by M. S. Parker
I followed Jasper around to the side door and watched as he set to work. Less than a minute passed and I heard a click. The door opened and Jasper looked over at me. I took a breath and nodded.
It was time to break the law.
Chapter 15
The small number of times I’d visited the Lockwood house over the years had been spent wandering around and trying to avoid Allen’s family while he played nice. That meant I knew the way to the second floor from the back stairs.
Jasper and I had discussed it earlier and agreed that the bedroom was the most likely place for May to have kept the baby teeth. Allen had said that his mother had a box for each of the kids where she kept mementos of items that weren’t the sort of thing to display. All of the trophies and awards the kids had earned were in the library on the first floor so anyone who came over could have the chance to properly admire the wonder that was the Lockwood family.
We moved as quickly and quietly as possible, making our way up the stairs and down the hall to the bedroom. Jasper opened the door and went in first even though we knew no one was inside. He’d made it clear that I was supposed to let him take the lead on all of this. After a moment, he whispered for me to follow.
The curtains were all drawn so I turned on my flashlight and headed for the closet. The overhead light would show under the door, but the beam from my flashlight was directed enough that it shouldn’t be noticed. At least that’s what we were hoping for. It still didn’t stop my heart from racing as I opened the closet door and stepped inside.
“Shit,” I whispered. May’s walk-in closet was nearly the size of my second-grade classroom. It was lined with shoes and purses and more dresses than May could’ve worn in a year.
“I asked her to donate some clothes to a goodwill project I was doing a couple years back.” Jasper wasn’t whispering, but his voice was still quiet. “She told me that if I was trying to work off my debt to society, I needed to do it on my own.”
I shook my head. “I sometimes wonder where Allen got his generosity from.”
“His grandmother.”
I stopped mid-step and looked over at Jasper. “What?”
“May’s mother. She died his sophomore year of college and I went with him to the funeral. There were hundreds of people at her funeral. She barely had any money, but every time Allen tried to help her out, she ended up giving away whatever he gave her.”
“What do you mean she didn’t have money?” Allen never talked about his extended family and I’d always assumed it was because they were like the rest of the Lockwoods. Complete asshats.
Jasper gave me a half-smile. “May wasn’t raised rich. ‘Dirt poor’ was, I believe, the term Allen used. It wasn’t until she married Gregory that she had any money at all.”
“You’d think that’d make her more generous, not less,” I said as I continued on my way to the back of the closet.
“I gave up trying to figure out the Lockwood mentality years ago,” Jasper said as he followed me.
“I think it’s one of those.” I pointed at three identical boxes on the topmost shelf.
Jasper reached up and pulled out the third one, assuming, as I did, that they were in birth order. He handed it down to me and I knelt on the floor before taking off the top of the box. He crouched next to me as I looked inside.
On the very top was Allen’s obituary. I sucked in a breath and Jasper put his hand on my shoulder.
“I can do this if you want,” he offered.
I shook my head. “It was just a shock. I can do it.”
I took a moment to will my hands to still inside the rubber gloves that were making my palms sweat, then I carefully began to take out the items in the box. Allen’s obituary. The newspaper story about the accident. Other newspaper clippings about the vineyard. I assumed these were secondary copies since I knew there were framed ones down in the library. I was a bit surprised to see things from Allen and my wedding, but I didn’t say anything. Jasper had been there, of course, but it seemed strange to call attention to it.
“It’s odd,” Jasper said, breaking the silence. “Sometimes it seems like he’s been gone forever, like I’m going to forget what he looked like. Other times, it’s like it was just yesterday I was planning his bachelor party.”
“I know what you mean,” I agreed. I opened the program and looked at the names inside.
Marcus, of course, had been a groomsman and so had Randall Jackson, Gregory’s business partner and husband to Allen’s older sister, Alice. Also in there was Mitchell who’d reluctantly agreed to be in the wedding party. May and Gregory hadn’t been happy about that, but they’d really pitched a fit about Jasper being the best man. Allen hadn’t given in though.
Alice had been one of my bridesmaids and so had Celeste. Gina had tried to tell me that she and Junie were too old to be in a wedding party, but I’d begged them both. The Lockwoods had, of course, been properly mortified, but had held their tongues in public. One couldn’t fail to be politically correct these days and complaining about a lesbian couple in the bridal party wouldn’t have looked good for them. I’d ignored the under-the-breath commentary, happy just to have a few people there who I truly cared about.
“Did Allen ever tell you about the bachelor party?” Jasper asked suddenly.
“Are you kidding?” I raised my eyebrows. “No man tells his wife what he did at his bachelor party.”
Jasper laughed. “Allen could’ve told you about his. He flat-out told me that if I hired a stripper, he’d never forgive me. So I rented a room at Allen’s favorite restaurant and the five of us sat and drank until your brother decided we should all get tattoos.”
“Mitchell?”
Jasper nodded. His eyes took on this faraway look. “He said he’d go first, but none of us thought he’d go through with it. He did though.”
I quickly ran through images of my brother in my mind. How had I not seen a new tattoo?
Jasper grinned. “It’s on his ass.”
