Raine

by J.C. Valentine

Raine’s mouth dropped open, and Jarret took full advantage, swooping in to steal a kiss. His mouth crushed hers, his tongue darting in, and teeth nipping playfully on her bottom lip. When he was finished, Raine’s breathing was labored and her nails were embedded in his shirt. He’d probably have marks on his shoulders from them, but he’d wear them with pride, a reminder of how easily and deeply he affected her with just his kiss.

  Releasing her, Jarret returned to his late night breakfast, added milk, and headed for the living room. “Property Brothers is on in five minutes. Grab a snack and get your ass in here before all the seats are taken.”

  As if there was anyone else besides them in the house. Just like that, his dour mood was forgotten.

  Refilling her glass with ice water to help cool the fire burning inside of her, Raine rushed after him. Tonight, she would learn how to turn a house into a piece of art.

  TWELVE

  The television clicked off, plunging the room into silence. Outside, the wind kicked up, and the house braced itself for the chilly December air. Jarrett turned to Raine, studying her. “What do you want to do now?”

  He’d spent the last hour lost in thought, responding to Raine’s comments on the show with little consideration to what he was saying. The truth of the matter was he had been thinking a lot. Camron had given him reason to, and it was all Jarrett could do not to confront Raine about his concerns. He didn’t want to be a dick about it. If it could be helped, he wanted to find a way to draw the answers from her, avoid a fight if at all possible. The last thing he wanted was for Raine to see him as the bad guy, and that would be all too easy to do if he put her on the defensive.

  So he came up with a plan.

  Raine shrugged at his question. “I don’t know. What do you want to do?”

  He pretended to think about it, but it was just a formality. The speed of his answer revealed that he already had something in mind. “Truth or dare. You go first.”

  Pursing her lips, Raine appeared unsure, but she was a good sport about it, despite her obvious doubts. “Okay, truth or dare?”

  “Dare.” Jarret enjoyed having fun, and he never shied away from a challenge.

  “I dare you to… tell me a secret.”

  Jarret looked at her in disbelief. “Lame. Okay, a secret.” He thought it over, and then grinned. “I’ve wanted to touch you since the moment I laid eyes on you.”

  “You touch me all the time.” Raine rolled her eyes.

  Jarret’s expression darkened. “Not that kind of touch, Peach.” Her gaze turned shy and dropped to her lap and Jarret decided to let her off the hook. “Truth or dare?”

  “Truth.” Jarret’s brow arched up and Raine mirrored his expression. “What?”

  “Nothing,” he said, shaking his head. “Okay, truth. How many boyfriends have you had?”

  “One.”

  “Ever?”

  “Yes. My turn. Truth or dare?”

  So she didn’t want to elaborate. That was fine. Jarret smirked. He’d just have to choose his words wisely. “Dare.”

  She rolled her eyes again. “You’re so predictable.”

  “Fine,” Jarret said, growing serious, “truth.”

  “Why don’t you hang up any of your paintings?”

  “Because they’re garbage. Truth or dare?”

  “That’s not true. They’re wonderful. You have a real talent, Jarret—”

  “I answered the question, now it’s your turn. Truth or dare?” He didn’t intend to be rude, but his paintings were the last thing he wanted to talk about.

  “Okay, dare.”

  “I dare you to kiss me.”

  “I’m too fat to get up. You’ll have to come to me.”

  Narrowing his eyes, Jarret crawled across the floor and knelt in front of her. “Lay it on me, baby.” Leaning in, Raine held his face in her hands…and kissed the tip of his nose.

  “Truth or dare?” she asked, smiling cheekily.

  “You’re such a tease. Truth.”

  Suddenly, the mood in the room changed. “Why did you really want me to live with you? Was it just so you could keep tabs on me for your brother?”

  Hearing the attitude in her tone, and surprised by the sudden and unexpected attack, Jarret frowned. What was up with that? “That’s two questions,” he observed.

  “Then pick one.”

