A Man's Promise

by Brenda Jackson

  Caden didn’t say anything for a minute and then said, “I admit it can grow on you, but I still love my music.”

  “I know, but I think this could become your love as well if you were to allow it. Same for Dalton, who gets bored easily. He seems to enjoy that security work.”

  Caden chuckled. “You noticed, huh?”

  “Yes. I think he’s found his niche. He seems to be good at it and very comfortable with it.”

  “I think you’re right.”

  “And since you brought up your music...” Shiloh said. “I’m sure you’re well aware that Nannette Gaither wants me to book you for the entertainment at this year’s charity ball.”

  “Yes, she did mention it.”

  “Well, will you do it?”

  “Hmm, it depends.”

  She lifted a brow. “On what? Your schedule?”

  “No, on how nice you are to me.”

  Shiloh laughed. “Sounds like blackmail.”

  He chuckled. “Baby, a man’s got to do what a man’s got to do.”

  * * *

  Hours later, Jace and Shana were finishing up the last of the brownies Hannah had sent home with them. They had been too full after dinner to eat any, but a round of lovemaking had fueled their appetite.

  The one thing he’d noticed since they’d gotten to her place was that she was quiet. The only time she had let loose was during their lovemaking, but now she was quiet again. He glanced across the table at her. He’d gotten to know her and knew when her mind was busy at work, and this was one of those times.

  “What’s going on in that brain of yours, Shana?” he asked, taking a sip of apple juice. Usually they would enjoy a glass of wine together, but with her pregnancy, she was now drinking only apple juice.

  She glanced over at him. “What makes you think anything is going on?”

  “I can tell. Are you worried about the wedding plans? Your sister? Your dad? What Dalton told us about Brandy? What?”

  She smiled over at him. “Actually, none of the above. The wedding plans are in place, and now that Jules is back home, they can be finalized. And because she’s back home, I’m not as worried about her as I usually am. Dad is fine, and as far as what Dalton told us about Brandy, it seems he handled it, and there’s nothing more that can be done until she comes back on Wednesday and you question her about it.”

  Shana paused a moment and then said, “More than likely, she will deny things, but Dalton has that tape. I can’t wait to hear what she has to say.”

  Jace nodded. “Well, if none of those things is on your mind, then what is?”

  She held his gaze for a moment. “Not sure you want to hear it, and I might be wrong, but I have a nagging feeling that won’t go away.”

  “About what?”

  “Caden’s accident.”

  Jace lifted a brow. “What about it?”

  “It’s something no one mentioned,” she said, still holding his gaze.

  “What?”

  She paused, as if choosing her words carefully. “There is a distinct possibility that what happened last night wasn’t an accident.”

  Jace returned her stare and felt his forehead contract into worried lines. After a moment, he shook his head. “No, it was an accident. You heard what both Caden and Shiloh said.”

  “Yes, I heard what they assumed. If you noticed, I asked them specific questions about it, and I’m convinced their answers were based on what they thought they saw.”

  “But you’re thinking otherwise?”

  “Not sure. What’s bothering me is that, according to them, the car was parked, yet the ignition didn’t start until Caden was about to cross the street. That’s when the car started and pulled out of that parking spot.”

  Jace nodded. “Yes, and it could have been a coincidence that the driver was leaving at the same time.”

  “From where? If I recall, there aren’t any nightclubs in the area, so why would an intoxicated person be parked there? Unless he had attended the grand opening of Shiloh’s wine store. Otherwise, again, why would an intoxicated person be parked in that neighborhood?”

  Before he could answer, she said, “And I would assume he became intoxicated before parking. Parallel parking is pretty damned tricky on that street even for a sober driver, not to mention a drunk one.”

  Shana could tell by the worried lines etched in Jace’s forehead that she had him thinking. She hadn’t wanted to voice her suspicions, but he had asked.

  He drew in a deep breath. “Okay, let’s explore your theory for a minute.”

