“Son of a bitch,” he ground out.
“Oh, shit. Are you okay?” Denise asked.
“Hell no, I’m not okay. Shit, that burns.”
“Do you need some ice?” Denise asked.
“What happened?” Jase sat up and ran his hands through his already sleep-tousled hair.
“Charlie unmanned Chris,” Bree bit her lip.
“Seems to be a thing in this house.” Jase stood and stretched, exposing the bottom of his toned abs. “You ready to go or do you need a minute to retract your ball sac?”
“Screw you,” Chris replied.
“I’ll pass, thanks for the offer, though.”
“I can drop him off once he’s recovered enough to walk,” Denise offered.
“You sure?” Jase dropped an arm over Bree’s shoulders.
Denise shrugged. “Sure. No reason for you to leave and come back when I’m leaving anyway.”
Chris rolled off the couch and landed on his knees and one hand on the floor, the other hand still cradled his manhood. Using the couch to brace himself, he stood up but remained hunched over like an old man.
“Shit, that dog has some pointy paws on him. I can’t imagine how dangerous he’d be if he had all his legs.”
“Just be glad it wasn’t Sprocket,” Bree said. The large mastiff raised her head.
Chris looked at the large dog, still sprawled next to the chair Denise had occupied. “Please tell me you have a truck for that dog and I don’t have to try to share a seat with it.”
“SUV. She sits in the cargo area.” Denise told him.
With a small nod, he hobbled his way to the front door, straightening more with each step until he was mostly upright.
“Thanks for dinner, Bree. Later, asshole.” He waved at hand in Jase’s direction.
“Later, shithead.” Jase clapped Chris on the back as he passed.
“It just warms my heart when boys show love and affection for one another.” Denise hugged Bree and followed Chris out the door, Sprocket close on her heels.
Bree closed and locked the door. Jase stared at her with an intense but conflicted look.
“What?” Her brow furrowed.
“I’m wiped.”
“Okay.”
“I also want my hands all over you.” His disgruntlement was obvious in the gruff tone of his voice.
“Oh. Okay.” Her gaze dropped to his full bottom lip as she bit her own.
“I’m afraid I might fall asleep in the middle of it if I try anything tonight.”
Her surprised laughter filled the foyer. “That might prove to be problematic. Go lie down. I need to let the dogs out. I’m good with cuddling. For tonight.”
He gathered her close and draped his arms loosely around her waist. “You sure? I can rise to the occasion if I need to.”
“Yes, I’m sure. Go lie down.” Her kiss was gentle.
His fingers grazed her neck as he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and kissed her forehead before releasing her. She turned off the TV and lights as she made her way through the house. She opened the french doors and Charlie charged across the yard. “Charlie! Charlie, come back here! What is that damn dog doing?” She stepped onto the porch, barely able to see his white coat in the dark. Whenever she let the dogs out, Charlie took an interest in something along the fence line before she managed to get him to return to the porch.
She made sure the doors were locked and the newly installed bolts engaged. She joined an already sleeping Jase, pressing herself close to his back.
Jase woke to Bree’s hair tickling his nose and her ass tucked tight against his morning erection. His hand ran from the base of her neck to between her breasts before delving into the soft hair at the junction of her thighs and brushing a finger over her clit. A soft moan escaped as she arched her back, seeking more contact. He crooked the arm under her neck and tweaked her nipples through the thin sheet. Her body shifted as her hands covered his, pressing harder. She rubbed her ass against his hard cock.
Jase shifted his hips and slide his shaft between her slick folds. He nipped and bit his way across her shoulder and up her neck.
“I need to get a condom, darlin’.” He raised his head slightly when she stilled. “What’s wrong?”
“I was tested.” Her soft voice was no more than a whisper. “After I caught… after I found out. Even though we hadn’t been together in weeks, I needed to know. I have a clean bill of health. And I’m on the pill.”
“You saying you’re good with me going bare?” He nuzzled her neck. A barely perceptible nod was the only thing she gave him.
“I need you to tell me you’re okay with it, Bree. I get tested annually so I know I’m clean. If you’re doing this because you think it’s what I want, then we’re not going to. You have to want it, too.”
She shifted, looking at him over her shoulder. Her hand guided his fingers deeper between her folds, encouraging him to press a finger into her core. Sharp white teeth bit into her bottom lip as he pressed deeper.
“I want you bare. I want to feel your hard, hot skin sinking into me. Sliding—”
Jase covered her mouth with his, cutting off her words. He turned her fully onto her back and wedged his hips between her thighs. Her hands rested on his hips and ran around the underside of his ass.
His hard cock sought her slick entrance and pressed forward with one hard stroke. Jase stilled and lifted his torso. He inhaled sharply and stared down at their intimately connected bodies. Shit, she felt good. He’d never been this close to a woman. Never this intimately. Everything in him clenched and released, like a heartbeat he could feel through his entire body. He looked at Bree. Her eyes hooded as his hips retreated and surged forward again.
“Hottest thing I’ve ever seen.” His elbows bent as he lowered his body. Bree brought her legs high up on his back as she met his thrusts.
“That feels so good,” she gasped. “I can feel the ridge of the head of your cock.”
