On His Honor

by Jean Brashear

  Once that was accomplished, he’d face Sage with a cool head, playing the role of his life, the one where he wasn’t scared senseless, where he studied his partner and figured out how to either get rid of her…

  Or vanish himself.

  * * *

  JD TOOK HER TO ANTONE'S and introduced her to the blues. Memphis was solid blues territory, but she’d grown up on the opposite end of the state and had never taken much notice of that genre.

  “Those lyrics are downright dirty,” she marveled. “And here I thought blues was all about social injustice.”

  “Oh, honey…blues is about life. Just in coded language.” He drew her onto the dance floor and tugged her close. “With amazing vocals and world-class guitar playing. And every bit of it crawls right down where you live.”

  The floor wasn’t overcrowded, but she couldn’t find any reason on earth to move away from where their thighs brushed and their bodies entwined, responding to rhythms as primal as the act of love itself.

  “This music is made for hot summer nights,” she murmured in his ear.

  “And sweet, slow lovin’,” he agreed.

  She didn’t know how much time passed as they lost themselves in each other. Before she knew it, the band was playing last call. She and JD blinked at one another, climbing out of the spell of great music and all the ways in which dancing brought two people together.

  “You’re a really good dancer,” she said to him.

  “Easy to do when you’ve got an angel in your arms.”

  She tried to save herself before she went down for the third time. “You, sir, are an unregenerate flirt.”

  He brought their joined hands to his lips and brushed them over her fingers. “I’m not flirting, Violet. You’re the one who’s breaking my heart.” For a moment, who he was at his core looked out from those usually playful eyes.

  “I don’t want to,” she whispered. “I wish…”

  He shook his head to stop her. “Sometimes we don’t get our wishes, Hollywood. We just have to live in the moment and be grateful as hell we get that much. That’s what I’m trying to focus on.”

  “I’ll try, too.” But, oh, it was hard. “Can we go home, JD?” There was an odd expression on his face. She corrected herself quickly. “I mean…to your place.”

  “It’s yours for however long you can stay.” He tucked her into his side, and they walked out. As they neared his truck, he bent to her. “We have tonight. Let’s make it count.”

  She smiled up at him. And tried her best to forget anything beyond the next few hours.

  They went back to the house that felt more like home than anywhere she’d lived since she’d left Tennessee. They made love through the night, desperate and beautiful, fevered and savage…ragged and sweet…

  And exquisitely tender.

  * * *

  WHEN VIOLET AWOKE, SHE WAS ALONE. Soft pale light filtered through the window. She rolled over and opened her arms wide, her whole body awash in a dizzying sense of well-being.

  She looked up at the ceiling she’d teased JD about and smiled. So many images flickered through her mind, all of them filled with him. Some were fun, some were…delicious. Some were X-rated.

  So where was he?

  She rose and once again donned his shirt. Sniffed the air and detected the scent of coffee, which lured her downstairs. She padded through the kitchen, searched out a mug and poured some for herself. She leaned back against the counter and took the first, reviving sip.

  The man made excellent coffee.

  She’d like to tell him…if she could find him.

  Just then, the sound of his voice filtered in from the back. She crossed to one of the wavy windows and made out his form as he crouched on the porch and continued speaking.

  Was he talking to himself? He didn’t have a phone to his ear.

  Just then he rose, and she could see beyond him.

  A kitten, scrawny and pathetic, lapped at a saucer of milk.

  “Oh.” Unbidden, the sound came from her throat.

  JD pivoted and spotted her. Helplessly shrugged those bare, broad, yummy shoulders.

  She grinned and pointed to herself. Okay to come out there? she mouthed.

  He nodded, but put a finger to his lips for quiet. Carefully he backed away and opened the screen door for Violet to come through and join him.

  “Where did you get her? Or him,” she whispered. “Boy or girl?”

