Black Hearted - An Enemies to Lovers Romance (Complete)

Black Hearted: Chapter 55

Solana clung to the edge of the desk, willing her feet not to move. The betraying muscles yearned to follow Jack. Damn the consequences.

What had she expected? That he would sweep in here, kiss her until she couldn't think and demand she return with him.

Heat pooled in places it had no right to at the thought of Jack's lips on hers. No, she reminded herself. This was simply lust and in time, the feeling would fade. The hairs on the back of her arms refused to believe the lie. The ache in her chest mocked her attempts at denial. The pounding in her ears tried to drown out the false statement she'd repeated for days now.

Jack wasn't a fling. Cassius had been a fling. One her pride had forced her to continue the lie for far too long. Lincoln was a temporary infatuation. Sex with him lost its luster long before he ran away with her money. There was more feeling in simply holding Jack's hand than there had been in any of her previous relationships.

Her knees abandoned her, and she tumbled to the ground. It was too hard. Being the strong one. Always keeping up this stance of being impenetrable. She'd convinced Jack to show vulnerability with his project and he'd earned the respect of his client, got the deal he'd been working on. Why couldn't she take her own advice?

Maybe it wouldn't work between them. Maybe it would hurt more if they had more time together. Maybe that time would be worth the pain.

A few weeks with Jack had been... Frustrating. Challenging. Invigorating. Exciting.

The best of her life. She was weak, after all. She wanted more. If there was a chance.

Solana scrambled to her feet and pitched toward the door. How long had she sat on that dingy floor in Alfonso's office? Running down the hall, her mind scanned the major hotels and tried to determine where Jack might be staying. Distracted, she slammed into a broad chest.

"Move." Her hand pushed against hard muscle.

Familiar hard muscle.

She lifted her face to him. A jaw made of stone. Dark sunglasses denying her access to his gaze. Jack. "You're still here?"

A muscle ticked in his neck and Solana itched to press a kiss against the bulge, ease the strain. His finger brushed against her cheek so lightly she might have missed the touch had she not craved contact with him so desperately. Still, the tender move stirred a whirlwind of desire, robbing her of breath. Desire to be touched by him. Desire to be near him. Desire to talk to him.

But Jack didn't say a word. Before his fingers had barely settled on her skin, he withdrew his hand, turned and silently strode down the stairs.

"Jack?" The word was less than a whisper. He was walking away from her. A flare of pain sliced through the paper wall she'd built around her feelings for him, incinerating the defence. "Wait."

He descended further, almost at the bottom of the stairwell.

She forced the word out, louder this time. "Wait."

Jack froze in place. He didn't turn. Didn't move. Simply stood there, his back to her.

She bounded down the steps, tugged on his shoulder and pushed him against the cracked paint of the stairwell. He was like putty in her hands, easily doing her bidding, allowing himself to be backed against the wall. Yet he refused to look at her. "Why did you come here?"

His throat worked like speaking was an effort. When he did talk, his voice was again hoarse. "I told you. Ximena needs you."

"I get that. But you could have sent a message." Adrenaline surged through her. "Delivered the tickets by courier. Hell, you could have sent a singing telegram. But you came. Why?"