by Becca Van
She moved so gracefully he couldn’t take his gaze off of her. He could tell she knew he and Tanner were watching her since her shoulders were up around her neck, but he wasn’t going to pull back. He wanted her, and he was going to do everything he could to ensure she ended up in his and Tanner’s lives, as well as in his arms and bed.
The urge to stalk over to her, pick her up in his arms, and lay his lips over hers was such an intense yearning he had to clench his fist and lock his knees to keep himself from reaching out and taking a step toward her.
He nearly smiled when she huffed out a breath and turned her head slightly. Although she didn’t actually look at him and Tanner directly, she was still peeking at them from the corner of her eye and from beneath those long, upturned black eyelashes. She’d already put the silverware in its place, and as she straightened, she lifted her gaze to his.
Coop winked and smiled at her, loving the sweet, pink blush that graced her milky-white cheeks. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen a woman blush in his presence other than Misha and Bella, but their blushes belonged to their guys alone.
He shifted his stance as his cock twitched and began to fill with blood. He wanted to adjust the fit of his jeans, but then he would be drawing Jasmine’s attention to the fact that she made him hard. Nonetheless, maybe that wasn’t such a bad thing. He wanted her so badly he ached, but it wasn’t just because she was a stunning woman and she made him horny. Cooper wanted to know what made her tick, wanted to know why she was okay interacting with his friends and not him and Tanner. But most of all he wanted to know what had put those shadows in the depths of her stunning blue eyes.
If he had a say about it, and he did because he wasn’t backing down, he was going to know as much as he could about Jasmine Urban before the night was over.
The only question he had at the moment was, how the hell were he and Tanner going to get her to open up?
Chapter Five
Jasmine smiled at Bella and Misha as the two women joked around. She and the other women were currently sitting at the kitchen counter sipping on beers while the men cooked the meat on the barbecue. She didn’t have to turn around to know that Tanner and Cooper were watching her. Her skin prickled and goose bumped everywhere their eyes touched, and she hated it. At least that was what she tried to tell herself. If only she actually believed it.
The sliding glass door was open, and she could hear the men talking and laughing as the food was cooked. The screen door had been closed so that no insects could get inside. There was such an easy camaraderie between the men, as well as Bella and Misha. Jasmine sighed enviously. She hadn’t had that kind of closeness with another person since her mother had died. She’d been put into foster care, and though it had been hard, she’d dealt with what life had thrown at her. That was until she’d been sent to live with a monster.
Jasmine closed her eyes and shuddered as the walls and door on her steel vault expanded out. She pushed that horror down and took a deep steadying breath. She startled and gave a soft shriek when Bella touched her shoulder.
“I’m sorry, Jasmine. I didn’t mean to scare you. Are you okay? You’re as pale as a ghost.”
“I’m fine.” Jasmine forced a smile and quickly changed the subject. “So how do you two do it?”
“Do what?” Misha frowned.
“Put up with being in a relationship with two men?”
“Oh.” Misha placed her hand on her chest over her heart and fluttered her eyelashes. “It’s such a hardship.”
Bella giggled. “You liar. Admit it. Being with Clay and Spence is the best thing that ever happened to you.”
“Well, of course it is.” Misha smiled. “They are so sweet and loving. As well as being protective alpha males, they are so damn hot I get horny just looking at them.”
“Yeah, I’m the same with Dawson and Kent.” Bella sighed, a dreamy expression on her face.
“Do they fight over you?” Jasmine asked.
“No, never. Or, if they do, I’ve never heard them,” Misha answered. “That doesn’t mean they don’t argue because they do. I’ve had a spat or two with them myself, but we walk away to cool down and then talk things over. We’ve got this rule that we all agree on.”
“Never go to bed angry,” Bella said.
Misha pointed at Bella. “That’s the one. What about you?”
Jasmine raised her brow in query.
“Do you have a boyfriend or partner?” Misha asked.
“No.”