I laughed. “What did he get?”
“Pluto.”
“Like the cartoon?”
“No.” Jasper shook his head. “The planet.”
“Why?” There didn’t seem to be any other question to ask.
He shrugged. “I’m not sure. He just got it and left, said he was going to go find some woman to show his tattoo.”
“What about the rest of you?” I frowned. “I know Allen didn’t have a tattoo, so he must have backed out. Did you?”
“None of the rest of us got them,” he said. “Marcus was supposed to go next, but the needle touched him once and he threw up all over the tattoo artist. Got us all kicked out. He was so pissed at me, said if I’d just hired a stripper, it wouldn’t have happened. He and Randall left.”
“What did you and Allen do then?” I asked, trying hard not to laugh out loud, remembering I was supposed to be quiet.
“We went back to my place and drank and talked until we fell asleep. Very boring stuff.”
“Did you want to hire a stripper?”
He grinned at me. “I wasn’t the one getting married.”
My eyes narrowed. “That doesn’t answer my question.”
“Of course I wanted a stripper.” He reached out and took my hand. “I hadn’t been out with anyone in months.” We were silent for a moment and then he asked, “What about you?”
“What about me?” I slid my hand from his and reached back into the box to pull out Allen’s college grade cards.
“Did you have a stripper at your bachelorette party?”
I laughed, then clapped a hand over my mouth as I realized how loud the sound had been. After a moment, I took my hand away and answered his question. “Of course not. Do you honestly think May Lockwood would’ve let that happen?”
“But Gina was your maid of honor.”
I nodded. “Yes, and as she pointed out, she was the last person who should be choosing a stripper for a heterosexual bachelorette party.” I set aside a clipp
ing of the UCLA Dean’s list from Allen’s freshman year. “I ended up with something that looked like a cross between afternoon tea and some sort of hippie meditation ritual.”
His eyebrows went up.
“Seriously.” I shook my head at the memory. “I was just glad when it was all over.”
Another few minutes of silence fell as I continued to dig deeper into the box.
“Does it hurt? Thinking about your wedding?”
“Not exactly.” I didn’t look at Jasper as I answered. “It’s sad, but not painful. Not like before.”
I didn’t add that I knew it was because of him. That he was the reason I could think about Allen without wishing I’d died too, without feeling that gaping hole inside my chest. One glance at his face told me that I didn’t need to say it because Jasper already knew.
Finally, near the bottom of the box, I saw a small manila envelope. Inside was a lock of nearly white-blond hair...and a handful of baby teeth. I stared at them, forcing back a wave of pain and took a small plastic bag from my pocket, placing two of the teeth inside it. The rest I returned to the envelope.
We had what we came for.
I quickly put everything back into the box, doing my best to have it stacked the same way it had been before. With any luck, May wouldn’t even notice anything was gone.
I’d just put the lid back on the box when I heard it. A creak that seemed as loud as a thunder clap.
Someone was opening the bedroom door.
Chapter 16
We were so screwed.
I froze, not knowing what to do next. What could we do? We were in the closet, the first place someone would look if they suspected an intruder. And that had to be it, right? What other reason would have someone opening the door to the one room we just happened to be in?
The air rushed out of my lungs as Jasper grabbed me and rolled us both under a section of floor-length evening dresses. In nearly the same motion, he kicked the box so it slid across the floor to the other side of the closet. And then I was lying underneath him, his hand across my mouth as we both waited to see what would happen next.
All in all, what Jasper had done had taken mere seconds and the noise we’d made had been minimal, but there was always the chance someone could see us. He’d clicked off our flashlights and the darkness was so complete that I couldn’t even see his face even though I knew he was close enough for me to feel the heat of his breath.
“Let’s see what new jewelry you have, Mrs. Lockwood.”
I felt Jasper stiffen in a surprise that mirrored my own. It was a woman’s voice, most likely the live-in housekeeper or maid, but it didn’t sound like she was there for us. In fact, it sounded like she was doing something she’d done before.
As the two of us lay there under the dresses, we listened to the young woman talking to herself. Most of it was muttered too low for us to hear the words, but the accompanying sounds of things being moved around, combined with what we could hear, told us that she made a habit of stealing various pieces of jewelry from May and that the other woman had no idea that anything was missing.
While my heart was racing in response to the fear of being caught, I couldn’t help but feel a little relief at the confirmation that May wouldn’t be likely to notice that things in her closet had been disturbed. With a start, I realized that even if May did notice, it was more likely that she’d lay the blame at the feet of the person who’d been stealing her jewelry as well. I felt a small pang of guilt, then reminded myself that it wasn’t like I was framing an innocent girl for stealing something expensive. I’d taken two baby teeth and nothing else. The girl was the one taking May’s jewelry to begin with.
Jasper took his hand off of my mouth and I felt his fingers tracing over my jaw and cheek. The gloves he wore felt strange against my skin, but the gesture was as comforting as he’d meant it to be. I shifted underneath him, unable to stop a smile when I heard him stifle a groan. His body was stretched out on top of mine and I could feel every breath he took...and that he was starting to get hard.
