Quinn Family Romance Collection

by Cami Checketts

  She inclined her chin to him and started down the hallway. Kaleb reached for her before reason could stop him. He put a hand on her arm and said in a low tone, “Jaz.”

  She stopped midstride but she didn’t turn to look at him.

  “We’re going to be in close quarters. I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

  She shrugged but still didn’t face him.

  “I can tell that you’re … scared.”

  That made her spin, pull her arm free and glare at him so fiercely, he almost took a step back. He stood his ground only because his mama hadn’t raised any wimps.

  “I’m not scared of any man,” she spit out.

  He studied her. She was scared, but not scared of him physically, it was emotionally that she was fighting hard to keep her distance. He stepped closer to her and she automatically backed up a step. “You’re scared,” he said again. “Scared I’m going to break through your barriers and claim your heart.”

  She gazed up at him, her chest lifting and falling too quickly for her to lie and say he wasn’t affecting her. “This isn’t some sappy country song. My barriers are firmly in place and nobody can claim my heart.” She jutted out her chin like a brave little girl. “I don’t even have a heart to claim.”

  “You have no heart?” he murmured. The thoughts he’d had earlier about her coldness at Bree’s wedding and the way she kept resisting him hit full force. “You can’t even tell your own sister that you love her.”

  “Excuse me? What business is that of yours?”

  “At Ryder and Bree’s wedding, she said she loved you and you didn’t even respond. I thought for a moment that you must be a cold, heartless brat, but I learned quickly how wrong I was.”

  She arched a challenging eyebrow at him, her bravery seeming to increase. “No, you were right.”

  He took a step closer. She backed up. He kept coming and she kept backing away until he had her pinned against the wall. “You’re not cold, or bratty, and you have a heart. In fact it’s a beautiful, giving heart. You’re trying to protect me from something in your past, protect me from yourself.”

  Her eyes flashed at him—fear and anger. He’d hit a nerve.

  “You’re too strong to allow me in. Why?”

  “It’s none of your business,” she gritted out, still playing the tough role that she had mastered.

  “What are you scared of, love?”

  “I’m not scared,” she insisted but her voice caught and her deep brown eyes filled with longing.

  “I promise I’ll treasure your heart. I’ll treat you with kindness and respect.”

  Jasmine stared up at him, her lips soft and irresistible. He bent down. “Let me in, Jaz, please.”

  Jasmine swallowed and he could see her pulse pounding in her throat. He bent down and softly kissed it like he had earlier tonight. She gasped. He glanced back up, hoping, praying she’d give him a chance. He was falling so hard for her. She was strong, brave, irresistible, and good through and through.

  The moment seemed to stretch as they stared at each other, both breathing quicker than normal, both leaning closer and closer. Kaleb was praying, hoping she’d give him a chance. He would give away his career to kiss her right now.

  Jasmine leaned in even closer … and slammed her fist into the side of his abdomen.

  Kaleb straightened in surprise, pain radiating through his side. “Again?” he gasped out. Man, she could hit hard.

  She dodged under his arm, running toward the next door down. When she got there she whirled and threw at him, “You stay away from me and stop your lovey, treasure my heart crap, or I’ll hit you a lot harder than that.” Pushing through the door, she slammed it behind her.

  Kaleb rubbed at his side but his heart hurt a lot more than his abdomen. Footsteps pounded up the steps. Two of the security guys approached him. “Sir? Is everything okay? We heard some yelling and a door slamming but we couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary on the cameras.”

  Kaleb gave them a grim smile. “Everything’s fine. I was just … talking with Jasmine.”

  One of the guys arched an eyebrow. “Good luck with that, sir. Isaac tried to ‘talk’ to her once and ended up with a broken arm.”

  Kaleb laughed, though the situation was anything but funny to him. He’d finally found the woman for him and she wasn’t at all enamored by his face or body, his success, his talent, or his money. The fact was, she didn’t want him and he was acting like a lovesick idiot.

  “Guess us men are slow learners,” he said.

