Winter Fire: A Red Hot Winter Story (12 page)

Jackson stared at her, stunned all the way down to his bones. She was the only one who could make his life whole. Fuck knew he’d tried to find someone else when she’d left, and that had been a dismal failure. He’d tried to bury himself in emotionless sex, because the physical relief and release had helped to hide the psychological emptiness. But his life was as hollow now as the day she’d left Brisbane.

“I think you need to leave my chalet,” Rachel said quietly. She’d wrapped her arms around herself and stood shivering, naked and wet in the shower stall with him. “I can’t do this anymore. I can’t pretend I don’t love you when I do, and I can’t pretend to be the bad guy when I’m not. I’ll pack my bags as soon as you’re gone. I’ll get out of your hair and Jenna’s.” She bit her lip and stood a little straighter. “And next time you have a birthday celebration, I promise not to come. I promise not to put you under this kind of strain again. It’s not fair to any of us.” She pushed open the glass door and stepped into the bathroom. “Happy birthday, by the way.”

Shock rendered him speechless. He couldn’t move.

Christ, it was officially his birthday. He was thirty.

Thirty and alone.

The thought of her leaving him, of her walking away again, powered him into action.

“No!”

He went after her, streaking out the shower and through the bathroom, leaving a trail of water in his wake. She was beside the bed when he finally caught up to her. He grabbed her arm and hauled her against him, slamming her body into his. “Damn it, Rachel. You’re not walking away from me again. From us. I let you go the last time, thinking it was the right thing to do. This time I won’t. I’ll never let you go again.”

“Jack—”

“You’re right, Rach. About everything. I’ve been a fucking idiot. Blind to my actions. Without ever meaning to, I’ve made you into a potential threat. I’ve imbued you with all these evil powers you’d never use. God knows you’re incapable of ever hurting Jenna. I know it. Jenna knows. I just never realized that we all subconsciously thought it.”

“I’m not a threat, Jackson. I never have been. But Jenna’s still my best friend, and you’re still her brother. The restrictions are still there. We can’t be together, even if we want to.” Tears shimmered in her eyes.

“Yes, we can.”

She shook her head. “Jenna—”

“Jenna will have to come to terms with it. I’ve spent my entire adult life living alone because I didn’t want Jenna getting hurt again. In the process I’ve hurt you, the woman I love. The woman I want to spend my life with. By protecting her I’ve overlooked you. And me. It’s our turn, Rach. It’s time for us to be happy. Twelve years is long enough to pay for a crime I didn’t commit.” No, he hadn’t been able to protect Jenna when they were kids. Yes, he’d blamed himself. But when all was said and done, he hadn’t done anything wrong.

Jenna had been caught in the revenge attack of a malicious teenager. She’d suffered for it. So had he. But it didn’t mean he had to continue suffering for the rest of his life. And it sure as hell didn’t mean Rachel had to suffer along with them.

He’d done his penance. They all had.

It was time to move on. It was time to be happy again. To live again, and the only way that could happen for him was to be with Rachel.

“We need to be together, Rach.”

Her mouth dropped open.

“Enough secrets. Enough hiding. We love each other. Let’s tell the world. Let everyone know. Let’s give a relationship, a real relationship between us, a chance.”

She shook her head. “I can’t. I couldn’t do that to Jenna.”

“You and Jenna are close enough to be sisters. If I can see that you’ll never hurt her, she’ll be able to see that too.”

She looked at him, incredulous, her mouth opening and closing like a fish. “I want to, Jackson. So much it scares me. But I’ve moved on, moved away from you. My life’s in Sydney. My business is in Sydney. I can’t just up and leave it.”

She was worried about work? About geography? No fucking way. There’d been enough bullshit keeping them apart. Trivialities like cities and jobs would not come between them. “I’ll move to Sydney. I’ll apply for a job at one of the newspapers there.”

She blinked. “You’d do that? For me?”

“For us, Rach. I’d do anything for us. We’ve earned it. We deserve it. It’s our turn now.”

A single tear slid down her cheek. “You’re not kidding, are you?”

“I’ve never been more serious about anything in my life.”

