by Chandra Ryan
“I can’t stand out here and let someone burn to death. That the suppression system hasn’t sealed it off means they’re still alive. There’s still a chance.”
“Please. Let the sheriff go in.” She didn’t think she could live if she had to watch him race to his own death.
“He’s busy looking for Jake. I need to do this, Kat.”
Stan started to walk away from Jasper with her still in his arms. “Put me down.” But he wouldn’t. “Don’t you go back in that house, Jasper.” Only, just as she suspected he would, he did. And, just as she knew it would, her heart broke as she watched him go.
Chapter Six
This was the second time in thirty-six hours he’d plunged into a fire in the hopes of saving someone. Not even he could miss the universal context of the rescues. This had to be some karmic punishment for wanting to be the hero. If he hadn’t been so upset by Kat’s “compliment” that first night, none of this would probably be happening.
Of course, according to Kat, Jake held some of the guilt as well. Not that blame changed Jasper’s current circumstances. The fire consumed the house around him as he went from room to room, checking for the trapped person. If he didn’t stay focused, he would become trapped. At least he’d made good time so far. He’d already made his way through the kitchen and was now in the computer room. This was the heart of the house’s automated systems. Heating, cooling, air filtration and—of course—the fire suppression systems were all housed here. The quiet humming would’ve been comforting under different circumstances. Things being what they were, the noise put him on edge. Still, he pressed on. He walked around a large compression unit before finally seeing the other person.
Jake lay sprawled out on the floor of the office area, pinned under a bookshelf. “Thank goodness someone found me. I had just grabbed a book Kat meant to lend me when the alarm went off.”
“So you did what any sane person would and tried to climb the bookshelf?” He made his way toward the man warily.
“Can you please just get this thing off me? It weighs a ton.”
The smoke wasn’t bad in the room yet. And when Jasper looked up he could easily see the safe door hanging open just above where the top shelf of the bookshelf would be. When it was upright, of course. “Were you rifling through Kat’s things?”
“Of course not. Someone else must have been in here before me.”
As if he believed that. Jasper took off the fire mask for a moment so he could get a better look at the scene around him. If the man had been going through Kat’s stuff, Jasper would bet a month’s salary that Jake had been looking for something specific. A data chip lying just out of Jake’s reach on the floor caught Jasper’s attention. “So when I put this in my reader, it won’t be anything important to Kat or her ranch?”
“How should I know what’s on it? I’ve never seen that chip. Now are you going to get this off me?”
He should help the man. They had to get out of the house. But Jasper needed all the facts before he made his next move. He dug his reader out of his pocket and slid the chip into the device. He almost wished he were surprised when the legal deed to Kat’s land popped up on his reader. If Kat were dead and Loase got his hands on the deed, there would be no stopping the politician. “You were going to burn her to death in her own damn house just to steal her land?”
Jake pushed against the bookshelf and then cursed at his inability to move it. “Yes. Fine. I tried everything else first though.” The man said the words as if they somehow made attempted murder justified. “I made an offer on the ranch when her parents died but she wouldn’t have it. Then I tried to scare her a bit. But she refused to budge. Mark was just as stubborn.”
“Which is why you killed him,” Jasper guessed.
“He’d discovered the inomoniam. He would have eventually realized you weren’t the one working with Loase.”
So the ranch hand had been innocent. Poor bastard had probably been surprised when he discovered who the rat really was. “You’ll stop at nothing to get this land from Kat.”
He looked up at Jasper, his eyes cold and calculating. “I made promises to people. People who will kill me if I don’t deliver.”
“I don’t think you have to worry about those people anymore.” A cold rage had filled Jasper as he listened to Jake. If he saved Jake, the man would only turn on Kat again. And if Jake waited until after Jasper had left to strike again, who would be here to protect her? In a perfect world, Jake would go to prison and would never bother anyone ever again. But the world they lived in was far from perfect. His father had taught him that. Even if there were enough evidence to convict Jake, Loase would most likely work out a deal to get Jake out just so he wouldn’t turn evidence on the representative. Jasper couldn’t leave Kat in such a vulnerable situation. He turned and started to walk away, leaving the man behind.
“Wait,” Jake yelled. “Don’t leave me here. I have information. You need me. Don’t you want to know what they’re going to do with all that H8?”
The fire had already spread to the computer room. He needed to get out of here if he was going to survive. And he had every intention of surviving. “If they told you, chances are someone else knows.”
“But you’re one of those do-gooders. You can’t leave me here,” Jake said.
“Believe me when I say, this is my good deed for the day.” He walked out of the room. The fire hadn’t devoured the kitchen yet so it only took him a moment to run across it to the back door. Once he made it outside, he pushed the safety bypass. He heard an anguished cry from the front of the house as the fire walls slammed down to seal off the house and, not wanting Kat to worry any more than she already had, he raced to the front yard. Relief filled him as he found her still cradled safely in Stan’s arms. Stan nodded at Jasper as he walked toward them, but Kat didn’t seem to notice. Her attention stayed focused on the house.
