Becoming Three (10 page)

All because of my criminal brother.
Jasper stopped and pressed his lips together. “No, that ain't right for me to blame you for my trouble,” Jasper said. “I made those choices, and I live with them. But that don't make what they found of you
inside that woman
any less true. The sheriff here in Quinten told me they were gonna arrest you.”
“Being arrested and being convicted ain't the same thing, little brother,” Samuel said easily. “I did not rape that girl. We had some excitable fun that got a little rough, but she was willing all the way.” A horrible glint flashed in Samuel's eyes. “She remembered it right and changed her story soon enough.”

This time, Jasper could not control the shiver that trickled down his spine. “Why are you here?” He palmed his keys from his pocket and backed up to his door. “What do you want? How long have you been in town?”

“So many questions.” Samuel tsk-tsked, and his flippancy made Jasper's skin crawl even more. “I missed my baby brother; I want to get to know him again, and finally, I've been here long enough to see that you have yourself a sweet little girlfriend now.” Samuel pushed away from the truck and suddenly looked ten feet tall and hulking. “That's real nice. I can't wait to get to know her better. Shit”—Jasper swore to God Samuel rubbed his hand over his cock—“she's nearly family.”

“No fuckin' way.” Jasper pushed into Samuel's space and felt his body expand with rage. “You stay away from her. I swear to God if you get within five feet of her, I will kill you.”
Samuel stepped back and put his hands up in between them. “Now, now. Don't go threatening me. I thought you were trying to better yourself. Live yourself a straight, honest, boring-as-fuck little life here.”
“I'll liven it up for this.” Jasper opened his door and climbed inside. After starting the engine, he rolled down the window and pointed his finger at Samuel. “Stay away from her. I ain't foolin' around.”
“Can't exactly promise that.” Samuel's conciliatory tone twisted cramps in Jasper's stomach. “I'm here to renew our brotherhood, and in order to do that, I gotta make sure you're hanging out with people who want you to have a good life. Including your girl.”
“You don't give a shit about me,” Jasper snapped, his voice rough as emotion took over his words. “You never did. You're here for somethin', Samuel; I know that. Whatever it is, I don't want any part of it. Stay out of my life.” Thoughts of Sarah, and her coming to harm, scraped Jasper raw. “Every damn part of it.”
“I don't think so.”
“It ain't up to you.” Jasper gunned the gas and tore the hell out of the parking lot. He got himself a few blocks away before he had to pull over and get himself back under control.
Sarah. Oh my God, Sarah
. Jasper slammed his hands into his dashboard.
What in the hell am I going to do?

Jace opened the front door and let himself inside the house, taking a break for the first time that day. He was home just long enough to get some dinner and relax for a short while. Then he would head right back to the station. Tension locked his neck and shoulders, and he would kill to stand under a hot shower and let the water beat down on him until the temperature turned cold and he had to get out. Ignoring that desire, Jace removed his utility belt, left it by the door, and walked into the kitchen to the fridge. He opened it on automatic, thinking a beer wouldn't be a bad substitute for that shower.

“Son of a bitch.” He leaned his forehead against the freezer but could practically feel the alcohol within this big box calling him to take just one swig. “I need to throw those damn things away.”

“That might not be a bad idea.” Sarah spoke from behind and pinned Jace to the fridge. “I know, I know; it's up to me.” Tapping his head against the refrigerator, Jace embraced the small self-abuse. “I have to be the one to take the stuff out of this house for good.” The familiarity of the conversation, while irritating to hear, was also strangely comforting.
“You know I hope you will,” Sarah responded. “But you also know I can't do it for you.” She crossed the kitchen and came up behind him, arousing Jace's senses with her clean powder scent. Slipping her hand in his, she tugged him around and led him into the living room. Her slight touch somehow warmed his entire body and released some of the tightness living inside him. “I could make you a milkshake if you want.”
When she released him, Jace eased into his chair carefully, almost like a creaky old man. “We don't have any milk or ice cream,” he said. “Remember?”
She perched herself on the edge of the coffee table in front of him. “I went to the store.” She met his gaze, snared him in her stare, and started simmering the warmth she had just created

within him to a boil. “You have too much going on right now to spend your time combing the grocery aisles. I'm not without sympathy, even though I do so love to bug you when it's your turn to shop. You can double up sometime down the line and make it up to me. So what do you say? Chocolate milkshake? I even bought you some of those awful frozen pocket things you like. Want one?”

