She started up the ladder, every step a careful move. She passed the rows of vodka and whiskey, rose above the gin and tequila. She stole a look toward the bar. The men sat there, leaning toward each other, speaking in whispers, in their own world. She wished she had a sister or someone to talk to. Despite the heady freedom of the last year, she had to admit she was lonely. She’d pulled into herself and her work, shutting out everyone.
Would it be so bad to get hit on? Would it be so horrible to finally give in to a man? She was twenty-two years old and out on her own. There hadn’t been time for a relationship, and she’d clung to the idea of true love. Well, that wasn’t anywhere on the horizon. Did she really want to turn another year older without knowing what a man’s touch felt like? No. Ugh, she sounded pathetic. She felt pathetic, too.
And clumsy. Her foot slipped on a rung. She hadn’t been paying attention. The glasses fell out of her hand, crashing to the floor. The ladder teetered and she began to lose her balance. She groped but had nothing to hang onto. She began to fall.
Crap. She didn’t have the money to pay for an ambulance, and she’d need one for sure after she fell ten feet. She shrieked and braced herself for impact. She was going to land on shattered glass, cut herself wide open, and break something vital. It was going to hurt so freaking much.
She woofed, the air thudding from her lungs as she landed not on hard tile, but in two strong arms. She looked up into Cole’s eyes, her heart racing. He was the most beautiful man she’d ever seen, even more so up close. The only one who matched him was his twin, who stood behind him, a slight smile on his gorgeous face.
“What’s your name, baby?”
“Jessa,” she breathed. The way he’d called her baby made her shiver.
“Well, Jessa. You should be more careful,” Cole said.
Yep, she should definitely be more careful because right now, it felt like she was in big trouble.
* * * *
The woman was serious trouble. Cole knew it the second he laid eyes on her. He’d been a man who cleaned up messes for too long to not be able to recognize that a mile away. He’d done it first for the Navy, then with his brother privately for a lovely fee. This little waitress was the softest, sweetest mess he’d ever had the pleasure to hold.
Pure, gorgeous trouble.
The firelight illuminated Jessa’s soft features, making her creamy skin look warm and inviting. She took the drink in her hands, still shaking a bit.
“Thanks. I shouldn’t be drinking.” She took a little sip anyway. Her face twisted up in the most adorable grimace. “Ugh. People pay top dollar for this?”
“Scotch is an acquired taste, but it’ll get rid of the shakes. Sip a little.”
Burke sank into the couch opposite from Cole and Jessa, a knowing smirk on his face. His little brother was just loving this, Cole knew. Burke had wanted to pounce on the redhead the minute he’d laid eyes on her. Sometimes his brother thought with his cock. But they were too close to Delgado right now. Six months on the case and they were finally going to meet the man who had taken their clients’ cousin. They couldn’t get involved with any woman, no matter how beautiful or sweet. No matter how her big green eyes pulled at him or how sexy her curves were. They couldn’t.
“I swept away the broken glass. Everything is fine now.” Burke grabbed his own drink. He didn’t struggle with the liquor the way Jessa did. Burke could imbibe it all night and never notice the effects.
Thanks,” Jessa said quietly. Her attention moved between them as though trying to pick apart their differences. “I still shouldn’t be dipping into the stock.”
“Don’t worry. We won’t tell,” Burke said with a wink.
Cole had to stop himself from rolling his eyes. Burke was using his seductive voice. He wanted this girl bad.
“Tell me something, sweetheart. Why aren’t you at home with your husband?”
“Smooth,” Cole said under his breath. One of Burke’s shoulders came up in a negligent shrug.
Jessa’s lips curved up in a smile. She held up her left hand. “No husband. And before you come up with a subtle way of asking, no boyfriend either. I’m on my own this Christmas. My family, well, let’s just say they aren’t exactly in the picture.”
Cole didn’t like the sound of that. She didn’t look like she could be much over twenty-two or twenty-three. She was living in midtown Manhattan on her own? “Are your parents gone?”
She shook her head. “No. They don’t approve of my choices. I decided to pursue art instead of big business. So they cut me off. Luckily, my aunt runs this place. She gave me a room and a job.”
“So you live here?” Cole heard himself asking. He needed to make sure she was okay, then haul his brother upstairs to their room so they weren’t tempted to linger all night and work their way inside her. Yeah, that was a solid plan. Instead, he found himself settling into the comfy sofa and inching closer to her delectable body. She would be small in between them. She could nestle in the middle, her breasts against his chest, her ass cradled against Burke.
He glanced at his brother as Jessa talked about her room and the view of Central Park. Burke arched a brow. Come on, brother. She’s right here. She’s gorgeous and she’s alone. We can take care of her. We can make her feel good tonight.
And what about tomorrow? They’d had the argument moments before Jessa had taken a header off that rickety ladder and almost broken her neck. Cole had just finished his “we’re-undercover-and-things-could-get-dangerous” spiel when he’d seen her begin to fall. He’d moved faster than he had in forever, getting there just in time to catch her.
Not that Jessa Wade wasn’t tempting. And so fucking luscious she made his mouth water. She was attractive in a way no woman had been to him before. She also wasn’t a good-time girl. That fact was stamped all over her face. She was the kind of girl a man dated and cared for. Eventually married. She absolutely wasn’t the kind of girl a man shared with his twin brother for the night. She looked so innocent. Hell, she would probably run from a ménage if he even suggested it. Not that many women truly wanted one. Sure they fantasized, but when push came to shove…not so much. Then when he added his other proclivities on top of it… Cole winced. Definitely not.
Of course, he mused as she and Burke chatted, his friend Dex had found a woman to share with his two brothers. And they all topped her. Hell, he and Burke were practically normal compared to the James gang.
