[English] THE CLOSER YOU COME (Gần bên anh)

The Closer You Come
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“You pinin’ for our Brook Lynn, then?”

Yes. No. Damn it. He didn’t know what was going on inside him.

Last night he’d wanted to kiss her more than he’d wanted to live free. Something about her called to him. Her delicacy, maybe. All he wanted to do was protect her. Or her stubbornness, perhaps. She did what she thought was right, refusing to back down. Or her wit, even. She’d taken his list and turned it against him.

He smiled despite The Great Hemorrhoid debacle.

“Yes, sir,” Virgil said with a nod. He patted Jase on the shoulder. “You ain’t the first, son, that’s for sure.”

How many others were there? Yes, a man would be a fool not to recognize Brook Lynn’s appeal, but Jase didn’t like the thought of other men desiring what belonged to—

Not me. Never me.

Maybe Brad.

“Sir, I don’t mean to be rude, but I’m not comfortable discussing my love life with a stranger,” Jase said. He was barely handling a discussion with himself.

Virgil waved his words away as unimportant. “Miss Brook Lynn is a special girl, and she deserves a special man. You special, Jase?”

“No, sir,” he said, opting for honesty. “I’m not.” The people of Strawberry Valley would be horrified to know just how un-special he really was.

“Well, that’s too bad.”

A feminine scream suddenly pierced the air—and it had come from inside the jewelry store.

Jase didn’t hesitate. He bounded forward, practically shattering glass as he pushed his way inside. He took in the scene in an instant. Brook Lynn was sprawled on the floor. There was some kind of small mechanical device splattered with blood resting beside her. Blood leaked from underneath her hair, down her chin, dripping on the floor.

Brad was crouched in front of her, begging to know what he should do. He was trying to help her, but Jase didn’t care. She was sobbing. He shoved the male aside and acted as her shield. She grabbed hold of his wrists, holding on to him for dear life, her eyes wide and overflowing with tears.

“What’s wrong, angel?” he asked.

A whimper of pain escaped her. She opened and closed her mouth, but words never formed. Finally, she released him to clutch at her ears.

Her ears. “How can—”

She cringed, even moaned.

“I think she needs—” Brad began, and Brook Lynn whimpered.

Jase rounded on the guy, glaring, and slapped a hand over his mouth. For whatever reason, noise hurt her right now, so there would be no more noise. It was as simple as that.

When he was certain Brad understood another word would get him hurt bad, Jase gathered Brook Lynn in his arms. She burrowed against his chest and cried quietly, her entire body heaving. He pulled the cell phone from her pocket, turned it to silent and thumbed through her address book to find her sister’s number.

Texting with such an old phone proved difficult, but he did it. One minute dragged into another, and he had to fight wave after wave of helplessness to keep from drowning. Not knowing what else to do, he carried Brook Lynn to the back of the shop, away from Brad and Virgil, who’d followed him inside the shop. When he opened the office door, the groan of hinges sent her into another fit of sobbing. He laid her on the couch, waited until she’d calmed, and tiptoed out to call the only doctor in her address book. He told the receptionist what was going on and was told he’d get a call back. He barely managed to keep his crap together while he waited.

Five minutes.

Five minutes of utter hell.

Finally, though, a nurse phoned him and he learned that he was to give Brook Lynn the sedative that would be waiting at the local pharmacy and then take her to Baptist Hospital in the city. Jase rang Beck and quietly told him to pick up the medication and bring it to the shop. Then all he could do was wait some more.

CHAPTER TEN

BROOK LYNN BOLTED UPRIGHT, unable to catch her breath or hear a single sound, a residue of panic slowly fading.

Panic? Why? She searched her surroundings for clues. A tube extended from one of her arms, ending in an IV bag. A blood-pressure cuff was anchored to her left biceps. Hospital, she realized.

Ugh. She hated hospitals. As a kid she’d spent countless hours inside sparse, sterile rooms with strangers as roommates, drugged to the max to counteract the constant, uncontrollable pain in her ears.

Her ears!

Frantic, she reached up. The moment she encountered the implants, she relaxed. They were in place and clearly working, deaf as she currently was, and though the motion caused a dull throb to reverberate through her head, like a fresh bruise in the process of healing, it was far better than the itching—and what had come after.

Once again, I’m Frankenlynn. But at least she could function.

The room was small but private, Jessie Kay sleeping in the chair by the window. The blinds were open, allowing her to see outside. Bradford pears, oaks and wildflowers surrounded a busy parking lot.

Memories flooded Brook Lynn. She’d been inside Rhinestone Cowgirl. Brad had just accepted her invitation, and as they’d made plans their hands had brushed together—masculine contact she hadn’t experienced in a very long time. But there had been nothing. No spark. No shiver of pleasure or internal tingle. Not like the mere thought of Jase often caused. Brad had leaned toward her and, afraid he was going to try to kiss her, she’d jerked away. She’d stumbled. When she hit the floor, one of her implants had ripped free.

The pain—oh, the pain. Every sound, from the whistle of wind against the shop windows to the patter of footsteps outside, had agonized her. Then Jase had arrived and...she couldn’t remember anything after that.

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Fingertips brushed over her wrist. Gasping, she faced the culprit. Jessie Kay had woken up and now stood at her bedside. Her lips were moving.

“You’ll have to start over,” Brook Lynn said, speaking over her sister. “I’m on silent, and I’m not ready to change that. I have to read your lips.”

Jessie Kay nodded and, with tears welling in her eyes, said, “I’m so sorry this happened. Sorry I wasn’t there to help you.”

“It wasn’t your fault.”

“I know, but...” Features tight with tension, Jessie Kay latched on to her hand and squeezed. “I was with Sunny. She’d just gotten a huge check for the oil leases on her land, and she staked me a few hundred bucks. We went to the casino in the city to try and win more.”

