A Reclusive Heart

  Of course he just ignored her as he quietly worked on removing her junk food away from her. Her eyes shot to the large paper brown bag on her nightstand that was giving off the most delicious scents and decided to forgive him for daring to go near her junk food.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked once her brain freeze vanished.

  “Making it easier on you,” he said, as he unloaded white Chinese food containers.

  “Making it easier for me to do what?” she asked, frowning.

  “To make me breakfast in bed of course,” he said with a wink as he shoved a carton of chicken lo mein in her hand.

  “Well, then I’m afraid you’re in for a huge disappointment because I can’t cook,” she told him casually as she fought against a pleased smile. She couldn’t believe that he was here never mind planning on staying the night. It was easily the sweetest thing anyone had done for her.

  Wow, that thought was kind of depressing so she shoved it aside and focused on the man ejecting her DVD. “Hey! What are you doing? I was watching that!”

  “I brought dinner that means I get to pick the movie,” he said, shrugging as he kicked off his shoes, grabbed a carton of food and joined her on the bed.

  “Then I should still get to pick the movie since I was eating dinner when you got here,” she pointed out innocently, loving the little glare he sent her way.

  “I’m going to pretend that you didn’t just call that insane pile of junk food dinner,” he said, settling in closer as the movie started.

  “Oh, but I did and I was planning on devouring a box of Krispy Kreme donuts for dessert,” she said, laughing when his scowl returned.

  “Okay,” he said, sighing heavily as he moved a few inches away from her, “we’re no longer speaking.”

  “You’re such a baby,” she said, rolling her eyes as she reached over and stole a forkful of honey chicken from his carton.

  With a long suffering sigh he held his carton out to her as she moved closer to him. When she was less than an inch away from him he threw his arm over her shoulders and brought her closer. For the next half hour they sat like that sharing their food and watching a really horrible action comedy, but Nick seemed to enjoy it and she enjoyed being with him so she was content to sit back and watch the movie.

  When they were both done she collected the rest of the cartons and brought them out to the kitchen. By the time she came back Nick was wearing only his underwear as he lounged back on her bed. The sight of his half-naked well muscled body did a lot to ease the tension left over from her day. It took her only a second to decide to join him. Biting back a smile she walked over to her bureau and pulled open the drawer she decided to use for her lingerie. When she went to reach for the baby blue number Nick suggested she buy, her hand brushed against the envelope her father had given her.

  She hadn’t bothered to open it. There was no point. Her mother was dead and the mother she thought she had didn’t want her and neither did her father. At least this explained why they never seemed to want her around, because they hadn’t. She was a constant reminder of what her father did and on some level she actually felt bad for her mother. It must have been painful for her to see the physical reminder that her husband had betrayed her every day. She wasn’t sure she could handle something like that, but she knew she would never take it out on the child.

  “Have you looked at this?” Nick asked, placing a hand on her hip as he reached around her and slowly took the envelope from her.

  “No,” she said, forcing a smile as she shook her head. She hadn’t seen the point of torturing herself with something that would never be. Maybe a few years from now when this whole thing didn’t make her feel like crying she would open it and find out her mother’s real name, but for right now it was too much for her to handle.

  “Do you mind if I take a look at it?”

  “What for?” she asked, turning to face him.

  “I might be able to hunt down a picture or a lost relative,” he suggested.

  “Oh.” She hadn’t thought about that, but it would be nice to know what her mother looked like since her father hadn’t exactly been forthcoming with the details. After they’d announced that her birth mother was dead they’d practically shoved her and Nick out, but of course her mother and sister made sure to give them a tearful goodbye from the front door and wish her luck on her tour.

  “I’ll take care of it tomorrow at the office,” he said as he placed the envelope on top of her bureau. “I did tell you that we’re expected at the office tomorrow to go over the tour so far, didn’t I?”

  “No,” she said, smiling when he winced. “But that’s fine.”

  He leaned in and gave her a quick, too quick, kiss. “About the office……”

  “I know that I have to keep my dirty little hands off of you,” she said, sighing heavily. “I’ll try, but it will be difficult,” she teased.

  “You have no idea,” he said roughly as he leaned down and took her mouth in a passionate kiss.

  It wasn’t long before he was tearing her clothes off and she was sliding her hand beneath the waistband of his boxers and stroking him. When she was left in nothing but her panties he grabbed them and ripped them clear from her body, startling her and sending her arousal into overdrive. It was as if he’d thrown gas on the fire and she couldn’t get enough of him.

  Somehow she found herself sitting on the edge of her bureau with her legs spread and his tongue sliding inside of her as she buried her fingers in his hair.

  Eventually she was forced to grab the back of the bureau as he took her roughly with his mouth. When his fingers joined his tongue she couldn’t hold back. Within seconds she was screaming his name until her voice was hoarse.

