by Becca Van
* * * *
Tanner entered the bathroom just as Jasmine stepped into the shower. He wished he could strip down and get in there with her, but Coop was already standing under the stream of water. Plus, he wasn’t sure he could keep his hands to himself if he got naked around her. Just seeing her petite sexy body had his cock filling with blood, but that was the last thing she needed right now. He tugged the door open and held up the pills when she looked at him questioningly.
Jasmine moved closer to the door, took the pills from his hand, and put them in her mouth. He handed her the glass of water and then took it back when she was done. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, honey.” Tanner closed the shower door and leaned back on the vanity to watch her shower. He began to get concerned when she just stood under the water with her forehead resting on the wall while Cooper washed her.
When she was clean, he held a towel out for her to step into, and instead of trying to take it from him, she let Tanner dry her off. After hanging the towel back on the rail, he lifted her into his arms and carried her to bed. As soon as he placed her on the mattress, she rolled onto her side and closed her eyes. Tanner stripped down to his boxers and crawled into bed beside her. Cooper came out of the bathroom and got into bed on Jasmine’s other side.
Moments later her breathing evened out and she was fast asleep.
“Do you think we can convince her to take tonight off?” Tanner asked.
“I doubt it,” Cooper replied. “She’s not going to stop until we catch this fucker.”
“I wish the asshole would make a move. I hate having to hide that we’re in a relationship with Jasmine.”
“I do, too.” Cooper sighed.
“Wood has to be using another name, and from what Jasmine’s found, he’s probably changed his appearance, too.”
“Yeah, he’s going to be hard to find. We’ve searched the whole damn town and haven’t found him yet. He’s probably not even living in Cody.”
“There are a lot of towns surrounding Cody. He could be holed up in any of them,” Tanner said.
Cooper nodded and scrubbed a hand over his face. “It could take months or even years before we get this prick.”
Tanner sat upright, being careful not to disturb Jasmine. “He’s an electrical contractor.”
“So?” Coop asked.
“So we start looking at all the contractors in the area.”
“Why the fuck didn’t I think of that?” Cooper sighed.
“We’ve been so busy searching for him we weren’t thinking straight,” Tanner said.
“He might not even be working anymore.”
“I think he is.” Tanner settled back down on his side, moving in close to Jasmine. “Jasmine said that a psychopath always keeps to a routine.”
“That may be so, but there’s always an exception.” Coop met his gaze.
“I think you’re wrong. Whenever he kills, he dumps the body near the Pahaska Tepee Resort.”
“So maybe we should be looking into the resort’s history, as well as all the local contractors?” Cooper suggested.
“That might have some merit,” Tanner said.
“I agree,” Jasmine murmured as she rolled over toward Tanner. “But you two need to shut up and get some sleep. We can look into the resort’s history and all the local electrical contractors later today.”
“Sorry, baby.” Cooper kissed Jasmine’s shoulder before snuggling down with his arm around her waist.
Tanner slid his arm beneath her neck and kissed her head. She nuzzled her cheek on his chest, sighed, and slid back into sleep. He was glad that Jasmine had been able to wangle more deputies for their county, even if they hadn’t arrived yet. They were supposed to transfer at the start of next week. Tanner hoped the new guys fit into their circle without any problems, but that was neither here nor there. He was just looking forward to being able to take the vacation time he’d accumulated over the last five years. In fact, none of them had taken any time off. Maybe he and Cooper could plan to have some time away with Jasmine once the killer was behind bars. He just hoped that she was going to stick around and not want to hightail it back to Washington as soon as the case was wrapped up.
He didn’t think his heart could take such a rejection. If he had his way, she would be in his life until he was dead and buried. He just hoped that he and Cooper could convince her to stay. She was the love of his life, and he wanted to get down on bended knee and pop the question. However, now wasn’t the right time. She was still holding back from him and Coop. He wanted to know who had hurt her so badly when she was younger, and though he wanted to demand that she open up to him, he wouldn’t.