Jace leaned forward in his chair, pulled into the sphere of Sarah's beauty. She had the softest, kindest smile, and he craved feeling her lips turned up against his, wearing that smile, as much as tasting her actual mouth. Sarah never hid her gaze from him, and that level of honesty sucked Jace in, making him want things he should not.

Abruptly, he pulled back before he touched. But Christ, he had never fought the need to kiss this woman harder than right now. “Thank you. I would appreciate that.”
She petted his knee and stood. “You would do the same for me.”
Jace sat, watching as Sarah left the room. Her ass enticed him, and another one of his

Talking to Ginger's friend Beth had confirmed the girl had no previous knowledge of the murder, but Jace didn't feel confident regarding anything else about that woman. Beth hadn't faked her reaction to Ginger's death; Jace and Cade both felt certain of that. Contrary to popular belief, it was a lot harder to fake “surprise” when hearing about a family member or friend's death than movies and television would have people believe. People's faces went through a progression of subtle visual responses as they heard, processed, and reacted to difficult information. No, Beth had not known of Ginger's murder.

But that didn't mean the woman didn't have plenty of other information about Ginger, stuff she had not shared.
Jace had pushed Beth a bit in their talk a short while ago, but for all her shock, she had an intelligence and cool head under pressure that let nothing slip she didn't want known. Jace could feel it in his very bones. Beth might only know about Ginger's prostitution—if that hunch turned out to be true—and simply wanted to protect her friend. If she did know about it, she might also know the names of some of those men and even which one might be capable of murder.
I have to talk to her again.
A shadow interrupted Jace's stare down at the floor. Looking up, he caught Sarah standing in the arch that led to the kitchen, a glass in her hand, with her shoulder pressed against the wood framing. Damn, she looked pretty as hell in her strappy little sundress.
She stared, scrutinizing him, and the hairs on Jace's neck tingled. “What?” Damn, he probably didn't really want to know.
“I need you to be honest with me.” She handed him the milkshake, but for the sudden dryness in his mouth, he still set the glass down on a bookshelf, untouched.
“Okay.”
“Did you say something to Jasper after I left? Did you intimidate or threaten him in any way about being with me and run him off?”
Jace went from slouching to ramrod straight. “What the fuck are you implying?” He narrowed his gaze and leaned into her space.
“I'm not implying anything.” Sarah got up on her tiptoes and pushed right back, as if Jace didn't tower over her five-feet-nine frame. “I'm outright asking.”
Growling and curling his hands into fists, Jace said, “No, I did not intimidate your boyfriend. And by the way, if I did—if I
could
—that's probably not a boyfriend you want.”
“Don't act so angry and offended. Jasper's not here like we talked about earlier, and he hasn't returned any of my phone calls since we made plans to meet. It wouldn't be the first time you overwhelmed one of my boyfriends with your size and your job and your overbearing attitude about protecting me.”
His nostrils flaring and his temperature rising, Jace braced his hand on the wall and dipped down until they were on eye level. “Do you goddamn expect me to apologize for that?” He spoke with deadly softness. “Because I won't, sweetheart. I gave my word.”
“Oh my God!” Her face flushed, Sarah shoved Jace away from her. He stumbled back a few steps, but she stalked him just as quickly as she'd pushed him away, crowding him into the back of the couch. “Not that damned vow again. I know you made a promise. I appreciate it and even needed you, which you damn well know, because I've told you so. But I am twenty-four years old now, for goodness' sake.” On a rant, she stopped suddenly and pierced him with a narrow-eyed stare. “You know what? You will not drag me into that fight again. Don't try to steer the subject away from what we were talking about. Did. You. Run. Jasper. Off?” She jabbed her finger into his chest with each word, firing his already shot temper to dangerous levels. “I'm asking you a question.”
