Becoming Three (7 page)

Jasper looked into Sarah's unwavering stare and could see no future without her in it. “I…I love you.” The words clogged his throat, but once released, he could not stuff them down again. He dipped in and clung to her lips, savoring every sliver of contact. “I love you.”
Her fingers slipped into his hair, and she held his face close. “Love you back, Jas.”
Jasper keened and drove deep, pushing until he couldn't get inside Sarah any deeper, and then he let everything go, unloading his release. Hot lines of ejaculate left his body in sharp spurts, and he groaned low in his throat, shuddering as he filled Sarah with his seed.
Sarah pushed her weight into the wall and shoved her hand between their bodies, going straight for her pussy. She rubbed up and down her slit, still stretched around his embedded cock, and triggered a tremor in him. Reaching down with her other hand, she unearthed her clit, held herself open, and started whipping her fingers over the engorged bead of flesh. “Oh…oh…” She looked down, and Jasper did too. She suddenly convulsed against him, and her channel contracted in strong waves, dragging another small spit of cum out of him as he watched and felt her come. Jasper held her up, reveling in the change in her skin, the tightness in her muscles, and the noises that escaped her and overcame her during orgasm.
Eventually, the effects abated, and they both looked up, making eye contact again. “What?” Sarah offered him another one of those arousing grins as she slid to the floor and his cock slipped from her warmth. She tilted her head and poked his stomach. “You don't think just because we're together I can't help myself too?”
“Sweetheart, I don't assume anythin' with you.” Jasper looked her up and down boldly and shook his head. “I ain't—
am not
—stupid.”
“That”—she winked—“you are not.” She looked down at herself, shrugged, and removed her mussed panties and nightshirt. “I'm going to get a washcloth and towel.” She pecked a quick kiss on his shoulder and then grabbed her robe from the back of her door. “Be right back.”
“Okay.” Jasper watched Sarah slip out of her bedroom, and he knew he had a big, stupid smile on his face. One of the wonderful, unexpected benefits of going slow with Sarah: they trusted each other. She had been bold enough to ask him to go with her for testing before they had sex. She very matter-of-factly showed him her case of birth control pills, and together they agreed they were going to be exclusive and decided not to use condoms.
The second he saw Sarah so long ago, then still very much like a girl in many ways, Jasper knew in his gut she was the one. Every time he got near her, she only confirmed that feeling.
Holy shit. I told her I love her. Not so hard to do, once out. And she told you she loves you too.
Jasper shook his head and threw himself onto Sarah's bed. How did his sucky life, with a grandmother who threatened him with the vengeance of Jesus every single day until her death, and a brother who had no interest in finding a good path or clean living, lead him to the fortune of a fine woman to love, who loved him back?
The door creaked, and Sarah reappeared. “Here you go.” She handed him a wet cloth and a larger, dry towel. “I wasn't sure you wanted it, but just in case.” She took off her robe and hung it back on the hook in her door.
Jasper wiped his cock, balls, and inner thighs quickly with the warm washcloth and dried off just as fast. Sarah was right there, taking them and tossing them in her hamper, before he could utter a word. In the next breath, she climbed in bed beside him and pulled a blanket over them both.
“Thank you for lettin' me be with you tonight,” Jasper said softly. His thoughts slipped back to the events of the day, but his body remained loose this time, in place of the tension that had thrummed through him for so many hours.
Thanks to Sarah
. A picture of Jace flashed in Jasper's mind too, disturbing in its rough handsomeness, but even the weird pull Jasper felt to the man couldn't drag him back to that bad place he'd been such a short time ago.
Pulling Sarah against him, Jasper spooned her from behind. “I think I can maybe sleep now. I owe that to you.”
“No owing, just helping each other.” Sarah snuggled into him and took his hand. “I'll be right here when you wake up.”
Jasper tucked her head under his chin, holding the woman he loved as exhaustion finally caught up with him and he drifted to sleep.

