The Broken Parts Of Us (7 page)

She tries to nod her head, but smiles when she can’t move from my grasp. “Okay,” she agrees; the promise in her tone and the look she gives me tells me she’s being sincere. I bring my lips down to press them against her forehead.

“Give me your keys. Let me go in first just in case.” I release her to go back to the car for her bag. I call Hans on my cell to run the plates and have a squad car stake out Kyra’s apartment tonight in case the driver comes back.

Her place is empty and there’s no sign of forced entry.

“It could just be my ex trying to scare me, Derek,” she says, brushing past me to go to her bedroom.

Twenty minutes later, she emerges in a dress that hugs all her womanly curves, her full breasts are showcased in the low neckline. I travel down her toned legs until they end in a pair of heels I want her to have on with nothing else.

“Your cell.”

I blink at her, confused.

“What?”

“Your cell phone is ringing.” She giggles.

I shake my head and reach in my pocket to retrieve it. “Hans, what you got for me?”

“It’s registered to a Matthew Winter. I ran his profile and he’s deceased; died in a boating accident six months ago. I have his last known address if you want to check it out?”

“Yes, send it through.” I hang up and pull Kyra back out of the apartment.

The drive back to my house is a tense one; my mind is on the case and who could be behind this. I checked the database for offenders I had a hand in putting away, but nothing came back to connect with this.  I want Kyra staying at my place tonight. Tomorrow Sammy will spend the day with them again when I plan to follow the lead from the Mustang.

“Maybe it’s too much. I don’t get to dress up often.” I look over at Kyra, picking up the back end of her conversation as I drive up to my house.

“I’m sorry, what?”

She flushes red. “The dress, I maybe overdressed for dinner.”

I stop the car and put my finger up to her lips to hush her. “You look absolutely stunning. I’m honoured you would make such effort just for me.” I brush her lip as I pull my hand away, feeling a satisfied spark igniting inside me when her breath catches. I open the car door and exit, coming around to help her out. I get a flash of her inner thigh as she steps out and it stirs the desire inside me. I’m beginning to ache to be between them.

I
watch as Derek starts to make dinner after handing me a glass of wine.

“This was my sister’s speciality,” he says. “She used to make it every Tuesday when our mom worked late.”

Pain glosses his eyes as he mentions his sister; the word “sister” coming out a tone lower than every other word that leaves his mouth. The frost of grief tinges the atmosphere and dispels in the next moment when the front door opens and closes. Jasper’s deep baritone voice fills the air, warming it with an electric pulse. It zaps through my veins and the emptiness leaves Derek’s eyes.

“Der, that smells so good. You didn’t tell me it was mac night, I have to…” His footsteps falter when his eyes rest upon me as he enters the kitchen.

“Hey,” he says. The energy, like a natural being, manifests itself in the room, fogging my thoughts. His eyes rake over the dress I squeezed myself into, then they leave me and slowly assess Derek. “I didn’t realise this was a date?” he questions, his voice sounding harsher than it should.

“It’s not. It’s just dinner, and you’re welcome to join us,” Derek practically growls in response. I watch them battle; a stare off that Derek wins. Jasper turns his gaze to me, pinning me with a smirk, which leaves me weightless and needing to reach for the counter for support.

“Okay, thanks. I’m starving, I haven’t eaten all day,” he chirps, grabbing an apple from the fruit bowl and taking a huge bite. His teeth break the skin, then crunch into the centre, the juices moisten his lips and a small droplet runs from the corner of his mouth; his tongue darts out to swipe it. I grip the counter and swallow hard.  “You’re blushing, Beauty.” I turn my gaze to Derek’s and see a swirl of heated caramel looking back at me. He called me
Beauty.
I feel like I could combust. Between the two of them, I’m already soaking my panties in need of a release I had never sought before. The ache built the longer Derek held my gaze. The fire had broken out all over my body.

“You’re burning.” Jasper’s voice penetrates the haze and I reply with a whisper.

“Yes.”

Derek smiles and drops his eyes to the pan that had begun to smoke. “It’s fine. I caught it in time.
”

Oh my God, he meant the dinner.
I know the blush that now scorches my cheeks is completely visible to both of them. The smirks gracing their beautiful faces tell me as much. I follow Jasper to the dining area after a head gesture from Derek.