“What about your family?” Bella asked. “Do you have any brothers or sisters?”
“No.” Jasmine took a swig of beer to coat her dry tongue and throat, hoping the women would stop with the third degree. She liked Misha and Bella. They were strong women and had survived their encounters with the serial killer, but they were so completely the opposite of her. They were open and friendly where she was closed off, but she didn’t want to upset them by not answering their questions. However, she was adept at redirecting where a conversation was going, so she wasn’t too worried.
“Do you two have any brothers or…shit! I’m sorry. Forget I asked.”
“It’s okay, Jasmine,” Bella said. “You were just trying to make conversation with us.”
“And failing miserably. Excuse me.” Jasmine slid from the stool and hurried across the living toward the guest bedroom she was going to be sleeping in. She closed the bedroom door and walked into the adjoining bathroom. She stared at herself in the mirror and almost blanched when she saw her black hair, still not used to the dark color. Tears burned the back of her eyes, but she blinked them away. Crying did nothing. She’d learned that the hard way after the terrifying incident she’d escaped from so many years ago.
Jasmine leaned her forehead on the cool mirror and sighed. How could she have put her foot in it so badly? Bella’s sister had died at the hands of the serial killer. Had, in fact, been the first victim and she’d just reminded the poor woman of her sister’s death. Misha had also lost her best friend to the same sick psycho.
“You are so fucking stupid, Jasmine. You don’t even know how to socialize.”
“I have to disagree.”
Jasmine gasped with shock and banged her head on the mirror when she startled. She lifted her head and opened her eyes to find Coop and Tanner standing just inside the entrance to the bathroom. She turned to face them, putting her back to the mirror, leaned against the vanity, and crossed her arms beneath her breasts. When she saw both men’s gazes drop to her chest, her first instinct was to lower her arms, but she refrained. Damn them, she wasn’t about to make them aware of the fact that she was so aware of them.
“What the hell are you doing in here? Get out!”
“Bella sent us to check on you.” Tanner stepped closer.
Coop moved in on her other side. Jasmine felt as if all the air in the room had been sucked right out. She was having trouble breathing, and though she tried to tell herself it was because they were crowding her and making her uncomfortable, she was lying to herself.
Just being in the same room as these two men set her body to tingling all over, but it was the tingling in private places that worried her. She’d never, ever reacted this way to a man before, and she didn’t like it. She wasn’t scared of them because she could defend herself if necessary, but she was scared of how they made her feel. In fact, each and every one of the lawmen and their women, as she’d watched them interact, had made her steel-encased heart heat and begin melting the metal she’d enclosed the organ in. She wanted to go back to being the numb, unfeeling ice bitch she’d been labelled by her fellow agents, but Jasmine had a feeling it was already far too late.
Cooper reached her first. Jasmine tried to push herself back farther against the vanity, but there was nowhere to go. He locked his gaze with hers and cupped her face between his big, warm palms. He brushed the skin over her ears with his callused fingers, and then he caressed over the side of her neck. Her breath hitched in her throat, and
her heart stopped beating for one beat before slamming against her ribs. She unconsciously licked her lips and nearly moaned with regret when his gaze shifted to said lips.
“Are you scared of me and Tanner, Jasmine?” Coop asked in a low, raspy voice, which sent another round of shivers skittering up her spine and racing over her sensitive skin.
“No.” She winced when her voice came out sounding breathless even when she’d tried to answer with a confident emphasis she was far from feeling.
“I call bullshit,” Tanner murmured as he moved to stand closer on her left.
He was so close his arm was touching her shoulder, and the heat emanating from his body was so enticing, as were their combined scents. Tanner smelled of pine, wood, and sunshine, where Cooper smelled all hot and spicy. She inhaled deeply through her nose, taking their scents deep into her lungs as she tried to calm her racing heart and shallow breaths.
“You don’t frighten me.” She was glad her voice came out stronger this time.
