by Rya Stone
“I’m yours,” he said, both hands hard at her hips again and pulling her into every thrust. “Only you. Say it.”
“Only me,” she gasped.
“And you’re mine.” He proceeded to lay down that claim in no uncertain terms, too, taking what was his in a manner calculated and forceful, in an exhibition of possession that left her desperate to give him everything he demanded.
He twisted her onto her side, and her hip hit the bed as his mouth took hers, demanding still more than she’d already given, more than he’d already taken, and when his body went rigid, seconds later, Cassie welcomed that, too, into her, into the very deepest part and held it there, just as Jase held her body when he finally collapsed.
She felt him and she didn’t, heavy and light, both at the same time.
“I’ll always be yours,” he said, nuzzling into her neck. “And I plan on giving you every last one of my tomorrows.”
She’d known before he said it that she loved him. It didn’t make the choice any easier. No, the choice had been made so long ago, this felt more like freedom, like surrender in the midst of chaos…like finally stepping off that cliff only to find you can fly. And there was only one thing left to do. “I love you,” she told him, snuggling into his warm embrace.
“Do you now ?” he asked. “I’ve been wondering.”
“This is the part where you reciprocate,” she said, tossing a pillow at him. But he’d more than done that, time and again. Her heart swelled when as she gazed down at him, his hair a beautiful mess and his warrior’s body a shield against all that was wrong in the world.
“I love you, too, Cassie.”
“Does this mean we’re going steady?” she asked.
This time it was Jase who threw the pillow.
…
It was supposed to be a good day but Cassie couldn’t stop crying. She tried to tell herself they were tears of joy at the gleaming room inside Mariposa—the gift of gifts from her man. Her mother’s room was a private world unto itself, a complete apartment, really, that boasted, of all things, an on-call private chef. Still, something wasn’t quite right.
Jase walked in with a box of her mother’s belongings and stopped for a kiss. “I like your hair like this,” he whispered near the side of her neck, just beneath her longish bob—shorter in the back, longer on the sides.
She frowned and swiveled her head as Jase deposited his load. “I’m trying out different styles. They all feel so weird,” she said, running a hand through her shoulder-length hair.
Jase brushed her hand away and curled his own hand around the back of her neck. “It’s not weird, baby. It’s all you. Doesn’t matter what your hair looks like.”
“I hate it.”
“It’s beautiful, love.” The voice came from across the room, and Cassie was rocketed out of Jase-world and back to the overwhelming moment.
“You have to say that,” she said, cracking a small smile. “You’re my mother.”
“I may have my…moments,” her mother said, turning an endearing shade of pink, “but I know beauty when I see it.” Only her gaze was focused on Jase, and Cassie knew he’d stolen her mother’s heart, too. It might have something to do with the way he’d turned their first “meeting” into a private joke, one not even Cassie completely understood. And that was fine. It was clear the two were fond of each other, and that made Cassie sniff back more tears.
Jase draped his arm around her. “You okay?”
“I’m fine,” she whispered. But she wasn’t. Nerves fluttered in her belly and Cassie pictured the little box sitting on the dresser back at the hotel room. She’d told Jase she wouldn’t take the test until her mother completed her move. Denial, thy name is Cassie. And yet the hour was upon them, and Cassie was surprisingly relieved when Clint walked through the door with another box.
Yeah. Clint.
She gave him a warm smile. She was doing a lot of that these days. The more she came to know him, the more Clint reminded her of Jase—handsome as hell and rough around the edges but fiercely protective of what he considered his, especially his family. And that now included her. Well, not technically, but, since she’d all but moved in with Jase, yeah, they were basically family. And his presence at her mother’s new digs only reinforced that.
Her head still spun with all that had happened, then and now. Sometimes, she found herself staring off into the bay, reliving the feel of Oscar’s knife circling her eye or imagining Jase with a missing eye instead of the scar he’d carry from the deep gash marring his beautiful face. Her man carried scars from a coyote. But they were her scars, too. Maybe he would have received them even if she hadn’t blown that tire and entered his life. But that…that she couldn’t even imagine.