Just like Uncle Kurt. Trying to hide her dismay, Brook Lynn said, “And while you were there, you threw a penny in a wishing well and asked that one of my implants fall out?”

“Never! Dude. You know I hate wishing wells.”

True story. Jessie Kay feared the Pet Sematary effect. “Then I still don’t see how this is your fault.”

“It just is. For once in your life, don’t argue with me.”

“Fine. You’re to blame. You suck.”

A relieved nod. “Much better.”

Brook Lynn squeezed her sister’s hand in return. “How long have I been here?”

“Two days. You’ve actually woken up and talked to me a few times before, but the doc told me the drugs might screw with your memory.”

Brook Lynn clenched her eyes shut and dragged in a breath. She’d missed two days of work? After she’d told Edna she would be more reliable. After only two days on the job with Jase. I’m the worst employee ever. Both of her bosses had to be tee-icked.

“By the way, Jase is in the waiting room. He hasn’t left, not one time,” Jessie Kay said, her eyes going wide with awe. But the awe was soon replaced by dismay. “He yelled at me. Told me I was nothing but a drain on you, and I needed to step up and do my part.”

Two reactions bubbled up at once...warm flutters dancing in her stomach, anger burning through her veins. Jase had stayed? Had worried about her? He cared about her that much? But he’d yelled at her sister, insulted her, when he’d had no right to do so. He didn’t know the fires and trials that had molded Jessie Kay into the woman she was. He hadn’t been there every time she’d tossed and turned with nightmares, crying out for their parents. He hadn’t been there when she’d scrimped and saved to buy their uncle a birthday present—only to find out he’d hocked it the next day.

“I love you,” Brook Lynn said. “You know that, right?”

Jessie Kay gave a reluctant incline of her head, wiped away the tears that had sprung up and quickly moved on. “Kenna is here, too. Brad was, but he had to go to work. I’m supposed to call him with a progress report and...” Her gaze shifted. “Hey! No one invited you in here, death-peddler.”

A shadow fell over Brook Lynn just before Dr. Murphy claimed her attention.

“Nice to see you, too, Miss Dillon,” he replied.

Jessie Kay hated doctors almost as much as spiders, and Brook Lynn could only blame herself. As much as Brook Lynn had cried before and after each of her visits, her sister had learned to associate medical treatment with anguish.

Dr. Murphy was an older black man with a full head of silver hair and eyes the loveliest shade of chocolate. He was one of the most distinguished-looking men she’d ever come across.

“How are we doing, my dear?” he asked with a warm smile.

“Well. I think.”

“Good, good. Let’s have a look at those vitals.”

The exam lasted only ten minutes or so, and as he checked her over, he explained how the tube anchoring the new implant to her ear canal hadn’t adhered properly and had come loose, wreaking havoc on her whole system. From her equilibrium to actual brain activity. While knocked out, she’d even had a seizure. But she was on the mend now and could go back to her regular schedule upon her return home tomorrow, as long as she stayed off trampolines and away from jump ropes for the next several weeks.

When Dr. Murphy left, she lumbered into the bathroom to clean up as best she could, which was actually easier than anticipated. Propped on the sink was a plastic bag filled with goodies. A washrag, hairbrush, toothpaste and a toothbrush. A ponytail holder, T-shirt and a nice bar of soap. She returned to the bed feeling ten thousand times better.

Jessie Kay hadn’t left from her spot and once again clutched her hand, as if she couldn’t bear another moment of separation.

“Thanks for the supplies,” Brook Lynn said.

“Do you seriously believe I’m that thoughtful?”

“Good point. Who brought them?”

“Beck, at Jase’s order.”

Jase again. The man confused and angered her...but he also delighted her. What am I going to do about him?

“I was so afraid,” her sister admitted. “If I were to lose you...”

“You didn’t. You won’t. You heard Dr. Murphy. I’m fine.”

“Yes, but for how long? You work too hard. You need a break. You deserve one.”

“We have bills. More now than ever.”

Jessie Kay shook her head, the first hint of a smile revealed, like the sun peeking out from behind dark clouds. “We don’t. Jase is taking care of everything.”

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What! “No. No, no, no.”

“Yes, yes, yes,” her sister insisted. “You can bury your stubborn side in a cow patty, where it belongs. He’s already paid the hospital bill. You think they’ll give the money back to him?”

She wouldn’t be a drain on him. She would rather die. “They won’t, but I will. I’m paying him back even if I have to get a third job.” And a fourth one. “Even if I have to sell my organs on the black market!”

“First, I call dibs on your liver. I could use a new one. And I’ll expect a sisterly discount. But why can’t we let him—”

“I said no!”

“Okay, okay. Calm down.” Jessie Kay pursed her lips, as if she’d just sucked on a lemon. “I’ll get a job.”

Please. Heard that before.

“I know you’re not actually speaking any words, but I don’t think you’ve ever been ruder to me,” Jessie Kay said. “Your eyes are saying plenty.”

“Well, I hope you’re listening. They don’t like to repeat themselves.”

“I’m listening, all right, and they have a seriously dirty mouth.” Her sister gave her hand another squeeze. “So...did you talk me up to Jase?”

Sickness churned deep in her stomach. “Of course.”

“Did you mention my ability to make any conversation about ***?”

“Somehow that detail got left out,” she said drily.

“Well, it’s time to put it in.” Jessie Kay wiggled her brows. “See what I did there?”

Brook Lynn rolled her eyes.

“I’m going to marry that boy, you know,” her sister said with a firm nod. “And I’m going to break him in like a carnival pony then ride him into the sunset for a happily-ever-after. For both of us.”

The churning and sickness grew worse. Marry him? As in, take his last name, sleep in his bed every night and have his babies, marry? “Why Jase? After the way he’s treated you, the things he’s said to you, why not pick, say, Beck?” Please.

“Beck was a mistake. He’s like an older brother now. Jase, on the other hand, is the white knight I want guarding my back.”

The moisture in her mouth dried. I can’t steal a white knight from my sister. I just can’t.