  “Wait, Jace. I’m not saying what I’m thinking actually happened, but when you have a father who’s a retired cop and homicide detective, and a sister who used to be a cop but is now a private investigator—and you add in the line of work I do—you never take things at face value. I have to see other possibilities in everything.”

  He reached across the table to take her hand in his. “And I understand that. But if there’s any chance that you’re right, who would want to hurt my brother? Of the three of us, Caden is the most laid-back and outgoing.”

  Shana shrugged. “Again, it just might be my mind working overtime. But if you don’t mind, I’d like to run it by Jules. She texted me a short while ago. She’s up from her nap and wants to come over and meet you.”

  A smile touched Jace’s lips. “And I’m looking forward to meeting her.”

  Twenty-Five

  After making love, Shiloh had dozed off awhile, only to wake up a short while later to discover it had grown dark outside and Caden was standing at the window looking out. He was naked, and from behind, the man looked like a real live Adonis, 100 percent pure man. He’d always been in great physical shape and, as a woman, she couldn’t help appreciating that fact.

  “Any reason you left me alone over here?”

  At the sound of her voice, he turned around and crossed the room to rejoin her in bed. “I woke up because I thought I heard a noise down below in your courtyard.”

  She chuckled as she cozied closer into his arms. “Probably a stray cat. Even with the gate closed, they get in from time to time looking for food, which is why I don’t put my trash out at night.”

  Caden tightened his arms around her. She hadn’t said anything about him leaving; nor had she invited him to spend the night. Tomorrow was a workday for both of them. But there was something he wanted to know, and now was as good a time as any to ask.

  “So, what do you plan to do about Dr. Aiken?” he asked, looking down at her.

  She lifted a brow and chuckled. “Why do you want to know? Feeling territorial?”

  “Yes.” He was being totally honest. He hadn’t liked seeing her that night at the restaurant with another man, and when they had returned from dinner at Sutton Hills tonight, he hadn’t missed noticing Dr. Aiken had called and left a message, although she hadn’t played it back yet.

  She didn’t say anything for a minute and then she said, “That’s a good question, and in a way I feel bad about it.”

  “About what?”

  “Going out with him in the first place. That was our first date although, according to Sedrick, he’s been interested in me for a while. I thought it would be a nice way to get back into dating as a way to move on. Sedrick warned me not to go out with Wallace if I really wasn’t over you. Then. I really thought I was.”

  “Now that we’re back together...?”

  She sighed. “I’ll talk to him. He’s a nice guy.”

  Caden shrugged. “That may be the case. But I’m nicer.”

  Shiloh pulled back to look up at him and grinned. “Are you really?”

  “Need me to prove it again?” He really didn’t care what her answer would be because he intended to make love to her anyway. He would not be spending the night, but he intended to make her miss him, yearn for him and only him when he wasn’t here. They had agreed to take things slowly, but he also intended to be thorough where she was concerned. He wanted to be the only man she ever though
t about, when she was awake or when she was asleep.

  “You’re taking too long to answer,” he said, pushing back the bedcovers to reveal her nakedness.

  “I’m thinking.”

  “What’s there to think about?” he asked, lowering his hands between her legs. “But if you believe there is, then maybe I haven’t been convincing enough.”

  He parted her thighs and then slid his fingers inside her heat. Her breath caught, and he heard it. He liked the sound of it. When he heard her moan he knew he’d hit the spot he’d been looking for.

  “You, Caden Granger, are a naughty man,” she said breathlessly, barely getting the words out.

  “And you, Shiloh Timmons, are a very sensuous woman.” And that was no lie. Like he’d told her, he might have had sex with other women, but he’d made love to only one. Her. And only her.

  Leaning toward her, he dipped his head and used the tip of his tongue to trace a path along her collarbone, liking the sounds she made in response. He also liked the taste of her skin; he liked her scent. He liked every damned thing about her.

