The elevator stopped and the doors swooshed open. Jake strode down the long hall. Outside Sarah’s door, he hesitated. Coming to explain to her why he’d kept the truth from her was only one reason he was there.
He ran his hands though his hair. The other? He missed her. And not just their dinners or the role-play of Dom and sub, though he had to admit, he’d never enjoyed another sub as much as he did Sarah.
She’d up the stakes and he knew, no matter how many clubs he went to, or how many professional subs he could have, there’d never be another like Sarah.
He sighed. Yeah, he missed their ‘deserts’ but more, he just plain missed being around her: talking business, arguing over numbers, and brainstorming ways to improve his uncle’s business.
Sarah had a head for business and enough heart to care what happened to his uncle’s company which gave her a distinct edge over himself or someone else who wasn’t emotionally invested. Dammit, she belonged to the company, more than he’d ever belong.
She understood his uncle and shared the dead man’s vision. Joe had been the mind and force behind the company’s success but with him gone, Sarah was the heart and soul.
And if he was honest with himself, she was more than just a passing fancy or a temporary indulgence. She mattered. Afraid to explore why or how much, he put the thought away and knocked on the door.
Sarah peered through the peephole and swallowed her groan. Jake was staring at her through the hole as though he could see her. Her heart swelled with happiness and anticipation. Her mind quickly suppressed her desire. She backed away. Go away. She wasn’t surprised to see him there. Only that he’d taken three days to show up.
Jake knocked again, louder. “I know you’re home, Sarah. Open the door!”
Another peek. Sarah sighed. Jake was standing, feet spread, arms crossed, looking very determined in his million-dollar suit and silk tie. The man could have just come from a modeling shoot. Her heart wanted to let him in, her mind said no way.
“Sarah, I’m not leaving until we talk.”
He lifted his hand. Before he could pound on her door a third time, Sarah yanked the door open. She drank in the sight of him then hardened her heart. “Go away, Jake. I don’t want to talk to you!”
“Too bad.” Jake narrowed his eyes. “We can either talk out here where everyone can listen or you can invite me in.”
Sarah whirled around but didn’t lead the way to her living room. She wasn’t making him comfortable. “Fine. Say what you want to say then leave. Go back to your fiancé!” Sarah recalled Juliana’s dressed-to-kill dress and kiss-me-senseless red lips and the possessive way she’d held on to Jake.
For a long moment, Sarah and Jake just stared at one another. “I’m not engaged, Sarah. She broke it off long before I left New York.”
“Not what she said.” Sarah wasn’t sure which hurt the most: his deception or learning he was engaged.
Jake threw up his arms. “She changed her mind. I didn’t. There’s nothing more to say to that. She’s gone and she won’t be back. Ever. Satisfied?”
“Why didn’t you say so?” Sarah tried to keep the hurt from her voice.
Jake’s brows rose. “You thought I’ve been fucking her?”
“She said you were engaged. What was I supposed to think?”
“You could have answered my calls.” He paced in front of her.
Sarah drank in the sight of him. “You were calling about me returning to work. You never said anything about not being engaged.”
“Because Juliana doesn’t matter!”
Sarah stormed over to him. “You weasel.” She jabbed him in the chest. “She mattered to me, Jake.” Jab. “It mattered because you’ve been fucking me.” Jab-jab. For three days she’d imagined Jake and that woman sharing dinners and more.
He grinned. “You were jealous.”
“You jerk. You can go fuck her or anyone else you want.”
Jake grabbed Sarah’s hand, brought it to his lips, and kissed her pulse-point. “I’m sorry Sarah. I didn’t realize that you had no way of knowing what she said wasn’t true. She left right after you left and I haven’t seen her since. And don’t plan to.”