Not that he was Brook Lynn’s to steal.

“We need him,” Jessie Kay said. “He can make our lives better.”

He could. He was strong. Smart. Funny. Teasing. Passionate. Resourceful. ***y. “Or he could make our lives worse.” Am I trying to change her mind for her good...or my own?

Once-bright cheeks turned waxen. “Do you not think I can win him over?” Jessie Kay asked with a tremor. “Do you not think I’m special enough?”

Her sister’s vulnerabilities didn’t show up often, but when they did...I would rather have my heart ripped out by a zombie than see that look on her face. “I think you’re the specialest. I know you think he doesn’t know what he wants, and that you can show him, but are you sure you should try? Shouldn’t a man be willing to fight for you? You are a prize, and if he can’t see that on his own...”

“Am I, though? Am I really a prize?”

“I think so. Mom and Dad thought so. I mean, are you a total underachiever? Yes. But you’re also smart and witty, and you sure aren’t ugly.”

Her sister snorted. “Your compliments are like poetry.” She fluffed her hair. “But you’re right. I’m definitely a prize, and he’d be crazy not to want me. I will find a way to change his mind. Because I want him. Bad. I’ve never met a guy so capable and concerned, so willing to step in and make everything better.”

A flood of different emotions hit Brook Lynn, one after the other. Anger. Frustration. Worry. Sadness. Regret. Affection. Hope. More anger. Her chest hurt. Her temples, too.

“I texted him a bit ago,” Jessie Kay said. “Told him you were up. He’d like to see you.”

“No. Absolutely not.” Can’t face him right now.

“But why not? He’s your future brother-in-law.”

“Because,” she gritted out, doing her best not to reveal her frustration with the term. “Just because.”

Jessie Kay hesitated, nodded. “Okay. I’ll go tell him you’re not up for visitors.”

“Thank you.” Yes, she needed to express her gratitude to him for all he’d done. He’d gone above and beyond what was expected of a boss or even a friend. But with her sister’s words clanging around in her head, she didn’t think she could bear to be in the same room with him, looking at him, breathing him in. “Tell him, and then head home.”

“No, I—”

“Yes. You need to rest, and so do I. Just...find me a notebook and a pen before you go. Please,” she tacked on when she realized how rude she must sound. Warden strikes again.

Jessie Kay shook her head. “Sorry, sister dear, but I’m here for the long haul. I’m staying, and that’s that. I’ll be right back.” Before she left, she kissed Brook Lynn on the forehead. And, true to her word—for once—Jessie Kay did, in fact, come right back with a notebook and pen.

Expression bemused, Jessie Kay said, “Dude. Jase does not like being told no.”

“Learned that my first day as his assistant.” Her heart drummed erratically. With guilt or longing, she wasn’t sure. “Did he leave?”

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“No. He’s basically moved in to the waiting room, and it’ll take a crane to get him out.”

He was that desperate to see her? Why?

Palms beginning to sweat, she fluffed her pillows and decided to put him out of her mind. He’d leave soon enough. Surely.

“Help me make a fun list,” she said. Despite the change in her circumstances and the looming possibility of having to nail down a third job—whimper—she wasn’t going to abandon her plan to enjoy life. Not anymore. But the list she’d made with Kenna had failed to inspire her, which was probably why she’d never made a real attempt to work through it. She needed a new one. One tailored specifically to her.

Jessie Kay pulled her chair closer to the bed. “Ohhh. A fun list. You certainly came to the right person.”

“An expert.”

“Do you want X-rated, PG-13 or PG?”

No need to think about it. “PG-13.”

“Boooo, hiss.” Jessie Kay made a face and gave her a thumbs-down. “Mild wild girls don’t have as much fun.”

“This one will.”

Jessie Kay tapped her fingers together, saying, “Well, the first thing you’ll need to do is flash a room full of men. At a bar!”

Ugh. The crowds. The music. Drunks who might grab what they shouldn’t. “No, thanks.”

“Write it down,” Jessie Kay insisted, pointing to the notebook. “Or I start counting.”

“Fine.” She wrote “Flash one man, preferably a boyfriend” and said “I’m also writing ‘hustle someone at pool and/or poker.’” While she wasn’t the biggest fan of the skills her uncle had imparted to her—all those late nights in smoky pool halls and man ****s learning with the best—she decided to take something that once pained her and turn it into something that amused her. Kenna was right. The past created who a person was, but shouldn’t define who they could become. “Oh, and I’d like to attend a wine-and-cheese tasting.”

Jessie Kay’s head fell on her shoulder, her eyes closed. She let out a loud, exaggerated snore.

“Am I boring you to sleep?” Brook Lynn asked.

Her sister peeked through her lashes. “To death.”

“Too bad for you. Because I have never been so alive.” She wrote down “Drink whiskey straight from the bottle” and “Smoke a cigar.” Oh, and “Learn how to properly fight zombies.”

The notebook was snatched out of her hand. Jessie Kay read what she’d written and gagged. “When did you become a Victorian maiden living in a paranormal-romance world? Should I write down ‘learn to do the scandalous waltz while turning into a vampire,’ too?”

Brook Lynn grabbed the notebook and spoke aloud the next words she wrote. “Shave off all my sister’s hair. Have a secret identity for a day, and host a mystery dinner.”

“Touch my lustrous mane and lose a hand,” Jessie Kay said, fluffing the mane in question. “Honestly, you’re seriously depressing the crap out of me right now. You need to add ‘oil wrestling with a guy dressed like Tarzan.’ Oh, oh, and ‘holding a long, hard—’”

Looking down at her list, she lost track of her sister’s words. She wrote the dreams she’d had since she was a little girl...and a curious teenager. “Rescue a dog from a shelter” and “Dance for a hot guy, preferably the boyfriend I flash.”