Sarah sat at the table in her kitchen, holding Jasper's hand, but she had her attention on Jace's back where he stood at the refrigerator.
“What time did you finally get in?” she asked.
“Honestly?” Jace turned, facing the table as he scratched his bare chest. “I really can't remember. Maybe around three.”
Sarah was used to seeing Jace half-naked; right now, she focused on the red marring his eyes. “I suppose you're going to head right back out soon?”
“Yep.” Jace shifted his gaze and exchanged a glance with Jasper. He actually held there, as if he were answering a question Jasper hadn't asked. “That woman needs someone to figure out what happened to her, why, and who did it.” Finally, Jace brought his attention back to Sarah. “The boss has already called the State Bureau of Investigations, but that's just to see if something similar is already out there in the system. We're waiting for them to get back to us, but this is our case, and we have to be on top of it.”
Jasper hadn't spoken much last night about exactly what he and Ren discovered, but Sarah knew a few of the particulars already due to her job at the station and the many calls that had come and gone through the place yesterday. She was technically only the receptionist and dispatcher, but with a law-enforcement staff as small as Quinten's, she made a lot of the phone calls, did a lot of the grunt work, and assisted the sheriff and deputies in a thousand little ways that hopefully made it easier for them to do their jobs.
Sarah's heart tugged at Jace's sincerity and determination. “At least eat something before you leave,” she told him. “Otherwise, I know you're going to go all day without stopping for food.”
“Yes, Mother.” Jace pulled a face at her. “I was actually just looking to see if we had any eggs and bacon to go with the two piddly heels of bread we have left.” He shot her a pointed look.
“Uh-uh.” Sarah raised a brow right back at him. “It's your turn to go to the store, not mine.”
“No way,” Jace said. “I went last week.” He spun and strode for the calendar hanging from the side of the cabinets.
“No, you didn't. Go ahead and take a look.” Sarah smiled against the rim of her coffee cup. “That was two weeks ago already. If you don't trust the name and date on the calendar, all you have to do is remember we had nice meals all last week, not nachos and pizza.”
“Fine.” Jace grumbled some more under his breath as he moved back to the fridge. “I'll get to the store by tomorrow night. But just for knocking my nacho-making skills, I'm not going to make you any breakfast.” He looked over the door of the fridge and past Sarah. “Jasper, do you want some eggs and bacon”—Jace flashed a quick glare at Sarah—“and
one
heel of toast? I'm cooking.”
Jasper darted his focus back and forth between Sarah and Jace; to Sarah it looked like he ran a thousand responses through his head. “Um, sure,” he finally said. “I could eat. Thanks.”
“
You
are welcome.”
Sarah just shook her head. She was surprised Jace hadn't stuck his tongue out; he had been known to do it with her. Sarah smiled to herself. In fairness, she'd probably done it as many times to him. Right now, she breathed easier just seeing him sober and in good spirits this morning. This case with the dead woman had the potential to escalate stress levels, as well as test the patience and skills of every law-enforcement officer in Quinten. Sarah knew she would worry about Jace and his issues with alcohol even more these next couple of days, weeks, months, perhaps longer, until they solved this case.
Jasper squeezed Sarah's hand. He put his mouth to her ear and whispered, “Don't worry. I'll share my breakfast with you.”
“Hey!” Jace pointed with a spatula as he threw bacon into a frying pan. “I heard that.”
The doorbell rang right then, chiming through the house.
Jace swung in the direction of the hallway. “Who the hell is visiting us this early on a Sunday morning?”
“That would be my date for the day.” Sarah finished her coffee and walked her cup to the sink. “You guys will have to enjoy your meal without me. I have plans.”
“What?” Jace asked.
“Plans?” Jasper shot to his feet.
