The Heartbreaker Series: Books 1-3 (3 page)

We pull into a winding driveway and park next to a black Camaro. I’m guessing it’s Nico’s car. Both of us climb out and grab our bags.

We’re almost up the steps when someone opens the front door. When I get a look at the man holding open the door, I freeze.

Chapter Three

Jasmine

Oh my God! What am I going to do? It’s the guy who made me come in the middle of that nightclub the other night. I try to keep my face hidden as he greets Jill with a big hug. I can see in his soft eyes how much he loves his sister. They speak too softly for me to hear them, but whatever they’re talking about has Jill’s brother smiling down at her. This goes on for a minute before his gaze finds me and, in that instant, I know he recognizes me. His face doesn’t show surprise, but his eyes are filled with heat.

I squirm under his stare as it holds me immobile. I’m vaguely aware of Jill coming down to me and grabbing my arm. “Gabe, this is who I’ve told you about. Jasmine, this is my big brother, Gabe. Gabe, this is Jasmine.”

I don’t want Jill to find out what happened, so I stick out my hand.

“It’s nice to meet you, Gabe.”

He grabs my hand and heat travels up my arm. Instead of shaking it, he pulls me toward him and slowly kisses my cheek. I swear he sniffs me before he pulls away, but I’m probably just imagining it.

“You too, Jasmine.” The way he says my name causes my pussy to throb.
Stupid pussy
. Embarrassment floods my cheeks and I hope neither one of them notices. Do I get my way? Of course not, because Gabe looks at me with a knowing smile and I’m disgusted with myself. I’ve never let a man have control over me with a single action. I don’t know why I’m reacting this way.

We follow him into the house. The place is absolutely gorgeous. The look is a lot homier than I’d expect for a bachelor pad. The floors are a beautiful dark wood. The foyer is empty except for a beautiful full-length mirror. We follow him around the corner and enter a huge living room with taupe colored couches and an oversized chair. The fireplace is lined with beautiful marble tile. I can just imagine how wonderful that would be in the winter. There isn’t a TV, which surprises me.

We follow him to the dining room and then the kitchen. With its huge stainless steel appliances and a big island in the middle, it’s a woman’s dream. Someone opens the sliding door in the kitchen and in walks a man almost as good-looking as Gabe.

This must be Nico. Jill mutters a hello and Nico responds in another language. It sounds like Italian and he doesn’t sound happy. I feel eyes on me and turn my head to find Gabe staring at me intently. Goose bumps erupt all over my skin. He’s wearing a t-shirt with the sleeves cut off and a pair of swim trunks. The muscles in his arms are bulging and he’s got a tattoo that wraps around his forearm. His dark hair is pulled back in one of those man buns.

He puts his hand on the small of my back. “Come on, I’ll show you the rest of my place.”

My body hums as it moves with a mind of its own. I walk alongside him as he shows me the family room that houses a huge flat screen TV, surround sound, and another fireplace. This room has a vast sectional that is covered in soft-looking leather.

“Your home is really beautiful,” I mutter as we walk up some steps. I imagine his bedroom is up here. I’m interested in seeing where he sleeps. Thoughts of us in bed flow through my mind. I imagine us tangled in his sheets, our bodies slickened with sweat. His scent wraps around my body and relaxes me. What is my problem, seriously?

He points out three guest bedrooms, then his office. It contains three computer monitors and a laptop sitting on top of a beautiful, heavy-looking desk. I walk to a set of French doors that open up to a balcony. I press my hand against the glass as I peer out into his huge backyard. The pool looks so inviting. Just what I need to cool off my overheated skin.

I feel his body heat a second before his large hand cups my hip. His lips against my ear, he whispers, “Why did you run away from me the other night?”

His voice is low and gravely and it causes goose bumps to break out all over my flesh. My nipples harden against the material of my bikini and I want to press my ass against his groin to see if he’s hard. I freeze, avoiding his beautiful eyes so they won’t hypnotize me. I decide to answer him with a lie. I whisper, “I didn’t run.”