Jessie Kay might have been the one to take ballet lessons, but Brook Lynn had been the one who’d yearned to spin and pirouette and dress as the swan princess. And, okay, sure, no guy on the planet would find her attempt at ballet ***y. But she could certainly perform some kind of naughty striptease.

What would Brad think of this desire of hers?

What would Jase think?

She trembled.

Nope. No. Not going there.

Maybe she needed to forget the men of Strawberry Valley and say yes to the next citidiot who asked her out. He wouldn’t be boyfriend material, but he also wouldn’t stick around town and gossip about her lack of talent. Of course, he wouldn’t settle for a few hip thrusts, either. He’d want all her clothes to come off and her backside grinding into his crotch until he reached a happy ending. Which wasn’t actually a half-bad idea, except for that last part...and it would certainly stop Jessie Kay’s snoring fit.

A tap on her arm had her glancing up. Her sister’s mouth was moving, but her gaze was not on Brook Lynn.

“—be in here,” she was saying.

Brook Lynn smelled him before she saw him. Honey-and-oat-scented soap. Tingling and heating, she turned her head and found Jase standing at her bedside. His features were taut, his arms crossed; the muscles beneath his skin flexed. His clothes were wrinkled, proof he’d slept in the waiting room, unwilling to leave her.

And I don’t have the lady balls to talk with him? I suck.

“Give us a few minutes,” she said to her sister.

“Are you sure?” Jessie Kay asked, looking nervous on her behalf.

No, but she nodded anyway.

After giving her hand a final comforting squeeze, Jessie Kay strolled out of the room and shut the door behind her.

Brook Lynn drew in a deep breath and faced Jase. He wasn’t peering at her, but at the wall over her shoulder. He plowed a hand through his hair and stalked to the chair Jessie Kay had vacated. She watched him, silent, unsure. Waiting, hoping. Dreading.

Finally, the wait proved to be too much.

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“Thank you for paying the hospital bill,” she said. “But I can’t accept your money.”

That green gaze at last moved...and locked on her. His blank mask was firmly in place. “You refused to see me. Why?”

She racked her brain for the proper response. Her reason had been a good one—Jessie Kay wanted him, and being around him only made Brook Lynn ache for what she couldn’t have. She refused to lie, but at the same time she had to protect her emotions.

“I’m choosing not to answer you,” she finally said.

“Are you afraid of me?”

“Define afraid,” she said.

He didn’t speak for a long while, and she began to squirm on the bed. Fought the urge to babble. Yes, I’m afraid of you. Of what you make me feel. Of what would happen if ever I fell for you.

“You don’t have a choice about the money,” he said. How like him. He’d ignored her request and changed the subject. “It’s already done.”

“I know, but I will pay you back.”

“And I won’t accept.”

They’d see about that.

“Tell me about your ears,” he said.

Suddenly self-conscious, she shifted on the bed. “Without the implants, I hear everyday noises at a higher volume than other people.”

“What caused it?”

“I was born that way.”

“So you’ve suffered all your life?”

“I used to wear earmuffs. They helped. And I realize I’ve missed two days of work,” she said, changing tracks, “but you don’t have to worry. I’ll take care of your list tomorrow.”

He was shaking his head before she could finish. “No. You’ll be resting.”

He was going to treat her like an invalid, wasn’t he? “Are you planning to fire me?”

He flinched, as though horrified by the thought. “No.”

“Then I’m going to do my job.”

“Then I’m firing you,” he said simply.

She sat up, grabbed him by the shirt collar and yanked him closer to her. As strong as he was, he could have resisted, and she wouldn’t have been able to do anything about it. She leaned toward him until they were almost nose to nose.

“Now you listen to me, Jase Hollister. My ears are messed up and unless there are extreme advances in medicine they will always be that way. Some days, like today, I’m totally deaf. Other days I can hear just fine. I have little machines attached inside and out, and sometimes they have flashing lights. People stare.”

His gaze dropped to her lips, and she shivered, almost losing her nerve to continue.

“But that’s it,” she said. “That’s the extent of my problem. I’ll heal from this newest surgery, and I will work. I will do a good job. You will not baby me. Do you understand?”

His eyes narrowed to tiny slits as he plucked her fingers from his shirt. Something about him...as if the icy husk he surrounded himself with was now melting before her eyes. Cold-blooded? Oh, no. This man suddenly burned.

But when next he spoke, his tone gave nothing away. “You’re saying I should treat you like a normal, healthy woman?”

Should I be nervous? “Yes. Because that’s exactly what I am.”

“Okay, then. That’s exactly what I’ll do.” He let her go and straightened. He smoothed his clothes, gave her one last lingering look and strode from the room—leaving her trembling...and desperate for their next interaction.

Despite his words—and his actions—something had changed in him. Between them. That look...

What would he do when she showed up for work tomorrow?

She could hardly wait to find out.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

JASE RETURNED TO the hospital bright and early the next morning, purpose in his every step. He couldn’t stay away a second longer, felt dragged by an invisible chain.

He didn’t pause at the nurses’ station and didn’t care if visiting hours had or hadn’t started. He went directly to Brook Lynn’s room, the private suite he’d ensured she had. The door was open, and she was perched at the side of the bed, looking fresh and clean with cheeks bright pink and her golden hair gleaming around her shoulders. She wore the T-shirt and shorts he’d had delivered for her.

The shirt had come straight from his closet.

The lingering effects of her illness had fallen away, and the sight of her arrested him. She was a beauty like no otherCHAPTER ONE so it was little wonder he’d been on fire for her all night. Or that she’d awoken needs he’d never known he’d had—needs he would never again be able to ignore. To possess utterly, through any means necessary. To consume wholly. Not just anyone, but her. Only her.

When she’d proudly proclaimed herself healthy, he’d almost pulled her flush against him and kissed her. But she’d looked vulnerable and hauntingly fragile, and he’d found the strength to walk away instead. The need to protect her, even from himself, had proved stronger.

Now here she was, on the bed, looking as healthy as she’d claimed.