I knew it was in response to the situation, the adrenaline racing through our veins, but still, arousal flared hot and bright inside me. I pushed my hips up against him and heard him suck in a breath. Even though I couldn’t see him, I knew he was glaring at me. I reached up into the dark and wrapped my hand around the back of his neck. As I pulled his head down, I wished that I could feel the heat of his skin, the way his hair felt against my fingers, but I knew better than to take off the gloves. What I was doing was risky enough.
I could feel the brief and furious argument he had with himself when our lips met, but as soon as I pushed my tongue into his mouth, I knew I’d won. His body shifted from protecting me to covering me and he kissed me back. We could still hear the maid moving around in the bedroom, but she didn’t seem to matter that much. All that mattered was the firm pressure of his cock against my leg and the way his mouth moved against mine.
The instant we heard the bedroom door close, Jasper rolled us out from under the dresses, his kisses rougher as he licked and bit my lips. I writhed beneath him, wanting him, needing him. I didn’t care where we were or that it was dangerous. I just needed him.
I somehow managed to shove down the front of his pants and wrap my hand around his cock. He tore his mouth away from mine and swore. I still couldn’t see more than the faintest of outlines, but I knew how he would look, the way his eyes would be glittering, a dark, stormy gray.
“Shae.” My name was little more than a growled whisper.
“Now.” I squeezed him and he swore again.
I felt him hesitate and leaned up to nip at his throat. Suddenly, he was turning me over, his hands tugging down my pants and underwear all at once. Heat rushed through me and my nipples hardened. One hand pulled on my hips, raising my ass slightly and then he was there, nudging between my legs. My pants were around my calves, barely letting me spread my legs, but it was enough.
I shoved my forearm into my mouth to stifle my cry as he shoved inside me. I was wet, but there had been no foreplay, no stretching, and I was almost too tight. I squeezed my eyes shut, focusing on breathing as he rocked against me. There was none of his previous gentleness, no waiting to see if I was all right. He thrust into me, hard and fast, not a pause between strokes. Each one went deep and stretched me wide, filling me completely. Pain and pleasure twisted together, deep in my belly, then spread out like some hot, molten liquid coating my insides. Everything inside me was tight, waiting for the rush of release.
And then his hand slid under me, his fingers bare as they pressed against my clit. I nearly screamed as he started to rub, his touch as rough as the rest of what he was doing. I clawed at the carpet as his fingers made harsh circles over my clit, moving in perfect sync with every snap of his hips. I felt his rhythm falter and knew he was close. Then his thumb was pressing against my asshole, the pressure foreign enough to make me squirm, but he was too strong and the tip of his thumb pushed past the ring, sending a new sort of burning through me. I gasped, the muscles in my arms and legs quivering from the sensation overload. He pulled my hips higher, forcing my face against the carpet, and his fingers pushed hard against my clit.
I came so suddenly that all the air rushed out of me, leaving my mouth open wide in a silent scream. Spots danced in front of my eyes and my body tried to curl in on itself, but Jasper held me still, driving deep inside me once, twice more. On the third thrust, he made a small sound and I felt him coming, his cock pulsing inside me. His hands tightened, making my eyes roll back as his fingers pressed painfully against my over-sensitized clit. His other fingers dug into my ass until I knew it was going to bruise.
My body was still shaking even as he finally pulled out and rolled off to the side. It took me a couple minutes to recover enough to roll over and pull up my pants. I grimaced at the feel of his cum soaking my panties, but we didn’t have time to clean up. We had to go.
Jasper was up already and a beam of light cut through
the darkness. Without a word, he found the box and put it back where it belonged. Then he turned to me and held out his hand. His gloves were both back on. I took the slick grip and let him help me to my feet. In silence, we made our way back down the stairs, through the door and down the driveway to the car.
I winced as I sat down and saw a shadow cross Jasper’s face. He didn’t say anything until we were halfway back to the hotel.
“I’m sorry.” He didn’t look at me as he apologized.
“For what this time?” I asked with a sigh.
“I should’ve known better,” he snapped. “It was dangerous and stupid.”
“I was the one who was all over you. I instigated it.”
He gripped the steering wheel so tight that his knuckles turned white. “I hurt you.”
I frowned at him, puzzled. “What are you talking about?”
“Come on, Shae, I’m not stupid. I saw how you were walking, how you sat down. Shit, you have rug burn on your cheek.”
Well, that explained why my cheek was stinging.
“This isn’t the first time I’ve been sore after sex with you,” I reminded him.
The expression on his face said it all.
“You didn’t realize it before?” I asked, surprised. “That weekend after our date at Tra Vigne, every time I moved I felt it.”
He pulled over to the side of the road and turned towards me, pain in his eyes. “Why didn’t you tell me? I asked you if I was too rough and you said you were okay, that you liked ‘variety’.”
“And I was telling the truth. I was great.” I tried to lighten the mood. “Just made work a bit more interesting the next day.”
“Shae, baby.” He took my hands and raised them to his mouth, kissing my knuckles. “I never meant to...” His head dropped. “I should move out.”
“What? Where the hell is that coming from?” I yanked my hands away from his.