  Both the guys laughed. “For sure,” one of them said. “But she’s so beautiful and innocent-looking, it’s easy to forget how lethal she is.”

  Kaleb nodded. The men said goodnight and walked away. He entered his suite and forced himself to brush his teeth and strip his shirt off before lowering himself to the mattress. It was comfortable. He put a hand over his eyes, too tired to even shut off the lamps or climb into the covers. The windows were open, yet the house was the perfect temperature. He could hear the waves lapping against the sand far below. It should’ve been comforting and peaceful. All he could think about was one more rejection from Jasmine. She’d broken Isaac’s arm. Well, she was breaking Kaleb’s heart and he was pretty sure it hurt worse than a broken arm. He started composing lyrics in his mind—the woman without a heart.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Jasmine was so mad at her lack of self-control. She hated the way she was treating Kaleb, but she didn’t know how to keep him at arm’s length and be nice to him. Why did he have to be so irresistible and so intent on chasing her? She struggled calming down and knew she probably wouldn’t get any rest tonight. She scrubbed her face clean of all the makeup from the wedding. Was that really only this afternoon? Flying through most of the night was messing with her. It was almost three a.m. and she needed to try to get some sleep before the sun rose in a few hours. They were safe here but she needed to keep Kaleb safe from falling for her.

  She laid down on the bed, still in the tank top and fitted running shorts she’d put on after the wedding. She tried to bang her head against the pillow but it was too soft and didn’t help her knock some sense into herself. What was she doing letting Kaleb get so close and say such sweet things to her? He wasn’t listening when she told him to stay away. Could she really be blamed if she fell for such a perfectly wonderful man? Yes, she groaned to herself. She was more disciplined than that. Yet he seemed to already have fallen for her and no matter how tough and cold she acted he insisted on getting closer to her.

  “Why does he have to be so perfect?” she yelled at the walls, banging her fist into the comfortable mattress.

  Kaleb’s door opened and closed and then she heard footsteps and a soft rap on her own door.

  No, no, no. She could not keep resisting him. She was exhausted and her head wasn’t on straight and she suddenly cared nothing about the danger her past brought to anyone she associated with. She only wanted Kaleb to hold her close and make all the loneliness, regret, and horror go away. Someone as good and pure as Kaleb probably had the power to do that.

  “Jaz?” he called through the door.

  She forced herself to not move. It took everything in her to stay lying motionless in that bed, but she’d been strong since she was eight years old and Bree had been ripped from her life. Somehow, someway, she had to be strong enough to resist Kaleb Quinn.

  The door handle turned and then slowly the door swung open. Kaleb stood haloed by the light from the hallway. He had no shirt on and the oxygen rushed from Jasmine’s lungs.

  “Jaz? You okay?” He’d come for her and she knew in that moment that Kaleb would always come for her. He was so good and true. His tender voice undid her last bit of resistance.

  Jasmine leapt to her feet, sprinted across the space, and slammed into him. A lesser man would’ve hit the ground. Kaleb wrapped her up in his arms and cradled her gently against his chest.

  “Jaz,” he groaned out.

  S
he clung to his bare back. He was warm and solid. He was Kaleb. She needed this man, and for the first time since she was a child Jasmine did something selfish and only for her. She leveraged herself with her hands wrapped tightly around his back, pulled herself up onto tiptoes, and kissed him.

  Kaleb jerked in surprise but he recovered quickly, his return kiss matching hers in intensity, though not in desperation. Nobody could be as desperate for the love and stability Kaleb freely gave as she could. His lips offered warmth, safety, and a place for her to simply be herself. Her kisses were full of needy desire. He didn’t seem put off by her desperation and he just kept giving his kindness and goodness to her.

  They finally broke apart, both breathing heavy. Kaleb stared down at her, his eyes full of tenderness. “Jaz,” he whispered, trailing a hand along her neck and then through her hair.