Her phone’s ringtone brought her back to the present.
“It’s Karyn,” she said, pecking Jase on the cheek before stepping into the polished hardwood hallway. But it was Clint’s steady gaze that followed her out of the room as she excused herself.
“What’s happening?” Karyn asked as Cassie entered the hallway.
“The move is complete. We’re just hanging now, hoping for one of those five-star meals. Clint just showed up, so I’m sure my mom’s overwhelmed by all the testosterone in the atmosphere. The nurses sure are.”
She was answered with silence.
“Karyn…?”
“Yeah, I’m here. I just…I just wanted to let you know I’m thinking about y’all.” Before she could question the wistful tone in Karyn’s voice, her friend continued. “Oh, and Daphne’s gone.”
“What?” she whispered. “Are you sure?”
“Pretty sure. Haven’t seen her around. Gossip is she OD’d about a week and a half ago. Somebody called Slick. Rumor is it was some oil-field guy she was seeing. Pretty boy, an attorney or something. He split before Slick showed up.”
Had to be Reid. Ugh. As much as she wanted to think those two deserved each other, the thought just made her queasy.
“You okay?” Karyn asked.
“Yeah, it’s…nothing.”
“Holy shit,” Karyn whispered, “You think it was him? Your ex?”
She stared down the hallway towards the nurses’ station. “Sounds like it.”
“Nice. Anyway, Slick drove Daphne to the ER then had her hauled straight to rehab. The court granted temporary custody of the kid to Daphne’s mother. Guess all the assault and trespassing and property damage finally caught up to her.”
But only because it sounded like Slick wasn’t able to hide Daphne’s latest mess.
“Hope you don’t mind my asking, but why didn’t you ever press charges?”
Cassie glanced at her mother’s open door. After what played out with Neely and Oscar, she was learning to fly as far under the radar as possible. Though she wasn’t exactly keen on all the vigilante stuff that went down, neither Jase nor Clint had killed anybody in cold blood, and there was no need to call attention to their brand of justice by pressing charges against Daphne, of all people.
“I don’t do cops.” She tried to say it like she was cracking a joke, but that turned out to be harder than she imagined. “I hope rehab works,” she muttered a few seconds later, thinking about their own aftermath.
Daphne had blown up Jase’s cell for three days straight after Oscar’s disappearance. She called it that because, basically, that’s what it was. She had no idea what had become of Oscar Martinez. He’d left the Neelys alive, with Clint, and Clint wouldn’t talk except to say they’d never see him again. She still wondered about Oscar’s relationship with Daphne. She also tried not to hold a grudge against the woman. Hell, we’re all a little crazy, right?
“Cassie?”
“Yeah, I…a lot’s happened in the last month or so.”
“I’ll say. I’ll never forget the day I met you, sitting at that table, maps spread out, running scared from your ex. Now look at you…” Karyn paused. “Got a damn fine man who wants to give you the world. His world anyway. And it’s a hel
l of a world.”
It was. More than she’d ever dreamed of. And maybe more than I expected, she thought at the swirl in her belly as Jase entered the hall.
“And that scar? He got that in a knife fight? Defending you?”
“Yep.” They’d decided to stick to as close to the truth as possible about that, and as Jase approached, she couldn’t help staring, couldn’t help the heat pooling in her belly. He’d definitely been defending her. With his very life. Just as he’d promised.
“Girl,” Karyn said. “That’s hot.”
It kind of was. It kind of really was. And she kind of liked Karyn even more for pointing out the obvious. “Thanks for helping me out that night, Karyn. Thanks for knocking a bitch out for me, and thanks for calling.”
Karyn chuckled. “That’s what friends are for. Now you go take care of your mother. She’s a lucky woman, you know.”
