by Cameron Dane
“Ginger was a nice young woman with needs of her own; she got what she wanted out of our meetings, and so did I.” Brian went back to sitting in a relaxed position. “I didn't kill her. Why would I? She's the only sex I've had for the past two years. Why would I murder her and put myself right back into celibacy? It doesn't make any sense.”
“Maybe you became possessive and didn't like that she had other clients,” Duke pushed. “Stranger things than a john becoming obsessed with a prostitute have happened. Maybe you killed her out of jealousy. Maybe you found out the names of the other men she serviced and didn't like it.”
“Come on, Sheriff, I thought we had respect between us.” Brian now looked like a man sitting with a colleague, talking over a meal. “You know as well as I do that her murder did not happen as an act of passion. It was too precise and cold. What do you really want from me here? Just ask me, and if I can, I'll tell you. Ginger was a sweet girl. Friendly. It was just sex, but our agreement went on for long enough that I liked her as a person. I do want whoever killed her to be caught and punished.”
Duke slid a pad of paper across the table. “Why don't you start with if anyone can confirm your presence at the office on Friday evening. I need a name.”
Jace swore and spun away from the window. Another dead end. “Damn. The guy's going to be a great politician. He knows how to read a room.”
Brian was absolutely right. Jace could tell Duke didn't believe this man had murdered Ginger. But the boss would try to finagle as much information out of him as he could anyway. Such as if Brian knew the names of her other clients. The three men questioned so far had solid alibis, and now the boss could add Brian to the list, but that still left at least six men Ginger had let pay her for sex.
Cade turned from the window and moved to the door. “I'm going to get back to tracking down if similar cases exist in the cities Ginger visited,” he said, letting himself out. “Sonoma, Austin, and Atlanta still haven't given us the courtesy of a return call.”
Following Cade down the hallway, Jace said, “Maybe I'll give Robyn another call and bug her about evidence for both cases.” Yesterday her lab had confirmed their Jane Doe's death was a result of asphyxiation. Likely, a thick plastic shopping bag thrown over her head and the ends pulled tight around her neck, also crushing her windpipe. One of Robyn's people had found a scrap of white plastic snagged on one of the victim's back teeth. They'd sent her prints and DNA through the appropriate databases but hadn't received a hit back yet.
Jace sat down at his desk and shuffled through his notebook. “I want to get with Juan when he gets back and see how he's doing tracking down our psychic's history aiding the police.” Jace still hadn't forgiven that jackass for crushing Ginger's family with the news of her female lover. He hadn't forgotten about that rich bastard Quick yet either. The sheriff hadn't given him the okay to question the man, but he knew the guy was still in town. The man had given Sarah a call at home the other night just to chat.
Jace growled and felt those protective talons wanting to break their way through his skin. Sarah was his. And Jasper's. Damn. Jace sat up straight. He suddenly wondered if he had to worry about someone out at the ranch coveting Jasper's long, sexy body as much as Alexander Quick worming his way into Sarah's life.
He growled again, and Sarah admonished him for sounding like a bear as she paused at his desk and handed him a yellow Post-it note.
“Got a message while you were in back,” she told him. “There you go. You too.” She handed one to Cade.
They both said, “Thanks,” and Sarah went back to her desk. Jace held up the piece of paper and read:
Jasper was in town getting supplies with Ren and came in to say hi. He kissed my cheek and whispered I should give one to you from him if I got a private moment with you. His cheeks burned as he said it, and he was about as cute as I've ever seen him. Consider yourself kissed.
A small smile took over Jace's mouth, and he chuckled softly as he clutched the small paper between his hands. The little missive was inappropriate, but today Jace didn't care. They were at frustrating stalling points with two murders, and on any other evening, he would go home and spend the night sweating out the urge to drink until the anger and helplessness went away. The twinge still scratched at his brain and rippled through his blood, but tonight he knew he would be okay.
When he got home tonight, Sarah and Jasper would be waiting for him.