He shut the door and moved into her line of sight.

She gasped with surprise—and pleasure? “Jase!”

He paused long enough to ask, “How are you feeling?”

Warmth bloomed in her baby blues. “Totally racer ready. Just waiting for my discharge papers.”

“Good.” He closed the distance, cupped the back of her nape and pressed his lips to hers.

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She opened with another gasp.

No turning back now.

His tongue thrust against hers, and hers reached tentatively for his. A groan escaped her, enthralling him, and just like that, he lost track of his surroundings, his intention to simply taste. His mind centered on only one thing: hearing that sound again.

He urged her to her back, kissing her as if he would die tomorrow. As if she were the last girl he’d ever see. As if her lips held the answer to every question he’d ever asked. Supple and willing, she reclined for him. Her arms wound around his neck, bringing him with her, so that the hardest parts of him were lined up with the softest parts of her. All the while their tongues rolled and thrust in a white-hot tangle.

He tasted cinnamon, a hint of strawberries. A heady combination, addictive when it should not have been. He’d tasted all three flavors before, but they’d never made him feel as though he was floating... melting from the inside out.

He could be locked away for the rest of his life, he decided, but it wouldn’t matter because he’d experienced this one perfect moment. Not even Daphne had affected him this strongly—and with so little. But then, her kisses had been those of a teenager in puppy love. This one came straight from a woman with passions as intense as his own.

Everything he’d felt for Brook Lynn since moment one consumed him, raw and carnal as she arched her back and rubbed her chest against his. Softness without the barrier of a bra, two little beads abrading deliciously...only the thin material of her shirt covering her.

He clutched at her pillow, nearly ripping the material in half, and lifted his head to ensure she could read his lips. “Be still,” he told her. If she kept moving like that, the experience would end in mere minutes. “Please.”

“Can’t,” she rasped, her fingers applying pressure at his nape, urging him back down.

Her eyes were glassed with passion-fever, her cheeks even rosier than before. Her lips were red and swollen, moisture glistening over them.

“Damn, you’re beautiful.”

“And you’re wasting precious time.” She stopped trying to force him down and sat up, thrusting her tongue in his mouth, as if she’d been starved for him and could not live another second without this.

When she fell back, he went with her, her willing captive. Her nails raked down the ridges of his spine, and he cursed the shirt that prevented skin-to-skin contact. The urge to climb on top of her, to pin her down with the full bulk of his weight, teased him. He would put his hands on every inch of her, strip her, caress her nakedness and drive her to the very edge of release. And the sounds she would make...he would swallow them all.

A low, possessive growl rose from deep in his chest. He’d never heard it before. Not from anything human. It should have scared the hell out of him, but it merely urged him on. He put one of his knees on the bed—on the gurney.

The gurney.

They weren’t just in a public place, but in a hospital. Anyone could come in. Anyone could sneak in behind him, attack him.

Jase jolted back, severing contact. His body shouted a protest, his hands closed so tightly he would have sworn he’d cracked the bones. He struggled to catch his breath, to stay in place, away from her. Have to stay away from her. How had she made him forget his surroundings, even for a second?

She traced her fingertips over her kiss-swollen lips. “Jase, I...”

She stopped, just stopped. What would she say? I want more? I shouldn’t have done that? You’re my boss?

With a screech, she slammed a fist into the mattress beneath her. “I can’t believe this! I’m such a mouth-slut.”

The change in her startled him. “You are not a mouth-slut.”

Ignoring him, she added, “And do you want to know what sucks worse? You’re a superstar stud because you’ve now mouth-bagged two sisters.”

Mouth-bagged? “That would make me the mouth-slut, not you.” He had a choice: fire her and pursue her, though he could never offer her anything permanent, or apologize, vow to never again kiss her and return to the way things were.

She covered her face with her hands. “We can’t do that again. Ever.”

He locked his jaw to prevent a curse from escaping. Very well. She’d made the decision for him.

Prying her hands away from her eyes, he said, “You’re right. We can’t do that again.”

She ran her bottom lip between her teeth, a nervous gesture. “You came here to kiss me, not for any other reason. Why?”

Because he couldn’t not do it. Because he’d never wanted anything more. “Why did you let me?”

“You first.”

“A moment of insanity,” he said, and she flinched. Okay. Insulting her wasn’t a smart move on his part. He added, “Obviously, I’m attracted to you.”

Her eyes widened as she squeaked, “You are?”

The magnitude of her surprise caught him off guard. “Has no man ever told you that?”

“Yes. I mean, a few have.”

Only a few? Clearly the men of Strawberry Valley were idiots, and yet Jase was struck by a sudden urge to track down the few smart ones and do a little skull bashing. She’s mine!

He sucked in a breath. No, she wasn’t, and as he’d told himself before, she would never be. Feel nothing. Want nothing. Need nothing.

“But you...” she said. “You’re difficult to read.”

He stalked to the chair beside the bed and sat, increasing the distance between them. If he wasn’t careful, he would reach for her. Do...more. And if he did more, he would want to try for something serious with her—Beck was right. The desire for commitment was hardwired inside his brain. But if he committed to her, she would own him, but would he ever really own her? And if ever anyone dared hurt her...

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I’ll do things that will send me right back to prison.

“What’s so difficult? I’m attracted to you, as I said, so I kissed you. But I won’t do it again. You have long-term written all over you, and I respect that. I just wish I didn’t have to be the one to break the news to you. Relationships fail, honey. Always.”

* * *

BROOK LYNN STUDIED the man she’d just used as an oxygen tank, basically sucking the air from his lungs. There was no lingering sign of Jase’s desire for her. His cold, hard mask was firmly in place, his eyes pure green frost, his lips pressed into a hard line.

Miss my tender lover already. But really, he wasn’t hers, and that was becoming clearer by the moment. She couldn’t allow herself to think otherwise, even for a moment.

