She wanted to touch him, to comfort him. There was no emotion in his voice, but she could feel his pain.
“I never saw her again,” he said. His knuckles were white around the wheel.
“Did you want to?” Dumb question. Surely, he’d dreamed of his mother coming back.
“No. I never wanted to see her again. The only thing she ever did was hit me and yell at me. I was glad to be free.” His gaze flashed over to her.
She held his gaze for a moment, then he glanced back at the road.
It was her turn to talk then. “Maybe you think you know me, because you’ve heard bits and pieces of my life over the years. But I’m more than just Cale’s little sister. More than just the woman who stutters in the corner and—”
“Your stutter’s sexy.” A hard pause. “And if anyone tried to put you in a corner, I’d kick their ass.”
Oh. She glanced toward the windshield. The rain was coming down in hard pellets now. So much for beating the storm. “T-turn right.” The stutter didn’t embarrass her now. But her cheeks still glowed.
The truck slowed, turned. A few minutes later, the cabin was in sight.
More thunder rumbled, and when she climbed out of the truck, lightning flashed across the sky. The drops of rain beat against her skin, growing harder with every step she took.
Jasper had his gun out. He paused on the old, slightly sagging porch, and glanced at her. The droplets of rain clung to his skin. “Stay behind me when we go inside.”
Because he thought the watcher might be there? Or because he thought her brother could be inside?
Trust him.
Veronica nodded. Then Jasper pushed open the door and rushed inside the darkness.
Chapter Seven
The cabin was deserted. Jasper checked every closet, checked under the bed and even did a scan of the outside perimeter.
Their watcher wasn’t there. Neither was Cale.
But there was no dust inside the place. The bed was made, and some canned goods were even stocked in the small kitchen. Someone could have been there, and that someone could have covered his tracks pretty well.
The generator hadn’t been turned on, but that would have been a dead giveaway to someone else’s presence in the cabin. Since he wasn’t trying to hide his presence, Jasper flipped on that generator. The lights flashed, and he saw Veronica rubbing her arms.
He picked up a blanket from the back of the old couch. “Here.” His voice was gruff. He’d been too abrupt with her in the truck. But her questions had been like a knife, cutting into old wounds.
No one wants you, not even your own mother.
The other kids at his school hadn’t wasted much time in making his life hell.
Then when he’d grown older, he’d discovered there were other kinds of hells, especially on the battlefield.
Her fingers curled around the blanket. “Th-thank you.”
He ran a hand through his damp hair. The cabin seemed to shake around them with the force of the rattling thunder. “We aren’t getting back to the main house tonight.”
She shook her head. “I don’t want to try and drive through this.”
He didn’t want to push her right into one of her nightmares. He reached for his phone, called the sheriff. “It’s Jasper.” The sheriff immediately started asking questions, all about Veronica. Back off, man. Yeah, it was pretty obvious the guy was sweet on Veronica.
Jasper glanced over at her.
So am I. A complication he sure hadn’t counted on when he’d signed up for the mission.
“We’re staying at the cabin on the north end of the property. No, no,” Jasper said, when the sheriff tried to interrupt, “we aren’t coming back tonight. We’ll check in tomorrow, once the storm has blown past us.” He ended the call over the sheriff’s objections.
Jasper stared at Veronica a moment, then asked, “Is he always like that?”
She looked over her shoulder at him. Her wet hair was a dark mass around her neck. “Like what?”
“He doesn’t want you out of his sight.”
I understand how that feels.
Veronica shrugged. “He’s protective of everyone in Whiskey Ridge.”
What? Of all two hundred folks scattered around?
Jasper began to stalk toward her. His fingers were itching to touch the softness of her skin. No, he just wanted to touch her. “It’s different,” he said. “I can see it in his eyes.” And it made him...jealous. He knew the bitter taste—he’d felt it before. Too often.
Jealous of the kids with real homes, real families.
“He wants you,” Jasper said flatly.
Her lashes lifted and she met his gaze.
“The question is...” Don’t touch her, not yet. The rain pounded down outside, tapping hard against the old tin roof. “Do you want him?” If she did, he’d back off. Because he wasn’t going to—
“Are you really that blind?” she asked him with a shake of her head and a faint smile. “Can’t you tell that you’re the one I want?”
She was the one he was desperate to have.
They were alone. Sheltered from the storm. No interruptions. No danger.
Just...
Them.
His fingers rose, traced the soft curve of her cheek. Slid down, down, and then he was cupping her chin, tilting her head back. He tasted the lingering raindrops on her lips.
Just the touch of her lips against his sent a powerful wave of desire pulsing through his body. The kiss started gentle. She deserved gentle. She was delicate and warm and everything he wanted.
But it was hard to stay gentle when he wanted her so badly that his hands were starting to shake. His arousal pressed against the front of his jeans. Heavy, hard, aching—for her.
“Don’t be a tease this time,” she whispered. “If you want me, it’s just about me. Not about owing anyone anything. Just me. Just you.” The blanket fell from her shoulders. Veronica’s arms rose and wrapped around him. She pulled him closer, and closer was exactly where he wanted to be.
Just me. Just you.
The kiss became deeper. Hotter. He forgot about the chill from the rain, because the woman was burning him up. Her soft fingers pushed up his shirt.
Jasper was only too eager to toss that shirt across the room. Then his hands went to her shirt.
Go easy. Go easy. The mantra was repeating in his head.
“You don’t have to,” she whispered.
He frowned at her. What was she saying?
“I like you anyway—you don’t have to be easy for me.”