He snapped back at her through clamped teeth and tight lips. “No. I. Did. Not.”
“You said something to him,” Sarah replied hotly. “I know it. You wouldn't be able to help yourself. I know
you
.”
Christ, she's pushing my mood today. And I fucking want her more than I ever thought possible.
“You might think you know me, honey”—he looked her up and down, barely suppressing the moan at all the bare skin available with her in that dress—“but you haven't scratched the surface.”
Sarah lifted her hand to his face and scraped one of her short, fuck-me red colored fingernails against his jaw. “There.” She flashed a fast smile and smirk. “Now I have.”
Jace grabbed her hand before she could get away. “That was not a smart move.”
“I don't know about that.” Sarah's eyes flashed fire, and her arm muscles strained as she struggled against his hold. Her chest heaved, lifting her breasts in a rapid rise and fall…and pushing her hardened nipples against the pale floral fabric of her dress.
She's turned on
. Jace tried to take a deep breath and recover from the information, but inhaling just let her very essence sneak into him in another way, hitting him hard in the gut.
Her lips parting, Sarah looked up at him, awareness deepening the brown of her eyes. “You shouldn't—”
Too much. It's too goddamn much to feel without booze to dull the need.
“Jesus, I have to know.” Twisting her arm behind her back, Jace dragged her flush to him and crushed his mouth down on hers, taking her with a bruising kiss. Sarah stiffened for a moment, but then a sexy little noise escaped her, and she wrapped her free arm around his waist, sinking into him as she opened her mouth and accepted his tongue.
Jace had never felt anything more
right
in his life.
Heady desire pushed his half-hard cock to full wood with one taste of her mouth, and he got a hint of chocolate that let him know she'd sampled a bite of ice cream while making his shake. Jace licked deeper, releasing a rumbling noise as Sarah licked him back and slid her tongue against his. He let go of her wrist and grazed his hand down the lush globes of her ass, squeezing the soft bounty of flesh he found there.
More. I need to know more.
Sliding his hand lower, Jace grabbed the hem of her dress and shoved it up to her waist, holding the material at the small of her back. She stilled against him, and the blur of her gaze searched his, questions living under the haze.
Jace nipped another kiss, causing her mouth to swell and redden even more. Christ, she was beautiful. “Let me.” He slipped his hand under the elastic band of her soft cotton panties. She gasped as his fingers slid down the split of her buttocks, but he could not stop himself right now for anything. He went past the tight bud of her asshole, not pausing, even though he wanted like hell to be inside her there one day. “I have to feel if you're wet.” He went lower and pushed his fingers into the soft folds of her sex; she moaned, fluttering for him inside. “Holy mother.” Slick juices coated his fingers, and the pungent scent of arousal seeped into the air. “You're fucking soaked.” He teased her pussy lips again, and she trembled in his arms. “Jesus. You're so fucking responsive.”
Sarah reached under her dress and held Jace's hand against her mound, trapping his digits inside her. “I can't control it. You”—clouds filled her eyes, but her fingers still dug into him between her legs—“and Jasper…”
Hearing her lover's name and picturing his sinewy blond attractiveness only turned Jace on more. He ground his rock-hard cock into her belly, making her feel every inch of rigid flesh. “And you.” He swooped down and took her mouth, thrusting his tongue inside to taste her sweetness once again. Sarah kissed him back with equal passion, digging one hand into his hair and the other into the back of his hand, urging his fingers deeper into her slick cunt. Jace had never wanted to be naked with another person more.
“Let go of my hand for a sec.” He withdrew his probing from her snug heat and tore her panties down her legs. “Clothes.” He shoved her hand to his waistband and went for the buttons on his shirt himself. “Undo my belt for me.”
“Yes.” Sarah tugged on the leather and licked her lips, pushing Jace right to the edge. After undoing the buckle, she popped the snap on his jeans. “Wanna feel you too.” She had her fingers on his zipper when the doorbell rang, and they both jerked to stillness.
