CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
JASE MARVELED. HE’D just spent his first night with his new live-in girlfriend. And now, as the sun rose and pushed bright rays through the curtains, with her snuggled in his arms, he finally experienced the peace he’d craved his entire life.
She stretched her arms over her head, her back arching as she blinked open her eyes. The sheet had fallen to her waist, revealing pretty pink nipples and breasts with faint marks from his beard stubble.
“Good morning,” she mumbled.
“Morning.” He traced his fingers over her tattoo. “And yes. To answer the question you’re probably asking yourself, I am ready for my breakfast.” First and foremost, he wanted the strawberries etched into her flesh.
“Too bad for you.” She kissed the globe on his pec...grazed his nipple with her teeth. “You’ll have to earn your food.”
“The hard way?”
“Ha!”
“I’m assuming you accept orgasm.”
Her husky laugh filled the room, delighting his senses. “Today only, I accept—”
The bedroom door swung open, and Jessie Kay surged inside...only to grind to a halt when she spotted Jase. Brook Lynn squealed and jerked the sheet up to cover them both.
“Dude,” Jessie Kay said, covering her eyes. “A little warning next time.” She peeked through her fingers, her dark blue gaze settling on Jase. “You must be losing your touch. I don’t recall hearing any screams for more last night.”
As Jase laughed, Brook Lynn threw a pillow at her.
“Does this mean there’ll be no breakfast?” Jessie Kay asked.
“Not for you. Out!” Brook Lynn shouted, also trying not to laugh.
“Okay, okay. By the way, Sparkles chewed up another pair of my shoes, so be sure to add the cost to my paycheck. And just out of curiosity, are you sure you didn’t rescue him from hell?”
Another pillow hit her in the face. Jessie Kay flipped her off before backing out of the room and shutting the door.
“And that is what you signed on for,” Brook Lynn muttered.
He heard no jealousy in her voice and realized just how far they’d come. “Honey, I definitely got the better end of the deal. Are you ready to face what you signed up for?”
“You mean West’s drinking, Beck’s flirting and Daphne’s looming decision? Sure. Why not?”
“Family” was all he said.
“Yes, they are certainly your family.”
As Jase rose from bed to shower and dress, those words played through his mind. Did Brook Lynn think they were his family but she was not?
“Hey,” Brook Lynn said, slipping her feet into a pair of sandals. “I’ve been wondering. Should we cancel Tessa’s celebration? Is it too much for West? He seems to be getting worse.”
“We probably should cancel, but we won’t. I think he needs some sort of closure.”
“Very well, then. Onward and upward. I’ll continue planning. Oh, and don’t forget I have Kenna’s bachelorette party after my dinner deliveries tonight. I’ll be in late.”
“Where are you going?”
“Some fancy restaurant in the city.” She tapped her ears. “Thank God Kenna decided to forgo clubbing.”
Yes, thank God. He had a feeling he would have followed her inside a club and warned away every guy who dared come sniffing. But honestly, the thought of her being anywhere out of his sight right now made him nervous. He could handle death threats against himself, but if anyone tried to hurt her...
“If you see that Stan guy while you’re out, call me. Do not approach him. In fact, I’ll come with you and remain in the shadows. Just in case.”
She rolled her eyes. “Stay. Be with your daughter. I want to invite Daphne to the bachelorette party,” she said. “Think she’d be interested?”
He just peered over at her, reeling. This was one of the many reasons he’d fallen for her. “I know she would.”
“Good.”
A sense of urgency settled inside him, driving him onward. “Come on,” he said. “I want to show you something.” It was time.
On the way out the door, he scooped up Sparkles—who wasn’t exactly comfortable with him, but hadn’t yet tried to bite him. He scratched the mutt behind the ear, and the stiffness gradually left the little guy’s body.
“How’s my baby?” Brook Lynn asked, kissing Sparkles’s small, wet nose.
“I’m well, thank you,” Jase answered.
She gave Sparkles another kiss. “Don’t listen to Jase. He knew I was talking to you.”
