Sweet Jayne Read online

“But why?!” I exclaim and struggle against his grip. “Why would she pretend to be me? This makes no sense.”

  He frowns. “Because she was doing it for you. Selene’s rent on the apartment had gone up and the hotel she worked for was downsizing. She could barely afford to keep a roof over your head, much less send you off to college like you deserved. Your mother had big dreams for you. Dreams that included you living and working in America.”

  I gape at him in shock and he presses a soft kiss on my mouth.

  “Shhh,” he coos, “let me finish.”

  But I don’t want him to finish. I’m not sure I can take much more of what he’s saying. In an effort to distract myself, I hook my legs around him and urge him to me. He lets out a grunt but I can feel his cock harden between us. A few uncoordinated slides against me and then his cock is stretching me wide as he fills me. But instead of fucking me, his eyes find mine and we remain physically connected while he continues his story.

  “Once she explained everything, I still wanted to see you. It was fucked up, especially once I knew you were only seventeen, but I craved to take care of you. To touch you. To hold you. To protect you. She told me her plan that we’d play it off as a marriage to get you and her the proper citizenship, but that the marriage would be a farce. I went along with it because I only wanted to help you.”

  He slides in and out of me slowly causing me to moan.

  “So your plan was to make me fall in love with you?”

  Donovan grins and my pussy clenches around him. He drives himself all the way in to the hilt. I cry out before digging my fingernails into his shoulders.

  “No, baby,” he murmurs as he kisses me. “I told her I’d take care of you despite what she did to trick me. I was in love with you and if that meant it had to come from being your stepfather, then so be it. But I was taking you home with me. I had no plans to pursue it any further. I just wanted you safe and near me. I wanted you to come back to Colorado and do whatever you wanted with your life. If you found some nice guy in college, I would have paid for your wedding and been there for you.”

  My body tightens around him when he quickens his pace.

  “I didn’t want you to fall in love with me because it wasn’t right. I’m nearly twice your age and essentially in a position of power over you. But then we did fall, baby. We fell so fucking hard.”

  I gasp as my orgasm slices through me. I’m sure I’m drawing blood from his shoulders but he doesn’t complain. Seconds later, his heat pours into me. As soon as dick stops twitching, he relaxes and kisses me on the nose.

  “I’m sorry,” he says, remorse in his voice. “I’m sorry about how it began but I’m not sorry for how it ended. In the end, we have each other and that’s all that fucking matters.”

  I smile at him through my tears. “I’m going to kill her. But, Donovan, you’re right. It was fate. You’re my best friend. I love you and I can’t imagine not loving you.”

  “Baby?” he murmurs.

  I open my eyes, still lost in my memory, and stare into the silvery blue ones of Donovan Jayne. “I’ve missed you,” I admit in a whisper.

  He lets out a frustrated breath and I can tell he’s dying to kiss me. But he won’t. Not in front of all these people. Not in front of Logan. Donovan knows me well enough to know what would do me in. Kissing me in front of all of these people would fuck everything up.

  “I love you, Nadia,” he tells me in a fierce voice before resting his forehead against mine. “You’ve always been mine and you always will be. I don’t know what the fuck is going on but I’m going to figure it out. Then, you’re coming home to me for good. Got it, baby?”

  I close my eyes and nod. “I want to believe your words. God, how I do.”

  “Then believe them. When it comes to you, I can’t stop. I refuse to stop. I’ll always do whatever it takes to keep you. And if I truly believed you loved Logan, I’d let you go. But you don’t,” he says almost viciously at the end. “Because you love me. You can walk away from the mess you got yourself in. Whatever hold he has over you, we can find a way to get rid of it. I swear to you we can.”

  I’m about to speak when a firm grip on my elbow jerks me from Donovan.

  “May I have this dance?”

  My entire fantasy world comes crashing down around me when my gaze meets the murderous one of Logan Baldwin. Back to reality.

  Shit.

  Donovan stalks over to us with his hands fisted at his sides, his rage barely concealed. When he reaches me, he loses it.

  “I’m going to kill that motherfucker. I am going to put a bullet in his skull and dump him in the goddamned lake,” he snarls under his breath, completely ignoring Ames at my side.