“Yes, plans.” Sarah grabbed a lightweight sweater off the back of her chair, slipped it on over her sundress, and looked up at Jasper. “I mentioned the guy I met at the youth center a few days ago. He's thinking about buying Mr. Compton's stretch of land and would like to get to know the area and meet some of the community. Remember? I met him through Ty, and I volunteered to show him around and introduce him to people?”
“Right.” Looking down to the floor, Jasper shuffled backward a few steps. “I guess with everythin' going on, I forgot about it.”
“I'm sorry.” Sarah stepped into Jasper and laid her hands on his stomach. He had a shirt on, but she could still feel his hard, bare skin under her fingers as if no fabric existed between them. “I should have reminded you.” Leaning up on tiptoe, she pressed a kiss to Jasper's lips, lingering for a second until he kissed her back. “I have to go.” She rubbed her thumb over his lower lip and removed the sheen of lip gloss she'd left behind.
She started walking backward out of the kitchen and down the hall, with Jasper following. She hated to leave him today, even for a short time, but she'd made a commitment and didn't like breaking her word. “You're welcome to hang out if you want, you know that. I should be back sometime in the middle of the afternoon.”
Jace left the kitchen too, right on Jasper's and Sarah's heels. “What are you doing with this guy?” His stare bore into her, and his voice reeked with demand.
It was too beautiful a day for Sarah to succumb to Jace's overbearing attitude. She grabbed her purse off the chair by the front door and slung it over her shoulder. “We're going to drive the stretch of land bordering the state road on the east side of town.” She grinned and opened the front door just as the doorbell sounded again. “And then I'm going to make sure we're sitting smack in the middle of the diner when the churches let out.”
The blond man on the porch picked up Sarah's comment as if she had given him a cue. “If that's where people congregate after mass, then I like the way you think, Ms. Tennison.” The man stood with his hands in the pockets of his dress pants, the gesture pushing his suit jacket open at the waist and revealing a button-down white shirt open at the neck. “I'm glad Ty pointed you out to me,” he added.
“Not everybody goes to Mavis's, Mr. Quick,” Sarah answered, “but plenty enough do that you'll think so by the time we leave.” She stepped out onto the porch, and a light spring breeze wafted against her bare legs. “And please, call me Sarah. I don't think I'd turn around and respond to a Ms. or even a Miss.”
The man dipped his head. “I will remember that. Feel free to call me Alex.”
Jace eased up to Jasper's side, and they somehow crammed themselves into the open doorway. “Feel free to call me Jace,” he said as he looked Alex up and down. “Or you could call me Deputy and easily reach me down at the station. Where I work. With Sarah.”
“Jasper Simmons,” Jasper said. He moved out onto the porch too and stuck out his hand. With just a hair's extra height on Alex, Jasper stared the man right in his eyes and looked like he tried to break Alex's hand as he shook it. “I work for Hawkins Ranch just outside of town. Maybe you've heard of them? They're a big, important operation. Make a visit sometime while you're visitin' Quinten if you feel like it. We're gettin' into castratin' season right now.”
“
Oh. My. God
. You are both incredible.” Sarah eased between Jasper and Alex and nudged Jasper back to the door. “And don't for one second think I mean that in a good way either.” Sarah was used to Jace throwing his weight around with her, but she had never seen Jasper wave his dick and mark territory. “I have my cell phone with me, and I'll leave it turned on.” Her thoughts slipped to the terrible tragedy both men found themselves immersed in yesterday, and she made eye contact with each as her conscience tugged at her. “I'll check in with you both in a few hours. You get that courtesy only because it's smart, and I know you'll worry otherwise. Not that you deserve that from me today. Either one of you. We're leaving now. Bye.”
“Nice to meet you.” Alex shook hands with each man quickly before slipping on a pair of sunglasses and following Sarah down the steps.

Jasper gritted his teeth as he watched Sarah walk away with another man. He was already riddled with anxiety on a daily basis, part of it due to his belief that he wasn't good enough for a woman like Sarah. He didn't need some guy with an easy smile, who looked like he owned the world, trying to charm her and adding to Jasper's insecurities.