  “You don’t intend to be good, do you?” she asked in a husky whisper.

  He leaned up and smiled at her. “On the contrary, sweetheart. I intend to be good. So good you’ll barely be able to stand it.”

  With that said, he leaned down and kissed her, but he didn’t just kiss her. He ravished her mouth with a greed he couldn’t control. He slid his tongue all over her mouth, stroking it along her gums and then taking hold of her tongue and sucking on it in a way that even had him moaning. And all the while his fingers were still busy stroking her, making her wet just the way he liked her.

  He released her mouth, his entire body reeling from the frenzy of the kiss. Damn, it had been mindlessly hot, satisfying, and it had nearly drained him in one sense but had invigorated him in another. He eased his hand from between her legs and while she watched he slid each finger into his mouth, licking and sucking on it in a way that let her know how much he enjoyed tasting the dewy essence of her.

  “Caden...”

  The sound of his name off her lips triggered his erection, and it began to throb mercilessly. His body was coiled tight with a need that only she could appease. Reaching under her pillow, he retrieved the condom packet he’d put there earlier, ripped it open and quickly put it on. He needed to be inside of her yesterday and wished like hell he could stay until tomorrow.

  In other words, he needed her now.

  Lord have mercy, but he intended to make love to her until neither of them had strength left for anything. They must have shared the same thoughts, because they reached for each other at the same time. And when he eased his body in place over hers, she wrapped her legs completely around him as if she never intended to let him go.

  He thrust inside of her and felt the full length of him slide straight to the hilt. Her inner muscles clenched him, and he stared down at her, feeling each and every pull they made on him. He bared his teeth in a sensuous growl and felt his iron-hard erection fully embedded inside of her.

  And then he began moving fast, thrusting in and out of her, working every part of his body. She raised her hips, meeting him stroke for stroke. He could feel heat spread through his loins and hers. It fueled the intensity of their lovemaking and drove him to increase the tempo and the rhythm.

  When his body arched in a bow, she was there with him. When he came down on a final thrust before his world shattered in one orgasmic explosion, she was also caught in the blast. The intensity of the climax had him tightening his hands on her hips and had her tightening the legs wrapped around his back.

  “Caden!”

  “Shiloh!”

  Simultaneously they called out to each other as their worlds continued to erupt in pleasure so keen and sharp it left them gasping for breath. And as he slumped to his side and pulled her down with him, fighting for breath, the only thing he could think of was that he’d been given another chance with this woman. His woman. And he made another promise—that he would never let her down again. No matter what, their lives were entwined. She was his. He was hers, and she would never have reason to doubt it again.

  * * *

  “I’m glad I finally get to meet you, Jace,” Jules said, smiling over at the man her sister had fallen in love with. “And sorry to show up so late. I had to grab a few winks. Otherwise, I would be a danger to myself and others on the road.”

  “I’m just glad we’re finally meeting,” Jace said. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

  He and Shana were sitting on the sofa in her living room, and Jules sat across from them in a wingback chair. Jace could see a resemblance between her and Shana. They both had Ben’s nose, but that was where the similarities stopped. Jules had more of her father’s features than Shana did. Shana had told him that she resembled her mother more. But in his opinion, both were beautiful women. Jules was an inch or two shorter than Shana, and he couldn’t imagine her as a cop taking down guys larger than she was. According to Shana, Jules was an expert at self-defense and marksmanship.

  “Glad you got some rest,” Shana said to her sister. “I worry about you.”

  Jules looked over at Jace and winked. “Typical big sister, although she’s only older by a few months.”

  “Twenty months,” Shana spoke up and said. “That’s more than a few.”

  “Okay, I stand corrected. Jace, let it go on record that Shana is twenty months older than I am.”

  Jace smiled. The camaraderie Shana and Jules were sharing was similar to that of his brothers, and he enjoyed listening to them.

  “So how are the wedding plans coming along?” Jules asked.

