Hard Way by Katie Porter Read Free Book Online Page B

she was going to add professional disappointment on top of personal ones.
    “I worried.” Jake’s smile faded, and his expression turned serious.
    She slid her gaze sideways, out the office’s only window. A screen of cactus and a giant creosote bush blocked most of the summertime sunshine. She wanted to feel that warmth, that grounding. She needed something that wasn’t the memory of how mean Dash’s hands could be.
    “Sorry.”
    “I didn’t mean that as any sort of judgment.” Jake was so sincere. Everything upfront. She had no doubt that if he said it, he wasn’t hiding anything underneath. “Just the truth.”
    “I know.” She made herself smile. “But I still feel bad for making you worry.”
    “If you don’t want to talk about how it went, I understand.”
    He meant that too. He was so reasonable that she felt like a user by comparison. Until recently, she’d only wanted the friendship they’d built over three months. They spoke honestly with one another. He’d expressed his desire to have a family one day, which would take years for her to consider. She’d also said she wouldn’t take their relationship to a physical level until after she and Dash were through.
    Was that possible? She wanted a divorce, but they would always be intertwined. Her past was colored by his influence.
    “It’s complicated.”
    “He didn’t take it well?”
    She couldn’t help a small laugh. “That’s one way to put it.”
    Jake’s eyes were a muddled hazel. She’d spent plenty of evenings looking at them across conference tables, and during a private dinner or two, but now she saw them layered with Dash’s pale blue. “Have you contacted that attorney?”
    “Not yet.” She swallowed the churn of guilt in her chest. Sweat popped up along her palms again. She had no idea exactly who she felt guilty toward—Dash or Jake. She owed Jake the same honesty they’d always shared, but she owed Dash her loyalty until they were separated.
    Maybe.
    Didn’t she?
    Jake watched her with his understanding, soulful expression. “Would you like to divert to work?”
    “That would be wonderful,” she said on a relieved sigh.
    He tapped the spreadsheets in front of him. “I’ve got the polling percentages for the east side. They’re looking good. Most of them seem contingent on the bill regarding road repaving.”
    “Which I’m fairly sure is illegal.” This day wasn’t getting any better.
    “I was afraid you were going to say that.”
    She came around the edge of the desk to lean over him, then pointed at the reappropriation clause. “It’s right here.”
    “We need funding for the campaign.”
    “That’s not my job.” She tapped the papers. “All I know is you can’t go about getting it that way.”
    “What the hell is wrong with your wrist?” He jerked sideways in her chair. His eyebrows flew toward the silky hair that draped over his forehead. Pure alarm.
    Sunny pulled back, but it was too late. Her blouse was long-sleeved, but the lightweight silk made it reasonable to wear in the heat. Except by reaching around Jake, she’d revealed a raw and reddened wrist at the base of the cuff.
    She wrapped her fingers around the limb in question. A slight sting was her reward. She’d been so corrupted by the experience that she liked it.
    “Nothing,” she said quickly.
    “That didn’t look like nothing.” Jake grabbed her by the elbow, holding her while he turned in the chair. She was framed between his knees even as she tried to pull away from his grip. He wasn’t manhandling her, but there was no getting away unless she wanted to show off the skills few knew she possessed. He shoved up her cuff and exposed the redness. “Did he hurt you?”
    “No!” Except she flushed. She could feel the heat across her cheekbones. Her spine crawled with tension.
    Dash had hurt her, but that didn’t explain how she’d egged him on or how she’d basked in every second. She shook her head in denial of the whole