“No doubt.” And Cassie might be just as lucky. Jase’s arms settled around her waist, and she breathed into the phone. “I have to go. I’ll keep you updated.”
“You better.”
She ended the call and turned to Jase. “Tell me something…”
“Anything,” he said, grinning down at her. That scar…Karyn was right. It was hot. And not just because it drew out Jase’s perfect features, but because of what it stood for. Her. And him. And their battle to be together. She cleared her throat. “Why is it that every time I mention Karyn or Clint to the other they both freeze up?”
Jase grinned. “Only one girl I’ve ever seen Clint torn up over…”
“No…” Her heart might have skipped a beat. “No way. She’s…?” What?
“It was a long time ago. I wouldn’t get your hopes up.”
Yeah. The big scary cowboy and the rocker chick? She snorted, shaking her head. Then she froze. A group of nurses were making their way down the hall. She clutched tighter to Jase. “They look like they mean business.”
He squeezed her back. “It’s just the welcome party.”
“Thank you, Jase.”
“For what?” He looked confused, the ox.
“Everything,” she croaked, choking back both fear and joy.
“Everything?” Jase countered. “In that case, I should be thanking the woman in there.” He tilted his head toward her mother’s room, and everything swam.
Turned out Jase wasn’t just a safety shield. He was a life preserver, and the only thing keeping her afloat at the moment.
…
They crashed at a gorgeous hotel in Houston for the next three days and spent every waking hour with her mother, who, it turns out, had landed a Ricardo after all. Actually, his name was Gerald, but her mother insisted on calling him Ricardo.
And now she had a promise to keep.
She stared at the stick.
Disbelief. That was her first reaction.
She took a deep breath and walked out of the hotel bathroom, straight-faced. Jase leaned against the dresser, trying to look like he wasn’t hovering just outside the door. She averted her gaze and noticed the wrapped present lying on the side of the bed they’d been occupying.
She tore her gaze from the bed and looked up into Jase’s blue eyes. “It’s—”
His finger sealed her lips. “Shhhh. I want you to open the gift first. Either way it’s a celebration. We’re either having a baby or having a lot more time together first.”
Amid threatening tears, she wondered how she’d found this man, how she’d hit the jackpot, won the man lottery. This wasn’t normal. She’d had normal. And terrible. This was…Jase was…extraordinary.
“Open it.” He placed the long, slim box in her hands.
A jewelry box. She shook it. A necklace. Or a bracelet.
Jase sat on the bed and pulled her into his lap. “Open the damn thing, woman. You’re killing me.”
It was a necklace. She drew it out by its chain. The gold sparkled in her hands, catching the light. Beautiful. But the pendant…
“Jase…” she choked out
He took it from her trembling hands and secured it around her neck with a kiss to her nape. The large blue pearl hit just between her breasts. “You’re shaking.”
She squeezed her eyes shut and placed her hand over the pearl, pressing it close. “I know.”
“It’s not to commemorate my injury,” he chuckled. “Though as long as I live, I’ll never forget the sight of you reeling in a shark topless.”
She had to crack a smile at that, even as a tear slipped down her cheek.
“It’s more of a reminder that beauty can come from ugliness and pain. Even nature knows that.” He fingered the pearl before closing his hand over the top of hers. “But it’s something I never thought would happen in my life. Until I met you.”
She twisted in his lap and curled her hands around the back of his neck. “Your hair is almost longer than mine.”
He laughed. “Aren’t you supposed to tell me you love me or something?”
She was going to turn into a sniveling mess if she started telling Jase how much she loved the necklace, much less how much she loved him.
“You want me to cut it?” he asked.
“Never.”
“I will,” he said. “I’ll let it grow back out with yours.”
Oh, God…and that, too.
She blurted out everything then. “I love your hair and I love the necklace and I love you and I’m…”
Epilogue
Jase was going into the water, and Cassie’s heart lodged in her throat.