Making sure nobody was looking, Jace pressed the words of the note against his cheek.
Chapter Twenty-two
Jasper drew his knee up and slid an uncertain glance at Jace sitting next to him in Sarah's bed. It still felt a little weird to sit with the guy, Jasper in sweats and Jace in boxer-briefs, without Sarah in the room with them. His discomfort was ass-backward stupid, considering he'd had his cock in the man's mouth twenty-four hours ago. Still felt sort of strange to Jasper, though, no matter how dumb it was to feel it.
“It was a good day,” he finally answered Jace's question. “But you don't have to ask just because of that thing I said last night. I didn't mean you had to be interested in everythin' I do out at the ranch.” Jasper suddenly pursed his lips and straightened against the headboard. “Oh, unless you was—were—only wonderin' about Samuel when you asked how things went today. In that case, he didn't call me once.”
“It was a general question,” Jace answered. “But I'm glad to hear your brother didn't bother you.” He stretched out on his side and rested his head on his hand. “Must have felt good.”
“Yeah.” Jasper gnawed on the edge of his thumbnail. He'd already chewed a cut on the inside of his cheek from worrying so much recently. “Didn't breathe real easy all day thinkin' it might come eventually, but it never did. Anyway”—he saw Jace zero in on his nervous tell and forced his hand away from his mouth—“I don't want to talk about him. I'd rather watch this.” He pointed at the bull-riding event playing on Sarah's small TV.
Jace's gaze darkened by degrees as he stared, and Jasper went back to biting on a nail. Intensity burned in Jace's stare for a moment. Then he blinked and flashed an over-the-top smile. “So you don't want to ask about my day in return?” He fell to his back and flung his hands over his head. “After I sucked your dick last night and everything? I'm hurt.”
Jasper flipped onto his stomach and put his chin in his hand, his face close to Jace's. “But I already know about your day,” he admitted, his heart pounding with newfound attraction.
“What?” Jace folded his arms under him and pushed partway up on his elbows. “What do you mean?”
“Well, not today exactly,” Jasper quickly explained. “But me and Sarah have been talkin' to each other for four years, and when she tells me stuff about herself, stuff about you always comes up too. Nothin' specific about cases or anything, but I kind of always felt like I was gettin' to know you as I was becoming friends with her, because you're so important to her. She always brags a lot about how good you are with people at your job. That's why I always knew she liked you so much.” Taking a chance, Jasper looked Jace up and down, perusing, and flashed a fast smile. “Because all the times I saw you and talked to you, and she kept sayin' how nice you were, in my head I would sit there and think you were kind of an asshole.”
Jace remained completely still, and Jasper held his breath. Suddenly Jace threw his head back and barked with laughter, and the knot tightening Jasper's belly released.
I'm allowed to tease him. Being able to kid around with him makes everything more real.
Jasper remembered the first time he could laugh with Sarah; it was right after he fell flat on his face out at the ranch while trying to show off. The gaffe hadn't sent him into a panic, and he had chuckled at his clumsiness. Sarah did too, but then she put out a hand and helped him to his feet, and Jasper knew he would keep her forever if he could. He didn't feel at ease like that around most people; now, he was starting to feel like Jace could be a comfort to his nervous tics too.
“Oh, h
ey.” Jace shifted to his stomach in a mirror of Jasper's position. “I just heard the guy on TV say Rock-n-Roll.” He glanced at Jasper. “That's one of Caleb and Jake's bulls, right?”
“Yep.” Jasper watched as a seasoned bull rider climbed into the chute and got on R-n-R's back. “That's why I wanted to put it on. They recorded this earlier in the day, so I know the result, but I wanted to see it for myself.”
Half his attention on the TV and the other half on Jace, Jasper smiled when Jace took a serious interest as the bull shot out of the gate. The animal made a tight spin and bucked high off the ground, one move right on top of the other, and threw the rider off, sending him flying through the air and into the dirt in three seconds. R-n-R gave the guy a good chase to the fence, breathing right down the rider's Kevlar vest before veering to the left and exiting the ring.