  “Calm down,” I urge.

  He scrubs his face with both palms and his shoulders hunch forward. I’ve never seen him so dejected. “Why can’t she just let it go, man? I’ve funded her searches, stood by her, and even sacrificed my business at times to help her. She’s made it her life’s mission to find your sister and it absolutely consumes her. I know this has something to do with Kasey. It always has something to do with Kasey with Nadia. But she jeopardizes her own safety for her cause. This is too much, though. I’m not going to be able to sit by and watch him destroy her, all so she can accomplish her goal…whatever the hell that may be.”

  The more Donovan speaks of Nadia as an advocate for my sister, the harder it is for me to focus on everything I’ve tried to piece together all these years. Anger and hate have fizzled. Determination sets in. I have the urge to bring both Nadia and Donovan down to the station, open Kase’s file, and demand answers. Real answers. Not whatever bullshit that I’ve been working with this entire time. Then, I can confront Logan and find out what he knows too.

  “Jesus Christ! What am I going to do?” he demands.

  Ames reaches out and touches his shoulder. If I didn’t think Donovan was obsessed with Nadia, I’d be jealous. But he is obsessed. Borderline manic.

  “He’s a lunatic. I’m pretty sure he was hurting her today at the mall. When women are abused, they’re afraid,” Ames tells him. “My sister, Ash, was in an abusive relationship in high school. I know the signs. It took a long time for me to convince her to leave him.”

  Donovan swivels on his heel and I can see he’s about three seconds from attacking Logan. I grab on to the back of his suit jacket and jerk him backwards.

  “Not here,” I rumble. “I’ll get you your moment in a little bit and you can try to talk some sense into her. But clobbering his ass on the dance floor will only make things worse for Nadia. Trust me.”

  He snaps his gaze over to mine but gives me a clipped nod. “Room three seventeen. Find a way to get her there without Logan seeing. Please.”

  When he storms off, I frown at Ames. “I’m sorry our first date couldn’t be a little more romantic.”

  She smiles. “I prefer adventure over romance. I climb mountains, explore mines, and dig in dirt for a living. Romance is overrated,” she says with a wink.

  Her purple colored eyes glitter with mischief, and for a moment, everything around me fades into the background. For the past week, amid all the chaos, Amethyst has had a way of making me forget the past ten years. She brings me fucking happiness just by being her.

  “Then you won’t mind me doing this,” I say with a smirk, grabbing her ass with both hands and pulling her against my now hard cock. I slip one hand around her neck, just under her jaw, and hold her in place while I go to kiss her. My kiss isn’t soft or sweet or anything romantic. It’s hungry and desperate. Needy. It’s a kiss that promises adventures to follow.

  Her hands, starting at my waist, running up my chest are enough to drive me mad. I’ve almost convinced myself to bend her over a table and fuck her right here when the notion is quickly snuffed out by the idea of anyone other than me seeing her naked. Fuck that.

  A giggle erupts from her and I reluctantly pull away.

  “What?” I grumble but can’t help but smile back.


  “You,” she says, with a half-smile. “I like it when you’re a caveman. I like playing in caves so we kind of fit together.”

  I tug her to me again and ravish her mouth. Eventually, I release her with great reluctance. Her pink, swollen lips are driving me fucking mad. “I’ll show you how we fit together later, Lames,” I tease.

  Her eyebrow lifts up. “Ugh, Lames? Really?”

  I chuckle. “Kaspy and Lames. Kind of has a nice ring to it.”

  “Fine, I’ll give you that,” she concedes. “It is cute.” Her smile is radiant. “Better not disappoint me, though, Lieutenant.”

  I’m about to respond when my gaze falls to Logan and Nadia. I look over just in time to see him forcefully gripping her hips in a way that is more than possessive—it’s predatory. So much so that it causes her to wince. My mind is once again on the fact that she’s been trying all these years to help find Kasey but my asshole boss decided to keep this information from me. Maybe he was trying to protect me from what I’d find. Or, maybe he knows I’ll find something they screwed up on when they worked the case. Whatever it is, I need to know.