He tore off his mask and continued walking over to her slowly. When he got about ten feet from her, she finally turned to face him. “But… The doors… They’re sealed. Someone hit the safety bypass.”
“I did.” He turned to the sheriff to say, “It was Jake in the house but I couldn’t save him.” It was the truth but not in the way they would interpret it. He could almost hear his father’s voice as he justified the answer, but he refused to feel guilty about the half-truth, knowing Kat would be safe. “I found this near him.” He handed the data chip of her deed to Kat and then held his arms out to her.
She took the chip from him and then went gladly into his arms. “I’m so glad you’re okay. When the sheriff couldn’t find Jake, I thought… I thought…” She buried her face into his shoulder as she shuddered.
“It’s okay. I’m here.” He held her to him as she snuggled into his neck. “And I’m not going anywhere.”
She laughed softly as she pulled away from him. “You’re going to have to go somewhere eventually.”
His heart stopped at her words.
“I mean, you can’t very well stand out here all night.”
He let out the breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. When had the thought of leaving become physically painful? He shook off the question as he stared down at her. “I’m sorry I didn’t get to you in time to save the house.”
“It’s okay. It’s only a house. It can be rebuilt. And a couple of the cabins my ranch hands use are empty. So we have someplace to stay in the meantime.”
“Is there a bed?” After everything that’d happened, everything he’d done that night, he needed her wrapped around him.
“There is.”
He looked at the sheriff but the man shooed him away. “We’ll do a preliminary investigation tonight but we don’t need you two for anything. Go, get some rest. It’s been a rough couple of days.”
“Thank you.” He shook hands the best he could with the sheriff while carrying Kat and then started walking toward the small collection of cabins.
“Number three is empty right now,” she said as they approac
hed the small houses.
As he pushed open the door he noticed a slightly musty smell, but as he walked into the main room it looked orderly and well-kept. “Is there a shower?”
“There is, but I think I’m stuck taking baths.” She pointed at her foot. “I don’t think I trust myself to stand long enough to take a shower.”
“Okay. I’m flexible. Is there a bathtub?”
She nuzzled his neck as she pointed toward the door on the opposite side of the room. He carried her through it not knowing what to expect but was delighted to find a decent-sized bathroom on the other side. Nothing opulent—it had a combined shower and tub—but they didn’t need opulence right now.
He sat her down on the tub’s edge and then began running a bath for her. It took some wiggling and shimmying to get her out of her clothes, but he wasn’t complaining. Actually he found the whole process rather captivating.
She removed the ankle brace last and then sank into the warm water with a sigh of contentment. She scooted down until the water lapped at the underside of her breasts and closed her eyes. “This is bliss.”
He smiled as he studied her curves under the pristine water. “I agree.”
She splashed a little water in his direction without opening her eyes but her smile assured him she was only teasing. “Why don’t you make yourself useful and grab a washcloth out of the closet?”
He skimmed a hand up her thigh to her sex. “Oh I can think of much better ways to be useful.”
“Is that so?” Her eyes opened slowly to reveal the heat of desire in them.
He cupped her breast with his other hand as he slid a finger through the lips of her pussy. “If you disagree, though, I’d be happy to get the washcloth for you.” He pulled away from her just to hear her gasp of distress.
“Tease.” She licked her top lip and then moved her hand down her body. “Two can play at that game.”
His stomach fell as he watched her spread her thighs to accommodate her hand. “You were wrong. This is bliss,” he said as she began stroking her clit.
“And let me think. Where was your other hand?” She winked at him as she began cupping her breast. “That’s right. Don’t believe you’d gotten around to this though,” she added as she pinched her nipple between her thumb and first finger.
“Nope. Hadn’t gotten to that yet.” His throat was dry and it caused his voice to crack a little.
The woman had no mercy as she stroked her clit and played with her nipple in front of him. He ached with the need to touch himself to relieve some of the tension and hunger that grew inside him as he watched the highly erotic show she put on for him.
She quirked an eyebrow as he unzipped his pants, but then smiled as he started stroking his already hard cock. “Do you enjoy watching?”
“I enjoy doing everything with you. Watching, touching,” he said as he ran a finger over her breast. “But I especially like tasting.” He leaned over the tub to take her nipple into his mouth.
Her moan pulled his attention away from her breast. He was helpless to do anything but watch as she pushed two fingers inside her sex. He wouldn’t be able to keep his control for much longer. He wanted her so badly. And so little separated him from her. It took all of his resolve not to stoop over and pluck her out of the tub so he could take her against the nearest wall.
He really needed to speed things along before he finished in his own damn hand. He stood and made his way over to the closet with his pants still unfastened. When he returned, he threw a washcloth at her and said, “You’ve got five minutes. Then you can either join me out here or I’ll climb in there with you.”
“Five minutes, huh?” She soaped up the washcloth and then started sliding it over her water-slicked skin. “I’m not sure that’ll be enough time for me to get good and clean.”
He was done playing though. Every second she spent in the tub without him was painful. “Lean forward.” He took the washcloth from her and began to soap up her back.