“Shit.” Jace shook his head as if he had just had his clock cleaned. “Have you ever ridden him as part of your job?”
“Used to. Not anymore. He's too good now, and Caleb only lets Risa give him an occasional workout. He doesn't even ride R-n-R himself anymore. The bull doesn't need it. He knows his job and loves it.” Jasper clicked off the TV, smiling as he thought about the big animal making waves on the PBR tour. “He pretty much just gets pampered when he's home.”
“No wonder Duke has so many gray hairs now.”
“Ain't no need to worry about Risa. Shit, though”—Jasper stretched his arm and flexed his right hand—“that big bastard almost ripped my thumb off once when he was a tot.”
“Your thumb?”
“Yeah. You're just as likely to get caught up in your rope and lose a thumb as you are to get gored or stomped, if you can't get out of the ring fast enough. See? Get up on your knees,” Jasper instructed. As soon as Jace did, Jasper moved in behind him and manipulated his right hand. “You got your hand slid under the braided hold of your rope and then you got the tail end wrapped firm around it to help hold you in place. Close it all up and bang your fingers into place to get as tight a hold as you can.” Jasper curled Jace's fingers and gave them a good couple of knocks with his fist. “Curl your thumb over your fingers after you do that”—he folded Jace's thumb into position and then slid his hand up to his forearm—“give the signal, and you're off. But see, if things start to loosen, you might try to release and do it clean. Doesn't always happen. The two places you're most likely to get your rope tangled are your thumb and your ankle. Ain't neither one feel good when it happens.”
“I bet.”
Jasper pulled his focus off Jace's hand and realized for the first time just how close they were. He had his thighs spread and his chest plastered to Jace's back; Jace had his head turned, and Jasper could see every little groove chiseled into the corners of his eyes and the stubble pushing out on his jaw. He continued to stroke the man's forearm, and he couldn't take his eyes off Jace's lips.
“Remember, cowboy”—Jace brushed his hand down Jasper's cheek—“you never have to ask.”
Leaning in, Jasper captured Jace's mouth with a soft, learning kiss. He maneuvered around and pushed his fingers into Jace's hair, tilting his head for the slow scrape of their lips. For the first time since knowing he could kiss this man, Jasper didn't feel rushed to devour but rather just wanted a sample taste, a reason to touch, as he could see now had been his goal in showing Jace the rope hold. The sensation of an erection forming behind his sweats got his blood flowing, but this time didn't make him dizzy. Jasper rubbed his hands up and down Jace's arms, savoring the thick muscles roping Jace, which didn't even feel like his own, let alone the softness of Sarah's skin. Jasper licked the hard line of Jace's mouth and coaxed his way inside with a light brush of his tongue but pulled out before the need for a deeper taste crept up on him. Running his fingers up Jace's wide shoulders, Jasper kept going and touched over his rough jaw until his fingers met the caress of where their lips met with the lightest of contact.
They pulled back and smiled at each other. Jace kissed Jasper's nose, and Sarah's voice drifted into the bedroom on a lick of heat. “The two of you kissing is about the sexiest thing I've ever seen.”
Jasper whipped his gaze to where Sarah stood, just inside the room, and the rest of the blood in his body rushed straight to his cock. Holy mother.
Jace openly adjusted his prick, letting the tip stick out of the waistband of his underwear. “Honey, that's only because you aren't looking at what we're looking at right now.”
Sarah stood in pointy high heels, black panties, and a bra that barely covered anything, both with little ribbons of white around the edges. Her hair flowed with pinup girl waves, rather than the pretty, straight way it usually fell down her back. It wasn't so much that she was wearing a lacy little bra and panties and had come-fuck-me hair. Her skin glowed. Not with that glitter stuff Jasper remembered some of the girls he used to date wearing, but with some kind of shine and health and vitality that had his mouth filling with water and the rest of his body wanting to fuck.