He bites my earlobe and I yelp. He answers my question about his cock when he presses his front snugly against my back. A part of me is dying to see his dick, but by the feel of it, it’s large, and it makes me nervous. I shake my head to try to drive those thoughts out of my mind.

“I think you’re lying to me. I think you ran because you got scared. You can’t tell me you didn’t feel it too,” he whispers against my ear.

Oh, I felt it, but there is no way I’m admitting it to this guy. The men in my life have always let me down one way or another, so I don’t trust them. I can’t. This guy has heartbreak stamped all over him. I don’t want or need the drama.

He wraps a hand around my throat. It’s not tight, but his grip is enough to hold me where I am. My heart starts to beat a rapid staccato as his other hand slides up the inside of my leg. I should stop him. I should tell him I don’t want this, but damn if that’s a total lie.

He reaches my bikini bottoms and slips his fingers under the material. I know what he’s going to find. He’s going to find my wet, swollen pussy. His fingers inch slowly to my opening and as soon as he reaches it, I can’t help the moan that escapes my lips.

“You are fucking soaked.” He pushes a finger inside of me. We moan together as my ass rubs against his dick. I’m so close to coming already. I try to turn my head to at least look at him, but he holds me immobile and that turns me on even more.

“Jasmine! Gabe!” Jill’s voice drifts down the hall and Gabe slowly pulls his finger out of me.

“We’re going to finish this later,” he says right before he licks my arousal right off of his fingers. I feel flushed as I hustle past him and into the hallway, where I run into Jill with Nico trailing behind her.

“Hey, Jill.” I hope she can’t tell that I’m turned on. I turn to Nico and stick my hand out.

“Uh…hey, I’m Jasmine.” He’s not as large as Gabe but he’s still big. I hope he can’t feel me trembling. My nerves are frazzled and all I want to do is run away from here as fast as I can.

“Well, hello. It’s nice to meet you.”

He lets go of my hand and we make our way downstairs and then outside. Us girls set up our chairs and lay out as the guys sit in the shade, talking. I turn to Jill.

“Everything okay?” I ask.

She looks at me with an expression I can’t read. I decide not to push her for now, but I will get whatever is going on out of her.

I decide we need a swim, so I pull her up from her lounger and drag her to the pool. I take out my ponytail and pile my hair on top of my head. I go down the steps first and sigh because the water is tepid and feels so good. Jill follows right behind me. We climb on to rafts and float side by side around the pool. I feel his stare. When I look up, I find him watching me while Nico is talking to him.

***

A short while later, Jill’s brother grills burgers and we all sit around the table to eat. “My sister tells me that you just graduated with your master’s in social work. Any job prospects?”

“Jill’s office has graciously offered me a job. I start in two weeks.” Jill gives me the first genuine smile since we got here.

“So, how did you guys meet?” This is coming from Nico. I’m not embarrassed about how Jill came into my life, but it’s not the easiest thing to talk about.

“Jill helped keep my brother and I in the home we grew up in after our grandparents died. My mom has special needs and has never been able to take care of us, so they sent Jill.” I take a deep breath. “Without her, we wouldn’t have been able to get my mom into the wonderful group home she lives in now.”

“Well, Jill is one in a million,” Nico says to me. It’s true.

We move on to lighter subjects. When I’m done eating, I start picking up and taking dishes into the house. I hear the sliding door and expect to see Jill, but instead it’s Gabe. He sits the platter he’s carrying onto the counter and rubs a hand down my back. The action seems so natural, especially when he kisses my temple.

“What’s the deal?” I ask him. I turn around and my breasts brush his chest. That’s how close he’s standing to me.

“I know you feel this connection too and it’s only a matter of time before this happens between us.” His lips are a hair’s breadth away from mine.

“You’re so arrogant! So I kissed you, big whoop. I may be attracted to you, but it doesn’t mean I’m going to do anything about it.”