  “I have to stop this. He’s fucking hurting her,” I snarl. I may have a thing for Ames but I still have a sense of protectiveness over Nadia I can’t explain.

  “This is our chance. I’m going to, uh,” Ames says with a stutter, “start some trouble and create a diversion. When it all hits the fan, sneak Nadia away. I’ll meet you outside his hotel room door.”

  Before I can ask what she means to do, she disappears into the crowd. I start making my way over to Nadia and Logan. He’s bitching her out under his breath but stills when I walk up.

  “Mr. Dunaway was asking for you,” I lie.

  Logan’s nostrils flare in anger. “Of course he was. Keep an eye on her,” he spits in Nadia’s direction with a jerk of his chin. He’s practically coming apart in front of all these people. This town’s good ‘ol boy is having trouble keeping that perfect mask in place. “We’re not done talking.” He storms off and I turn to look at Nadia.

  “Room three seventeen,” I hiss. “Go.”

  She frowns at me. “What? I can’t go—”

  Grabbing her shoulders, I give her a tiny shove toward the door. “Don’t be stupid, girl. Just go. Donovan’s waiting.”

  At the mention of his name, her face crumbles and she runs off. Weird as fucking hell, that woman. I’m just striding over to Logan and Mr. Dunaway when a couple of women start screeching from the doorway that leads outside.

  “There’s a car on fire in the parking lot! Chief! I think it’s your Tahoe!”

  My eyes widen in shock. Logan curses and trots toward the exit while I make a hasty retreat to the third floor. When I make it out of the elevator, Ames is leaning against the wall with a shit-eating grin on her face.

  “Room three twenty-eight,” she says and waves a room key at me. “Come on.”

  She slips off her shoes and carries them in her hand while I follow her like a lost puppy. What the fuck is it about this girl that makes me crazy?

  Once we slip into the room, she beams at me. “How was that for a distraction?”

  Shaking my head at her, I can’t help but smile back. “Um, illegal comes to mind. What the fuck were you thinking, you little pyro?”

  She snorts and waves me off like I just reprimanded her for going five miles over the speed limit. Not setting our police chief’s car to flames. “I don’t like that guy. He had it coming.” She unzips the side of her dress and I nearly choke when she lets it drop to the floor. Her ass is all but bare in a red thong and I crave to mark up those cheeks with my teeth to make it match.

  I clear my throat and try to find my voice. “Guess I better stay on your good side, huh?” She tosses me a playful look over her shoulder and I feel it all the way down to my fucking pinky toes. “Besides,” she continues as if I hadn’t even said anything. “Did you see the way Donovan looks at Nadia? Swoon. They’re in love.”

  I gape at her. “Said the self-proclaimed non-romantic. You do realize that’s his stepdaughter, right?”

  She looks at me through the mirror and unhooks her bra. It falls to the floor without a sound. When she bats her eyelashes at me, I nearly pounce on her. She stops short, though, and crinkles her nose. The expression makes her look adorable. “Wait, so he’s married?”

  “Not anymore. He and her mom divorced a few years back.”

  “Ah,” she says triumphantly as if she just won an argument. “Well, you’re blind if you don’t see what’s really going on there. They’re in love and we helped them. I bet he’s making love to her right now.”

  Curling up my lip in disgust, I shake my head. “You’re nuts.”

  “Yeah, I guess I would be nuts to want to have sex with you,” she says with a yawn.

  A growl rumbles in my chest as I work at the bow tie at my throat. “How did you even pull that shit off? You don’t smoke. You wouldn’t have a lighter in your purse.”

  I shrug out of my jacket and toss it onto a chair. My fingers fly through the buttons as my dick tries to escape my slacks on its own. She walks over to the window, her back still to me, and peeks out the curtains. An orange glow lights the parking lot below. “I told you, I work in mines and caves all day. A woman like me must always be prepared. You’d be surprised at what I have in my purse. Besides, I didn’t use a lighter. I used one of those tiki torch things by the walkway out front. Broke his window with a rock and tossed the torch inside. Lit up like the fourth of July.”