  Before the last ounce of pleasure drained out of her body he was standing in front of her and slamming his way home as he took her mouth in a hungry kiss that had her panting and screaming for more in seconds. She wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck, desperate to be closer to him. When he stumbled away from the bureau she let out a surprised little squeal that had him chuckling even as he slowly ground himself inside of her.

  “What are you doing?” she asked, licking her lips hungrily as he moved his mouth down to her neck and suckled in that naughty little way of his that drove her crazy.

  “I’m making love to you, baby,” he said huskily against her skin seconds before they were falling.

  She landed with a startled gasp on her back across the bed with Nick still firmly in place. He buried his face against her neck as his right hand came up and cupped her breast as he rolled his hips slowly against hers. She loved the way he touched her, looked at her and made her feel, but most importantly she realized as he shifted until he was on his elbows looking down at her that she just plain loved him.

  As he stared into her eyes she had to fight the urge to cry at the tender expression on his face. She reached up and cupped his face and drew him down for a kiss. He would never know how much she loved him, she thought sadly.

  “Jamie, oh god, Jamie,” he groaned against her lips as she fought against the urge to tell him how much she loved him. It was a difficult battle, but somehow she won. As much as she would love to tell him how she felt she knew that he’d be running for the door before the last word left her mouth so she would have to settle for whatever he could give her and hope like heck that it didn’t kill her when he finally walked away.

  ******

  “Oh, I’m sorry. Did I wake you?” Jamie asked with that innocent smile that he loved as she readjusted herself on his lap.

  He shook his head, fighting back a yawn as he watched her bite her lip as she slowly slid down his morning erection. A loud groan escaped him as his hands shot out to grip her hips and gently guide her so that she didn’t hurt herself. How in the hell had he lived this long without morning sex? There really was no better way to wake up, he decided as his little recluse gripped his forearms to steady herself as she moved back up his shaft.


  Her eyes closed in pleasure as she licked her lips and he knew he’d have to make damn sure that he was around every morning to start his day off like this.

  He’d never had morning sex before, early noon sex yes, but not first thing in the morning sex. That probably had something to do with the fact that he made it a point to leave as soon as he was done. Sticking around usually sent the wrong impression to the woman he slept with like he cared or even remembered her name.

  With Jamie he more than cared.

  “You can go back to sleep if you want. I promise to be quiet,” she said on a soft little moan that had his cock twitching inside of her.

  “But if I go back to sleep I won’t be able to do this,” he said, adjusting his hand so that his thumb was able to tease her clit.

  Jamie gasped as she laid one hand over his as she slowly rode him. “It would probably be best if you stayed awake then,” she agreed as she did this little twist and drop thing that had him sucking in a breath and struggling not to throw her on her back and fuck her until she couldn’t move. When she did it again he arched his back and let out a loud groan.

  As much as it killed him he decided to lay back and let his little recluse have her fun. Of course that didn’t mean he couldn’t help her reach the point of screaming his name a little faster to put him out of his misery. He wasn’t a masochist after all.

  ******

  Jamie’s warm smile when he stepped out of her bathroom made him wish that they could call in sick today, but they had too damn much to do. Well, he did.

  His little recluse needed to go over some things with Rick and work on her books.

  They still had a month of tour dates to complete and there was so much that he wanted to show his little recluse. He couldn’t wait to get back on the road with her.

  She walked over to him and lightly ran her fingers down his silk tie before standing on her toes to press a kiss against his cheek. “I love your hair,” she said, smiling as she walked passed him to her door.

  He barely stopped himself from telling her that he knew that she liked it this way or that he’d given it a mused look for her since it would just make him look like an idiot. Never before had he cared what a woman thought or wanted, but he found himself eager to please his little recluse. It was funny how making her happy made him happy. Not that he was going to look too far into that, because he wasn’t.

  As he headed for the door he grabbed his briefcase and the overnight bag he’d thrown together last night and followed after his little recluse only to come an abrupt halt when he found her shifting nervously in front of some guy wearing cheap cologne that smelled like Windex and the expression of a guy who hadn’t gotten laid in decades.

  “You can’t do this,” Jamie said, holding up a white piece of paper.

  “I just did, lady. When you moved in I told you that I didn’t want any problems and for almost two months I’ve had to deal with crowds, people breaking in and weirdos. I’m done. I want you out by the end of the week!” the man snapped, moving to walk away, but his little recluse scrambled to catch up and cut him off.

  “A week? I won’t be here. I have to go back on tour. Can’t we make some sort of compromise?” she suggested, almost desperately.

  The man stubbornly shook his head as he walked past her. “I’m sorry, Miss.

  Harris. I really am, but I’ve put up with too much nonsense over the past month and I’ve gotten one too many complaints about you,” he said, surprising the hell out of him. People complained about his little recluse? Bullshit.