  Shana reached out and took Jace’s hand in hers, tightening her fingers around his. “As you know, it will be a small wedding with just family and close friends. We plan to keep it under fifty people.”

  “That is small,” Jules said. “Anything I can do to help move the process along?”

  “Why?” Shana asked, grinning. “You want me married before I start showing?”

  Jules threw her head back and laughed. “Doesn’t bother me if it doesn’t bother you. You’re the one who’s always been a stickler when it came to rules and what people thought. The opposite of me...unless it affected Dad negatively or something like that.”

  Jace could see Jules was something of a rebel. Dancing to the beat of her own drum and no one else’s. But it was clear she cared about how her actions might affect her father, and he admired that.

  “So I understand you used to be a police officer and are now a private investigator. That sounds interesting,” Jace said. Although he was enjoying the conversation he was having with Jules and Shana, he couldn’t push from his mind what Shana had said earlier. She had suggested another possibility concerning Caden’s near-fatal accident.

  “Jace?”

  He glanced over at Shana. “Yes, sweetheart?”

  “I was just telling Jules how delicious the dinner was. Hannah did a great job.”

  He wrapped his arms around Shana’s shoulders to bring her closer to his side. “She always does. We should have invited you, Jules. You could have met my brothers and Hannah. We consider her family, as well.”

  Jules set her coffee cup aside. “Thanks, but I couldn’t have made it. I was a walking zombie after I got back. I stopped by Dad’s on the way from the airport. He fed me, and then I went home and slept like a baby. But I am definitely looking forward to meeting your brothers, and Hannah, too.”

  “And speaking of Jace’s brothers,” Shana said, straightening up in her seat as a serious expression appeared on her face, “there was an incident involving one of them last night, and I would like your opinion about it.”

  “Sure.”

  Shana told Jules everything that Caden and Shiloh had told them. Jace watched Jules’s expression as she hung on Shana’s every word. He could see her mind working, absorbing and dissecting every single detail.

  When Shana finished, Jules had a couple
of questions, which were some of the same questions Shana had asked Caden. Had Caden noticed the car’s engine running when he’d first walked onto the street? Had the car appeared to be coming straight at him, or had it zigzagged erratically on the road?

  Shana provided Jules with the same answers Caden had given her. No, he hadn’t noticed the car running, and he couldn’t say the car was zigzagging, because he wasn’t sure. All he recalled was turning to find the car coming straight at him.

  Jules didn’t say anything for a minute, and then she said to Jace, “Caden is a great sax player, by the way. I enjoy his music.” Then she paused a moment and asked, “Do you know if he has any enemies? Crazy fans? Jealous ex-lovers?”

  Jace shrugged. “I’m the last person you should ask. Are you thinking the same way as Shana? That there’s a chance it wasn’t an accident?”

  Jules leaned forward in her seat. “Not necessarily. I think your kidnapping has my sister suspicious of anything, maybe even a bit paranoid in a sense,” she said, ignoring the frown Shana shot at her. “But then, you never know. I’ll have some free time on my hands since I’m not taking on another case until after the holidays. If Caden wants to talk with me about it, I’d be happy to offer my opinion. I can check out a few things.”

  Jace nodded. “I’ll run it by him, although he’s convinced it was a drunk driver behind the wheel last night.”

  “And that might be the case, but I have a couple of questions I’d like to ask him while the incident is still fresh in his mind.”

  Jace nodded. “Okay, then, I’ll arrange it.”

  Twenty-Six

  Caden glanced up when he heard the knock on his office door. “Come in.”

  Dalton walked in smiling. Caden glanced at his watch and wondered what the hell was going on. It was a Monday morning, and it wasn’t nine o’clock yet. Dalton was in the office at a reasonable time for once, and he was smiling. He must have gotten laid pretty damned good last night.

  “What’s going on with you, Dalton? What’s the smile for?”

  “No reason. It’s just good to be alive.”