She laughed. “Decided to rush things along?”
“Just trying to get to the good parts.” He ran the washcloth over her shoulder and then trailed it around the swell of her breasts. “And this is one of my favorites.”
“I would’ve never guessed.” The water sloshed around her as she settled back against the tub wall.
He continued his explorations by skimming the washcloth over her ribs. He loved the way her skin broke out in goose bumps under the soft cloth. “I’m also pretty partial to this part.” As he swirled the washcloth around her bellybutton, she shivered and closed her eyes.
“I like that part too,” she said. Her hands curled around the edge of the tub as he dragged the cloth lower.
“And this.” He caressed the cleft of her sex first and then her inner thighs, encouraging her to spread her legs wider for him. Once she did, he released the washcloth so he could feel her heat with his fingers. “The thought of touching you has had me hard all day.”
She sat up and held her arms out to him. “I do believe my five minutes are up.”
He pulled her out of the tub and then wrapped her in a thick towel. “So how’s your ankle holding up?”
“It’s feeling much better.”
He carried her snuggled in his arms from the bathroom to the bedroom, where he let her towel slip to the floor. “I do believe it’s tomorrow. It’s early, but technically still a new day. Which means, as long you don’t put weight on that ankle, we should be good.”
“And how are you planning on keeping me from putting any weight on it?” She wrapped her arms around his neck as if anticipating his next move.
With a quick movement he had her straddling his hips with his hands under her ass to support her weight. “This feels pretty good.” He took a couple steps so he could brace her against the wall and then he reached into his front pocket and pulled out a condom.
“Optimistic?”
“Prepared,” he corrected.
“This does feel good.” She wiggled in his arms so she could push his pants and boxers past his hips. “But that feels better,” she said as she rubbed against his cock.
He balanced her weight between the wall and one hand so he could give her the condom. “You’ll have to put it on me,” he said as he quickly returned his hand to her delectable ass cheek.
She made a great show of opening the package and then her fingers teased and taunted him as she rolled the protection over his cock. That he couldn’t retaliate without dropping her made her torment doubly wicked. “You’re a brave, brave woman when you’re holding all the cards.” He balanced her weight on one hand again so he could position his cock before sliding into her.
She moaned as he slid out of her and then thrust back into her warmth. “You feel so good.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and, when he pushed into her, she used her nails to score his skin. The pain highlighted the pleasure and drove him closer to the edge. He worried that he would climax before she did. He tried to think of something else so he could last longer but it was impossible. All he could think about was how tight and hot she felt as her muscles flexed around him and pulled him farther into her body. So instead of slowing down, he increased his pace. If he couldn’t wait for her, he would just have to bring her with him. He let go of what little control he had left and crushed his mouth against hers. She gasped and wiggled against him.
“Damn, Kat.” He ran his tongue down her neck until he reached the curve where her neck became her shoulder. “Can’t hold out much longer.” He bit down on the sensitive skin and was rewarded by a throaty moan as her body began bucking against him. His balls were tight and his whole body tingled. It only took one more thrust for him to find the release he’d been chasing.
Sweat coated his body in a fine mist and his heart raced loudly in his ears. He wanted nothing more than to stay exactly where he was, buried deep inside her, forever. But the endorphins rushing through his body made it hard for him to stay standing. Any minute now he was going to collapse
and he’d rather not do that while holding her.
He stumbled over to the bed and stooped over so he could gently lay her down. “You okay?” He pulled out of her without taking his eyes off her.
“Oh I’m fantastic.” She sighed as she rolled over on the bed.
He winked at her teasingly. “Yes you are.” He disposed of the condom and then lay down next to her. The last couple of days had been rough and he needed to succumb to the mind-numbing bliss of sleep.
“Jasper?”
But apparently she had other ideas. “Yeah?”
“What if this—the ranch—isn’t worth it?”
That woke him up. “What do you mean?”
“When I watched the house seal tonight. And I thought you were in it.” She shuddered and then snuggled up against him. “It made me rethink some things.”
“This is your life. You love the ranch.” If he believed for one second she’d be happy anywhere else in the system, he’d tell her to sell and convince her to come with him. But she would be miserable on the completely paved world he lived on. “Where else would you go?”
“Someplace where people aren’t trying to kill me.” She sighed heavily. “I’ve given it a great deal of thought. Really, it’s the best solution. It’s the only solution.”
“You could stay here and fight for your land.”
“You could have died. I stood there helpless, knowing you were inside that building. And this is just the first round. These people aren’t going to stop.”
“I can make them stop.”
“You turn to your father and everything you’ve worked for is gone. I won’t have you throw your life away so I can keep mine.”
He didn’t say anything back to her. Instead he waited until her breathing was deep and regular. As much as he wanted to fall asleep, he still had one other bit of business to take care of. He needed to pick his side in this war and he needed to pick it now. Before he got out of the bed, he whispered, “I won’t be throwing anything away. I promise.”
He slid on his pants and padded out to the front room. The floor was cool under his feet but he didn’t mind. He had more pressing things to deal with than a case of cold feet.