  Maybe she saw the same opportunity he did and planned to use the game as a way to get answers from him? Fine, two could play. “Alright, why did I want you here? One, because it gets damn lonely living in this huge ass house with no one to talk to. Two, because that dump you call an apartment isn’t fit even for the cockroaches. And three, because every time I think about you I see you naked and in my bed. Is that what you wanted to hear?” His breathing was labored, his blood simmering. He hadn’t expected to say the last part, but it was the truth, and he’d be a liar if he said he wasn’t curious to see her reaction.

  Brown eyes burning, Raine glared at him. She didn’t wait for him to ask her the question. “Truth. I can’t stop thinking about you either.”

  Oh, shit. She hadn’t just said that. Jarret gripped the arm of the sofa to keep from pouncing on her. “Truth. I’m not keeping tabs. Camron has nothing to do with you being here.” Except that wasn’t true and they both knew it. If his brother hadn’t knocked her up, they wouldn’t be sitting here now.

  She tipped her head in acknowledgement. “Truth. This is the first time I can honestly say I’m glad I’ve been dealt these cards. These have been the best weeks I’ve had in a long time.”

  Her eyes sparkled and Jarret’s body twitched in response, wanting to grab her up and hold her close. But he needed to get back on track. He needed answers. “Truth. How close were you and my brother? Did you love him?” That was two questions, but screw it, he didn’t care, and she didn’t seem to notice anyway.

  “We dated for almost three months. I was in love with him, but I guess he didn’t feel the same way about me.” She snorted and petted her hands over her small, round bump. “That’s a bit of an understatement. Once he got what he wanted, he couldn’t get away from me fast enough.” She looked up at him, her cheeks flushed. “What about you? Have you ever been in love?”

  “No,” he replied, and it was the truth. “I’ve never found anyone worth giving that part of myself to.” He allowed a moment of silence while they both reflected on their confessions, then directed another question at her. “Truth. Camron is the only boyfriend you’ve had,” he surmised. “So he was also your first?”

  Her face growing a deeper shade of crimson, Raine nodded. “Yes, he was my first everything.”

  Jealously gripped him. Jarret hated the idea that his brother, or anyone, had touched her the way he wanted to touch her. “Did you like it?” What kind of question was that? The way Raine’s head snapped up told him she was asking herself the same question, but whatever, he’d said it and there was no taking it back. He raised his eyebrow, waiting.

  “Yes,” she snapped, “I liked it. At first.”

  “What do you mean, at first?”

  Avoiding his eyes, she brushed her hands over her clothes. “Nothing. It’s getting late. I’m tired.” She started to stand.

  Reaching out, Jarret snagged her arm and pulled her back down. “Don’t run away from me. I need to know what you meant.” Camron claimed she was a whore and tricked him into getting her pregnant, but he just couldn’t see that side of her, and her words sparked a sense of foreboding in him that demanded answers.

  “Did you just grow apart? Did you have a fight? Please, Raine, I have to know. What did you mean by at first?”

  “Why do you have to know? Why is knowing so damn important?” she snarled at him.

  Jarret’s grip on her arm tightened. His eyes held hers, pleading. Why was this so important to him? He wasn’t sure. It just… was. “Please.”

  Glaring at him, Raine looked as if she wanted to spit in his face. Or slap him. Instead, she bit out, “He treated me lik
e I was the only person in the world that mattered to him. He took me everywhere, introduced me to all his friends, and then he…” Her breath hitched and her brows drew together. She looked like she might hyperventilate. “I can’t. Jarret,” she begged, “I can’t. Don’t ask me to.”

  Don’t ask him to what? Panic rose up in him, as if his body knew the answer his mind refused to provide. Stroking his knuckles over her cheek, Jarret cursed himself. “Camron said you’re trying to trap him. That it’s not his baby.” And that she would use her situation to trap Jarret too, but he wasn’t about to voice those words, not when it looked like she was on the verge of shattering into pieces.

  Her eyes gleamed, but the sudden hardening of her expression kept her tears from falling. “Camron is a liar, and if you knew the half of it, you wouldn’t have even asked.”

  “Then tell me your half,” Jarret urged. “Tell me what I don’t know so I can understand.”