He wanted her to trust him and Cooper enough to open up on her own.
* * * *
He’d spent the night watching her while she worked, ensconced in the corner of the inn where she couldn’t see him. He’d left before her shift ended, going to his spot in among the trees where he could watch the ranch through the high-powered binoculars he always kept in his car and watched from a distance.
The sheriffs and deputies didn’t know where his hiding place was, but he had a feeling they knew he was there. He’d caught the men glancing about from time to time, but he was smarter than they were, and they would never discover his hiding place. He’d picked the optimum place to watch the comings and goings on the ranch, and he even took notes on who was working and who wasn’t. Sighting of the women living with the men on the ranch was becoming less and less frequent. That had to mean the men were scared he was going to win, and he would because he wasn’t going to let anyone stop him from getting to the black-haired woman. He should have killed her weeks ago, but he’d had to hightail it away so he wouldn’t get caught. He’d actually felt excitement for the first time in a very long time as she tried to fight him off. It hadn’t been until he was fleeing that he’d worked out why he felt different. It had been so long since he’d felt any sort of emotion, and there was the fact she was his only victim to get away. He couldn’t have that. His gut knotted just thinking about his unfinished task. The compulsion to get his hands on her and see her eyes glaze over as she stopped breathing was too strong to ignore. He’d never not finished what he started. The ritual had to be completed. She would fight him until she drew her last breath and that excited him more than anything else. He already knew replacing her with another victim wouldn’t work. Killing her would give him closure and then he could move on.
He was surprised that the FBI profiler the sheriffs had called in hadn’t pegged him as the killer. A smile graced his lips as he remembered how easily he’d played the grieving widower when his de facto wife had been found murdered. Lucy Wood had been an easy kill. Too easy as far as he was concerned. She’d been so scared she hadn’t even put up a fight, and she pissed herself the first time his knife had sliced into her flesh. That stupid bitch hadn’t even known who he really was. She’d worshipped the ground he walked on the way she should have, taking his last name as her own, even though they weren’t legally married. She even bought them both wedding rings and, even though he hadn’t wanted to wear one, the minute he’d slipped the gold band on his finger, it felt right. Not because of her but because it would make it easier to scope out his victims. Most women saw married men as harmless since he was apparently already taken. He smiled because that had made his job that much easier. And she’d believed every single lie he’d ever told her.
He sighed with frustration and lowered the binoculars. He’d been waiting for her to arrive home from the inn for hours. When two of the deputies had been called out from the sheriff’s department, he knew in his gut that something was wrong. He had a radio tuned and heard the dispatcher radioing for the deputies to the inn. His first instinct had been to head back to see what was up, but he’d stayed put and hoped his quarry was still around. When more time had passed he’d thought about heading home, but instead of packing up, he’d stayed. His patience had paid off because she arrived home jus
t as dawn was breaking.
He’d seen the bruising and swelling on her chin as she’d gotten out of her car. For the first time in a long time, he felt rage permeate his body. The urge to scream with fury had been hard to contain, but he’d managed to swallow his anger back down.
He was going to find out who’d hurt her, and when he did, they were history. Then he would take her. Time felt as if it was ticking by at a rapid rate. He had feeling deep in his gut that if he didn’t take her within the next week, he’d never get the opportunity to get his hands on her again. With a nod of decisiveness, he gave himself seven days to succeed, and after that, he would hightail it to Hollywood, where he would have the pick of the cream.
He licked his lips as he watched her enter the house, and then, turning toward the track leading to his car, he headed out. Seven days would see all of his dreams realized. He rubbed his hands together with anticipation.
He was going to make her last the longest. It wouldn’t do to kill her too soon. He was going to savor each and every stroke of his blade into her flesh and each pump of his cock into her cunt.
Time to make plans.
* * * *
As Jasmine surfaced from sleep and stretched, she realized that she’d slept without any interruptions from nightmares. She hadn’t done that in years, and although she hadn’t had a full six to seven hours’ sleep or slept when it was dark, she felt more refreshed than she had in a very long time.