“Jenna—”

“Jenna will give us her blessing. Once I’ve explained everything to her, once she knows how much we love each other, she’d never stand in our way. She’d never be able to see you as a threat to her peace of mind. You’ve proven to her too often that you’re her friend, not her enemy.” It wouldn’t be easy, and it wouldn’t happen quickly, but eventually Jenna would warm to the idea. She’d have to.

“Wh-what about Garreth?”

“I’ll thank him. For everything he’s done to help us reach this point. For helping me see what a fucking idiot I’ve been.” Christ, it stunned him how easy it was to see Garreth in that light now. Not ten minutes ago he was ready to tear the man’s head off. Now he understood Garreth’s only intention in sleeping with Rachel was to make Jackson good and jealous. Damn, the man had succeeded, in one big fucking way.

“What about you,” she asked. “Are you sure?”

“More sure than I’ve ever been about anything. I want to be with you, Rach. I can’t live apart from you anymore. I spent twelve years trying, and refuse to do it for one more day.”

“I…” She frowned, as though searching for another reason to say no.

“Listen to you. You’re so used to denying our love, you’re looking for ways to deny it now. Looking for reasons we shouldn’t be together. There aren’t any. Not anymore. We don’t need to pretend anymore. I don’t want to pretend. I just want to be with you. I just want to give us a chance.”

“I…uh… Okay.”

His heart lurched. “Okay what?”

Her face broke into a smile. “Okay, let’s do this. Let’s give us a chance.” The smile widened, blinding him in its brilliance. “I’ve fantasized about you and I being together my entire adult life. I’m not about to give up on the possibility now that you’re dangling it in front of my eyes. Come and live with me in Sydney. Please.”

It was all he needed to hear.

Their lips met in a kiss as inevitable as their next breath. It continued forever, a kiss borne of love and desire. Borne of twelve years of wanting each other. A kiss that told him this was it. They’d finally accepted each other. They could finally be together.

When at last they pulled apart, it was with a lightness he’d never felt before. A contentment that came with knowing he could kiss her whenever he wanted. Once Jenna knew about them, their love need never be a secret again.

“Remind me to thank Gazza when I see him.” He nuzzled Rachel’s neck. Garreth was responsible for him and Rachel being together now. If not for his housemate, Jackson would never have climbed into her bed again. He’d have continued to live the shadow of a life he’d been leading for twelve years, terrified to love in case Jenna got hurt. “He brought us together.”

Rachel laughed with delight. “That’s because your friend is an alchemist.”

“Pardon?”

“Garreth created gold here tonight. He created us.”

Jackson shook his head. “No, baby, we created us. Garreth just made sure we found each other again.” And then he kissed Rachel again and pulled her onto the bed. It was way past time they created their own alchemy together. Just the two of them.

About the Author

To learn more about Jess Dee please visit her website at:
www.jessdee.com
. Or you can drop by her blog:
http://jessdee.wordpress.com
.

Jess loves to hear from her readers. You can contact her any time at:
[email protected]
.

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Two men plus one woman equals three bodies on fire…

True Heart

© 2010 Delilah Devlin

A
Red Hot Winter
Story

True Wyatt’s hands are going to be full enough keeping the herd alive through the dead of winter. The last thing he needs to hear is that his brother Lonny has rented out their isolated hunting cabin to a reclusive writer—especially a sassy, disaster-prone brunette. Who has time to babysit a city girl until spring?

With a deadline looming, erotica writer Honey Cahill is looking forward to six distraction-free weeks to finish her next book. However, between Lonny’s flirty sensuality and True’s hard-edged intensity, the Wyatt brothers set the stage of her imagination for a winter of wicked delights.