Shit.
Sarah scrambled backward, meeting his gaze with big, wide eyes. Her lips were still kisstinged, and her panties lay in a ball on the floor. She opened her mouth, but nothing came out.
Fuck. What have I done to her?
Staring, unable to move or look away, Jace yelled, “Who is it?”
“It's Jasper.” The guy's already familiar, deep twang reached through the door and walls of the small house to the living room. “I gotta talk to Sarah.”
Sarah's face crumbled. “Jas. How could I?”
Jace's heart constricted, and he took on Sarah's pain as his own. “You go fix yourself up. I'll find a way to stall him.” He looked down at his erection and knew it wasn't going anywhere. “Damn it.” Yanking his uniform shirt out of his jeans, he let the plackets cover his crotch. “That should be good enough.” If only he couldn't still
feel
how goddamn hard he was. He should have just drunk the beer and suffered the regret later. “Get going. I'll let him in and give him something to drink.”
He made a move for the door, but she grabbed his arm with a punishing grip, pulling his attention back to her. “No, Jace.” With shaking hands, she combed her fingers through her dark hair. “You won't fix this for me.” She straightened her arms and pushed her shoulders back, putting strength in the line of her lithe body. “I won't lie. Not to Jasper.” Her chin went up, but her eyes were overly bright, giving her away. “I love him.”
The truth of Sarah's words settled in on Jace, stirring insecurity, envy, and jealousy all at the same time.
I don't want to lose you; you don't even know how that would destroy me.
“I need—” he started.
“Sarah!” Jasper shouted and banged on the door, his voice rising to a level that would soon attract the neighbors' attention. “What's goin' on? Are you okay?”
She offered Jace a sad smile. “I'll go let him in.”
Jace gave her a couple of steps on her own, then followed, holding back in the shadows, watching as she swung open the door.
“Jas.” Her voice wavered. “Hi. Come in.” She stepped out of the way, holding the door for him.
Jasper took off his cowboy hat and stepped over the threshold. He leaned down, pressed a kiss to her temple, and Jace heard a soft “hello.” Jasper's hands kept working the brim of his Stetson, and the busy nature of the motion caught Jace's attention.
What the hell is making him so nervous?
Sarah shut the door and leaned back against it, keeping one of her hands wrapped around the knob. Her toes curled into the runner beneath her feet, and the shallow, rapid rise and fall of her breasts mimicked that of a frightened animal.
Jesus. These two had no subterfuge in them. In the interrogation room, Jace would have them both spilling their secrets in minutes.
“Ohh, Jas.” Her eyes misting, Sarah cupped his cheek and rubbed her thumb against his jaw. “I love you so much, and I don't know how to start.”
“Hey, don't be sad.” Jasper brushed a kiss across her lips. Abruptly, he pulled back. “Are you okay?” He touched the back of his hand to her forehead. “You feel hot. Your cheeks are red.”
“It's nothing,” she said. As soon as the words slipped from Sarah's lips, stabbing Jace, her gaze shot to his, connecting across the hallway. “No, that's not true. It is something.”
Jasper followed Sarah's stare, and his brow furrowed when he saw Jace. He glanced back and forth between them, and his own cheeks quickly turned ruddy. “What the hell is goin' on here?” The question rumbled fierce and low, full of passion.
Rushing to Jace, Jasper slammed him into the wall, jamming his forearm under Jace's throat. His hazel eyes burned with gold and green and practically shot sparks. “What did you do to her?”
“Jasper.” Sarah jumped in and grabbed Jasper's shoulder. “It's not just him. Stop.”
“It's okay.” Jace couldn't let Sarah take complete responsibility for his slip of control. Didn't want her to. Not when he could still feel his hands on her, in her, and wanted to repeat the mistake with her…and with Jasper too.
Fuck. He's as sexy as Sarah is pretty.
Jasper crowded Jace as close as Sarah had moments before, and the smells of outdoors and something spicy Jace had never experienced before snaked into his nose and attacked his bloodstream.
Sinful. That's how he smells.