“I can’t stay here.” All of Jade’s bravado has begun to dissolve, and I see the worry around her eyes.
“There’s nowhere safer than my home, and if I know about you poking around, then they certainly do. I know how to keep safe from them, but you’re too vulnerable.”
“But…” She tries to think of another argument, and it’s kind of adorable to watch her weave her ideas. “I don’t have any clothes.”
She says it as a “gotcha” moment, but I just shake my head. “I own a multi-billion-dollar company. I think I can afford a few cartoon T-shirts.”
“Hey! SpongeBob is a generational triumph.”
“I like the show.” I shrug, and she seems surprised by that admission. “Especially Mr. Krabs.”
“You would.” She rolls her eyes and crosses her arms over her chest.
“Have you eaten?” At the mention of food, her stomach growls, and I don’t need a heightened sense of hearing to know it. “I’ll take that as a yes.”
“I’m not staying.” She stomps her foot in the cutest way, and I wonder if I can get her to do it again.
“House, tell Francisco to make dinner for two,” I say, and the soft chime overhead sounds in receipt of the message.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Jade looks up at the ceiling. “You just talk to your house like a dog or something?”
“More like a computer, but yes.”
“House, tell bossy Gray to let me go,” she says, but there’s no chime of confirmation.
“It likes me better than you,” I tease, and I realize I’m smiling.
What in the absolute fuck is happening to me? First I’m telling her to get in my bed, then I’m demanding she stay. Now I’m forcing dinner on the poor girl, but I can’t seem to stop. I’ve never felt as good as I do when I’m next to Jade. What I’m doing is selfish, but I don’t care. I’ve been so, so long without anything that created a positive emotion that I can’t let her go. Not yet.
What I told her about the Russians was real. I don’t know everything she heard, but it’s enough for them to want to keep her quiet. Permanently. The thought of losing Jade or something happening to her doesn’t sit right with me, and I won’t allow it to happen. Maybe I’m once again acting on my own selfish needs, but goddamn it, I won’t let them take her. She’s in deeper than she knows.
“You could at least give it a name if you’re going to boss it around,” she huffs.
“I tried, but nothing sounded right.” I shrug because it’s the truth. When I had the house designed, it was part of it, but I couldn’t decide on a name. “Maybe I should call it Jade so it does what I say.”
“That would be the only Jade that listens to you.”
“Dinner is ready,” the house says, and Jade scowls at me.
“So it’s smart and super-fast. Great.”
“Dinner was already being prepared. I just asked the chef to prepare two places instead of one.”
She’s reluctant as I point her in the direction of the dining room, but eventually she moves in that direction.
“Of course you have a chef. Meanwhile I would have settled for a McDouble.”
“What’s a McDouble?” I ask, and Jade stops short before turning around to stare at me with wide eyes.
“All this money and you’ve never truly enjoyed the finer things in life.”
“I’m teasing,” I say, and for a second I see a smile at the edge of her lips. That one little tug makes me want to dig deeper into her heart and see how many more I can get. “I’ve been to Burger King before.”
“I can’t tell if you’re serious right now or if you’re playing with me.”
“Oh, believe me,” I say as I step closer so that our bodies are almost touching. “When I play with you, you’ll know it.”
Her lips part, and god, how I want to taste those full soft petals. Without saying another word, I slip her hand into mine and tug her along with me. She’s quiet as we walk into the dining room hand in hand. It’s when we reach the table that I release it, although reluctantly.
“Okay, so this is different than I expected.”
“What did you expect?” I ask as she walks around the small table and looks at the décor.
“I don’t know, I guess something grander? I was thinking there would be a table for thirty or chandeliers.”
“It’s just me.” I shrug as I pull out a chair for her. “I don’t need to have all those empty chairs reminding me I’m alone.”
Something close to pity flashes in her eyes, and I have to look away. That’s one thing I don’t want to see coming from Jade, or anyone, for that matter. I’m alone, and that’s the reality of the situation. There’s no need to dwell on it.
“So what’s on the menu?” She takes a seat and thankfully changes the subject. “I guess if I’m going to be kidnapped, I might as well enjoy the perks, right?”
“I don’t see the harm in it,” I agree as I take a seat beside her. Francisco laid out two place settings, one beside the other instead of across. I’ll have to remember to increase his Christmas bonus this year.
In front of us are two covered dishes, and we both take the domes off at the same time. One is chicken smothered in some kind of creamy butter sauce, and the other is steak.
“I guess we each pick one?” Jade asks, nodding to the trays that are large enough that we could share just one dish.
“After you.” I put the domes off to the side and hand her the tongs.
“Which one do you want?” She bites her bottom lip as she eyes the steak, and somehow I’m envious of the meat. She’s never given me that look.
“The chicken,” I say, and her face lights up with delight as she begins to dig into the meal.
“So,” she begins after taking a few bites, “how do I negotiate my release? I don’t have someone with money that can pay a ransom.”
“Money isn’t something I need.” I watch her mouth go around the fork as she takes a bite, and my cock responds to the sight of it. It’s too much, and I have to look away or I’m going to embarrass myself. “Tell me why you run a gossip blog.” I’ve got to get her off the subject of leaving.
“At first because it was easy?” She shrugs like maybe she’s not even sure. “But it’s not what I want to do. My true passion is journalism and showing the truth to the world.”
“Did you know there’s a department at JM Tech that does exactly that?”
“Yeah right.” She laughs, but when I don’t, she sobers. “Are you serious?”
“Completely. That’s one of the reasons you’ve probably had trouble finding out anything about my company. Not only are we good at journalism, we're also good at data protection. The reason the department was started was to expose my competitors and their ill-gotten gains. Eventually that turned into discoveries of other wrong-doings, so I decided we’d report on more than just my competitors but their distributors and anyone else on the wrong side of science.”
“But what about—” She stops short and presses her lips together like she doesn’t want to reveal too much.
“If you want something from me, Jade…” I slowly lean toward her until my mouth is next to her ear. “All you have to do is ask.”