Brazen (Brazen #1)(50)

He gave her a doubtful look, but she shoved at his shoulders. “Go on. I can make it.”

“Okay, but if you need help, holler.”

She nodded. “I will. Now go. I’ll be down in a few minutes.”

He left her and disappeared out the door.

Jasmine scooted to the edge of the bed and swung her feet over the side. She tested her ankle, gingerly standing on her good one and then slowly putting her hurt foot on the floor.

Her knees nearly buckled when she put all her weight down. Pain shot up her leg and she wavered precariously. Damn, maybe she should have let him carry her.

With a barely suppressed grimace, she hobbled toward the bathroom determined to take a long, hot shower to remove the stove-up feeling in her body.

Fifteen minutes later, she stood at the top of the stairs. She wasn’t sure exactly why she wouldn’t let Zane take her down, but she didn’t want to flaunt her relationship with him to Seth, even though Seth was well aware of her feelings for him. There was no sense waving the red flag in front of the bull.

She gripped the railing and stepped down with her good foot. Three steps later, she put too much weight on her sprained ankle and let out a cry of pain. Not a second later, Seth appeared at the bottom of the stairs and stared up at her.

He sprinted up, taking them two at a time. “Jasmine, what the hell are you trying to do? Fall down the stairs and kill yourself? Why in God’s name didn’t you call for me or Zane to carry you down?”

He didn’t wait for a reply. He probably didn’t want one anyway. He scooped her up in his arms, and she made a grab for his neck as he made his way carefully back down the steps.

They ran into Zane as Seth carried her into the living room. Zane took one look at her and bit out a curse.

“Hard-headed heifer. Didn’t I tell you to call for me?”

“Uh, well, Seth sort of found me,” she said.

“Going down the stairs,” Seth said, scowling at her.

He set her down on the couch, and she stared up at him and Zane. She was getting a glimpse of how it would be with them. Both fussing over her, loving her, taking care of her. It created a powerful yearning deep within her. God, how she wanted both of them. Loved them. Needed them so much.

Zane got a pillow and propped her foot up on the coffee table with it while Seth positioned cushions behind her back. Emotion knotted in her throat until she thought she was going to break down and blubber in front of them both.

“Does your head hurt?” Seth asked in a low voice. “Do you want me to get you something for it?”

“Some ibuprofen would be great,” she said, trying to control her shaky voice.

“Carmen is fixing breakfast now,” Zane interjected. “I’ll bring you a tray. We can all eat out here to keep you company.”

Seth looked discomfited by the suggestion, and he turned and walked rapidly toward the kitchen. She met Zane’s gaze, and for a moment they both stared. She had the strangest feeling that Zane was united with her in her effort to win Seth over. She didn’t dare hope for it, and yet the idea gave her spirits a huge lift.

Zane smiled at her, his blue eyes softening as if he could see right into her darkest fears and biggest dreams.

“I’ll go help Seth get the food. I’ll be right back.”

She watched him go, so afraid to believe. Despite her best effort not to nurture that hope, a small kernel unfolded within her. If only… If only they could both love her. It seemed so much to ask and so little all at the same time.

As they returned, trays in hand, she relaxed, determined to enjoy the morning with them both. It was almost like old times. But now when she looked at them, she did so with the knowledge of a woman, of the passion they could and had given her.

As content as she was with their lovemaking, the wild, insatiable part of her wanted to have them together. Their mouths on her body, their hands. Touching her, loving her, together and separately.

She nearly moaned aloud as the image burned brightly in her mind. Seth between her legs, Zane in her mouth. Zane behind her, thrusting into her. Seth in front of her, sliding into her mouth, his hands in her hair. One with his mouth on her pu**y, the other’s lips around her ni**les.

She squirmed and closed her eyes, trying to shut out the barrage of arousal flooding her senses.

They ate and though Seth was largely silent, it wasn’t as awkward as Jasmine feared. At one point, Zane reached over and slid his hand over her knee and up her leg. Seth’s eyes tracked Zane’s movements, and then he looked away as if unable to bear the sight.

Jasmine ached for him. For her. For all of them. She didn’t want this to hurt. Love shouldn’t hurt, though it did all too often. She wanted to make them happy. Both of them.

With an unhappy sigh, she pushed away her food, only half-eaten.

Seth stood and seemed all too content to take her tray and retreat to the kitchen. Jasmine leaned back against the cushions and closed her eyes. The medicine she’d taken still hadn’t kicked in, and now her headache had worsened. The dull ache had blossomed into a sharp pain in her temples.

“Let me take you back to bed,” Zane said softly. “You shouldn’t be up.”

She nodded, having no desire to argue the point. She did feel exhausted, and her earlier distaste for spending the day in bed vanished as the idea suddenly held a lot more merit.

She curled her arms around his neck as he picked her up from the couch. As he made his way to the stairs, she buried her face in his neck, absorbing his smell, the feel of him, his strength.