“Relationships do not always fail,” she said. “I know couples who have been together thirty, forty and fifty years.” And she’d think of their names at some point...probably.

“Honey, just because they’ve stayed together doesn’t mean they still make each other happy.”

Wow. He wasn’t just jaded—he was jaded.

Marry him? Jessie Kay didn’t stand a chance.

Jessie Kay! Crap!

I’m the worst sister ever born.

Brook Lynn had only one saving grace. In no way, shape or form would Jase and Jessie Kay ever have ended up together. Unlike her sister, Brook Lynn believed a man when he said he wasn’t interested in something, or someone, and she wasn’t willing to try to change his mind. Why should she? He either wanted to be with her or he didn’t. He was either honored to put the work in, to do whatever was necessary to keep her, or he wasn’t. There was no middle ground.

Jessie Kay saw a man’s reluctance as a challenge. The harder the battle, the sweeter the victory. What she didn’t get? The worse the fall.

Would she view what Jase and Brook Lynn had done as just another hurdle to climb? Or as the betrayal it was?

I have to tell her what happened. Soon. No more putting it off.

Brook Lynn stifled a groan.

“What?” Jase asked.

She waved the question away, not wanting his answer or his opinion. She and her sister had never liked the same man before. And she did, she thought. Brook Lynn wasn’t just attracted to Jase. She liked him. A lot. Despite the fact that she’d lined up a date with another man before kissing him. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

“Tell me about your parents,” she said, remembering the way he’d shut her down the last time she’d tried to ask about his past.

“I don’t even know who my father is,” he admitted, surprising her. “While I lived with my mother, different men paraded in and out of our apartment. Could have been any one of them. Or none of them.”

Her heart broke for him. Clearly, he had seen the worst of relationships. “Did they treat you well? These men?” she asked.

His gaze skidded away from her, sticking to the wall just behind her. “Sometimes. Not always.”

The urge to curl up in his lap, wrap her arms around him and offer comfort bombarded her. Only the thought of rejection held her back. That, and Jessie Kay.

“Despite your abysmal experience,” she said, “I still believe happily-ever-afters are a possibility. My parents adored each other.”

He shook his head, pity filling his eyes. “Given time, who knows what would have happened with them. All relationships, even those that start out great, end up toxic. Why would you want one to last?”

“Not all relationships. What about you, West and Beck? You’ve been friends for...how long?”

“Since we were eight,” he said.

“And do you hurt each other?”

He frowned. “Sometimes.”

“Really?” She found that astounding—how had they hurt each other?

“But it’s never on purpose, and we always do the kiss-and-make-up thing,” he admitted.

“Well, there you go. Your own life has just proved your theory wrong. But tell me more about this kissing.”

He snorted. “I don’t like to kiss and tell. As for our relationship, we know everything there is to know about each other. We’re honest to the point of brutal in a way couples never are. They always keep secrets and blunt the truth, thinking it’s a kindness.”

She wondered what he’d say if she asked how fat her butt looked in her shorts. “So you don’t think a woman can deal with knowing everything about you? Knowing the real you?”

His eyes narrowed. “I’m certain of it. Therefore, I’ll amend my argument to state that only ***ual relationships are toxic.”

There was no winning with a man who’d already made up his mind. And what had happened to this one to make him so jaded? Had to be more than he’d admitted.

“Have you ever trusted a woman enough to tell her everything there is to know about you?” she asked.

“No.”

“Well. Until you do, you can only guess about how she’ll react. And if one woman reacts poorly, it doesn’t mean others will react the same way.”

He brushed his fingers through his hair, the motion jerky. Was this getting through to him?

“You can’t change what’s happened in the past,” she said, “but you can change the path of your future.”

He arched a brow, all ****y assurance when he should have ****d under her logic. “Want to go there, do you?”

What did that mean? “Are you implying I’m trying to change the past?”

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“You’re definitely not changing the path of your future. You’ve allowed your sister to become a chain around your neck.”

“I have not! And she certainly isn’t a chain.”

He shrugged, all whatever you say.

Frustrating man! “Enough about her. I want to talk about your attraction to me.”

He went still. “And yours to me.”

“I never said I was.” She’d only thought it, again and again.

“You didn’t have to say anything, honey. Sucking on my tongue and sinking your claws in my back told me all I needed to know.”

The sudden heat in her cheeks could have warmed the entire building every day of the upcoming winter. “Be that as it may, I’m not interested in a fling.”

“Like I told you, I figured you for a long-term girl. But I wouldn’t give you a one-nighter even if you begged me.”

“But...but...why?” He’d kissed her with such passion, and now he couldn’t stand the thought of being with her even once?

He massaged the back of his neck, somehow looking both fatigued and virile. “I seriously think I feel one of those hemorrhoids coming on.”

The unexpected comment drained the affront right out of her, and she laughed. He laughed, too, and she wished she could hear it. Whether it was rusty or hearty. The way his face lit, as if he were peering directly into the sun, gave him a boyish innocence she’d seen only once before on him. She...liked it.

He quieted abruptly, acting as though the laughter were his enemy. He scowled and pulled at the collar of his shirt. “Well,” he said, and his throat moved with a cough. “I should be going. Like you mentioned, your doctor will arrive soon with your discharge papers.” But he made no effort to stand.

Even though she was annoyed with him, and realized he’d avoided her question, she wasn’t ready for this stolen moment to end. Here and now, they weren’t boss and employee—they were moth and flame. Her lips still hungered for him, tingling, aching. Her hands itched to return to his hair. No kiss had ever affected her so strongly, and he hadn’t even put his hands on her!

“Stay,” she finally rasped. “Just a little while more.”

A wave of relief washed over his features.

“What’s this?” he asked, plucking the list from the bed.

Oh, crap. The list! She’d been tweaking some of the finer details while she’d waited for the nurse. When she tried to grab it, Jase leaned back, moving out of reach.

“That is none of your business,” she said. “That’s what it is.”

