Brazen (Brazen #1)(27)

Hurt swelled and knotted in her throat. He was shutting her out.

The ache in her chest only grew as she trudged to her room. She closed the door behind her as she slipped in, and she leaned heavily against it.

She slid down the smooth wood until she crouched on the floor, and she drew her knees to her chest, hugging them tightly. What would she do? How could she force Seth to see her, to really see her?

Her plan had seemed so simple. But things in theory always did. It was easy to dream of how it would be, and that all she had to do was return, show them that she loved them and everything would fall into place.

Apparently she was a naïve idiot. So much for growing up. Maybe they were right. Maybe she was too young for them. Maybe she was just a silly little girl playing at being a woman.

But damn it, her love for them was real. It wasn’t some misplaced adolescent crush. She’d had those. She knew the difference.

And she’d never been flighty. She’d made up her mind very early on that she wanted Seth and Zane. Even when the opportunity came up for intimate relationships with other men, she’d held back, reserved that part of herself for Seth and Zane. Her body was too important, as was her self-respect.

She’d always known she would only ever give such an important part of herself to someone she really loved. It didn’t make her old fashioned or a martyr. It made her smart and damn choosy.

At the rate she was progressing with Seth and Zane, she might well die a virgin.

She heaved an aggravated sigh. It was time to quit feeling sorry for herself. She’d suffered a setback, but it wasn’t the end of the world. She could either wimp out or she could move on and form a new plan of attack.

Chapter Eleven

The next few days tested her fortitude. Seth and Zane both avoided her, and when Seth was forced into contact with her, he was stiffly polite.

If he’d ever acted that way before, Jasmine would have immediately called him on it, but she wasn’t ready to provoke him. Yet. She needed to think of a way around his iron-clad wall.

Zane, on the other hand, just avoided her. Once she’d nearly bumped into him on her way out of the kitchen, and his expression had become shuttered. He’d looked away before finally retreating.

She’d made a mistake thinking it would be easier to win Zane over first. She’d used their history of closeness as a point in her favor, but all she’d done was make things difficult between him and Seth. In hindsight, it should have been obvious that she was going to have to work on Seth first.

And so, with that in mind, she concocted a plan. While risky and a bit outlandish, it made her positively gleeful when she anticipated the outcome. It was just diabolical enough to work.

For the first time since the morning of Seth and Zane’s fight, she felt upbeat and positive. She dressed in a pair of cutoff shorts and a form-fitting tank top that showed off the diamond teardrop belly ring.

Seth would probably have a coronary if she took off in his truck again, and she wanted him in the best possible mood for when she enacted her grand scheme. So she sucked up her courage and went in search of Zane.

She found him out working on a section of fence near the storage sheds. She stopped at a distance, unable to keep from admiring his bulging muscles and his sweat-slicked body. He paused for a moment and shoved his hair back from his face. It hung down on his shoulders, limp and slightly curly from the humidity.

When he looked up and saw her, she started forward, not wanting to give him the opportunity to escape.

“Zane?” she called softly.

He shifted a little uncomfortably, and then as if realizing there wasn’t an escape route, he faced her again.

“Can I borrow your truck to run into town? I won’t be gone long, I promise.”

He looked a little relieved, and she wondered crossly if it was because she was leaving.

“Yeah, sure,” he said as he dug into his pocket for the keys. He drew them out and tossed them into the air.

She caught them against her chest. “Thanks.”

“We really need to get you your own set of wheels,” he said. “Something you’d be comfortable driving.”

She smiled and gave him a little wave. “I’m perfectly okay with driving yours. I’ll see you later.”

She walked away, not looking back, though she wanted nothing more than to go to him. She wanted to kiss him. Wanted him to take her in his arms. Take her back to the house and to his bed. She sighed. Hopefully soon. Patience had never been one of her finer virtues.

Once she saw J.T.’s truck outside the police station, she parked beside him and walked inside. The cool air was welcome after only a few moments in the sweltering heat. Summer had come early and with a vengeance.

She smiled at the secretary and motioned toward J.T.’s office. “Is he busy?”

Sandra, who’d been the Barley police department’s secretary since before most of its employees were born, smiled and waved her on by.

Jasmine stuck her head inside J.T.’s door and said, “Knock, knock.”

J.T. looked up in surprise and swung his feet off his desk. They landed with a thump as he righted himself. “Hey girl, what are you doing here?”

“You got a minute?” she asked a little nervously as she walked further inside. “I have a small favor to ask.”

He checked his watch. “I’ve got more than a minute. You want to grab lunch? I’m starving.”