Razing Kayne (28 page)

Well he'd do it now.

The answer to why it had failed was unfortunately quite simple. The auto/on toggle
switch had been flipped to the off/maintenance position.

Kayne leaned against the wall, faking a calm he didn’t feel
.
All he really wanted to do was wrap his hands around Cody's throat and squeeze until
he confessed to stalking Jess. “So, Cody, how did you get here so fast tonight?”

Cody shrugged. “We've been running two hour shifts at the department since the storm
hit, patrolling for potential scratch fires from lightning strikes because the fire
danger is so high right now. I drove by here a couple times after I heard you check
10-8. In fact, you saw me. I flashed my lights at you as you pulled out in the Tahoe.”

Kayne straightened. He hadn’t been in the Tahoe; he'd been in his patrol car. If he'd
felt the need to have four-wheel drive because of the storm, he would have taken his
vehicle up to the ADOT yard and switched it out for one of the patrol trucks.

He turned and accessed the security cameras. A quick check confirmed the Tahoe was
sitting where it belonged, along with his truck and that damned midlife crisis of
a sports car he'd yet to take a look at
.
Too bad with the power off the cameras hadn’t captured an image of the intruder.

As much as Kayne hated to admit it, the look of concern on Cody's face seemed genuine.
Either he was a very good actor, or innocent. Neither made Kayne feel any better about
the incident.

Rafe was standing outside the partially closed door when they returned to the master
suite.
“Everything okay?”

“It’s fine. Jess is lying down on the couch.” Rafe shrugged. “It didn't seem right
for me to be in there with your wife, when there's no immediate danger.” He looked
Kayne in the eye.

“Thank you.” And Kayne truly meant that, for more than just watching over them tonight.
Other than his brothers, he'd never really had friends growing up, and then he'd worked
so much trying to support Oksana and the kids he hadn’t had time for friends. But
Kayne had a feeling he'd finally found a place he belonged and people he could trust
to unconditionally have his back.

Kayne walked Cody and the officers across the house to the garage exit
.
When they reached the door, Cody turned to face Kayne. “You really need to keep your
distance.” His voice dripped with anger
.
“I don’t want Jess moping around for another two years over a man who was never worth
her time in the first place.”

Cody’s comment almost sounded like a threat. Kayne shifted, resting one elbow on his
firearm and his opposite hand on the keepers to his extra magazines. “Where the
fuck do
you think I'm going?”

“Once this ninety-day fake marriage bullshit is up and you take
Tasha
and leave. I told Jess in the beginning that keeping that kid would bring nothing
but trouble.”

Kayne grabbed Cody by the front of his jacket and shoved him against the wall. “Her
name is Grace, you dickwad! And I'm not going anywhere. That's
my
wife, those are
my
children.
All
four of them.
You need to accept that this is
my
life now, and move on, because it will never be yours.” Kayne shoved the little punk
away from him.

“
Wanna
fucking bet!” Cody stormed out of the house without another word.

This time Kayne didn’t need Joe Sutton's warning. He planned on keeping a very close
eye on Cody Johnson.

THIRTY

It was nearly ten a.m. before Kayne returned home from taking the kids to school and
finally called the alarm company. Thick cloud coverage had fooled everyone into oversleeping
.
It had been a lazy morning with no one in a hurry to be anywhere
.

The alarm company had put him on hold to wait for yet another representative. The
last four hadn't shared his concern over his perceived glitches in their state-of-the-art
system.

Kayne gave Jess a lingering kiss goodbye. “Be careful.” She still looked exhausted,
but he'd been unable to talk her out of her volunteer work.

“These are for you.” Jess handed him a box of checks and an envelope. “Just stop by
the bank and fill out a signature card.”

His head began to throb. For Christ’s sake, she wouldn't even cash the damn checks
he'd been writing her each payday, and she expected him to have access to
her
money on top of it?

He shoved the box across the counter. “I don't think so.”

They were going to have to have a serious talk about finances. Didn't she understand
that he already felt like he’d failed his first family? Now he felt like some damned
Shih tzu-hound being taken care of by its mistress. The reality was she didn't need
him.
For anything.
And that stung.

She gave him an indulgent smile as she picked them up. “Be reasonable, Kayne. Use
it for household things and stuff for the kids, at least.”

Kayne narrowed his eyes, studying her. “How much are you giving me access to?” Hell,
he had no idea how much money she even had. By looking at the house, it was quite
a bit. As if any of that mattered. Some of the happiest moments of his life had taken
place in a three-bedroom house that was bursting at the seams with kids.

Jess shot him a mischievous smile. “There's already a Vanquish in the garage.” His
jaw slacked in shock, and she laughed. “But I suppose there's room for that custom
Harley you were drooling over that day at Westgate.”