  He bent down close to her again and pressed his lips softly against hers. She let him take the lead and he took his time with this kiss, slowly showing her how much he cared for her and how important she was to him. Jasmine hadn’t known it was possible to communicate such devotion through a kiss but it made sense that Kaleb had the power to do so. He communicated his poet’s soul in his songs. Of course his kiss would be the same. Yet his songs were for the entire world. His kiss was only for her, and somehow she knew that he’d never felt this way about anyone else. She definitely hadn’t and there was no way to hide how hard she was falling.

  It was getting so serious and deep she couldn’t take it anymore. Jasmine yanked away from his tender kisses and stared into his blue eyes. She couldn’t stand the thought of someone from her past hurting him, or worse, the darkness in her creeping into him. Maybe he could infuse his light into her instead. No. She didn’t dare hope for a miracle like that. It was enough that she had these stolen moments to feel loved. A relationship with Kaleb would be cashing in on every prayer and miracle she’d ever dreamed of, but never dared hope for. But it wasn’t to be. She knew the good Lord despised her for all the evil deeds she’d done.

  Kaleb kept staring at her like she was pure gold. His warm hands framed her face.

  “Why do you care about me so much?” she demanded.

  “I already told you. I just know … You’re the one for me, Jaz.” He gently tucked a lock of her long hair behind her ear.

  She stared at him, trying to comprehend how someone so good could want her. “But all I’ve done is treat you like crap and try to keep you from falling for me.”

  He smiled. “My mama tells me I’m too soft and a pushover, but I’ve never felt like this about anyone before. I knew I couldn’t give up on you.”

  She ran her hands over his muscular shoulders. “You’re not soft … you’re perfect, Kaleb.” She sighed and pulled back. “Much too perfect for me.”

  Kaleb shook his head. “No. You can stick me with a knife, knock me to the floor, I don’t care. You aren’t backing away from me again.” He wrapped one hand behind her back and the other under her legs and swept her off the ground and against his firm chest.

  “Kaleb,” Jasmine gasped out. “What are you doing?”

  He smiled down at her as he carried her down to the next doorway and into his suite. He walked to a nearby couch and settled down into it, holding her against him. “I’m not letting you get away. You don’t have any knives on you currently?” He arched an eyebrow.

  Jasmine laughed then bit at her lip. “Sadly no, but I can still take you out any moment I want.”

  “I know that about you, which makes you cuddled in my arms even more beautiful to me.”

  “Ah, Kaleb.” She snuggled against his chest, resting her head in the nook of his neck. “What am I going to do with you?”

  He chuckled and she felt it against her cheek. “Hopefully, you won’t take me down again, but I wouldn’t put it past you.”

  She pulled back slightly and smiled at him. “Good to know I can keep you in line easily.” She loved this easy banter between them, but her heart was racing and questions filled her mind. What was she doing allowing him to hold her close and say sweet things like she was the one for him? She couldn’t be the one for him. If she shared her past he would probably push her onto the floor and lock himself in his room until the perpetrator was caught and he could escape her presence. Not that locks could keep her out.

  “You don’t really have to beat me up, Jaz. One word from you and I’ll fall at your feet.”

  Her heart rate increased, if she’d been a normal girl she’d probably be blinking away tears at his sweet words and look. “I’d better get some sleep,” she said, but she didn’t move from his arms.

  “Would you let me hold you while you sleep?” he asked.

  Jasmine blinked up at him. “You really are a sappy sucker aren’t you?”

  “You have no idea.” His voice lowered. “But only when it comes to composing music, and you.”

  The way he’d said that made her think she was as important to him as the touching songs he created. That was silly though; he’d worked his entire life to be as successful as he was with his career. He barely knew her. She couldn’t be elevating herself in his mind like that.

  “You can hold me for a little while,” she murmured, yet fear of what would come from him holding her made her stiffen in his arms. What if he started asking questions and tried to delve into her past? She could claim she was protecting him, but him not finding out how horrible she really was must be about protecting herself, not him. She was insane to allow this connection to him and peaceful moment to continue, but she didn’t want him to know the real her yet. She wanted to kiss him all over again, but she mostly just wanted to let him hold her.

