Tension left her shoulders. “I can do that.”
“Thank you.” He kissed her again before stepping back and heading to his truck.
Sprawled on the couch after dinner, Bree was dozing off when Jase’s chest rumbled under her ear.
“What?” she asked.
“We should practice combatives.”
Her head jerked up. “What?”
“You know…Army combatives. Grappling.”
“I know what they are. Why should we do them?”
His hand ran up her back. “In case someone attacks you.”
She dropped her forehead to his chest. “Jase…”
“Come on. It’ll be good exercise.”
He slid out from under her and moved the coffee table out of the way.
Groaning, she sat up. “Fine, but you need to put the dogs out. They aren’t going to like this.”
“Charlie. Polly.” The dogs raised their heads when he called their names. “Outside.” They rose from their beds and trotted after him. Charlie stared up at Jase, tongue lolling from his doggy smile. Silly mutt probably thought they were going to play ball.
She stood and twisted at the waist, popping the joints in her back. Jase strolled back into the living room and rolled his neck from side to side. Bracing her legs, she waited, hands loose at her side. He matched her wide-legged stance, but braced his hands on his hips.
She raised her brows. “Well?”
“Come at me.”
“No. You come at me. I’m supposed to practicing against an attacker.”
He rushed her. At the last moment she stepped to her left and jammed her knee into his stomach. It hit him low because of the height difference.
His breath left him, and he grabbed his stomach. Bree spun and took two steps back, watching him catch his balance. He straightened and turned slowly.
She smirked.
One of his eyebrows raised. “Don’t get cocky.” His eyes became intense and he stepped to his right, circling her.
Shit. He let her have that one.
He took her down in less than ten seconds.
He straddled her in mount position and held both her hands in one of his. “What are you going to do?”
She stared up at him. None of the ideas she had involved getting him off her. More like getting him further on top. She bucked her hips. He didn’t even move. She rolled her hips and licked her lips.
“What’re you doing?”
“Let go of my hands and I’ll show you.”
Instead of letting them go, he raised them above her head, bracing his other hand on the floor by her head. He shifted and moved his legs between hers, forcing her hips wide. Lowering his head, he hovered his mouth over hers. “So your plan is to seduce your attacker?”
“Only if it’s you.” Her tongue flicked out and licked his bottom lip. His mouth slammed down on hers and his hips rocked against her. She moaned, pulling at his hold. He let her go and she ripped his shirt over his head. Her shirt and bra got shoved up and he pulled her breast into his hot mouth.
She tossed her head as heat pooled in her core. “Fuck. I need you.”
He was gone.
Her eyes snapped open. “Wha—?”
He crawled back on his knees away from her. His eyes were dark — almost angry. “Up. Turn around.” He pulled her back to his front and palmed her breasts. Her head dropped back onto his shoulder. She reached behind her for his hips and rubbed her ass against his erection. His rough palms skimmed down her stomach, leaving small tremors in their wake.
God, yes. Her whole body shook as his hand delved into the front of her running shorts. He slid two fingers between her folds at the same time he scraped his teeth on her neck.
She panted. Each quick breath released as a gasp.
He removed his hand.
“No!” She grabbed it, trying to push it back in.
He pulled out of her grasp and hooked his thumbs in the sides of her shorts. “Shirt and bra off. Now.” Her shorts were shoved down her hips to pool around her knees.
She yanked the shirt over her head and fumbled with the clasp of her bra, throwing it away from her once she freed herself.
Pressure between her shoulder blades forced her forward. “Down. Hands on the ground.”
Another shiver wracked her body. Holy fuck, that’s hot. His control. His demands. Moving her body where he wanted it. She dropped her head and waited.
He rubbed his thick shaft through her slick folds, hitting her clit with each forward stroke. One hand stroked down her back and the other dug into her hips in a punishing grips. She’d have bruises tomorrow and she gave not one single fuck.
“Brace yourself, Bree. I’m not going to be gentle.” His voice growled and she felt herself growing even more wet.
“I don’t want gentle. I want you to fuck me.”
He buried himself to the hilt and stayed deep inside her, not moving. Bree turned her head to look over her shoulder just as he brought his hand down on her ass, causing her to gasp.
“I’ve been thinking about that since the morning I found you gone.” He smacked the other side of her ass before he pulled back slowly and slammed home, hitting her core and speeding her toward her orgasm.
Again. And again. A slow withdrawal, then slamming back in hard. His balls slapped against her with every thrust.
“Shit. Fuck. Jase. I’m gonna come.”
“Wait for me. I want to come while you scream my name.” Her arms collapsed and she rested her head on her hands, shaking it back and forth.
The hell with this. She needed Jase to be as uncontrolled as she was. She reached through her legs and grabbed at his sac. Each time he thrust forward, she curled her fingers on the underside of his balls and gave a light squeeze, milking him as he fucked her.
“Fuck,” he grunted. His thrusts sped up, became shorter. He pushed her hand out of the way and pinched her clit.
She screamed. Her orgasm exploded through her and she saw stars. Jase buried himself to the hilt and roared. His chest met her back. He bit the base of her neck as he groaned and shoved into her one final time. The combination of pain and pleasure pushed Bree into another orgasm.
