Reckless (Brazen #2)(5)

“By all means, don’t let me interrupt,” Nikki said dryly. “Just don’t expect me not to tell Zane his wife is f**king around on him with his brother.” To her surprise, Jasmine grinned and cast a sidelong glance at Seth who attempted to keep a straight face.

“Some might say it’s none of your business,” Jasmine drawled.

“Zane is my friend,” Nikki said fiercely.

Seth’s eyes widened. “Nikki? Nikki Durant? Is that really you?” She nodded stiffly. Seth let out a whistle. “Damn, when did you go and grow up on me?”

“Nice hair,” Jasmine said, and at first Nikki thought she was being a smartass, but Jasmine looked at the pink stripe with a very interested light in her eyes.

“Don’t get any ideas, Jasmine,” Seth growled.

Jasmine grinned innocently. “I like it. I was thinking maybe blue for my hair to match yours and Zane’s eyes.”

Seth groaned and rolled his eyes. “First the belly ring. Then you asked to get a tattoo as a wedding present.”

Nikki stared between them in confusion. For two people who should at most have a casual friendship, they certainly seemed to be on intimate terms.

“Are you here to see Zane?” Jasmine asked softly. “He’s not here, but he should be back soon.”

Nikki shifted uncomfortably. “No, actually I came to see you.” Jasmine’s brow lifted in surprise.

“But uhm, maybe it’s not such a good idea. I should probably go.” Jasmine grinned. “You gonna go track Zane down and tell him his wife was cheating on him?”

Seth smacked her on the ass. “Stop egging her on, Jasmine.” Nikki frowned. “I was here to talk to you about J.T.”

“What about J.T.?” Zane asked as he strolled into the kitchen. His eyes lit up when he saw Nikki. “Nikki, girl! How you doing?”

He swept her up in a bone crunching hug, lifted her off the floor and then plunked her down. He dropped a kiss on top of her head then backed away to look at her.

“Holy hell in a bucket, no wonder J.T. is running scared,” he said in amusement.

She frowned even harder. “What’s J.T. been saying to you about me?”

Zane grinned then walked over to loop an arm over Jasmine. “Hey, Jaz. Missed you, babe.” He pulled her into his arms and gave her a long, lusty kiss that had Nikki turning three shades of green.

Why couldn’t J.T. look at her like that? And then she glared at Jasmine as she remembered that not five minutes ago, she’d been kissing Seth just as fiercely as Zane was currently kissing her.

Seth cleared his throat, and Zane pulled away. “Sorry,” Zane said in Nikki’s direction. “Got a little carried away.”

“Not as carried away as Seth and Jasmine got awhile ago,” Nikki said acidly.

Jasmine’s lips twitched, and Seth had the grace to look away. Zane looked between Seth and Jasmine and then over to Nikki who was still glaring openly at Jasmine.

“Ah,” Zane said as if he’d been struck with sudden understanding. “Hell.”

“Yeah,” Seth said. He cleared his throat. “Nikki is pretty pissed off on your behalf.” His lips twitched, and he broke into a grin. “I’d say right now she’s considering gutting your pretty little bride.”

Jasmine swung her elbow into Seth’s stomach, and he doubled over in mock agony.

Nikki stared between them all and wondered what the hell she was missing. They acted like it was some big joke.

“Maybe you two should get lost,” Jasmine said pointedly. “She did come out to talk to me. She can catch up with you later,” she told Zane. “Maybe after she kicks my ass for cheating on you. You have quite the defender there, sweetums.” Zane grinned and reached out to chuck Nikki on the arm. “Glad someone loves me.” Jasmine rolled her eyes and made shooing motions. Seth and Zane both sauntered out with Seth chuckling the entire way.

Jasmine motioned for her to sit down. “You want something to drink?” Nikki shook her head. She wasn’t going to ask. It was none of her business.

“So, you wanted to talk about J.T.?” Jasmine prompted as she took a seat across the bar from Nikki.

Nikki cleared her throat. “Well, yeah, but I’m not sure you’ll want to help me now that I’ve unsheathed my bitch claws.”

Jasmine laughed and flipped her almost-black hair over one shoulder. Then she eyed the pink streak in Nikki’s hair. “I’m serious. I think a blue streak would be cool. I really like yours. It’s so noticeable.”

Nikki blinked. “Well, uhm, sure, blue would look nice.” Jasmine stared at her for a long second, as if measuring her. Then she sighed. “I don’t know a lot about you. I mean I’ve heard Zane mention you once or twice, and J.T.

talked about going to your graduation, but I know enough that you’ve suffered being the subject of talk in this town like I was when I was younger. So I’ll say this, hoping you’ll remember what it’s like to be the topic of gossip and won’t go spreading it around.” Nikki stared at her with a furrowed brow, not knowing whether to be insulted or not.

“I’m married to Zane, but in my heart I’m married to both him and Seth. I’m with both of them. I love them both, and they both love me.” Nikki’s mouth fell open. Then she tried to close it. Damn.