When billionaire and self-proclaimed heartless Jack suffers his first loss in the boardroom his confidence is shaken. Adding to the flames, he just strike out with the fiery Solana, server at an off the strip club in Vegas. She maybe the first perso...
A palm hit the side of his face and a sharp sting erupted, the not-yet healed bruises from Abraham's assault complaining at the contact of Solana's hand. "How dare you."
"How dare I?" His words echoed off the stairwell walls. He glared at the ceiling, almost wishing it would crash down and put him out of his misery. The beat in his ears clamored and banged. "All this time you insist you don't care about my money but the first chance you get, you take the cash and run."
Solana balled her fingers into the material of his shirt and jerked him closer, forcing him to bend down. Red glared back at him. "I didn't take the money you ass." Her free hand circled the air. "Do you think I'd be working here if I had more than two dimes to rub together?"
Chest heaving, she silently dared him to deny the reality she described. Jack fought against the tide of rage rolling under his ribs and forced the smoke to clear. For the first time tonight, he allowed himself to truly look at her. The cheap shirt straining across her shoulder, the material worn and more grey than black. The lack of jewelry around her neck, where his mother's necklace had once sat. The smudged black makeup under her eyes like she'd tried to wipe it away. Her lips void of any colour.
Jack tried to swallow but something was caught in his throat. She hadn't taken the money. Because that wasn't who she was. Fortune and fame where not important to her. Once again, he'd underestimated Solana. Would he ever learn? "You—"
"No." She spat the word through gritted teeth. "I. Did. Not."
He coughed. The lump pressed on his neck with the weight of embarrassment and disgust at himself. Until realization dawned on him. "Why didn't you tell me?"
That hit home. Solana's grip eased and Jack imprisoned a hand on hers, locking her palm against his chest. "Because I thought the offer was from you."
"No." He stared at her. "Never. You mean more to me than all my money." Her gasp made him step closer. "Listen to me." He leaned in and pressed his forehead to hers. "Only me."
A breathy "okay" puffed against his lips and breathed new life into him. He wasn't sure who moved first, her mouth on his or his mouth on hers, or if they met in the middle, but the moment the kiss happened, Jack's world shifted from black and white into full techno color. The flickering flame in his chest sprung to life and roared, warmth and delight surging through his body, bringing it back to life. The flames reached his heart and the darkness that had devoured his soul dispersed, eradicated by light.
His Sol returned to him.
When they broke apart Jack inhaled, the first breath in a long time devoid of pain and fear, the scent of orange blossom better than fresh baked bread. He buried his head in the crook of Solana's neck and clutched her close. "Only me," he repeated.
His ear pressed against a vein in her throat that pulsed with the rapid beat of her heart. A heart that he'd almost let go of because of his stupid pride. A heart that had sacrificed itself for him. He wasn't worthy. But he'd make sure he was from now on. Nothing would separate them again.
Her arms encircled his neck and she clung to him like a life raft surging down a river full of rapids, her head settling on his shoulder. Her chest rose and fell against his and a soft sob fell from her. Jack pulled back and bracketed her face, kissing away the tears dripping from her eyelashes. "No. Don't cry. Please."
"Are you sure?" Solana gulped in air. "About me? I'm a PR nightmare."
"Very sure. The press can go to hell. I don't care about them. I only care about you."
"You say that now. But what about later? After you..." She closed her eyes and turned from him, her mouth forming a straight line.
He kissed her temple. "There will be no later." A peck on her cheek. "Or rather there will be a later. A lifetime if you'll have me." Her face snapped back, and he brushed his lips against hers lightly. "Nothing will change my mind."
"I'm difficult."
"Don't I know it." He nudged her nose with his. "Good thing I love a challenge."
"Tell me about it." Her lips curled, then fell again. "I'll screw up. Make a mess of things."
"We'll make a mess together. I'm not afraid."
Her chuckle was music to his ears. She snuggled closer. "You should be. I'm impulsive."
"One of the things I love about you, sweetheart."
Solana's fingers traced his hairline, then his jaw. "I love you, too."
Words he'd heard before. A long time ago, in the kitchen of a mansion upon a hill where an older woman had ruffled his hair and meant them. At a church alter, where another woman, younger and stunning in her white gown vowed to do so but had turned out to be an empty promise. In a colourless hospital room where a dying man had whispered them as his last words. But here, in the dimly lit stairwell of an off-the-strip club in Vegas, they etched themselves into his very bones. Because the treasure in his arms didn't say them out of responsibility, infatuation or obligation. No. Solana said them because, just maybe, she did in fact love him.
Months ago, he'd been mad at Draven for forcing him to go to Vegas instead of Miami for his bachelor party. Now he'd to have to buy him a case of scotch or a whole distillery. That one misstep led Jack to the one thing he needed.
Solana. The guiding light in his darkness. His soul.
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Hey there. D L here. Well, it was a bumpy ride, but Jack and Solana found each other again. These two are far from perfect, and they have a lot to work on, but they might just make it.