She stretched again, and when her foot connected with a hairy leg, she couldn’t stop herself from rubbing it up and down that leg. The mattress dipped behind her, and warm, soft lips pressed kisses to her shoulder before licking and nibbling their way up her neck. She moaned when teeth scraped down the tendon on her neck just below her ear. If she hadn’t needed to use the facilities so badly, she would have rolled over and pressed her lips to Tanner’s. She didn’t remember rolling in her sleep but obviously had since she’d started out the night with her cheek on Tanner’s chest.
“You need to let me out,” Jasmine whispered as she blinked open her eyes. She’d spoken quietly in case Coop was still asleep, but she met his gray-eyed gaze when she’d cleared the sleep haze from her eyes.
Tanner sighed and then sat up on the side of the mattress giving her room to crawl around him so she could make her way to the bathroom. She felt their eyes on her naked body, and her arousal perked up, but first things first.
After using the facilities, washing her hands and face and brushing her teeth, she headed back to the bedroom. Her breath hitched in her throat when she spied Tanner and Cooper lying on the bed with the covers pushed down, revealing their bare bodies and hard cocks.
“Come back to bed, baby,” Coop rasped out as he smoothed a hand down his chest, over his stomach, and toward his groin.
Jasmine licked her lips and her pussy clenched with need when Cooper grasped his hard dick and began to pump his hand up and down his erection. She glanced over at Tanner just as he gripped his cock and began to pump his hand.
Her clit began to throb, and she felt her areolae ruche and her nipples harden. Cream wept from her cunt and down onto her inner thighs. Her lips parted as she drew in a deep breath before exhaling gustily.
“Do you want us, honey?” Tanner asked as he shifted to his side, propping his head up on his hand, the other one still stroking his cock.
She opened her mouth to reply, but nothing came out, so she nodded instead.
“Get that sexy ass over here, Jasmine,” Coop commanded.
The lascivious look in his eyes, as well as the deep gravelly cadence of his voice washing over her, broke her from her spell. Jasmine rushed over to the bed, got up onto the mattress, and straddled Cooper’s upper thighs.
He released his cock before scooting farther up the bed until he was leaning against the headboard with pillows at his back. The position was perfect for Jasmine to lean over and take a taste of the pre-cum she could see beading in the small opening in the tip of his cock. She met his gaze briefly and then grasped the base of his erection, giving it a few pumps with her hand. He was so thick and long her fingers didn’t quite meet.
She lowered her head, gazing at him from beneath lowered lashes, and then laved over the tip of his hard dick. She hummed, and he moaned as he threaded his fingers into her hair.
She loved the sweet, spicy flavor of his essence on her tongue and couldn’t wait to taste more. Jasmine swirled her tongue over the top of the head before lashing at the underside. Cooper had his eyes closed, and he was panting between parted lips. Saliva pooled in her mouth, and she quickly swallowed before opening her mouth wider and sucking him in as far as she could.
“Holy fuck. That is so hot,” Tanner said in a growly voice.
Jasmine’s lips quirked, but since she had her mouth full, she couldn’t really smile. She drew back up over Cooper’s cock, her hand still pumping up and down his shaft, and then she bobbed back down over him. Each time she took him in a little deeper and a little faster, hoping that he liked what she was doing to him. If the grunts and groans emitting from his mouth were any indication, he did. She felt the mattress dip behind her but was too intent on pleasuring Coop to worry about what Tanner was doing. That was until she felt his hands caress up and down her back, over her hips, and then he squeezed her ass cheeks.
She inhaled through her nose and took Cooper’s cock almost to the back of her throat. She slid back and then glided her mouth over him again, suctioning her cheeks, but this time, she didn’t stop until the tip of his cock touched the back of her throat. She inhaled again and was surprised when the muscles in her throat relaxed and the tip of his dick slipped down her throat.
“Yeah, baby. Feels so good,” Coop rasped out.