He sat on the side of the boat, feet dangling over the side. Though just a bay boat, Jase had insisted on naming it. He’d christened the boat Evermore, as in The Battle of, as in what they’d been fighting for the day its deck ran with blood.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” She pressed into his back and wrapped her arms around his chest.
“Like ridin’ a horse, babe. You fall off, you get right back on.”
“Right back” was more like six months, and horses didn’t have razor-sharp edges. She squeezed him tighter. “What if a shark does decide to snack on you this time?”
“The likelihood of getting attacked by a shark is one in eleven million,” he said, as if he’d researched it. “The chances are virtually nonexistent.”
“Unless you’re heading into shark-friendly waters with bait tied to your waist.”
Jase shook his head. “I said, virtually nonexistent.”
“So are the chances of me finding a man like you. I’ve already had that happen, too. And that, I know, will never happen again.”
“I like it when you say things like that. It makes what I’m about to do even better.”
“What? How can you—”
He slid out of her grip, moved behind the console, and began rummaging around for something. When he found…whatever, he plunked onto the seat. “Rod, babe.”
Her hands balled into fists. “Jason Lucas, I swear to God, if you come back to this boat bleeding, I’m going to leave you like that.”
He grinned that sexy-as-hell grin, and his eyes crinkled at the corners, even his scarred right one. “No you won’t. Rod.”
She snatched it out of a nearby holder and handed it over the console.
Jase’s brows furrowed. “Hold it and give me some line. I need to fix something.”
“I should toss it into the bay and fix you,” she grumbled, doing what he asked.
She hit the button and released some string, giving him enough slack so he could pull the leader down and examine it. She watched, irritated as he fiddled with whatever he had going on in his lap. He seemed irritated, too, probably by the fact that his hair kept whipping into his face. After a few seconds, he turned away, and the wind caught his hair, blowing it back.
This man…
As if the current scene wasn’t bad enough, he’d taken to breaking his own horses, too, a side business he’d become obsessed with in the last few months. The cattle he and Clint ran on their adjoining tracts
—which now each officially included half of the Neely estate—were apparently not enough to keep him busy. Or in sufficient bruises. Jase collected those, and the more he had, the happier he was. She’d probably never figure that out. She wanted him on a tractor, baling hay all day. Like that was ever going to happen.
“Done,” he said. “Reel in the slack.”
Still ticked that he’d decided to go wading, she reeled in the line. It felt lighter, and sure enough, the wind blew the line towards her as it cleared the console.
Her eyes met his.
He wore the biggest smile she’d ever seen. And tied to the end of the line was the biggest diamond she’d ever seen. She set the rod down slowly so it didn’t drop from her shaking hands. With one of those shaking hands, she grabbed the line, bringing in her catch.
It wasn’t tied to the line. Jase had removed the weighted leader, leaving the line tied only to a swivel. The ring hung from its bottom eye. She sat on a cooler and fumbled, unable to unclasp the swivel.
She looked up to see him rounding the console. He knelt in front of her and deftly removed the ring.
“I…I couldn’t get it off,” she whispered.
“You’re shaking,” he whispered back. “And, damn it, if you don’t stop, I’m going to start doing it, too.” When he looked up, she saw in his face all the promises he’d silently made the day his leg bled out aboard the very same boat. He held the ring up. “Be my wife.”
She threw herself into his arms. “Always.”
He fell back against the side of the boat, chuckling. “You’re supposed to put the ring on, not put yourself on me.”
She shook her head. “This is more important.”
“Yeah,” he breathed. “It is.”
He slid a hand through her hair, which now reached just past her shoulders. “I still want my ring on you.”
She drew back, keeping her arms around his neck, and glanced down at the…she didn’t even know what cut it was, some fancy one. All she knew was that the diamond, set in gold, was big and square. No, it wasn’t big. It was huge.