Watching Sarah start her car, with this Alex person riding shotgun, seared heat under Jasper's skin and brought up a rumble from his chest. “I don't like that guy.”
Jace crossed his arms and braced his legs, staring as Sarah and Alex drove away. “You just met him,” he said. “You don't even know him.”
“Still don't like him.”
“Yeah.” Jace slid Jasper a sidelong glance. “I don't either.”
Jasper chuckled but then wrinkled his nose as something acrid assaulted his senses. “Did you leave somethin' on the stove?”
“The bacon. Oh shit!” Jace raced back into the house, and Jasper followed almost as quickly, pausing only long enough to shut the front door. He entered the kitchen to Jace dumping the contents of the frying pan down the sink.
As he switched on the garbage disposal, Jace looked over at Jasper. “Well, I fucked that up, so now we're down to eggs and a slice of toast each.” Jace opened the carton of eggs and moved back to the stove. “You in?”
“Yeah, that's fine.” Jasper sat down at the table but kept shifting looks Jace's way. Uncertain, and unable to sit still, he grabbed his cup and stood. “You want some coffee?”
“Nope. I'll take orange juice, though, if you'll pour me a glass.” With the first two eggs frying, Jace tore the last two slices of bread out of their wrapper and slipped them into the toaster. “Don't really like the taste of coffee,” he added. “Never have.”
“I learned to like it,” Jasper admitted. After refilling his mug, he grabbed a glass out of the wire basket next to the sink and pulled the carton of OJ out of the fridge. “I needed the caffeine to help me wake up when I first started workin' out at the ranch.” Juice poured, Jasper put the carton away, went back to the table with Jace's glass, and set it down in front of an empty seat. Taking a seat, he frowned as he remembered some of those mornings after moving to Quinten. “Wasn't used to gettin' up that early and workin' so long and hard when I first started with the Hawkinses.”
As he grabbed two plates out of the dish rack and slid the first two eggs onto one, Jace glanced over his shoulder to Jasper. “Probably old hat by now, huh?”
His cheeks tingeing with heat, Jasper said, “It's a lot harder to stay up late than to get up early these days.”
“That might not be such a bad thing.” The toaster buzzed right then, and the bread automatically popped up. “You want to grab that toast and spread some peanut butter on mine?” Jace asked while flipping the second set of eggs in the frying pan. “The eggs will be done in a sec.”
Jasper nodded and did as requested. While Jace worked, Jasper kept sneaking peeks at the other man and battled all kinds of confusion. For one, Jace hardly ever offered him more than a handful of terse words when they crossed paths in the past, and now here he was, happily cooking Jasper breakfast. Jasper
knew
Jace didn't like him with Sarah. Most of the time, Jace didn't seem to like Jasper
period
. Then there was the fact that even though Jasper's head swirled with all this conflicting behavior from Jace, he still couldn't take his damn eyes off the hard lines of Jace's bare back, and he couldn't help wondering what that flesh would feel like under his fingers…and maybe his mouth too.
What the goddamn hell?
Jasper loved Sarah so much, and he wanted her all the time. He knew his feelings for her were real. Deep in his gut, he knew she was his world. At the same time, though, his skin rippled with awareness of this man.
Sliding a plate in front of Jasper, Jace said, “There you go,” and took his seat. “Enjoy.”
“Thanks.” Jasper darted his focus downward. He feigned fascination with his meal but barely tasted the over-easy eggs and peanut-butter toast.
After downing most of his food in just a few bites, Jace broke the brief quiet. “How are you doing today?”
Jasper lifted his gaze and found Jace studying him with tangible intensity. Something in his pale gaze trapped Jasper in its hold and put a knot in his throat.
“With everything that happened yesterday?” Jace prompted. “I'm wondering how you're dealing with what you saw.”
Jasper shook his head, severing the spell of Jace's stare.