The ass leans forward and kisses me before he whispers, “We’ll see.” Then he’s gone.

“I can’t believe him,” I mutter to myself.

I toss the washcloth in the sink and head back outside. Gabe watches me with those damn intense eyes as I sit back down at the table. Gabe and Jill are swapping stories about the summers Gabe spent with her and their mom. Jill is twelve years younger than Gabe, but it didn’t stop them from being close. They share story after story, each one just as hilarious as the last.

“Jill snuck in the backseat of our mom’s car when I borrowed it for a date.” Gabe points at Jill. “This little shit waited until we got to the theater to pop up out of the backseat. I swear to God she scared me so bad that I was seconds from swinging. Katie, my date, screamed so loud I was surprised my eardrums didn’t bleed. I laughed it off, but Katie didn’t. She screamed at Jill until Jill started to cry, so I kicked my date out and took this monster for ice cream.”

“Oh please, Katie was such a bitch. I was glad I ruined your date. I got in so much trouble when we got home, though. I swear that’s the first time Dad ever spanked me,” Jill says with a mischievous smile. Nico stares at Jill from across the table and I can see how much he cares about her. There is a longing there that makes me sad.

We don’t stay too much longer, which is good. The longer we’re here, the twitchier I get. A part of me wants to run as far and as fast from him as I can, but the part that has me twitchy wants to crawl onto his lap and impale myself on his cock.

I’m so thankful when Jill and I both stand up to leave. Distance is what I need so I can think more clearly. We gather our stuff and the men follow us around front to Jill’s car. Jill hugs her brother and then Nico, who holds her for a long time. Gabe opens my door for me, not taking his eyes off mine.

“When can I see you again?” he asks, his voice deep and husky.

I freeze. “Why?” Ugh, I’m an idiot.

“I keep telling you we’re going to see where this is going. The quicker you accept it, the better.”

I roll my eyes, shake my head, and quickly climb into Jill’s car. I manage to close the door before he realizes it. He leans down until I can see his face. He taps on the window and mouths, ‘
You and I are going to happen
.’ I cross my arms over my chest. I shake my head and stare out the front windshield while Jill pulls around and out of his driveway.

We’re both silent on the way back to my apartment. I’m dying to ask her about Nico, but I don’t. She’s kept the whole thing private for so long that there has to be a reason. I know when she’s ready, she’ll tell me. Plus, I’m not about to tell her that I made out with her much older brother several times.

When Jill pulls up in front of my apartment building, I give her a hug. “Let’s do lunch later this week. I want to hear more about my job.”

She smiles at me. “That sounds great. Thanks for coming with me today.”

I tell her it was no big deal and hug her quickly before I jump out of the car.

I step inside and immediately pull out my phone. There is one person I need right now.

I need you. Can you come over? BTW I’m not mad at you anymore.

He responds in seconds.

YES! I am sorry. You know I love you.

I do. Please just come over. There’s something I need to tell you.

I sit my phone down, go directly to my freezer, and take out my pint of AmeriCone Dream. The nerve of that man—telling me that we’re going to happen. I scoff while I shove another spoonful into my mouth.

The sucky part is I want it to happen. I want those hands on me. I want to feel the scruff of his beard scratch my skin. I want to kiss every inch of his tan skin and want him to do the same to me. After shoving another scoop into my mouth, I stick my head into the freezer, hoping that’ll cool my overheated skin.

I hear keys jiggle and then the sound of my door opening. I close the freezer as Jordan comes toward me and engulfs me in a bear hug. I wrap my arms around him and hold on tight to him. He pisses me off so much, but he’s my best friend.

I pull back and smile at him. We’re twins, but we don’t really look alike. He’s at least six foot three and two hundred and twenty pounds of muscle. He spends more time at the gym than anyone I know. He’s dishwater blond and has blue-gray eyes. I, on the other hand, have colored platinum blonde hair. It’s normally a pale blonde. My eyes are a mossy green.