  “Haven’t checked,” he replied in a low voice. “I went out to get the paper, and it was outside yowling like crazy. I assumed it was just looking for its mother, so I watched for a few minutes, but no mother showed up. Then it spotted me, and came bounding over. I figure it belongs to somebody around here, but it’s too early to be knocking on doors and the thing wouldn’t stop crying, so…” He lifted both palms.

  She smiled up at him. “So Sir Galahad rescues another lost soul.”

  “Not really, not—” He broke off when she laughed. “Cut it out. I’m no hero, I just…”

  “Rescue damsels and kittens in your spare time.”

  His cheeks took on charming color. “Quit that.” He grabbed her mug. “Gimme. I never got my coffee.” He sipped then made a face. “Christ on a crutch, how can you drink it sweet like that?”

  “Then give it back. You don’t use sugar? I couldn’t find any sweetener.”

  “Cop coffee is never sweetened.”

  “Wouldn’t be macho enough?”

  He grinned. “Nope. The stuff at the station is beyond redemption, anyway. No amount of sugar or milk can fix that diesel oil. And you don’t always have the time. You just learn to be thankful for the caffeine and ignore the rest.”

  “Really.” She smiled at him over the rim. “For someone who’s apparently so used to the bad stuff, you make an amazing cup of coffee.”

  “Guests deserve better treatment…especially certain guests. You know, pampered movie stars, for instance.”

  Before she could argue, he dipped his head and kissed her. “Good morning.”

  “Good morning.” Oh, lordy, those kisses were as lethal at dawn as in the depths of midnight.

  “Want to sit in my porch swing with me, Hollywood? I’ll get a cup and join you. You’re on cat-watching duty until I get back.”

  She blinked. She’d already forgotten the kitten. Oh, man, he got to her in more ways than she could count.

  Instead of sitting down, though, she set her mug on the porch railing and crouched near where the kitten was lapping milk, though not too close.

  Then she couldn’t resist. Just one little touch…she reached for the kitten, but it jumped and hissed.

  Then it started batting at her finger.

  She remembered this, the hours and hours she’d spent playing with her own kitten as a girl. She glanced around her for something to use as a toy and found a twig that had fallen from one of the trees shading this beautiful old porch. She brushed it along the floorboards while the kitten stared, mesmerized.

  Then it pounced. Violet chuckled and kept dodging and darting the stick around, drawing the kitten closer and closer until finally she could drop the twig and stroke one finger down the spiny little backbone while the kitten attacked the vicious enemy.

  A few more strokes, then the kitten stopped attacking and arched its back against her hand, purring like a tiny motor. She scooped it up and held it against her, the vibration of the purr making her smile. She lifted it up, and a quick glimpse answered their question. “Where’s your mama, little girl?” she asked as she cuddled the small gray and white. The kitten let her cuddle and pet her for a couple of minutes, then Violet’s hair swung too temptingly, and the kitten leaped. Her claws tightened and she clung for dear life, frantically tryin
g to climb upward to something stable…in this case, Violet’s scalp.

  “Ow!” The yank on the roots of her hair made her eyes tear. She tried fruitlessly to untangle the kitten, who was getting ever more entrapped as she struggled.

  Behind her, JD’s laughter warmed her. “Want some help there?” He set his mug down and knelt beside her, using one hand to capture the kitten and still it while the other held onto Violet’s hair before it could be yanked out by the roots. The kitten yelped, and JD nearly dropped her, setting up a further struggle. “Hang on,” he said. “I’ve nearly got it free…ta da!” He held the kitten up in triumph, but a tiny screech had him instinctively bringing the cat to his chest.

  Immediately the kitten rubbed her head against him and resumed purring.

  Violet completely understood the reaction, surrounded by him as she was. One powerful thigh brushed her back, his other leg bracketing her where he crouched on one knee and held her within the vee of his legs.

  She shivered. Never in her life had she felt the potent combination of being both protected by and so powerfully attracted to a man. JD made her feel safe…but in some thoroughly delicious ways, not safe at all.