  Her expression stricken, Raine shook her head and tore away from him, leaving him alone on the couch. “I’m sorry, but I—I can’t do this.” Then she ran up the stairs, slamming her bedroom door so hard the pictures lining the stairs rattled.

  Lying back, Jarret stared up at the ceiling feeling drained. He shouldn’t have pushed her. Now she didn’t want to talk to him either. Would she even want to stay with him anymore? The idea of her leaving twisted his insides into knots. She couldn’t leave him.

  The desperation of his thoughts caught Jarret off guard. Where the hell had that come from? Why should he care if she left? Because she would be putting his niece or nephew in danger, that’s why. But a little voice in the back of his mind whispered that he was lying to himself if he really thought that was the reason he wanted to keep her around.

  If she left, he’d be devastated because… he wanted to keep her for himself. Only, she wasn’t his to keep. Grabbing a pillow from the couch, he whipped it at the wall. “Fuck!”

  ***

  It was late in the evening when Raine finally gathered up enough courage to venture from her room. The strong smell of paint fumes still clinging to the air in the hallway led her toward the nursery. In just a few short months, she would be meeting her child for the first time, and most likely, he or she would never see the room Jarret was creating for them.

  With sadness in her heart, she stepped into the room and froze in place. Jarret sat on the far side of the room, his legs crossed beneath him. In his hand he held a standard pencil, his concentration absolute as he sketched something on the light yellow wall that was struck just right by the failing light coming in through the window that it obstructed her view.

  Whatever he was drawing, she could tell that it was important. And it would be beautiful, she was sure of it.

  She wasn’t sure how long she stood there watching him, but it was long enough that by the time he finished, her feet and back were killing her. Standing, Jarret stretched his arms over his head. Raine admired him from where she stood in the door, watching his long, lithe form lengthen and the muscles beneath his tanned flesh flex with each movement.

  Stepping back to appraise his work, Jarret tilted his head from side to side. Raine, unable to stay quiet any longer, broke the silence. “What is it going to be?”

  “Fuck!” Jarret just about hit the ceiling fan, he jumped so high. “Damn it, woman,” he cursed again, throwing the pencil at the floor. It clattered against the hardwood then rolled to a stop beside a bucket of paint. “Make some noise before you give a man a heart attack, would ya?”

  She couldn’t help herself. She laughed. “I’m sorry. I had no idea you were so skittish.”

  “I’m not skittish.” Jarret glowered at her. Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Jarret retrieved the pencil and tucked it behind his ear. “I thought you went to bed.”

  “I took a nap,” Raine said sheepishly. “But then I got hungry.”

  Jarret snorted and pushed past her, heading down the stairs to the first floor. “When are you ever not hungry?” She followed him into the kitchen and waited while he washed the lead smudges from his hands in the sink. Drying his hands on a towel, he turned to face her. “It’s going to be zoo animals,” he explained quickly, “but I really don’t know where I’m going with it right now. What are you in the mood for?”

  A cow. A horse. A little piggy or two. She wasn’t picky, just starving. “I could go for just about anything,” Raine said vaguely.

  “So you’re good with deep fried octopus tentacles. It’s good to know you’re so adventurous.”

  Raine scrunched her nose at him. “That’s disgusting.” And absolutely not what she considered being part of the five food groups.

  “How do you know if you’ve never tried it?”

  “Have you?” Raine challenged.

  “Hell no! What kind of sicko do you take me for? I’m a burgers and beer kind of guy.”

  “Okay, Mr. Burgers and Beer.” Raine chuckled. “Then how about a steak house? My treat.”

  “Go Dutch?” Jarret looked offended. “Again, what kind of man do you take me for? No woman who eats with me pays for me. You can leave your wallet in your room.”

  “That is such an antiquated thing to say,” Raine remarked, even though she didn’t plan on arguing the point any further. The fact was that she needed to save up as much money as possible before going back home, so if he insisted on paying for dinner, then she wasn’t going to say no.