Whistling a catcall, Jace rubbed at his dick again. “I had no idea what you were doing that was taking so long, but damn”—he grabbed her wrist and yanked her facedown across his lap— “it was worth it.”
Sarah squeaked as Jace bent her over his lap and bit her buttocks, and she felt Jasper's hand slide up the inside of her thigh. He reached the moisture already clinging to her panties and rubbed against her entrance through the fabric. She automatically contracted inside, reaching for more. Jace slipped his hand into the waistband and started peeling her panties down the hills of her ass, but Sarah rolled off him before she lost herself to the pleasure she found in these two men.
“Wait wait wait.” I almost forgot to ask again. She scrambled away and knelt in front of them, using her hands to ward them off. “I need to talk to you before we get naked and I become too distracted to think, let alone talk.” God, they both looked hot in her bed. She would think they were ready for sleep if not for the erections she could see clearly through Jasper's sweats and sticking out of Jace's underwear. Sarah linked her hands together to keep from touching all that solid muscle and hard flesh and took another step back so she didn't fold right down on her knees and reach for their cocks. “Move up to the headboard so I'm not so distracted by the testosterone pouring out of the two of you right now.”
Jace shifted back and drew a knee up. “What is it, honey?”
“Is everythin' okay?” Jasper shoved himself to the top of the bed and did the same. “I'm fine. I just… Listen.” She looked at Jace's and Jasper's handsome, puzzled
expressions. “I know it'll probably be lame and boring to the both of you, and I'll owe you each one, but I really want you to come and support my kids at the youth center on Saturday. They're going to have all their art hanging on the walls, framed and everything, and they're so excited and feel important, and I'm excited for them. I want a lot of people there offering positive feedback. Ty and I and some of the other volunteers have worked really hard to make this a fun event for the kids, but we're hoping to raise some money to get a few new programs going too, and I want him to succeed.
“You don't have to be there all day”—she rushed to explain—“but if you could at least take your lunch hours or clear a little more time, it would mean so much to me and the kids.” She crawled onto the bed again, knelt between their legs, and put a hand on a thigh of each man. “I know it's just a lot of standing around and being schmoozy with people, which I know is not something either of you particularly enjoy, but what do you say? Will you both come and be proud of me for a little while?”
“Is that what this was all about?” Jace asked. After she nodded, he said, “You know the boss wanted everyone to make a brief appearance, but I always planned on hanging around for a little while.” He turned her hand over and brought it to his mouth, pausing to kiss the center of her palm. “You were always my reason for being there.”
She melted inside into one giant, gooey mess when Jasper added, “Yeah. Caleb and Jake are
gonna be there talkin' to people about the bull-riding program they're gettin' started, and Cain and Luke are thinkin' about setting up somethin' with their horse rehabilitation stretch of the property. Caleb said anyone who was workin' and wanted to take some time away could, free and clear. I was plannin' on goin' before everything with Samuel happened.” He put his hand on her thigh and curled it inward, but didn't look away from her eyes. “I still wanna be there for you, if you want me.”
Pressure burned behind Sarah's eyes, but she managed to blink it away. “I do.” She leaned forward, brushed her lips against his, and then stayed to feel the warmth of his breath caress her skin. “Thank you.” She kissed him again, then moved to Jace, lingering against the hard line of his mouth as she whispered, “Thank you,” to him too.
When she went to pull away, Jace held her close, his mouth against her cheek. “Jasper has been raging for you from the second you walked into this room looking like a fucking centerfold. His dick is hard as a pike. The question is”—Jace slipped his hands into the back of her panties to push them down her legs and off her body—“what does he want most? Your pussy or your ass?” In one move, he turned her around, sat her on his lap, her back to his chest, and spread her legs open with the force of his. The pungent scent of her arousal immediately permeated the air and had her glancing down at her spread legs. Jace ran his hand down her slit, drawing a gasp from her. He pressed harder with his thighs and pushed hers so far apart, her sex and asshole were both on complete display. He then fingered her pucker, producing the first spasm of memory in her rectum.