  “But I didn’t do any of those things! You know Mrs. Brigs has a hearing problem and Mr. Ames thinks the government is stealing his thoughts! Please don’t do this!”

  “A week, Miss. Harris, and I want you out,” he said, getting the final word in before he disappeared through the stairwell door, leaving his little recluse left standing in the hallway, looking defeated with her little shoulders slumped.

  “I think you’re going to have to move, Jamie,” he said, switching his bag into his other hand so that he could put his arm around her shoulders.

  “I know,” she muttered unhappily as he steered her towards the elevator. “Do you think Rick will let me out of a few events so that I can find a place and move?”

  she asked, sounding hopeful.

  He sighed heavily as he pushed the call button. “I’m sorry, Jamie, but we already pushed the dates as far back as we could without breaching any contracts.”

  “Oh,” she muttered, her shoulders slumping even further.

  “I tell you what, sweetheart,” he said, giving her a little nudge when the elevator doors slid open and she remained standing there looking lost and so damn sad that he ached to pull her into his arms and hold her all day, but they needed to get to work. “I can arrange for someone to rent a house for you and even hire movers to move all of yours things. How does that sound?”

  “Will it allow cats?” she asked, perking up at the idea.

  “You have a cat?” he asked, wondering how he missed it.

  “No.”

  “You want one?”

  She scrunched up her face endearingly as she shook her head. “No, I can’t stand them.”

  “Then why do you care if they allow cats?” he asked, fighting back a chuckle.

  “I just like to keep my options open,” she said, shrugging.

  As he followed her onto the elevator he wondered why he loved it when she drove him crazy.

  Chapter 21

  “Oh my god, I can’t do this,” Jamie mumbled as she watched in horror as a large group of paparazzi descended on her vehicle.

  Why had she told Nick that she didn’t need him to follow her to work?

  Because she hadn’t wanted to come across as clingy or needy that’s why. Somehow she’d managed to escape the small group that waited for her outside of her apartment building, but that was probably only because they knew exactly where she was going to end up. There was no way she was going to survive this without sugar, she realized as a swarm of people surrounded her car and started taking pictures.

  For a moment she considered calling Nick and begging him to come rescue her, but she decided that at some point she’d have to figure out how to deal with this by herself and what better time than right now? She took a deep breath and when that didn’t give her the confidence that she needed to move her butt she took another one and grabbed her purse.

  Trying to appear confident and relaxed, she slowly shut off her car and opened the door. Thankfully the paparazzi backed up and gave her plenty of space to step out of her car, probably hoping that she’d do something really stupid or embarrassing, but the joke was on them because she wasn’t going toOh, darn it, she thought as her purse somehow tipped upside down and spilled its contents all over the black pavement, leaving her with no choice but to drop to her knees and hurry to grab everything before they found anything embarrassing. Not that she had anything embarrassing in her purse, she thought as she grabbed a handful of butterscotch discs and shoved them back into her bag.

  She was pretty sure that she’d learned that lesson a month ago and cleaned out her purse. The only thing they’d find now was a used paperback book, her wallet, candy, and”I see you believe in safe sex, Miss. Harris,” a man said mockingly as he held up the box of condoms she’d bought weeks ago and unfortunately forgot about.

  She felt her cheeks burn as what had to be a hundred cameras clicked as the big jerk held the box of unopened condoms in front of her face. Clearing her throat, she took the box back, trying not to wince when she heard more clicks, and shoved them in her bag. “Yes, it’s, um, very important,” she mumbled pathetically, getting to her feet and fighting back the urge to make a run for it.

  When she made it to the front of the building she nearly sighed in relief. That is until the large security guard held up a hand stopping her. “Employee pass or guest name,” he said firmly.

  “Oh,” she muttered, trying to ignore the clicks as
she searched through her bag for her employee pass only to come up empty handed. “I…I think I lost it.”

  “I’m sorry, ma’am, but I can’t let you in the building without a employee pass.”

  “Did you get fired?” one of the paparazzi demanded as Jamie struggled to figure out a way to get inside and away from the cameras, but all their questions and the constant clicking of their cameras made it difficult to think at the moment.

  “How did it feel to find out that your mother wasn’t really your mother?”

  “I hear your family couldn’t wait to get rid of you,” another one said, hitting a little too close to home.

  “Please, I work for Rerum Publishing. If you call Rick Edwards or Nick Quinn they can vouch for me,” she pleaded quietly as the crowd began to close in tightly around her.

  “I’m sorry, ma’am,” the guard said, gesturing for her to step away from the front door. “But I have strict orders not to let in anyone without a pass or who isn’t on the list,” he said, holding up a clipboard.

  She opened her mouth to ask him to check for her name, but realized that she wouldn’t be on the guest list. If she wanted to get in the building she was going to have to call Nick. She opened her purse even as the large man hurdled her away from the building