Jasmine froze when she felt Tanner pull her ass cheeks apart. He and Coop seemed to be fascinated with her asshole, and though at first, she’d been trepidatious, they had been patient with her. She’d been astounded with how much she liked having her ass played with and penetrated.
“Don’t tense up, honey.” Tanner kissed between her shoulder blades and then stroked a cool lubed finger over her pucker, and of course, she tensed up even more.
Cooper tugged on her hair to garner her attention, and she released his cock to meet his gaze.
“We’re going to take you together, baby. You need to tell us now if you don’t want that.”
Jasmine wanted them to make love to her together more than she needed to take her next breath. She’d tried to imagine what having both of them inside her would be like after they’d both taken turns to stretch her out with their fingers while one of them fucked her pussy, but she didn’t think it would be anything like she imagined.
“Jasmine?” Tanner pressed a lubed finger into her star, causing her to groan.
“What?” She panted and tried to keep her sphincter loose. She couldn’t believe how difficult that was when instinct was to clench. She sucked in a deep breath and held it before releasing it.
“Do you want us to make love to you at the same time?” Tanner asked.
Chapter Twelve
“Yes,” Jasmine answered on a breathy sigh.
Cooper grasped her beneath her arms and tugged her up higher over his body. She’d just settled on her knees, straddling his hips, when he palmed the back of her head and pulled her head toward his. She moaned when he licked his tongue into her mouth, gliding along and then swirling around hers. She gripped his shoulders for balance since her equilibrium was unbalanced because of the fiery need racing through her blood.
When he used his free hand to grab one of her ass cheeks and pull her even closer, Jasmine was lost. Lost in the sensation of his hand kneading her butt, lost in his masculine flavor and in his kisses. She felt as if she was drowning, but she wasn’t about to swim toward the surface. Her heart swelled with joy and another emotion she wasn’t ready to name as he kissed her voraciously. He slanted his mouth to a better angle, opened his lips wider, his tongue delving so deep she was surprised s
he didn’t feel the tip tickling her tonsils.
She pressed her hips more firmly against his and whimpered when the thick ridge of his cock parted her labia and slid in her juices. Jasmine groaned and began to rock her hips back and forth, gasping and groaning when the head of his cock pressed and rubbed against her clit.
She mewled with disappointment when Cooper broke the kiss. She was so needy her pussy felt as if it was dripping in a constant stream. Her internal walls pulsed hungrily around an unsatisfying emptiness, and her nipples were throbbing so much they almost hurt. Coop pressed his forehead to hers as he tried to regain his breath, and though she took the opportunity to do the same, she would have been happier kissing him until she passed out. There was no way she would ever get enough of his and Tanner’s scent, taste, or touch.
Jasmine hadn’t realized she’d closed her eyes until Cooper tapped her on the butt. She met his heated gray-eyed gaze and would have continued staring into the hot, hungry eyes for an eternity if he hadn’t spoken.
“Lift up, baby.”
She braced the upper weight of her body by placing her hands on his pecs and lifted up onto her knees. She followed the path of his hand as it moved between their bodies and moaned when he grasped the base of his cock and held it up and away from his stomach.
“Take me inside, Jasmine.”
Jasmine shifted on her knees and then began to lower down. Her eyes fluttered closed when the head of his hard dick kissed her entrance, and she pressed down a little harder. When Coop’s muscles flexed beneath her hands, she met his gaze once more. The gray of his eyes was only a slim ring around the wide dilation of his black pupils, but the heat of that gaze made her shiver.
“So fucking hot and wet.” Coop closed his eyes briefly. “Take me all the way in, baby.”
Since that was what Jasmine wanted, too, she did as he’d commanded, but he was so thick and long she had to slide her wet cunt up and down his length a few times until her internal muscles stretched to accept the delectable invasion. Once she was sitting on his thick, brawny thighs, she took a few moments to savor his wide, heated cock and the pleasurable, spreading sensation of having him so deep inside of her. She could feel the crown butting against the entrance to her womb.