“Let’s find out, shall we?” Cooper said right before he bent down and brushed his lips over hers.
Heat suffused her cheeks and body, and though she wanted to kiss him back, as well as let the groan that was forming in her chest out, she held very, very still.
Cooper’s lips brushed back and forth over hers as if testing the waters, but Jasmine was determined not to give him what he wanted. A response. It was one of the most difficult things in her life to remain still and try to appear unaffected when all she wanted to do was grab hold of him and kiss him back, but she won. This round at least. Yet, when Cooper lifted his mouth from hers and dropped his hands back to his sides before taking a step away from her, Jasmine didn’t feel in the least victorious. Coop stared at her intently for a few beats before spinning on his heel and walking away. Tanner went to follow but paused in the doorway of the bathroom to look back at her over his shoulder. The dejection she saw in his gaze almost had her moving toward him, but she crossed her arms beneath her chest and stared at him, hoping her expression was as stoic as she tried to portray.
His emotionless tone when he spoke almost brought her to her knees. “Dinner’s ready.”
Jasmine stayed in the bathroom and prayed that she would have this case wrapped up within the next week or so. She needed to get out of Cody and as far away from Tanner and Cooper as fast as humanly possible. She even entertained calling her boss and asking him to send a replacement profiler. “Yeah and that would go down like a lead balloon,” she muttered. “I can’t be objective anymore because I’ve fallen in lo…like the people I’m working with.”
* * * *
“Is Jasmine okay?” Bella asked as soon as Tanner and Cooper stepped out on the deck and took a seat.
“She’s fine,” Cooper snapped, then sighed as he scrubbed a hand over his face. “Sorry.”
Tanner glanced at his friend and, when he saw the hurt in Coop’s eyes, hoped he didn’t look the same, but suspected he did.
“We won’t need to swap houses,” Tanner said as he began to load his plate with food.
“Why not?” Misha asked.
“She’s not interested,” Coop answered in a monotone.
“That’s the biggest bit of bullshit I’ve ever heard,” Bella said.
“Bella’s right,” Misha interjected. “She can’t keep her eyes off of you two.”
Clay tipped the beer bottle he was holding at Tanner and Coop. “The women are right. Jasmine’s attracted to you both.”
Tanner shook his head. “Coop tried to kiss her. She didn’t respond.”
“That doesn’t mean anything,” Spence said. “She had to have been fighting her feelings for you.”
Misha nodded. “I don’t think she’s had much interaction with other people. She said as much herself when she was talking to Bella and me inside.”
Bella nodded this time. “I think she’s been hurt really badly in her past. Don’t give up on her yet, guys. Give her some time to get used to you and go slowly.”
“Clay, Spence, and I are still going to swap houses with you,” Misha said. “Maybe without any of us around she’ll open up more.”
“I’m not sure I believe that.” Tanner sighed. “She might just clam up tighter.”
“You won’t know unless you try.” Dawson wrapped an arm around Bella’s shoulders and kissed her temple. Bella smiled and winked at Dawson.
Bella glanced toward the sliding door before looking around the table. “So, are you all coming to the Oktoberfest Saturday night? It should be a blast. There’ll be all different sorts of beer and food to taste.”
“We’ll be there, honey,” Kent answered.
“What about everyone else?” Bella asked.
Tanner tuned out of the conversation when Jasmine sat between him and Cooper. He hadn’t even thought about changing his seat so he and his friend wouldn’t be torturing themselves by having the woman they wanted sitting between them. It was too late to do anything about it now, and there was nowhere else for them to sit.
Tanner glanced up when Jasmine nudged his arm with her elbow. He gazed at her with a raised eyebrow. She ducked her head and murmured, “Bella was talking to you.”
“Sorry, Bella.”
“Since Clay hasn’t scheduled any of you on this weekend, why don’t we all go to the Oktoberfest together?”
“Shit!” Jasmine shoved her chair back and rose.
“What’s wrong?” Coop asked.