  “You could have been hurt,” I grumble as I shed my dress shirt and undershirt.

  She giggles and looks over her shoulder at me again. “But I wasn’t. Nadia, however, was being hurt.”

  Her gaze falls to where I’m unbuckling my belt and her smile falters. I pause to regard her with a frown. “I thought you wanted to do this. What’s wrong?”

  Slowly, she walks over to me. Her perky tits bounce slightly with her movement and I’m eager to suck on them until they’re red and sore.

  “I do want this, Kasper,” she says and pushes my hands from my belt. Her slender fingers begin working to get my pants undone. “But I’m not usually a love ‘em and leave ‘em kind of girl.”

  I thread my fingers into her hair and tug back so I can look into her sparkly eyes. “One night would never be enough for me. Besides,” I say with a smirk, “you’d probably set my car on fire too if I did such a heinous thing.”

  She scoffs, already poised to say something back, but I attack her lips with mine. Her mouth parts open and I taste this sweet woman. A hint of the wine we drank earlier lingers on her tongue. I want to get drunk from licking off the remnants. While I kiss her, I let one palm slide down to her breast. She lets out a whimper when I pinch her nipple between my thumb and forefinger.

  Her lips pull from mine and she regards me with furrowed brows. “Actually, that’s the thing,” she says, her voice sad. “I can’t really give you more than one night right now. After what happened to Ash, I’m so…”

  “Heartbroken?” I ask, cupping her face in my hands. Of course she fucking is. I’m a dick for thinking anything different.

  Her lip wobbles and she nods. “But I’d like to just turn off my heart for one night. I’d like for you to make me feel…anything other than the never-ending ache in my chest. Make my body feel good. Can you do that? Please? Just one night.”

  A pang of disappointment ripples through me but I’m not going to be selfish. If she needs this, I’ll be more than happy to give it to her. I won’t make any promises about afterward, though. Her heart is something I’ve grown quite fond of. And I’ll earn a piece of it eventually…when the time is right.

  “Of course I can,” I assure her and drop my mouth to hers. “Tonight is ours. I’ll make you forget about the pain. Even if only for a little while.”

  My hand slips beneath her silky thong as I kiss her deeply. Her moan nearly does me in the moment my finger connects with her clit.

>   “You like that, Lames?” I hum against her lips with a satisfied smile as I massage her. “Can you feel that?”

  She nods and her breathing becomes ragged. “Y-Yes. Don’t stop.”

  Smiling against her mouth, I pick up my speed. “I won’t stop until you’re coming all over my fingers.”

  Another whimper.

  Her body writhes and squirms at my touch but I keep my promise, only intensifying my efforts with each passing second. When she lets out a yelp before shuddering in my arms, I suck on her bottom lip and draw out her orgasm as long as I can.

  “I haven’t had one of those in a long time,” she says in a breathy voice. “Far too long.”

  She drags her fingertips along my hardened chest. My cock begs for attention but I remain still. When her eyes meet mine, I raise an eyebrow at her.

  “Want more?”

  Her smile is immediate. I love the way her cheeks are slightly pink from the orgasm I gave her. The way her pale flesh colors so easily has me wanting to mark her up all over. An odd sensation comes over me…one I’ve never felt before. Is this how normal people feel with someone they like? Do they want to brand them? Hardly seems normal but it’s such a far cry from the norm for me that I welcome the change. I’ve never wanted something to be mine so badly in my life.

  And I want Amethyst to be only mine.

  If I could write my name in hickeys on her stomach, I would.

  “I don’t know if I will be able to stop at one night,” I admit as I push her panties down her thighs. I kneel to pull them off her ankles. Her fingers thread into my hair when I kiss the inside of her thigh. “Actually, I’m quite sure of it. I have an obsessive personality…and you’re all I can think about.”

  She’s quiet for a moment but then laughs. “Let’s not worry about all that right now, Lieutenant. I’m wet and ready. Now. Enough talk already. Show me what you got. You can talk about your precious feelings in the morning,” she teases.

  With a chuckle, I stand and hug her, only because I want to swat her bare ass. As soon as the slap echoes in the room, she squeals. “Hey! What was that for?”