  “Are you all right?” His eyes were bright with both concern and suppressed humor. “I can’t really blame the kitten for wanting to get lost in that beautiful hair. I’ve wanted to just roll around in it myself.” Humor quickly slid into heat.

  “Her,” Violet said absently, lost in his eyes.

  “Oh.” JD’s were locked on hers as his head lowered until his lips brushed hers. “Did I say good morning?” His voice was husky.

  “Yes, but don’t let that stop you,” she murmured, stretching upward into him like a daisy reaching for the sun.

  A screech jerked them apart.

  They shared a laugh, and Violet realized then just how seductive shared laughter could be.

  JD set the kitten down by the dish of milk, and she returned to her eager lapping.

  He didn’t move away but stayed right where he was, surrounding Violet with a warmth that was both physical and an indelible part of his personality. He slid his fingers into Violet’s hair, cradling the back of her head as he watched her solemnly. “Now,” he said, his voice low and intense, “where were we?”

  “A proper good morning,” she said, staring at that mouth that had given her so much pleasure already.

  “Right.” He bent to her, cupping her cheek with his free hand and stroking her skin with his thumb. “Let me know when I get it right,” he murmured.

  She closed her eyes and sank into his kiss. Small sips at first, then faint, tantalizing tracing with his tongue until her nipples ached and her body trembled with need for him. “JD…” she said against his mouth. Then she rose to her knees and took the lead.

  “God—” he gasped when they both came up for air. “You absolutely kill me, Violet.” He clasped her head in his hands and restrained her. “You are so damn sweet. I wish…”

  His eyes were dark and sad and a little haunted. She understood completely. Hadn’t she started that same sentence? She was bewildered by how quickly this had accelerated, since she’d sworn never to fall hard and fast again.

  But this was JD, and he was, she realized more every second they spent together…special. Absolutely unique.

  She could trust him, surely. His background was like hers. He came from the same kind of people, the same moral code. He’d shown in the last couple of days that he was a Boy Scout, he was John Wayne, he was Sir Galahad.

  “Violet…we have to talk. I—”

  “No.” She stopped his words with her fingers, replaced them with her lips. “You make me believe in dreams again.” Another kiss, then she threw her arms around his neck and whispered in his ear, “Let’s enjoy the magic.”

  He crushed her to him with a fervor that gave her hope. He pressed his face into her hair and held on so tightly she could barely breathe.

  The very thought of saying goodbye to him sent an agonizing pain stabbing straight to her heart.

  She used every last bit of strength she had to hold on and not beg.

  Inside on the kitchen counter, his phone rang. She started to release him, but he only lifted his head and looked at her with an echoing pain in his own eyes. “I don’t care who’s calling.”

  Fiercely he kissed her, and they let their bodies speak, letting them drown out the words neither wanted to hear.

  And when her cell chimed, ruthlessly she ignored it, as well.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  AVERY STOOD IN HIS OFFICE and listened to Violet’s phone ring then go to voice mail. Damn it, Violet, pick up! Where the hell are you?

  He didn’t want to leave a message, but he was afraid not to. “Violet, I know it’s early, but I have to talk to you. It’s important. Call me back the second you get this.” He disconnected and stood at the one-way glass, staring out at the darkened club, trying to think his way through an alternate plan if it turned out that he had to go over to the hotel to talk to Violet in person.

  The connecting door opened. Sage strolled in.

  “Pretty early for you, isn’t it?” he asked.

  “I never left. Someone has to take care of things around here.”

  “Yeah, like you took care of Bately?”

  “I don’t know what you mean,” she said coolly.

  “The hell you don’t.” Rage swept over him. “What were you thinking? Aren’t we in this deep enough, Sage? Now, thanks to you, we could have cops looking at us for murder?”

  “Us?” She arched an eyebrow. “I wasn’t at that warehouse. You own it. There’s no connection to me.”