Breathing heavily, Jase shifted his weight so his hands were braced on either side of Bree. He licked the spot where he bit her. “You okay, darlin’?”
She nodded, unable to speak.
It was a lie. She was not okay. In that moment, she realized she was falling in love with him.
Please be the endorphins.
He kissed his way down her spine as far as he could reach without separating from her.
She was so screwed.
“I’m going to cancel the trip this weekend.”
Bree looked over the top of her book. Her feet rested on Jase’s lap, and he was rubbing the balls of her feet while he watched a baseball game. “Why? What happened?”
His thumbs stilled, and he shifted his gaze to her. “You have a stalker who is killing people. That’s what happened.”
She set her book facedown on the back of the sofa and pushed up. “You want to cancel your trip because of me?”
“Yes.” He continued rubbing her feet and went back to watching the game.
Bree yanked her foot from his grasp and stood. Grabbing the remote off the coffee table, she turned off the TV and threw the remote back down.
“Absolutely fucking not.”
“Bree—”
“No.” She glared down at him. “I’ve put up with you following me to base every morning. I’ve put up with you losing your shit when I forget to text you when I’m leaving work. But you will not cancel your trip because of me.”
Polly raised her head from her bed and whined.
Jase stood and matched Bree’s angry stance. “Excuse me for wanting to keep you safe.”
“This isn’t about keeping me safe, Jase. This is about a promise you made to guys who need this trip. You are not going to cancel on them so you can sit here and play mother
hen.”
“You seriously think that’s what I’m doing? Playing mother-fucking-hen?”
She closed her eyes and took a breath. Polly’s heat pressed against her leg, and Bree rested a hand on her head. Fighting for calm, she opened her eyes. “I’m exhausted. It’s been two weeks and I’m tired of constantly being on alert. I’m tired of looking over my shoulder and staring at everyone who passes me in the street like they’re going to pull out a knife and stab me.”
When he opened his mouth to answer, she covered it with her hand. Anger still rolled off him in waves, and whatever he wanted to say was going to piss her off even more.
“I’ll ask Denise to come stay with me for the weekend. I’ll call Tim every afternoon. But you are not going to cancel this trip. We are not going to put our lives on hold because of this whacko.”
He bit her palm. “Ow.” She yanked her hand away from his face, shook it, and glared at him. He grabbed her around the waist. Her struggles to get free were pointless. She huffed and folded her arms in front of her.
“You deserved it.”
“Like hell.” She refused to meet his gaze and stared off to the side.
He nuzzled her neck, tickling her with his beard. “You’ll call Tim every day.”
Sighing, she gazed up at the ceiling. “Yes.”
“Denise will stay with you.”
“Yes.”
He raised his head and held her chin between his forefinger and thumb. “You’re more important to me than my business or five strangers I’ve never met.”
Her anger and annoyance melted. She wrapped her arms around him and rested her cheek on his chest.
“I don’t want anything to happen to you, Bree.” He rested his chin on top of her head.
“Nothing will.”
Bree leaned back against the arm of the sofa and stared at her phone. No messages or missed calls. “I haven’t heard from Jase yet.”
“Did he say he was going to call?” Denise asked.
“Yeah. He said he’d call when he was on his way back.”
“Maybe his phone died.”
“Maybe.” It didn’t feel right. He would have borrowed someone else’s phone.
“Call him. Maybe he hasn’t left yet. Or is still out of range.”
He answered on the third try. “Hey. Are you back?” she asked.
“Yeah. Got back a few hours ago.” His voice was flat, with a slight slur.
“Oh.” Pressure built in her chest, squeezing her heart. Something was wrong. “Are you coming over?”
“I’m wiped. I’ll see you later.”
“Wha—”
“’Night.” The call disconnected.
She stared at the screen again, like it was magically going to provide an explanation for what just happened. “What the fuck just happened?”
“What?” Denise asked from the kitchen.
Bree raised her head. “Jase just told me he’d see me later.”
“Okay. What’s wrong with that?”
“He hasn’t left me alone except to go to work for the last two weeks and now it’s I’m wiped; I’ll see you later? What the eff?”
Denise joined her on the couch, holding a plate and glass. “Maybe he realized you’re okay by yourself. Maybe he really is wiped and knew I was going to be here. Maybe he needs to decompress.”
“I guess… It just seems like it’s a complete one-eighty from how he’s been this entire time.”
“I know. But we all have our off days.” She bit into her sandwich. “This whole thing has been stressing him out. Give him a day and let him relax. You can freak out if you don’t hear from him tomorrow.”
Bree shook her head. “There was something in his voice. It was…I don’t know. It was off.”
“Call him tomorrow. If it’s still off, then you can unleash unholy fury on his ass.”
He didn’t reply the next morning when she texted him on her way to work. When she still hadn’t heard from him by late afternoon, she stopped by his office on the way home.
“Hi, Ms. Carol. Is Jase in today?”
“Oh no, honey. He never comes in today.”
“Monday?”
“No. It’s— I thought for sure he would have told you.”
Bree frowned and tilted her head. “Told me what?”