He smiled, saying, “A fun list?” He scanned it and smiled again—only to look up at her with a glower. “These are things you’ve never done before, I’m assuming.”

She squirmed on the gurney. When his stare remained steady, she crossed her arms over her middle and said, “No, I haven’t done them.”

He relaxed. “Honey, if you flash someone in public, you’re likely to start a riot.”

Was that a compliment or an insult? “I’ll make sure it’s private.”

“Good.” A diabolical gleam entered his eyes. “We’re private right now.”

Oh, no. The ice around him had begun to melt again. A warning sign appeared in her mind, reading Danger! Danger! You’ll end up right back where you started. Craving him, but unable to have him.

“I’m here for you,” he continued, gripping the notebook with so much force, the center bowed. “I will allow you to flash me.”

“Oh, you’ll allow me?” Her stomach twisted even while desire pooled deep inside her. “Thanks, but I’m going to decline.”

“It’s not like you have to worry about being groped.”

“You think you can resist me?” Jerk!

“You think I’ll pounce on you the moment I see your breasts?” he countered.

She glared at him. “Maybe I think you’ll be disappointed.” Maybe? Ha!

“That isn’t even a possibility,” he said, confident. “But challenge accepted. Now you have to flash me.”

“I don’t have to do anything.”

“Oh, I get it.” His smile was all about projecting sympathy. “You’re scared.”

“I am not!”

He held up his hands, palms out. “If you say so, angel. But I believe you’re the one who told me actions mean more than words.”

Using her own statement against her? She was going to make him so sorry he’d gone there. She grabbed the hem of her T-shirt, her hands trembling. “I’m going to do it. You can’t stop me.”

“Do you see me trying?”

“Once I do it, it can never be undone. You can never go back to wondering.” Not that he’d wondered.

Had he wondered?

“I think I can handle it,” he said drily and waved his hand impatiently.

Could he? Could she?

What if he hated what he saw?

What if he liked it?

What if indecision was the path to insanity?

Either nut up or shut up. I’m not the girl I’ve always been: reserved, maybe even timid. I’m fun. And now it’s time to prove it.

With a deep breath, she flipped up the shirt. Between one blink and the next, Jase had a full-frontal view of her chest. Cold air stroked her skin, making her shiver. Definitely the cold and not his gaze...which was laser-beamed on her...staring so openly, so hungrily, as if he’d been starved for years and she’d just offered him a feast.

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He liked.

It unnerved her—thrilled her. Moisture flooded her mouth. Her breasts suddenly felt heavier, the apex of her thighs warming and aching.

“There,” she said shakily and returned the shirt to its proper place. “We can now check that off the list.”

Jase gripped the arms of the chair. Sweat beaded on his brow. His gaze lingered...lingered...finally lifted and met hers. Slowly he unfolded from the chair. He stood there for several long moments. She waited, tense and eager to find out what he’d do next. What did she want him to do? Kiss her again?

No. Bad!

Touch her—

No! Really, really bad.

But if he tried, would she really be able to resist?

“Leave,” she rasped. “You have to leave. Now. Please.”

He was already backing out of the room. When the door shut behind him, she realized she could breathe again and sucked in much-needed oxygen.

When Jessie Kay arrived a short while later, a nurse and wheelchair in tow, Brook Lynn had calmed significantly—at least on the outside. She didn’t complain when she was helped into the chair and wheeled to the car, even though she could walk just fine.

Once they were on the road, Brook Lynn opened her mouth to confess all, but Jessie Kay handed over her cell phone, a steady red blink signaling a message. Only Edna ever called her.

“Does Edna know why I missed work the past few days?” she asked.

“Yep,” Jessie Kay said. “Jase spoke with her.”

Jase, yet again.

“Listen to the message for me,” she said. “If you don’t mind.”

“Don’t you know it’s dangerous to drive while distracted?” Jessie Kay took the phone anyway, saying, “If anyone can do it, it’s me. I’m, like, the best multitasker ever.” She held the phone to her ear, listened...and paled.

“What?” Brook Lynn asked. “What’s wrong?”

“Edna...she...she’s such a slag, Brook Lynn. A bona fide slag.”

“What! Why?”

“I’m so sorry, but she fired you. She said she’s going to find another buyer for the store. She said this is the third time this year you’ve been out for an illness for a prolonged period of time, not to mention when you were late, and she can’t count on you anymore. But she’s going to give you a severance package, so that’s good, right?”

Just like that. In a moment of time, Brook Lynn’s entire world came crashing down. Her income shrank. Her dream of owning Rhinestone Cowgirl burned to ash. Now Jase was the only life raft in a great and terrible storm. The guy she was desperate to repay. The guy who thought she was too fragile to work. The guy who’d kissed her once and walked away from her twice.

This was another rejection, she realized. She was always so quick to protect Jessie Kay from them, but honestly, they stung her just as sharply. She stared out the window, silent.

Jessie Kay reached over and squeezed her arm, but all the action did was make her feel worse about the conversation to come.

Maybe Jase was right. Maybe all relationships were toxic, and a girl could never count on anyone. Tears burned the backs of her eyes. Brook Lynn couldn’t even count on herself. Every time she picked herself up, she fell back down again. She was tired of falling.

Buck up. Another setback? So what.

But—

No buts! This could be a fresh start. A chance to create a new dream. Something she loved, not just something she happened to be good at. One problem. Unlike the kids who’d always known what they wanted to be when they grew up, she never had. Well, besides the far-flung dream of being a dancer. Considering she lacked skill, and dancing on anything but a pole wouldn’t pad her empty bank account, that wasn’t an option. So...she had to find something she loved, was good at and that would actually make her money.

Easy, she thought and burst into tears.

CHAPTER TWELVE

JASE DOVE INTO the deep end of the pool. The hot sun beat down, burning his shoulders and heating the water as he swam one lap after another. All around him, cotton drifted through the air, so thick it looked like snow.