Her walls clenched around him and he ground his teeth, trying to hold on to the last shred of his sanity.
“Please be close. You’re so fucking tight. Like a fist clenching around my cock.”
“Play with my clit.” Sharp teeth grazed his neck before her tongue followed the same path.
God, he loved that she wasn’t afraid to ask for what she wanted. He shifted his weight to allow room for his hand between them. Jase found her sensitive hood and pressed. His thumb circled in a rhythm that matched his thrusts. Seconds later Bree threw her head back and let out a shout. Her hands flew above her head to use the headboard as leverage, pressing harder against him.
He withdrew his hand from between them and wrapped his hands up and around her shoulders, holding her tight as he continued to surge into Bree’s tight core. She clenched around him and he let out a growl. The tingling in his spine right before his sac drew up against his body had him burying his face in the crook of her neck. One of the most intense orgasms he’d ever experienced ripped through him. Fuck. His hips continued to softly thrust as he shuddered his release.
A thin sheen of sweat glistened on her skin, and he ran his tongue along her collarbone. He could feel Bree’s chest heave as she recovered, and he stopped himself from collapsing on top of her. He rolled them to the side as his soft cock slid from her. Their kiss was languid and gentle as they recovered. He explored her lips, taking his time to taste her, no longer fueled by lust.
He brushed his nose against hers and stared at her for several heartbeats. A flush bloomed on her cheeks and she averted her gaze.
He smiled. “Why are you embarrassed?”
“I don’t know. Why are you staring at me like that?”
He brushed her hair away from her face. “You’re beautiful.”
The heat from her face was perceptible under his palm and he laughed when her blush spread to the tops of her ears and down her neck.
“I can’t believe you’re laughing at me.” She pushed against his chest and tuck
ed her face below his chin, her actions contradicting themselves.
He gathered her close and rested his chin on the top of her head. “I’m laughing with you, I promise.”
“Do you see me laughing?”
He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I think that’s the hardest I’ve come since I lost my virginity,” he whispered in her ear. She tucked her face even closer into his chest and he laughed again. Her embarrassment surprised him. She’d demanded he touch her, give her an orgasm, and now she was hiding. Damn, she was adorable.
He held her a bit tighter. More than the lush body pressed close to him, her trust and acceptance meant…hell, he didn’t have the words. Couldn’t describe what he was feeling.
Grounded. Bree grounded him. As if he had been adrift and she was his port-of-call, a safe zone where he could just be him. Chris and his other military buddies accepted him for who he was, but that was different. They shared history. Knew each other from their time in the Army. Fought the same battles. Carried the same scars. Haunted by the same ghosts, although his were more personal than most.
Bree hadn’t given him platitudes when he told her about Tony. No crap about sorry for your loss. She’d just listened. Let him talk. No judgment, just compassion. Would she be able to handle it when he finally worked up the courage to tell her the truth?
Tony’s suicide was his fault.
The alarm jerked him out of his reverie and Bree’s entire body twitched. She must have dozed off while he was lost in his own thoughts. She groaned and told him to hit the snooze button.
“Time to wake up, sleepy head,” he stroked her hair.
“Snooze.”
“What?”
She forced her way over his body, reaching for the alarm clock. Her fingers pushed the snooze button, then she curled back up in his arms.
“I set the alarm so I can hit snooze a few times before I get up,” she mumbled against his chest.
“Why not just set the alarm for when you need to get up?”
“Not a morning person. Need time to face the day.”
Jase shook his head. Adorable.
“I’m going to take a shower while you snooze, then.”
“Mmkay.”
Jase set down the grant application he was reviewing to answer his cell phone. “Jase Larken.”
“Did Bree get a hold of you?” Tim asked.
He smiled at her name, remembering how he’d gotten her off with his hand before sending her out the door to work. “Not since I talked to her this morning, why?”
“Shit. I thought she’d call you.”
“About what? What’s going on?”
“There’s been another murder. The Chief asked her to come in for questioning.”
He pushed back his chair and grabbed his keys from his desk. “Questioning for what? Do they think she’s a suspect?”
“No, but we’re concerned. The note left on the body was addressed to her. We need her to come in and answer some questions for the record.”
“Are you with her? Of course you’re not with her, you wouldn’t be calling me. Does she have a lawyer?”
“I don’t know, man.”
“I’m on my way. Don’t let her leave before I get there. Hog tie her if you have to.” Jase pocketed his phone and stormed out of his office. “Ms. Carol, I’m out for the rest of the day. I’ll be on my cell if you need to reach me.” He marched out the door and all but ran to his truck.
His mind raced. Why hadn’t Bree called him? Maybe it wasn’t allowed. Had she forgotten her phone at work? Was she scared? Visions of interrogation scenes from Law and Order filled his head on the short drive. By the time he arrived at the police station, he had convinced himself Bree had already been arrested and charged with murder.
The desk sergeant recognized Jase and waved him through. Jase stormed over to his brother’s desk. “Where is she?”
Tim held up a hand as he finished his phone call. “She’s still being interviewed,” he said after he hung up. “She has a lawyer, and her grandmother is here as well.”
