Chapter Seven
Jake decided to go over to Sapphire’s apartment rather than call her. They could go out if she wanted to, or they could order in if she wanted to stay home. Either way worked for him.
He let himself into the lobby and hit the buzzer for her place. She answered a few seconds later. “Yes.”
“It’s Jake.”
“I thought you were going to call.”
“Figured this was easier.” He waited a few seconds. “You going to let me come up?”
“Oh yes. Right.” The buzzer sounded and he pulled open the door.
He was just stepping into the elevator when his phone rang. “Yeah.” He absently hit the button for Sapphire’s floor.
The voice on the other end was the one he’d been waiting to hear from all day. “So far your boy is boring. Gregor went to work, had lunch with a couple of guys from the office. I’m sending you pictures. After work, he went home and hasn’t gone out since.”
“Keep on him until you’re sure he’s not going out.” Even though he was with Sapphire, he’d rather know where Gregor was.
“Will do.”
“Thanks, man. I deposited your fee into your account this morning.”
“Got it.”
The line went dead. Neither of them liked talking on cell phones. You never knew who might be listening.
The elevator door opened and he stepped out. His heart was beating faster at the thought of seeing Sapphire. He’d missed her today. Squaring his shoulders, he knocked on her door. It opened almost immediately and there she was, a vision in dark-gray trousers, low-heeled shoes and a long-sleeved sweater the color of oatmeal. Her long curly hair hung down her back and her makeup was minimal.
There was his Sapphire. “Hey.” He leaned down and dropped a quick kiss on her lips. “How was your day?” He stepped inside and shut the door.
She shrugged. “Good. Had a meeting with Topaz this morning and spent the afternoon working on designs and some new pieces.”
“Can I see?” He loved her work. It was so feminine and beautiful and innately Sapphire.
“You want to see it?” Her surprise was almost funny, but it made his gut clench.
“Of course I want to see it. You do great work, babe.” He knew her jewelry sold incredibly well at the boutique, and she’d even had an independent line at a major department store.
“Okay.” She turned and went down the short hall to the room on the left. He tried not to look into her bedroom as they passed by and remember what they’d done there last night.
“Have you decided if you want to stay in or go out for dinner?” Jake watched the sexy sway of her ass as she walked in front of him.
“Out. I even changed out of my work clothes.”
Her wry comment amused him. The last couple weeks aside, he knew Sapphire much preferred to be wearing jeans or leggings instead of trousers and heels. “You look amazing, babe.” He didn’t care what she wore. She always looked good to him.
She turned just inside her studio door. “I thought a lot about us today, Jake.”
“And.” Tension crept into his body and his voice.
“And, we spend all our time at my place. I wouldn’t even know where you live if Topaz hadn’t given me John’s address when she moved in with him.” Hands on her hips, she appeared solemn and thoughtful. “I want to know more about you. I need to know more if this thing between us is going to have a chance.”
She didn’t know what she was asking of him. He’d always been secretive, closed-mouthed about his private life, but that had grown almost into obsession over the past twenty years. He also knew he had no choice. He had to let Sapphire in, had to let her see all of him if they were going to have a chance in hell of making it.
He only hoped that she could accept him as he was and that learning more about him wouldn’t scare her off. He was no clean-cut businessman. He was the guy other people went to when the hard jobs needed doing. And he was damn good at it. In fact, Uncle Sam had wanted him to stay on as an instructor, teaching the new generation of soldiers, but he’d declined, knowing he’d already lost too much of his soul in the protection of his country. Not that he regretted it. No, he was proud of his service. It was simply someone else’s turn to bear the burden.
“Sure, we can go to my place. We can pick up something on the way if you want. I don’t think there’s much there to eat.”
“Really?” Sapphire gifted him with a delighted smile and he realized she’d expected him to put her off, to say no.
“Really.” He went to her and gathered her in his arms, unable to resist for one more minute. Her head fit nicely below his chin and he rocked her gently from side to side. She sighed and put her hands around his waist.
He wanted to yell and beat his chest like a conquering hero. Instead, he kissed the top of her head, inhaling the citrus scent of her shampoo and the lighter floral of her body lotion. He knew she didn’t wear perfume, but she always smelled so damn good. He could eat her up.
His cock flexed in agreement and he was careful not to press his hips against hers, afraid she might step back if she knew how damn much he wanted her. “Show me your jewelry.” If he didn’t do something to take his mind off her sinful scent and delectable curves, they were never going to make it out of her apartment. In the short term, they’d both enjoy themselves, but he sensed it was very important to her to see his place. So therefore it was important to him that she get what she wanted.
He could wait. He was good at it.
She dropped her arms and walked over to a workbench. “This is one of the new pieces.” She held it out to him.
It was very different from anything she’d ever shown him before, more masculine and edgy. The various metals formed a pattern that reminded him of the pipes in an industrial power plant. But it was much more artistic and pleasing to the eye.
She was chewing on her bottom lip, a nervous gesture he recognized from their time together. As her bodyguard, he’d learned a lot about her and her moods, and that gave him an advantage. For some reason, she was nervous about what he thought of her work.
“It’s incredible.” And it was. Different, but it had the same sense of completeness and style that all her pieces had. “Not your usual design.” Sapphire’s jewelry was deeply feminine, dipping into fantasy.
“No, it’s something different I wanted to try. Topaz and I talked about opening up another space in the store, a storage room we barely use, and create a Sisters’ Jewels Urban, a place for edgier pieces. She’s going to approach Emerald about doing some complementary pieces to go with my designs.”
There was no mistaking her delight. “That’s wonderful news. Is that what your meeting was about this morning?”
She nodded, her eyes shining with happiness as she held up a pair of earrings that matched the design of the bracelet. “Kind of. I was thinking about offering it as part of a mass market line through a department store, but Topaz came up with this idea.”
“And you like it more.” There was no question in his mind that Sapphire would rather work with her sisters than with a large retailer, not matter how much more money she might make with them.
“Absolutely.” She set the earrings down and took the bracelet from him, replacing it on her work counter. “I’ll still be designing regular pieces for Sisters’ Jewels lines, but this way I get to stretch myself artistically.”
As much as he knew about her, he found Sapphire fascinating. “Tell me all about it on the way to my place.”
The smile she gave him had his dick standing tall and his heart thudding harder. She was really giving them a chance. He marveled at her generosity and bravery, not sure he’d have been able to do the same if she’d been the one to hurt him.