The fire that destroys the cabin, though, is as real as it gets. Forced to seek a bed under True and Lonny’s roof, the temptation to experiment—all in the name of research, of course—is overpowering. One night in their arms doesn’t feel like enough; it feels like more. Particularly with one cowboy who fires all her cylinders…

Warning: It’s a Devlin ménage—expect men with stamina and not an ounce of mercy to behave like sex gods, and the lucky woman to love every minute of it. A little domination goes a long, long way…

Enjoy the following excerpt for
True Heart:

Honey sat huddled under a blanket on the couch Lonny had moved nearer the fire. He’d found a pair of insulated leggings for her to wear that fit her well enough. Her ass kept them from falling off. The sweater was large, and fell off whichever shoulder she shrugged, but beggars couldn’t be choosers. Her own clothing was salvageable and was in the laundry, but she’d save them for her trip off the mountain once the snowplows cleared the road.

Lonny had checked with the department of transportation and said it might be several days before she could leave. And she was determined to do just that—despite his assurances that she could stay and complete the work she’d come to do.

However, that seemed pointless. She’d saved the thumb drive, but she didn’t have the heart to finish the new story. She was supposed to write something sexy and flirty, but all she had the urge to create was a tragedy.

She knew she was feeling sorry for herself, and she should pull up her big-girl panties and get on with it. But she didn’t have any panties on.

“I have soup.”

She jumped at True’s quiet words. The man could creep up on a ghost. And was that all he had to say?
Seriously?

Honey bit back a retort, recognizing that what she really wanted was to start a fight—with him. She held out her hand and waited while he turned the mug to present her the handle.

A small gesture, but one that fucked with her head. Why be gentle? Why pretend to care whether she burned her fingers? She’d burned down his entire cabin—his quaint little hunting cabin that his father had built years ago. Why wasn’t he furious?

She gulped down a sip of chicken soup and blinked.

“Couldn’t you tell it was hot?”

She blinked away pain-filled tears and aimed a blistering glare his way.

True’s jaw clenched. “I’ll leave you to finish.” He began to turn away.

She bent to set the cup on the floor. “Why are you avoiding me?” If she could have bit her own tongue and swallowed it whole, she would have.

True hesitated. “You’ve been through enough.”

“Don’t give me that crock of—” She glanced away. She wasn’t going to cuss at the man. Wasn’t going to make herself look any more pathetic than she already was.

“I’m guessing now’s not a good time to check on our girl.”

Both Honey and True turned to glare at Lonny whose mouth moved like he was biting his lip. Was he laughing at them?

“Don’t disappear,” True said. “I can’t seem to get anything right.”

“No kidding,” Honey muttered.

Lonny walked deeper into the room, glancing from Honey to True. “I take it you’re feeling more yourself, Honey?”

“I’ve never been less myself,” she snarled.

“I don’t know about that,” he said amiably. “The color’s back in your cheeks.”

Honey hit her thigh with her fist. “I don’t shout at men. I don’t ever want to shout at men. But he—” She glared at True. “He manages to push every last one of my buttons.”

“And that’s a bad thing?” Lonny asked softly. He took a seat beside her. “Quit hovering, True. Take a seat.”

True looked reluctant but took up the space on her left side. Wedged between the two brothers, Honey blew out a deep breath. The temperature in the room had skyrocketed. She flipped back her blanket.

True reached for the edge and shoved it over her shoulder.

“I’m warm enough,” she muttered.

“You’ll get sick.”

“And that would be a huge inconvenience on top of the hundred other inconveniences I’ve caused, wouldn’t it?”

True nodded, but her searing glance had him buttoning his lip and glancing away. “I should head out to check on the horses in the barn.”

“They’ll wait,” Lonny said flatly.

Honey flung up her hands. “I can assure both of you that I’m fine. No need for you to worry. If you’ll just show me where I can sleep…”

Lonny laid a hand on her knee and leaned toward her. “That’s part of what we’re going to talk about, sweetheart.”

She narrowed her eyes to give him a mean glare even though inside her heart was thumping loudly in her chest. “Oh, yeah?”

“True mentioned what you’re writing.”

True muttered a curse under his breath.

Honey’s cheeks burned. “Anyone ever tell you that you two are big fat gossips?”

“Not ever. Don’t change the subject. A ménage, right?”

“I changed my mind,” she said, folding her arms over her chest. “I’ve decided to scrap the book. Now I’m going to write a post-apocalyptic story—lots of blood and guts. I’m feeling pretty violent at the moment.”

“I think you need to do the right research.”