Brazen (Brazen #1)(12)

She sighed and rolled out of his arms onto her back. She stared up at the ceiling, a distant look to her eyes. “I told you my mom died.”

Zane nodded though he doubted she saw.

“Growing up, it was just me, my mom and my older brother. He was ten years older so we weren’t particularly close. I mean he looked out for me when I was a kid, but he joined the Army right out of high school. He and my mom got into a terrible argument over some guy she wanted to marry, and so he never kept in touch.

“After all that, she didn’t even end up with the guy. I didn’t like him either, but I know she was lonely. Then she got sick. Cancer. She died within three months of the diagnosis.”

Zane’s chest tightened at the sadness in Jaz’s voice. “How old were you when she died?” he asked quietly.

“Fifteen.”

He frowned but didn’t interrupt her. She was sixteen when he and Seth had found her in the bar. What had she done in the year between her mother’s death and then?

“I was sent to foster care. I hated them. They hated me. I went through three homes in a matter of weeks. The last family was a real winner. They had a twenty-year-old son, and dad and son thought it would be fun to have their own personal plaything. I left after three days.”

Zane put his hand on her head, tunneling his fingers into her hair. It made him angry. So goddamn angry. What if he and Seth hadn’t been the ones Jaz approached that night? Would she even be alive now? A cold chill crept over his skin at the idea of what might have happened to her.

He continued to stroke through her hair, waiting, not wanting to push her.

“You know the rest,” she said dully. “I was young and stupid. Thought I could make it on my own. No place to go but no place to go back to either.”

Silence settled over them. She still stared up at the ceiling, though he knew she was about as far away from here as one could get. He didn’t want her hurting, didn’t want those painful memories to do so much damage. He wanted to make it better, but he didn’t know how.

Finally, she turned her head until she looked at him. Deep sadness registered in her gaze. “I miss her,” she said simply.

“Your mom?”

She nodded. “We never had much, but she always made sure I had enough.”

“I’m sorry, honey.”

She smiled then and reached up to put her hand on his cheek. “I’m glad I’m home. I missed you and Seth. And Carmen.”

“We missed you too.”

She yawned and took her hand down from his face to stifle the sound. He seized the opportunity with both hands.

“Get some sleep, Jaz. It’s been a long day.”

He leaned over and kissed her forehead as if that simple gesture would replace the fact that he’d devoured her lips just moments earlier. He couldn’t forget it, but he could hope she would.

She stared at him for a long moment then slowly nodded. He reached for the lamp and doused the room in darkness once more. When he turned back to her, she rolled over then promptly scooted into his chest. He nearly groaned in frustration.

“Zane?”

He sighed. “Yes, honey?”

“I love you.”

The words did strange things to him. She’d said it before. She’d always been affectionate with him. But he’d never taken it seriously. He’d never had an issue with returning the words. They’d always rolled effortlessly off his lips, but now they stuck in his throat as if saying them would change the course of their entire relationship.

He curled his arm around her waist as she snuggled deeper into his embrace. She felt…right. And who the hell needed sleep anyway?

Chapter Five

Seth hauled himself out of bed even earlier than usual. It wasn’t quite light yet, and he’d planned a busy day. He was supposed to meet the wildlife biologist for breakfast then take him out over the northeast quadrant to look at areas he’d selected for food plots.

He showered quickly, his mind occupied with Jasmine instead of his coming meeting. He hated what had happened to her yesterday. He didn’t like to see her scared. It reminded him too much of the way he’d first seen her. Big eyes full of fear, looking every bit her sixteen years old instead of the nineteen she’d claimed. If it hadn’t been so important to get her far away from Houston and the man controlling her, he would have tracked the son of a bitch down and beat the ever-loving shit out of him.

He toweled off and dressed in jeans and a T-shirt. He didn’t have to leave for another half hour, but he wanted to check in on Jasmine. So far her homecoming hadn’t exactly been smooth.

Her door was partway open, but then she’d never slept with it closed. He nudged it and stepped inside, his gaze seeking her bed. He frowned when he found it empty. Her bathroom light was on, but he couldn’t hear any sound from inside. He walked over and hesitated outside the open door.

“Jasmine?”

When he received no answer, he peered around the door but she wasn’t there either. Maybe she was downstairs in the kitchen with Carmen.

He walked out of her room and started down the hall to the stairs. When he passed Zane’s room, he stopped, not sure why. His brother’s door was open a few inches, so Seth put his hand out and pushed lightly. His fingers curled around the knob as he stepped inside the frame.

Jasmine lay in Zane’s arms, sound asleep. Her back was curled into his chest, and Zane had a protective arm around her waist. An angry buzz began in Seth’s ears. He clenched his jaw until he damn near cracked his teeth. What the f**k was Zane thinking, and more importantly, just what the hell had happened last night?