  Thinking of kissing him filled her body with warmth. She arched up and pressed her lips to his. Kaleb smiled against her lips and then went to work reaffirming the words he’d said to her—that she was the one for him and he wasn’t about to let her go. The mere thought of these things terrified her, but Jasmine pushed it from her mind and let him kiss her and kiss her and kiss her. She tried to internalize the moment—the softness of his lips, the tingling of her mouth, the ridges of his strong chest, the tender yet firm way he held her close. Soon she’d have to leave him without saying goodbye. She was going to enjoy each moment with him. The fact that she could be so selfish, when she knew leaving him would hurt him terribly, just reaffirmed how unworthy she was of this man. If only his mama could come and rip Jasmine’s hair out like she’d threatened.

  The thought of his mama and how she would hurt this perfect man made Jasmine pull back and catch her breath. Kaleb didn’t act like anything was amiss. He simply smiled at her and cradled her closer, ushering her head back to that perfect crook in his neck. Tenderly he kissed her forehead, and then in a low tone, he started singing one of her favorite songs of his, Speaking Love. The song he’d written for Tate. She savored his deep voice singing the tender lyrics and his strong arms around her. Instead of trying to make her talk or forcing her to be more intimate than she was ready for, he sang to her.

  “I love your songs,” she murmured when he finished.

  “You do?” His voice had a slight tremble to it. “I didn’t figure you for a country music lover, far too tough.”

  “I have every song of yours downloaded. I was at your concert the night you first shared that song and said you were engaged to Jasmine,” she admitted, not daring to meet his gaze.

  He drew in a loud breath. “Really?” He sounded nervous and so irresistible.

  She shouldn’t have told him how she was feeling but he deserved to know part of how she felt. “I’ve always loved your songs and your voice.” She could tell him she loved his songs—she could never tell him she loved him.

  “That means a lot to me.”

  “Keep singing, please.” She didn’t want to get into some deep discussion about all the things she loved about him. She’d have to pull away from him soon and it would be hard enough without him realizing how amazing he was to her.

 
He chuckled. “As you wish, love.”

  As he moved onto another song, she cuddled against him and let herself completely relax. She’d never let down her guard with another person, besides Bree. She’d never trusted a man like this. As much as she trusted and respected Sutton, Griff, and her other brothers in the security business, she wouldn’t have relaxed and fallen asleep around one of them, let alone in their arms. But this was Kaleb. She knew he’d never hurt her and she knew he’d never lie to her. He was the embodiment of every good dream. Even as she drifted off to sleep she knew she was wrong to indulge this and knew this joy and contentment couldn’t last, because she was the embodiment of his, and his mama’s, every nightmare.

  Kaleb felt Jasmine completely relax in his arms and as he finished his third song she was breathing soft and even. He simply held her. A single tear ran down his cheek and fell into her hair. His brothers would mock and ridicule him for being so soft, but this was Jasmine in his arms.

  Jasmine. She’d finally let him kiss her, hold her, and tell her a little bit about how he felt without punching or knocking him down for the sentiment. How he loved her. Would she let this continue? He was afraid for the sun to rise and Jasmine to pull away from him again.

  Those kisses. Wow. They had been more powerful and all-encompassing than the kiss at their wedding. He’d been shocked by the need and desperation pouring from her. He hoped he conveyed how he would care for her, protect her, and love her. Not that she needed his physical protection but emotionally she needed so much. What had her life been like? Would she ever trust him enough to confide in him? His brothers used to tease him that he should’ve been a therapist, instead of a musician, because people seemed to unload their life stories to him. He’d gotten more song ideas from real life stories than anything. If only Jasmine would unload on him. He’d never use her story for a song, but he’d do anything to take her burden from her.

  He slid to his side on the couch, bringing her down against him and keeping her in the circle of his arms. She sighed in her sleep and her hand rested on his chest. Kaleb tamped down the desire that rose in him. He loved her far too much to give into selfish desires. They may already be married but until they were fully committed to each other he wouldn’t take that next step.