  “But,” she added, just to be contrary, “if you get to pay for dinner, I get to pick the place. And I get to drive.” His SUV, of course, since he had yet to finished the repairs on her car.

  One black brow arched high. “So not only do I get to pay,” he said, with some amusement, “but depending on what you consider to be good food, I get to risk my health along with my life?”

  “Was that a knock at my driving skills?”

  Ignoring her question, Jarret continued. “Let me pose another option. I pay, you can choose where we eat within a given radius, and I drive.”

  “No deal.” Raine’s hair whipped across her shoulders as she shook her head. “You pay, I choose the place, and you will be blindfolded and mute the whole way there while I drive.”

  “That’s not reasonable at all,” Jarret complained.

  Slipping into her ballet flats, Raine pulled on her coat and looped her purse over her shoulder and lead the way outside, continuing their debate. “What would you consider reasonable then?”

  Sliding into the passenger seat, Jarret clicked on his seat belt. “I pay, you give me a choice of three places and I decide where we go, and I’ll let you drive.”

  “I’m already driving,” Raine pointed out as she backed down the drive. “But since you are being so nice about it, I’ll let you choose.”

  Giving him the choice of three well-known steak houses in the area, Jarret was effectively pigeonholed, and his wide, heart-stopping grin said he knew it, too.

  Reaching out, Jarret scooped up her hand in his and kissed the back of it. “I know you still have your heart set on leaving me when this is all done and over, but, Raine, this is just the beginning. After tonight, you’ll be asking yourself how you ever lived without me.”

  THIRTEEN

  Jarret’s arms felt amazing wrapped around her from behind. His cheek pressed against the side of her neck, his chin resting on her shoulder as they swayed to the music, uncaring of the beat. Even at almost six months pregnant and retaining water like the Hoover Dam, Raine felt pretty, sensual. Sexy even.

  It could have something to do with R. Kelly seeing nothing wrong with a little bump and grind. Combine his less-than-poetic lyrics with Jarret’s playful, yet erotic moves, and Raine was lost.

  Jarret was right. The night had ended hours ago, and she was asking herself how she’d gone this long without him in her life.

  He was incredible. More than she ever could have expected or hope for. He wasn’t hers, but he acted as if she belonged to him. The way he looked at her, touched her, spoke to her to
ld her that she was more than just his brother’s ex-girlfriend. In fact, most days, that didn’t seem to be a second thought in his head. He never brought it up, unless his brother came around to remind him, but thankfully, since Jarret clocked Camron in the face, he hadn’t dared try.

  So, Raine was living the dream. A carefully manufactured dream where Jarret was her man, they were a family, and most importantly, they were happy.

  And they were happy.

  Even steel wool wouldn’t be strong enough to scrub the smile from her face. It felt permanently etched there, and it was a wonderful feeling.

  Splaying his hands over her stomach, Jarret quietly sang the song in her ear, his hot breath whispering across her flesh. The lyrics made her flush, but not from embarrassment. The naughty, forbidden, intimate words said from one lover to another made Jarret’s desires painfully clear. He wanted her, was telling her what he wanted to do with her, to her… and she wasn’t saying no.

  Her body was responding to his words, every cell lighting on fire with a craving for him, and him alone. She shouldn’t want him the way she did. Not after Camron. Not just because of whom he was to Jarret, but also because of what he had done to her. He’d tarnished her—body, mind, and soul—and she’d never thought she’d be able to put that kind of trust in another man again. Especially not so soon.

  But Jarret was different. He was unexpected. She thought she’d put up boundaries, fortifying them with hated memories, but her walls were no match for someone like him. Jarret was the exception to the rule…

  …and she was perilously close to falling for him.

  Nuzzling her cheek against his, Raine closed her eyes and inhaled the clean scent of Jarret’s aftershave mixed with the bitter smell of beer on his breath. She’d never thought she’d think the smell of beer was sexy, but Jarret could make anything sexy, and it made her want to tear his clothes off and do bad things to him.

  Yep, this pregnancy thing was seriously jacking with her hormones. Down, girl.

  “You’re so sexy, Raine. So round and beautiful.”