Stop letting him, and your misplaced attraction for him, confuse you
. “I'm fine.”
“You sure?”
Underlying nervousness, along with some suspicion, mingled with self-preservation in Jasper. If he'd had hair on his spine, it would be standing on end. “I don't understand why you're all of a sudden talkin' to me and wantin' to know how I feel,” he blurted. “You were hostile toward me sometimes, even when me and Sarah was—
were
—just friends. Shit, half the time you talk to me like you think I'm stupid, but now all of a sudden you're bein' all nice to me like we're best friends or somethin'. I know you don't think I should be with Sarah, so I don't know what kind of game you're playin' by being so friendly, but it ain't gonna work. Just be honest; at least I can respect that.”
Jace's lips thinned down to pale slashes in his olive skin. “Okay, since we seem to be exchanging a healthy dose of 'respect' lately; this isn't about you, Jasper, or liking you or disliking you as a person. You're right about one thing, though.” Jace very carefully put his fork down and looked right into Jasper's eyes. “I don't think you're good enough for Sarah.”
Jasper sneered. “And you're so much better?”
“I didn't say that.” Jace snapped those words, then spit out an expletive. “The truth is, nobody is good enough for her. Nobody knows how strong Sarah had to be when her mom died, and then when Hunter had to go to Afghanistan and later to Iraq. Nobody knows, because she doesn't let it get to her in public. Hell, she doesn't even let people like me see it unless it's really bad. Even then I have to catch her, because she tries to do it in private. Everyone else in this town sees a sweet, funny girl who isn't very threatening, and they all want to be friends with her because she can always make you smile and feel better when you're around her. Those people don't know how soft she is beneath that armor of a smile. Those people don't see how scared she is that her brother is going to die, or how when she watches the news, she chews a hole through her lip with worry anytime the war is even mentioned. Those people don't understand that she had to care for her mother through a prolonged illness and then at the end had to sit for a week and watch her die. She helped her brother make decisions a grown-up shouldn't have to make, let alone a girl of sixteen. None of you know how precious she is, and if you're all that blind, fine. But understand this.” Jace hardly moved a muscle, but Jasper could feel the electrical charge dancing around the room. “I will always be that big, growling bear over her shoulder that protects her from harm, from everyone, no matter what.”
Leaning forward over the table, Jasper got right in Jace's face. “This might shock you to hear, asshole, but I agree with you. I ain't good enough for her.” Too much testosterone filled Jasper, and he shot to his feet. He stayed right close to Jace and never looked away. “You're right about somethin' else too: neither are you. But here's what you're gonna have to deal with right now. Sarah don't want to be shielded from me, and I'm done stayin' away from her. I worked hard to become better than I was when we first met; I was patient and kept some distance between us for a long time while I worked myself ragged, happily and with purpose, every day, tryin' to get to a respectable place where I was enough of somethin' just to kiss her for the first time. I was lucky she let me be her friend and then even luckier when she kissed me back and we became more than friends. I thank God for that every day, just like I thank him for her. Sarah and me got somethin' special goin'. You might not like it, and you might want to keep her locked away, but I ain't gonna let you. And I for damn sure ain't gonna let you trick me or try to intimidate me or run me off. You feel how you feel, and I respect that, but I will not stay away from her. You want to fight me on that, then you can bring it, but nothin' is gonna keep me away from her or out of her bed now.”
Jasper walked across the kitchen, and paused to grab his Stetson where it sat on a step stool. He took a big step to leave, but his tongue burned with his desire to get a few more thing said.
“And by the way”—he turned and pointed at Jace—“I knew all that about Sarah. I know how her mother died, and I know how scared she is about Hunter too. I know because she trusts me, just like she does you. I don't claim to know everythin', but I do know her a lot better than what
you
give me credit for. I think I'm done here for now, but get used to seein' my face, because I will be back.” Jasper put on his hat and settled it low on his forehead. “Thank you for breakfast. I hope you have a good day.”