“Oh, Bree. Today is the anniversary of Tony’s death.”
Bree’s hand flew to her mouth. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize. Wait. Why are you here then?”
Carol sighed. “I accepted Tony’s death a while ago. Jase…hasn’t been able to get past it, I’m afraid.”
“Why is he having such a hard time?”
“Tell you what. There’s a nice little cafe a few doors down. I was getting ready to lock up anyway. Why don’t we go have a cup of coffee and talk?”
Carol locked up and set the alarm before hooking Bree’s arm and leading her down to the end of the strip mall.
“Let me explain about Tony and Jase first.” Carol opened the door to the cafe and scanned the small bistro. “How about over there?”
“Sure.” Bree followed her over to the small corner table.
“Jase’s family moved across the street from us when the boys were about four. I’m a few years older than Melissa, Jase’s mom, but we became good friends.”
The waitress stopped by their table. “Hey, Ms. Carol. The usual?”
“Yes, please.”
“And for you?” the waitress asked Bree.
“Coffee with cream, please.”
“Okay.” She flashed a smile. “Be right back.”
“Where was I?” Carol asked.
“Uh, Jase’s family moved in across the street.”
“Right. Jase’s daddy was in the Army and was gone a lot. I was never sure what he did, but I think he was Special Forces. Tim was six, and Shannon, their sister, was a baby. Poor Melissa had her hands full. Tim was a serious little boy. Always watching before joining in on things. Never gave his mama any bit of trouble. Jase, though, was a little hellion. I started taking him in the afternoons to give her a bit of a break. Tony was my youngest and I had him late in life. He was unexpected, if you know what I mean.”
The waitress returned with their drinks. “Here you go. Can I get you anything else?”
“No thank you, dear,” Carol said. She took a small sip of her coffee before continuing.
“Jase and Tony were like night and day. I think if Tony had been older, he and Tim would have been friends. They’re much more alike. Whereas Jase would run hell-bent into anything, Tony would follow cautiously, but he always followed Jase. I thought when they started school, Jase and Tony would find other friends, but neither of them did. They had their own groups and interests, but they remained best friends all the way through high school.”
Bree sipped her coffee and listened in rapt fascination as Carol unveiled a part of Jase’s life she might not have learned otherwise.
“Jase idolized his daddy. Always said he wanted to be a soldier like him. Wanted to save the world. Melissa convinced him to wait a year after he graduated before enlisting. Jase took some classes at the community college, but he knew it wasn’t for him. He did it only because his mama asked. He walked into the recruiter’s office as soon as his last class was over. Tony went with him.”
Carol contemplated her coffee, as if drawing courage from the tendrils of steam rising from the cup. “Tony was…sensitive. Always bringing home strays. Sticking up for kids at school. He was a very talented artist.” She glanced back up at Bree.
“I saw one of his drawings. The one Jase has.”
“He drew that one after he got out. The Army offered him a position in the media. What’s it called? The news network?”
“Armed Forces Radio and Television Service?”
“Yes. That one. They wanted him to be a graphic artist or something, but he refused. Said he joined with Jase and was going to stay with Jase. Even Jase told him it was a great opportunity and to take it, but
he was adamant. I asked him once why he was so hell-bent on staying with Jase. He told me, ‘Mama, Jase needs me. He’ll lose himself if I’m not there to remind him who he is.’ That was Tony. Always looking out for everyone.”
Bree sniffed, fighting back her tears. She ached for Carol’s loss. For Jase’s loss.
“He came back haunted. Physically, he was whole, but that war killed something inside him. I could see it. A huge piece was missing from my boy. He’d go out fishing or camping and come back happier, but it would last only a day or two. I convinced him to get counseling, but he did it only because I pleaded with him. I had hope when he and Jase fixed up that house that things were going to turn around. He was drawing again. But….”
She sipped her coffee, gazing out the window.
Bree bit her lip and swiped at an errant tear.
“I found some of his drawings when I was going through his room…after. Some of them, like the one Jase has, were beautiful. Poignant. But others were horrible. The nightmares he must have suffered to draw those pictures,” she whispered.
A tear escaped and she dabbed at her eye with a napkin. “I had no idea the depths of his despair. But it helped me understand why he killed himself. Why he felt that was the only way out. The pain is always there, in the corners of my heart, but I’ve come to accept it. Jase, though. Jase blames himself.”
“Why?” Bree blinked rapidly, trying to prevent her tears from falling.
“He thinks if he hadn’t let Tony follow him into the Rangers, he wouldn’t have been scarred by the war the way he was. I’ve tried to make him understand he couldn’t have made Tony do anything he didn’t want to, but Jase still blames himself. I had hoped, since he started dating you, that he’d finally realize there are more important things in life than regret.”
Carol reached over and grasped Bree’s hand. “I’m glad you came by today. Jase is like a son to me, and I’m going to ask you to do something very difficult.”
Bree placed her hand over Carol’s. “Whatever you need.”
“I need you to go and kick Jase’s ass for me.”
A surprised laugh escaped Bree. She slapped a hand over her mouth and shook her head. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to laugh. You just surprised me.”
Stitched Up Heart (Combat Hearts Book 1) Page 18