Jasmine picked up her knife and fork as well as her plate and walked around to stand behind Misha. “You need to swap places with me. Right now!”
“Oh.” Misha’s face paled. She quickly rose, picked up her silverware and meal before she moved to where Jasmine had been sitting. “Do you think he’s watching?”
“I don’t know for sure,” Jasmine answered as she sat where Misha had been sitting. “But I don’t think so.”
“How can you tell?” Misha asked as she grabbed Coop’s bottle of beer and drank half the bottle down in one go.
“Because the hair on the back of my neck isn’t standing on end.” Jasmine brushed her hair back with a shaky hand. “Thank God you’re still wearing the wig.”
“Yeah.” Misha sighed. “I can’t believe I didn’t even think about where I was sitting. It was just natural for me to sit with my guys.”
Jasmine nodded. “That’s one of the reasons you and Bella should seriously think about going away for a while. It’s too easy to fuck up.” Jasmine held up her hand when Misha went to speak. “I should have made sure you all knew beforehand that we have to make it look like I’m with Clay and Spence. I’m sorry.”
“It’s not just your fault, Jasmine.” Clay wrapped his arm around her shoulders and squeezed. Tanner had to swallow back the jealous growl building in his throat because he knew that Clay was just hugging the agent for show. He gave Misha an apologetic look.
Spence leaned in close to Jasmine’s ear, making it look like he was kissing her cheek or whispering something to her, but his gaze was for Misha alone. “Jasmine’s right, darlin’. You need to take some time off of work and think about going away. Jasmine can’t take your place at work. I don’t think your boss will go for that.”
“I hadn’t even thought about work, but I’m not leaving.” Misha leaned her elbows on the table and covered her face with her hands.
“Neither am I.” Bella nodded.
Tanner rubbed Misha’s back, hoping to give her a little comfort. He wasn’t sure he’d done anything when he heard her sniff, but when she lowered her hands and lifted her head, there were no signs of tears, thank God.
Misha met Jasmine’s gaze across the table. “If you want, I can call my boss and ask. She’s a good person and would understand why you needed to take my place.”
“You’re the manager, aren’t you?” Jasmine asked.
“Yes, but you’d be able to do my job standing on your head. You get into the minds of criminals and help bring them to justice. My job would be a cakewalk
compared to yours.”
Jasmine shook her head. “Don’t sell yourself short. I don’t have the first idea about how to run a resort, let alone a hotel, or any other venue like that. Tell me what your job entails before you call your boss.”
Tanner listened with half an ear to Misha and Jasmine but glanced over Misha’s head to Cooper. He was worried about his best friend. He’d hardly spoken a word since he’d tried to kiss Jasmine in the bathroom. Tanner had a feeling that Coop had all but given up hope of having a relationship with the FBI profiler, but Tanner wasn’t ready to concede defeat just yet. Especially after what Bella and Misha said. Jasmine was attracted to him and Cooper but was fighting it. He was going to get through those hands-off signals and break down the walls she’d put up around herself.
He came back to the present when he heard Jasmine speak.
“Okay, call your boss and ask if she’s willing to let me take your place. Be sure to warn her I have no experience in the hospitality industry other than bar work.”
Misha nodded and made the call. She gave Jasmine the thumbs-up as she disconnected.
“She’ll meet you at nine on the dot tomorrow morning. Tanya said she doesn’t care if you do my job or not. She’ll do most of the work and have a few of the others help her.”
“So what am I going to do?” Jasmine asked.
“Tend bar.”
Jasmine sighed. “At least that’s something I’ll have no problem doing. Why is she letting me work there when I won’t be doing your work?”
“She wants the sick fuck off the streets as much as everyone else,” Misha explained. “She has two daughters who go to the Sheridan College. They stay at the dorm through the week, but they normally come home every weekend. She wants her girls to be safe when they come home. Tracy told them not to come back until the killer’s been caught.”