Damn that
had
been a nice bike.

Kayne shook the thought away. “That's not what I meant, and you know it. Is that seriously
an Aston Martin?” He really should have looked under the cover if that was the case.

The light in Jess’s eyes dimmed. “Yeah, it's a 2007 two-plus-two with the V12. Jarred
bought it with trust fund money before his parents cut him off. I should have sold
it long ago, but Cody begged me to keep it.” Jess frowned thoughtfully.

It seemed to finally be sinking in that Cody had tried to control Jess's life all
under the disguise of friendship. Kayne was certain Cody had simply been biding his
time until he could step in and take over the life he’d all but created for Jess and
himself
.

Jess studied the box in her hands then sat it back down. “You should take it for a
spin.” She looked up at him. “It only has a couple thousand miles on it; it's a shame
for a really great piece of equipment to go to waste.” She eyed him appreciatively.

Nice attempt at distraction. He laughed
.
“The car you talked me into. This, however…,” he reached over and tapped the box of
checks, “we're going to talk about later.”

Jess raised a challenging eyebrow. Apparently she didn’t agree
.
With a sigh, Kayne turned his attention to the supervisor who'd finally come on the
line.

Thirty minutes later, they'd assured him someone would be out first thing in the morning.
Not the answer Kayne wanted, but at least he'd be home tonight, and he wouldn’t be
taking any midnight callouts this time.

***

Jess stood in the shadows outside the living room, fighting really hard to keep from
laughing. She’d come to let Kayne know she was home, the older two kids in tow, but
the sight before her stopped her in her tracks.

This morning Kayne had promised Isabelle and Gracie that if they’d sit and color
while he did house work, he’d do something fun with them afterward. Isabelle had asked
if she could paint his toe nails, and he’d reluctantly agreed
.
Now, Kayne was sitting on the couch, a cold beer in hand, his pants legs haphazardly
rolled up, as  the two little girls blew on his glittery,
Pepto-Bismol
pink toenails.

She must have made a sound because Kayne looked over his shoulder. He patted the chair.
“Hey, baby, come see what the girls have done.”

Jess sat one hip on the arm, then leaned down and kissed him. “Nice nails.” She giggled
when he pulled a face. “Traded in your man card, huh?”

Kayne looked at the little girls. “Go ask Maddy to give you a snack.”

“Okay!” Isabelle shot to her feet and was off.

“A’Kay!” Gracie
echoed,
her little arms and legs pumping for all they were worth to keep up.

“I'll show you my man card.” Kayne surged to his feet, ducked, and threw Jess over
his shoulder
.
He ignored her protests and smacked a firm hand down on her butt. Jess stilled, shocked
that whether he'd intended it or not, it turned her on.

His hand stroked down one firm globe and across her inner thigh, where only two thin
layers of material barred his hand from her quickly dampening sex. He petted her ass
again and again as he walked. Stopping in the shadowed alcove under the stairs, he
let her slowly slide down the front of him. Her thighs brushed his straining cock.
Her nipples rasped against his chest before her toes touched the ground.

He nuzzled her ear, nipping the lobe. “Are you wet for me?”

“Yes.” She shook her head in denial. How could this man who swore he'd never love
again make her feel so cherished?
So wanted.
How could he turn her on with just a word or a heated look when the man who said
the words, “I love you” on a regular basis had never been able to? What was the problem?
One had repeatedly said the words and never meant them, and the other would never
say the words, but would treat her as if he did for as long as he chose to be with
her.

Perhaps that was it. With each passing day it felt like the clock ticked faster—

faster
to the end, like the timer on a bomb, and when it reached zero, her world would explode.
Damn!

No, not now! She was close to tears even thinking about it. The thought of goodbye
constricted her chest and brought an ache to her throat. “Touch me.” 
God please, just touch me.

Kayne cupped her face with his hands and studied her for a moment. Did he see all
that she was fighting to hide? Did he know that he had the power to destroy her world
with a single word? If he could see the love she felt for him, would he acknowledge
it, or would he throw it in her face? The truth was
,
she had nothing to offer that would bind him to her. Jess shut her eyes with the
pain, remembering another man, another moment.

“I'm sick of this shit.” Jarred picked up a ceramic container and threw it, shattering
it against the kitchen wall.

“It's not enough for me anymore.” He looked right through her. “You're not enough.
I hate this goddamned life we're living. I hate us pretending I'm not fucking someone
else because you don't like having sex. God, Jessica, do you have any idea how that
makes me feel? You're the sweetest person I know, but I don’t know how to love you
.
I hate coming home at night. I sit out in that damn truck and have to talk myself
into getting out and walking in the door. I need out before I end up hating you.”