Jase glanced around, looking for an elderly lady. “Is her grandmother in the restroom?”
“No, she’s in with Bree,” Tim explained. “You didn’t tell me her grandmother is Vivianne Coffee.”
Jase started. The Coffee family was the closest thing Haven Springs had to royalty. They’d donated several million dollars over the years to the schools, revitalizing downtown, and to the police department. “I had no idea. She told me her grandfather left her some money, but she never referred to her grandparents by name. Hell, her last name is Marks.”
“That answers whether you were keeping that from me.”
“First I heard of it. What happened?”
“Same as last time. Body. Note. I don’t know what this one said exactly, but from what I gather, it’s along the same lines as the first.”
A door across the large, open office opened and Bree walked through, accompanied by two officers, another man Jase didn’t recognize, and an older woman. Her silver hair hung in a sleek, shoulder-length bob, and she was dressed in walking shorts and a sleeveless top. Watching her, he’d never have guessed she was in her mid-eighties - nor that she was worth millions. She stood next to Bree with one arm around Bree’s waist. Bree’s arm was draped loosely across her grandmother’s shoulders, but he could see the tension lines on her forehead from where he stood.
She glanced in his direction and some of the tightness left her face. She gave him a small smile and said something to her grandmother, who looked their way. In profile, the resemblance between Bree and her grandmother was evident. They shook hands with the two officers, then with the man Jase assumed to be the lawyer. They crossed the open expanse between the interview room and Tim’s desk. It took all his control not to pick her up and carry her out of there, but he crossed his arms across his chest and waited for them to get to him.
“Gran, this is Jase and his brother Tim.” Bree indicated to each of them in turn.
Tim stood and walked around his desk, holding his hand out. “Ma’am. I wish we were meeting under better circumstances.”
“That’s alright. I understand things have to be done a certain way.” Her soft voice carried a cultured, southern lilt that made Jase think of formal teas and cotillions. Had Bree been presented to society? Did they still do that?
“Ma’am,” Jase said, holding out his hand. She turned to him, and he accepted her outstretched fingers and gently shook her hand.
“It’s lovely to finally meet you, Jase. Bree has spoken of you quite a bit in the last few days.”
“Gran.” Bree’s cheeks pinkened.
“Is that so?” He quirked an eyebrow, feeding her embarrassment. It was the least she deserved after not calling him.
The man in the suit joined them. “Vivienne, I’m going back to the office. I’ve instructed the investigators that if they need to question Bree again, they are to contact me first.” He turned his attention to Bree. “You are not to talk to them without me or one of my associates present.”
“I want to help if I can.”
“You can help them while you have legal representation. Vivienne, I’ll give you a call later.”
“I’m going to head home, dear. I’ll call you later after I deal with all the gossips at the old folks’ home,” her grandmother said.
Bree kissed her grandmother on the cheek. “It’s not an old folks’ home.” She watched Vivienne walk away before turning back to Jase. “What are you doing here?”
He frowned. “What am I doing here? My brother called me and told me you were taken in for questioning about another murder.”
“I wasn’t taken in. I was asked to come in to help identify the victim and try to figure out why someone is leaving notes addressed to me.”
“That’s not the point, Bree.” His voice rose.
She crossed her arms. “Then what’s the point? Why are you getting angry?”
“My point is, I shouldn’t have h
ad to hear it from Tim.” He pointed in his brother’s direction. “Why didn’t you call me?”
“It didn’t occur to me.” She broke eye contact with him and uncrossed her arms.
He took a deep breath. Something in his gut hardened. “It didn’t occur to you?”
She threw her hands up. “Cut me some slack, Jase. I called Gran because she knew who to call to get a lawyer. I’m not used to having to inform anyone of every little thing that happens to me.”
He leaned close. “I’m only interested in the things that end with someone killing people and leaving notes on the body addressed to you!”
Tim stepped in between them, making a T with his hands. “Can you two please take it outside? You’re making a scene.”
Jase glanced around to find almost everyone in the office looking at them. “Come on, I’ll walk you to your car.” He grabbed her hand and pulled her behind him. “Where did you park?”
“Down the block. In front of the old general store.”
He turned right out of the police station and walked briskly down the sidewalk. He used the short walk to burn off some of his anger. How could it not occur to her to call him? What did she think was going on? Didn’t their conversation last week mean anything? He thought he’d been pretty clear on where he stood.
He had never been in a real relationship with a woman. He’d been a kid when he’d joined the Army. He’d dated and had girlfriends, but never anything serious. When he got out, women were an outlet. Like alcohol. He wasn’t proud of how he’d been, but he’d never made anyone any promises. Never let it get to the point where promises were expected. After Tony killed himself, he’d stopped partying. Stopped getting drunk all the time. Started talking to someone at the VA. Started his company and put his focus into making it successful. Now here was Bree, not expecting promises when he was willing to give them. The irony could choke him.
He spied her SUV parked in one of the metered spaces and slowed his pace. He needed to make sure she understood exactly what he wanted from her. He caged her between him and the driver’s door. Her blue eyes held his gaze, her unspoken question evident in their depths.
Stitched Up Heart (Combat Hearts Book 1) Page 16
