make it look as though Nia and I left Vegas together and ran off to get married.

I wonder if anyone even suspects that I forced her against her will. She was in the act of running away, packed a bag, stored it in the bushes.

I didn't know she was doing that. But that doesn't matter now. Her family is never going to forgive her.

She comes back out of the bedroom in a pair of short little shorts and a tank. I lean against the counter and watch her as she slips onto a stool and lifts another piece of fruit, pineapple, and pops it into her mouth.

Even her chewing is sexy, and I cross my arms, committed to just watching her eat. It's sexy as fuck and I'm a starving man.

"I feel like I need a little sun," she says after a few more pieces. "You?"

My brows lift. That's it? Suddenly we're talking about taking a stroll together? I've spent the last two days, when I'm not admiring every part of her, racking my brain on how I help my family and get her out of this mess that I've landed her in.

"Outside?"

She pauses, her mouth open, a piece of kiwi in front of her lips. "That is where the sun shines."

"What about the sun porch?"

She wrinkles her nose. "Not the same."

My brows cock. I know she's up to something. I can't have her getting hurt now. And I can't give her the chance to try and run. Tonight I'm going to pitch a plan to Mason. We get Nia's taped confession for the police, and then Nia and I disappear .

I'm still not the forever guy, despite my proposal. That was as much about convincing her to trust me as anything else, but that doesn't mean I can't spend a year protecting her, helping her establish a new identity, while my family finishes neutralizing the Italians and bringing them to heel.

But to explain that I'll take her away but not marry her means I might have to come clean about my original intentions.

Nia is not a woman who trusts easily, and I'm going to kill any trust I have left, which is not much. I know that.

"You want to go out now? It's got to be one hundred and ten degrees out there."

She nips at her lip. "It's a dry heat."

I shake my head with a chuckle. That's Vegas's favorite line next to, What happens in Vegas…

"A little sun?" I ask, watching her closely.

I see the light that sparkles in her eyes. She is definitely up to something.

"A little sun."

"All right then," I push off the counter, moving around the island to take her hand.

Pulling her toward the door, I stop to swipe my finger over the invisible pad.

The lock clicks and I feel her fingers tightening around mine.

Was she hoping to learn how the door worked? She'd have to cut off my finger to be able to use it on her own. I've wired this place myself and I'm the only one who can operate the house.

Good thing the knives are now firmly tucked away.

We step into the heat, my skin instantly growing sticky. "So much for dry," I mutter.

A small smile tugs at her lips. "It feels wonderful."

"Like to be hot?"

"The sun warms you up when no one else will," she answers and lifts her face to the sky.

Maybe this was her plan. Because my chest tugs at the admission of loneliness in her voice. And I find myself wanting to promise to keep her warm for a long, long time. Fuck me.

There are a few old chairs, left over from construction, leaning on the side of the house and I grab them, unfolding each one and setting it in the dirt. She slips into one and I take the other.

The sun actually does feel nice. I won't make it more than thirty minutes but it's nice to get a little vitamin D.

"So, what do you do when you're not stealing young women?"

I shake my head, really enjoying the return of a bit of banter. "Excuse me, Miss Sassy, but you are the one and only young woman I ever intend to steal."

She laughs. "I see. Want to know something about me?"

"You know I do."

"I actually do a fair bit of this at home. Sitting outside despite the heat. Jess thinks I'm crazy."

"So why do you go out then?"

"Makes me feel less trapped."

My gut clenches. "You're his prisoner too." And that's what I hate. I'm him. My father. Her father. The realization hits me like a punch to the gut and my stomach clenches.

I've trapped a beautiful woman by my side, one that I know is going to get hurt.

I can't stand it. I can't be him. With startling clarity, I know I can't be another Toni. I can't be cruel like my father.

"Have been for a long time." Then she turns to me, her cheeks the most beautiful shade of pink as her skin heats. "I've thought about it."

I stay silent having no idea what she might say next.

"And I'd rather that you killed me than send me back to Toni."

It's like she dropped a cement block on my chest, and I stare at her wondering if I'll be the one to vomit this time. Mason's wife Charlotte made a similar request of Mason.

There is grit and then there is inner strength and an understanding of the dark side of life. I've got both.

But by slow degrees I've learned, so does Nia. We are so alike in so many ways. Forged from the same fire. She understands me in ways even my family does not. "I am not killing you, Nia."

"Please," she whispers, leaning closer. "You were right about a few things. I've had time to think here in ways that I never got to at home. I'd rather be dead than return to that life."

I turn to stare out at the desert. "You're not going back, and I am not hurting you ever. I already made you promises, and I meant them."

She reaches for my hand then, her small fingers slipping into mine, her pale skin in such contrast to mine. "I'm scared, Jake."

"Don't be, sweetheart," I hear myself whisper back. "I told you, I'm a crusty old gangster and I am plenty man enough to make Toni pay."

"I'm sure you will. But that doesn't mean I won't pay too."

My eyes close. "You and I have both been forged by fire. Haven't we? We understand the prices that must be paid for every choice we make or…someone makes for us."

"You're not wrong," she whispers, her voice raw. "But you know that phrase, out of the frying pan and into the fire?"

"Yeah."

"I can't seem to tell where the pan ends and the fire begins." She stares off into the distance, her features pulled tight with tension.

I tighten my hold on her fingers, knowing it's time to make the picture clearer. "Want to hear another story?"

"Yes."

This time, I don't need her to share anything in return. I just want her to understand. "You know that time I told you my pops broke my jaw?"

"Yes," she answers.

"My mom had to take me to the emergency room where they put the jaw back in place. Lied and said that I'd fallen off the pony that had bitten me and that's how I dislocated it."

Her other hand comes to mine.

"Then, when we got home…my pops had this collection of baseball cards he loved. Some of them worth a lot of money. She took them out in the backyard and lit them on fire. "

I hear Nia gasp, but I don't look at her. "He beat her up worse than me, but she did it knowing how much he'd hurt her after. It wasn't a pretty home. But my mom, she had my back."

"Where is she now?"

"Nursing home. Dementia," I answer as I look back at her blue eyes. "I don't want to do what they did. That fucked-up marriage. But my mom, she is the one person I could always trust to stand up for me, Nia. Not until Mason did I have another person I could really count on. I won't abandon you, Nia. I promise you that. And if I break that promise, you can kill me, sweetheart."

She stares at me as I turn my face up to the sun. "We can stay out as long as you want. Just tell me when you're ready to go in."

"Just a few more minutes," she answers. Despite our sweaty palms, her hand stays in mine.

I mean the promise. I've changed and I can't change back. I don't want to.

I'll die before I let Toni or anyone else hurt her.

I close my eyes, feeling the heat of the sun, the prickle of sweat.

The air is growing thicker. When I open my eyes, I see them. Giant plumes of clouds that are sure to mean rain.

Storms in the desert can be dangerous. With a grimace, I tug on her hand. "We should head inside."

"Why?"

"Storm," I point at the clouds. "And it's going to be bad."