After a night of constantly replaying the best damn kiss of his life, craving Brook Lynn, desperate for her, he’d gotten up at dawn to finish shingling the roof. He’d worked like a madman, pouring his ***ual frustration into the task.

He’d had a mere taste, and now his body hoped to gorge. He wanted her more now than he ever had before.

He yearned to go to Brook Lynn, to talk to her...to kiss her again—and more, so much more. Hence the laps. If he kept himself busy, he had a better chance of resisting temptation and staying away from her.

The kiss had been a mistake. Clearly. His favorite mistake, yes, but a mistake nonetheless. It had split him open, allowing some of his secrets to spill out. He’d willingly shared bits and pieces of his past with her, leaving him vulnerable, shaky, on edge. And yet, strangely sated.

Can’t go further with her. Can’t share other secrets.

She thought a woman—herself—would be able to forgive Jase’s past, but her uncle had been a no-good con man, predisposing her to dislike anyone who broke the law. She probably wouldn’t take the time to distinguish a career criminal from a onetime offender, especially when the single crime was so horrific.

More than that, she clung to hope of a happily-ever-after. He knew better, knew there was no such thing. Did he really want to be the one who destroyed her dreams? Of all his crimes, that would be the worst.

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He rounded the end of the pool—and found the object of his torment seated on the other side with her bare feet dipped in the water. He stopped abruptly, nearly sinking to the bottom before he had the presence of mind to tread.

The sight before him... Killing me. Flaxen hair glimmered in the sunlight. Tanned skin appeared brushed with hints of copper and gold. A white tank and faded jean shorts hugged the very curves he’d had underneath him almost twenty-four hours ago.

A rush of testosterone...endorphins...whatever revved him up. “I thought I fired you,” he said, annoyed by the way his heartbeat sped up.

“Congrats! You’ve just rehired me.” She whipped a small object from her back pocket and grinned at him—a wicked grin that made him as uneasy as it did hot. “To celebrate, I brought you a present.”

As he reluctantly swam closer, she lifted her fingers from the object, one by one...and he came face-to-face with a tube of Preparation H.

He barked out a laugh, the burst of humor as new to him now as it had been the last time. “You really are a pain, you know that?”

“Well, I’m not letting you rub the medication all over me, if that’s what you’re hinting at.”

Wrong words. Provocative words. He lost his amusement in a nanosecond, his mind trapped by images of his hands moving on her, all over her.

Sinking again... He’d been reaching for his erection, because yes, he now had one, his length as hard as a steel pipe. He’d almost stroked himself in front of her.

“You’re not working for me anymore, Brook Lynn.” He meant those words, he really did.

“Please, Jase.” She clapped her hands together, creating a steeple. “Please. I need this job.”

No. Absolutely not. He couldn’t be exposed to this kind of temptation every day.

His silence must have propelled her in another direction. “I still owe you sandwiches, remember?”

“Okay, you’re rehired,” he said, unable to stop the words from leaving his mouth. What the hell was wrong with him? His only excuse was that she gave good lunch. The best he’d ever had.

She rewarded him with a wide, toothy grin. “Thank you, Mr. Hollister. You’re a doll.”

“Don’t thank me yet,” he muttered. Though he would have liked nothing more than to climb out of the pool, he continued to tread. He was as far from perfect as she was close to it; his scars might appall her...or lead to questions he wasn’t prepared to answer. “You haven’t heard your new duties.”

“I don’t care what they are,” she said, completely earnest. “I’ll do them.”

Oh, angel. You should have kept those words to yourself. The things I want you to do to me...

This time, his silence must have unnerved her, because she began to babble. “I’m going to work for you from sunup till sundown, and every week you’re going to deduct a hundred dollars from my paycheck, until I’ve paid back every penny you spent on me.”

“Uh, that would be a big, fat no.”

She kicked water at him, saying, “What’s yours is mine, but what’s mine is mine, is that it?”

“Something like that. Which is something you should thank me for, honey.” Something he’d never offered to another woman, but knowing her, she would protest. She always—

“Fine,” she said and sighed. “Don’t take out the money.”

He eyed her with suspicion and thought, Too easy. This has to be a trick. Would he soon find surprise wads of cash stuffed in his dresser drawers?

Bingo. She was just sneaky enough to try it.

He was sneakier.

“Let’s backtrack a bit,” he said. “How can you work for me from sunup *****ndown? What about your hours at Rhinestone Cowgirl?” When he’d spoken to Edna the day of Brook Lynn’s injury, her daughter had just returned to town, and the woman had made it sound as though she would be too busy to man the counter herself, that she would need Brook Lynn more than ever.

Brook Lynn waved a hand through the air, dismissing his question as unimportant, even as her eyes filled with shadows. His skeptical nature shouted a high-pitched alert. She’d been fired, hadn’t she?

Part of him was angered on her behalf, demanding he tear the jewelry store apart brick by brick and present the remains to her as a gift. The other part of him just wanted to weep with relief that she would no longer be working herself to the bone.

“If we’re going to do this...if we’re going to make this—” What? It wasn’t a relationship. “This thing between us work, there will have to be a few changes. Or rather, rules.”

“Agreed,” she said with a nod. “And the first is definitely—”

“Uh-uh. I make the rules, honey, not you. The first is definitely no kissing. The second is no thinking about kissing. The third is no flashing me. No matter how badly you want to do it.”

“Hey,” she snapped. “You practically begged me to do it.”

“Be that as it may.” Another glance at her magnificent breasts would finally crumble what remained of his resistance. They’d been so plump and round, her nipples as ripe as the strawberries the town was famous for, tightening under his gaze. And damn it, he was sinking again...his hands like heat-seeking missiles. “I’m going to expect you here at eight every morning, and you’ll stay until eight every night.” It was the only way to ensure his little workhorse wouldn’t go out and get yet another job. “And because I’m increasing your hours, I’m increasing your pay.”