  Fear stabbed an icy finger in his gut. “What are you saying?”

  “You didn’t think I was smart enough to know you were cooking up a little side venture and leaving me out?” Her expression was withering contempt. “I’m the smart one, Avery. You’re only the greedy one.” She turned toward her office. “And I don’t need you anymore.”

  The shock staggered him for a moment, then fury came to his rescue. “I’m all that’s kept us from going down already. You’re impetuous, and your impulses are going to get both of us killed. Lima listens to me, not you—”

  “Are you so sure of that?” She examined her manicure. “The pieces on the board are changing.” A smug lift of an eyebrow. “And you lack some essential assets Jorge likes very much.”

  “You—” He blinked. “You’re screwing him? You whore.” His hand made a fist.

  “Touch me, and your little girlfriend is dead meat.”

  “What?” Horror made all his muscles go lax. “No.”

  “Did you think I wasn’t having you followed when you conveniently disappeared every day? When I already knew you were double-crossing me?” Her smile was vicious. “Imagine that…Violet James…” She stared upward, her expression calculating. “I wonder what the gossip rags will say about her when they find out America’s Sweetheart is connected to a sordid little murder in Houston. Poor thing, she doesn’t choose men well at all, does she?”

  “You leave Violet alone.” He took a menacing step toward Sage. “She’s got nothing to do with this. You’d better not harm one hair on her head. If I hear the slightest whisper about her…”

  “You’ll what? I could have her picked up—” She snapped her fingers. “Like that. I could make things much, much worse for her than simple rumors. At a minimum, won’t she be distraught to find out her lover is a criminal?”

  “We’re not lovers,” he snapped. “She’s…” If he said she was his best friend, would that put her in even greater danger? His blood went cold with dread. Violet was the only good thing in his life.

  He had to turn this confrontation way, way down, so he shrugged negligently. “She’
s only someone I knew in L.A. She did me some favors back there, and I owed her. But there’s nothing between us.”

  “Then why the threats?” Her eyes narrowed.

  Terror for Violet gripped him. He had to do more to soothe Sage. “Look, I’m sorry. It’s—” he exhaled heavily “—been a long day. A long drive.” Apologizing to her stuck in his craw, but the stakes of not appeasing her were too high. “Violet’s a nice person, that’s all.” A quick smile of conspirators. “Something neither of us knows much about.” He watched Sage carefully, and when her posture eased, he took his first real breath. “She’s had some hard times lately. She needed to get away, and she asked me about Austin. So when she decided to come here, I couldn’t just ignore her.”

  Sage shrugged then, but he knew she was still a viper poised to strike; he couldn’t discount the threat she presented. “Poor little rich girl. Boo hoo.”

  “I feel a sense of debt to her—and, anyway, think about it, Sage. If I keep my connections with Violet, we could go out to L.A. sometime. I could introduce you. She’d give us access to all the best parties. You could meet anyone you wanted to.” Appealing to Sage’s vanity was never a bad move. Take the bait, Sage. Leave her alone.

  “Maybe.” But he could see her calculating the possible benefit.

  He seized the moment to buy himself some time, too. “Look, you were right to do what you did, I get that now. Bately would have talked. And, yeah, he was trying to get me involved in a side deal, but I’d already told him you and I are partners and there was no way I was cutting you out. That’s why I wanted to be the one to talk to him.” He was spinning lies like crazy, hoping she’d buy it. Sage wasn’t stupid, but she wasn’t completely rational, either, and her immense ego could override her brain. “I had to work on Bately some more so he’d understand how important you were to making the deal work.”

  She stared at him, but her eyes were the flat, empty stare of a predator. “Don’t you ever call me a whore, Avery. I simply have assets it would be foolish to disregard. Sex is no big deal, after all.” Her shoulders relaxed a little, but he didn’t let himself relax, not yet. Then she smiled. “You certainly enjoyed my…assets once.”