Too damn adorable. She’d make an amazing mother one day.
He blinked as realization settled deep in his chest. I want to give her children. He would love nothing more than watching her body grow to support his kid, would love being there for both her and the child, protecting and loving them. Because of Hope, he’d realized just how special being a dad really was and knew it was the most fulfilling role he would ever play.
He’d once assumed he would ruin a child’s life. Now he thought he could actually make it better.
Jase drove Brook Lynn and Sparkles to his house. The moment they were inside, the little guy started barking, on the lookout for Steve.
“Come on,” he said to Brook Lynn. He picked her up and carried her out the back door, to the entrance of the shed, which was closed.
She laughed. “What are you doing?”
“Close your eyes,” he commanded.
“Why? What’s going on?”
“Close.”
With another laugh, she finally complied.
He shouldered his way inside and set her on her feet. He’d been working on this in his spare time, waiting for the right moment to show her.
Her gaze widened as she spun. “It’s...” She gaped at him. “Oh, my gosh, Jase. It’s a bunker to see us through the zombie apocalypse.”
“Yes,” he said, knocking on one of the walls. “I reinforced the perimeter with steel. I built shelves and stocked them with food and weapons. I researched everything you might possibly want or need and made sure you had two of each.”
Tears brimmed in her eyes. “Jase.” She pressed a hand over her heart. “This is the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me.”
“I want to be the guy you rely on, always. I don’t just want to live with you—I want to be a part of you. I want to prove every minute of every day just how special you are to me.”
“Jase,” she said again. Then she launched herself into his arms. “I love you,” she said, kissing his face. “I love you, and I can’t believe you did this for me.”
“For you, I will do anything.”
She grinned up at him, and for that split second of time, he could almost believe they’d finally achieved their happily-ever-after, that nothing bad could ever happen to them again. Almost.
That old sense of foreboding swept through him, both taking him by surprise and yet feeling all too familiar. In the past, anytime he’d experienced even the slightest glimmer of happiness, something terrible had happened to push him back into the pit of despair.
Brook Lynn’s smile faded, and she brushed her fingertips over his frowning mouth. “Is something wrong?”
A cold sweat broke out on the back of his neck, but he forced himself to shake his head. “Things have never been better.”
* * *
BROOK LYNN DECIDED to cross another item off her fun list. Be another person for a day. No Worries Girl. That’s right. She wasn’t going to worry about the dark look that had come over Jase’s face earlier today or his refusal to share the reason behind it.
He was such an amazing man, but he carried too much on his shoulders and had for the whole of his life. He had a heart capable of giving what it had never known but had always craved: love. He possessed an innate sophistication, yet it was coupled with a sharpness he’d honed through rejection and pain. He was urbane, polished, yet still so rough around the edges. A warrior determined to protect. A seducer determined to possess. Powerful. Compelling.
And he’s mine.
Fingers snapped in front of her face. “Again?” her sister said on a sigh.
She blinked into focus. The dinner! Here she was, No Worries Girl, at a fancy restaurant with Kenna, Jessie Kay and Daphne, and she kept spacing out.
“Sorry,” she muttered.
Laughter broadcasted at her right, and she glanced over to ground herself in the here and now. A spacious room with dim lighting, the only illumination coming from what seemed to be a thousand candles flickering here, there, chasing away shadows. The vaulted ceiling cascaded downward, giving way to lower tiers, and elaborate murals decorated the walls. Re-creations of famous artwork. The Mona Lisa. A Monet: Nimphee. Starry Night by Van Gogh.
Kenna—well, Dane—had procured a private room for the bachelorette dinner, but its double doors were open to the rest of the restaurant, where couples and families enjoyed food that Jessie Kay said was “almost as good as Brook Lynn’s.”
“Let’s try this again,” her sister said, motioning to Kenna.
Kenna lifted her glass of champagne. Everyone else followed suit. “To love, laughter and sexy men.”
“Hear, hear,” Jessie Kay said.