But that wasn’t the real issue. He and his brother were knee-deep in a case involving missing girls being sold into sexual slavery.
At the mental reminder, he sat back up. Jessa didn’t need to get involved in that. God, she really didn’t need to get involved with them, but fuck if he wasn’t salivating over her. He’d met her thirty minutes ago, and he already wanted to know about her childhood, her favorite foods, and how she’d feel around his cock. Too damn dangerous.
“Gosh, that’s enough about me. I’m going on and on.” She blushed, the color invading her skin like a rosy blanket. He’d been surrounded by tough women for too long. Jessa’s softness was getting to him.
“We don’t mind, do we, Cole?” Burke’s question was pointed like a dagger. Don’t fuck this up. I want her.
Cole wanted her, too, but he was more realistic. Burke was an optimist who thought the world crapped rainbows and that the sun really fucking would come out tomorrow. Cole refused to believe that shit until he saw it. Burke seemed to have gotten all the positive DNA their parents had to give, leaving Cole the broody realist. Still, his mouth moved as though it agreed fully with his cock, rather than his wholly sensible brain. “No, we don’t mind, baby.”
She shook her head. Her gorgeous hair was a deep, burnished auburn. It would look beautiful spread across his pillow while she took his cock. “I’m boring. Poor little rich girl. Not so rich anymore, but that’s okay. Where are you two from?”
“Dallas,” Burke replied. “We grew up in the suburbs, but we live in the city now.”
They had a very nice condo with a great view. It had three bedrooms. One for Cole. One for Burke. And one ridiculously oversized master bedroom for the women they shared. They hadn’t shared in a while beyond the occasional one-night stand. Cole was sick of them. He wanted more. But now wasn’t the right time. Jessa wasn’t the right girl, as much as he wished otherwise.
The conversation flowed, more easily than ever before. Cole found himself drawn out. Usually he let Burke do the charming and he just joined in for the sex. But he really talked to Jessa. He and Burke joked about their childhood and the twin pranks they’d pulled on friends and teachers alike. God, he’d forgotten the fun they used to have. He’d been so mired in the job, the danger. How long had it been since he just relaxed?
He took another long sip of the Scotch as a slow Christmas song began. Burke got up and held out his hand to the woman in front of him. Damn, his brother was smooth.
“Dance with me?” Burke asked, a hint of a smile on his face.
Jessa looked around as though assuring herself that they were truly alone. “Sure, but on once condition. I get to dance with Cole, too. Don’t say no. It’s Christmas Eve, and I want a present.”
He never danced. He wasn’t sure he could. And yet after Burke finished twirling her around, Cole found himself standing and taking her in his arms, his hand curling around her little waist. He practically sighed when she put her head on his chest.
What the hell was he doing? This was a bad idea. But the moment she snuggled closer, he knew there was nothing he could do except sway to the music. The snow fell on the streets of New York just outside the window and, despite the danger and the world’s seedy underbelly awaiting him, Cole Lennox felt happy for the first time in what felt like forever.
CHAPTER TWO
Present Day – Virginia
The chill in the air hit Burke’s lungs like a knife to his chest. He forced the air in deeper as he moved them outside the house, toward the car.
Them. Not just Jessa, but Caleb, too. Their son. That truth hammered at him. If the tiny mop of black hair didn’t give the kid away, there was the fact that Jessa hadn’t been around any man for the last year except Angus. Who, it turned out, was a cat. So it was a pretty damn good bet that Caleb was theirs.
After all, she’d only had two lovers in her whole life.
How had the PI they’d hired gotten it so wrong? Another question for another time.
Cole stood by the car. “I couldn’t find anyone else in the house, just that fucking cat. He’s in the car. Obnoxious furball. I called the cops. Let’s get Jessa away from the house in case that idiot of Delgado’s is telling the truth.” Cole frowned as Jessa hurried to the car, the baby swaddled in a blanket against her chest. “Is that another damn cat? No more. The first one has a seriously bad attitude. I won’t mention his breath.”
The blanket came loose, and Caleb gave a little gurgle, his tiny head turning to take in the newcomers. Unlike his mother’s grim face, Caleb’s was happy. He grinned, showing off a completely toothless mouth.
“That’s a baby, Burke. What the hell?” Cole’s mouth hung open.
If the situation hadn’t been so goddamn dire, he would have reveled in his brother’s surprise. Nothing ever fazed Cole. Even when they had been jumped by ten armed Taliban fighters in an Afghan backstreet, he’d merely killed his half, shrugged and said “I told you so” before popping open another black-market beer. Burke took the opportunity to snatch the keys from his brother’s hands. “Your powers of observation are staggering. Get in the car. We need to reach the cops. Jessa, get in.”
She shook her head. “I’ll take my car. I have Caleb’s car seat.”
Burke felt his patience slipping. Did the gravity of this situation not register with her? “You will get in the car now. Goddamn it, Jessa, someone just tried to kill you. That asshole said he planted charges around your house. Charges mean shit blows up,” he snarled. “We don’t know how many eyes are on us right now. Get in the car.”
Jessa’s head swiveled as though she was looking for whoever stood in the darkness watching. Her hand went protectively over Caleb’s head, cupping his whole body against hers. She eased into the front seat of the rented SUV and closed the door.
Cole simply stared at the spot where she’d stood.
Burke glared at his brother and opened the driver’s side door. “Snap out of it.”
He pointed back to the house. “We’re just going to leave her husband to die? She won’t forgive us.”
“There is no husband. Angus is the fucking cat. She wasn’t trying to save her husband, Cole. She was trying to save Caleb, her baby.”
Cole frowned and shook his head. “That baby can’t be more than a few months old. If there’s no husband, that means…”