He took her in his arms for a moment, and she was too stunned to do anything to stop
him. He leaned down and kissed her forehead. “I'm so sorry. I thought I could do this.
I thought I wanted this life, but I don't. I never meant to hurt you. I never meant
for it to end this way, but it's over. I want a divorce.” With that, he picked up
his keys and walked out and never came home again.

“Jess?”
Kayne tilted her chin up.

No, no no! She didn't want to hear worry or concern in his voice, she was fine.
She.
Was.
Fine!

“Touch me.” She pressed her trembling lips against his.

***

Kayne wasn't sure what was wrong, where Jess had gone for that moment. She'd looked
at him as if he’d reached in and ripped out her heart, and his own constricted in
response. He closed his eyes, brushing his lips against hers. Slowly he made love
to her with his mouth, all the while his hands never leaving her face. Each time Jess
tried to deepen the kiss, to speed things up, he slowed it back down. Jess whimpered
her frustration, but he refused to be rushed. He refused to let whatever ghost was
chasing her come between them.

He traced the shell of her ear with the tip of his tongue. “Unbutton your blouse,”
he whispered.
“Just a little, enough for me to suckle your sweet little nipples.”

Though her hands quaked, she instantly complied.

“Oh, yeah, that's it, baby,” he praised, even as he brushed aside her bra and palmed
her breast. “You have to be quiet.” He ducked down, taking one tight rosy nipple into
his mouth and sucking ever so gently. More a caress of lips and tongue than actual
suckling, still she whimpered.

“
Please.
” She cupped his head, holding him to her, arching into him. There was
a desperation
in her voice Kayne didn't understand.

“Baby, talk to me.” He reached under her skirt and eased her panties aside. He gave
her one long stroke, parted her silky folds, and circled her clit before plunging
a finger deep.

“No.” She shook her head even as her hips rocked against his hand. “I need you, Kayne.
Please.
Inside me.
Now.”

“Tonight, baby. I promise tonight, just let me take the edge off for you—”

“No.” She shoved his hand from between her thighs. “No,” she said again, but she didn't
let go. Instead she brought his glistening fingers to her lips and enveloped them.
He watched in a haze of lust as she sucked them into her mouth one by one, licking
every drop of herself off.

Kayne leaned in and kissed her, loving the taste of her on her lips. “I just want
to watch you come for me, baby.” He wanted to hold her in his arms, hear her sexy
little kitten noises as she lost control.

Jess grabbed his hand, dragged him into her office, then closed and locked the door.
She reached for the intercom before he could ask her what she was doing.
“Maddy, take Isabelle and Gracie down to the playroom.
You and Ash can do your homework there while they play. I'll double all of your allowances
for the week if you can behave for the next hour.”

That received an enthusiastic round of “Yes, ma'am!”

The second Jess switched off the intercom, Kayne had her on the edge of her desk,
his mouth devouring hers. Christ, everything she did
made
his blood boil.

“It’s such a fucking turn on to know you can't wait,” he murmured against her neck.

Kayne trailed hot, open-mouthed kisses across her exposed skin. He wasn't foolish
enough to think they had unlimited time. They had
fifteen,
maybe twenty minutes tops before a referee would be needed. Yet still he had to taste
her, touch her.

Jess was begging by the time he knelt in front of her naked body. Her breasts heaved
with
desire,
her rosy puckered nipples still glistened from his attention, as he buried his face
in the juncture of her thighs.

Nuzzling her, he inhaled deeply, lazing in the scent of her arousal. He loved the
way she smelled, tasted. She was the perfect combination of sweet and spicy as though
she'd been made especially for him.
His own personal bouquet.
He dipped his tongue between her folds, giving one long firm lick up and across her
hard nub. Jess shuddered in response, moaning even as her thighs contracted around
his head.

“Easy, baby.”
He spread her bare lips with his thumbs. For a moment, he stared at the beauty of
her delicate pink skin, at the plumped folds that protected her core, at the swollen
little clit hooded from him.
“So beautiful.
Edible.”

His sweet kitten turned into a wild cat when he leaned in and gently nibbled her glistening
pearl. Clamping an arm on her thighs and a hand low over her belly to keep her still,
he thrust his tongue into her as deep as he could go and felt her body contract. God,
she was close, so goddamn close to the edge, but he wasn't willing to let her go under.
Not yet. He tongue fucked her, alternating between shallow quick thrusts and long
lingering penetrations, paying close attention to the sounds she made, keeping her
right on the edge.

“Please, Kayne,” she panted. “I need you inside me.”

“Turn around,” he ordered, sounding more cop than husband as he surged to his feet.
“Turn around, baby,” he whispered in her ear as he physically turned her and placed
both her hands on the desk in front of her.