The champagne tasted like liquid candy, a decadent invitation-only party in her mouth, but there would be no more for her. She’d learned a hard lesson: she and alcohol were not a good mix.
Daphne drained her glass. “Right now, I’m zero for three.”
Brook Lynn patted her hand. “I’m sorry about Tyler.”
“Boo.” Kenna flashed a thumbs-down. “Exes suck!”
“Did he end things because you turned every celebration into a cry fest?” Jessie Kay signaled the waiter for another round. “Why are you upset, anyway? You are living with two superhot bachelors.”
Daphne actually cringed. “They’re like my brothers.”
“So?” Jessie Kay said. “I can personally vouch for Beck. Yes, you should totally choose Beck. He’s perfect for you.”
“Half the world can vouch for Beck.” Kenna ran her finger over the rim of her glass. “He’ll never commit. Go for West.”
“No, West would be a mistake,” Jessie Kay said quickly, shifting in her seat. “He’s obviously going through something. He’s so not in the right place to start a relationship.”
Oh, oh, oh. What was this? Brook Lynn detected a warning in her sister’s tone. To stay away from the guy?
“How long have you been infatuated with West?” Daphne asked.
Well, well. Brook Lynn hadn’t been the only one to notice.
“I’m not infatuated with West,” Jessie Kay insisted.
The waiter arrived with a new bottle, and instead of doing a taste test, Jessie Kay drained what he poured and tapped the rim of her glass for more.
The second he left, she said, “West was clearly an experiment in Artificial Stupidity. Truth be told, all of my problems end with West—lowest paid, slowest on the road to success, fewest good times.”
“I think the lady protests too much.” Proper manners be damned. Brook Lynn propped her elbows on the table. “I don’t know how I missed the fact that you want to marry him and have a million babies.”
Jessie Kay threw a buttered roll at her. Kenna snatched the bread bowl before Brook Lynn could retaliate and cuddled it to her chest, muttering, “My precious.”
Daphne snickered. “I wish you could have met him before Tessa died. I wish you’d met all of them. Cocky as hell, but unbelievably kind. Hotheaded, but protective. Each of them would have sold their organs on the black market if I’d asked.”
Brook Lynn leaned back in her chair. “Actually, not much has changed.”
Daphne focused on her. “I’ve been wondering. Are you still working for Jase? I keep hearing about your amazing food but you haven’t come over to cook.”
“No, I’m not working for him,” she said. “We have a rule. There’s only one place I will take orders from him, and it’s not his kitchen.”
“First, if you want our food,” Jessie Kay said to Daphne, “you’ll have to pay for it like everyone else. Second...” She faced Brook Lynn. “I didn’t know you’d gotten the kinky gene. Good going, little sis.”
Her cheeks heated. Movement from the corner of her eye drew her attention, and she welcomed the distraction. She expected it to be the waiter. Instead, she met the narrowed gaze of...Stan?
He stared at her for several prolonged seconds then said, “Tell Jase it’s almost time for a reckoning. I’m going to make sure he pays for what he did.”
She jumped to her feet, her chair skidding backward. Stan pivoted and soared out of the private room, through the restaurant toward the exit.
“Dude. Who was that guy?” Jessie Kay asked.
“I think I’m being followed.” No way this was mere coincidence. She was thirty miles outside town. And had he just threatened Jase?
As the girls rapid-fired questions at her, she dialed his number. He answered after the second ring, and she wasted no time. “I saw him,” she said. “That guy. Stan. He’s here and he’s looking for you, said there would be a reckoning. That you would pay for what you did.”
“Are your eyes on him now?” he demanded.
“No. He took off.”
He cursed. “Stay there. Do not go after him. I’m on my way.” He hung up.
The manager came inside the room a few minutes later, taking a stand at the doors—standing guard. Jase must have called Dane, who must have called him.
“What’s going on?” Kenna asked, the color drained from her cheeks.
Brook Lynn wrapped her arms around her middle. “I don’t know.”