“So how is Hannah?” I ask, forcing her name past my lips. The atmosphere shifts at the mention of her name.

“She has some kind of bug. She’s in bed trying to sleep it off. I had to pick her up baby safe medicine and I just came home to eat and grab an overnight bag. I don’t want to leave her alone tonight.”

It shouldn’t matter. I’ve known all along nothing can ever happen between me and him, but the sting still pierces me. Why can’t logic control things instead of what the heart commands? Even if it gets shredded never gaining its desire.

“Wine, Beauty?” Derek’s warm tone releases the tension taking over my body as he places a glass down in front of me. He’s such a gentlemen, handsome and caring, but also commanding, successful, and confident. Everything I could want in a man, and I do want him, but the trouble is I want Jasper too, and just like the logic not standing a chance with the heart, it also doesn’t stand up to want either. My body pulses with need just being in the same room as these two.

“How are things with the new garage?” Derek asks Jasper as he places the pot of food in the centre and takes a seat next to me. His thigh brushes mine, making me inhale sharply, then cough to hide my reaction to such a simple touch. Jasper’s eyes burn through me from across the table like he senses the boil in my blood.

 “It’s good. Everything is set up. We’ll be interviewing in the next few days.” His gaze never leave mine and Derek’s eyes never leave his as he speaks. I can’t cope. I’m going to faint if I don’t have some relief from them.

The relief comes from the ringing of Jasper’s cell phone. “Hey, you okay? …It hasn't even been an hour, Hannah…Drink tap water… Fine, I’ll buy some bottled and bring it …Okay now, I’m leaving.” He finishes his call and stands. “I have to go. Thanks for dinner.”

Derek squints his eyes. “You didn’t get to eat any.”

Jasper shrugs his shoulders. “She doesn’t want to drink tap water while she’s sick, so I need to get her some bottled.”

I furrow my brow and look away from him. She already has him trained and under the thumb. He hadn’t been gone an hour and she's calling him for an errand so silly. I can just imagine the hold she'll have on him when the baby comes. She's the type to phase out everyone he spends time with, consume him, and mould him into her puppet.

Derek’s hand covers mine, bringing me from my musing. “Eat, Beauty. I made this for you anyway.” His smile made my own lips lift.

Jasper left without another word and the meal went down well, followed by a couple of glasses of wine. Derek put on some music while we emptied our plates and loaded the dish washer.

The wine works its way through my system, making me a little more relaxed than I would usually when alone in the company of a man. I can sense every time his eyes fall upon me and it sends a rush of excitement through my veins.

“Go relax in the lounge room,” he whispers against my ear, making me shiver. I comply, leaving him to finish up.

I’m standing in front of the fireplace, looking at the pictures that adorn the mantel place. They’re of Sammy, River, and Jasper with Michael in various stages of his young life. I feel Derek come up behind me, his heat crowding me, comforting me in a way I’ve never felt before.

I know once I take this step there’s no going back. His pull is strong without any physical connection, so once I let him touch me, it will be an unstoppable force.

His hands grasp my hips, pulling me back against him. A gasp escapes my lips. His frame leans into me; his breath whispering against my ear. I feel his erection grow tall and proud against my ass cheeks and the nerves kick in with the adrenaline, making my body hum with a gentle shake. “I know you like him.”

His words confuse me, then slam into me. He means Jasper. I try to step away from him, but his grip tightens. His nose nuzzles the hair away from my ear as his lips brush against the lobe. “He’ll never leave her and give you anything you deserve, Kyra. He will marry her.”

An emptiness opens up in my stomach at the words I know to be the truth. I decide in this moment to take a step I never thought I would have the confidence to take. I spin in his arms and crush my lips to his; the warmth engulfs me as he wraps his strong arms around me, lifting me from the floor. I climb his frame in needy erratic movements, my dress inching up my thighs and bunching at my waist. I know I’m exposed, but the heat of his crotch as his hard erection pushes against the wet satin of my panties only brings a groan from me.

The wine lowers my inhibitions and my lips welcome his as he prises mine  apart and caresses my tongue with his own in a needy battle that he’ll win with ease. His arms hold my thighs with no effort as he coaxes them to wrap further around his waist. 

My hands pull on his hair. He walks us across the room, and I feel the cold press of the wall as Derek pins me to it and sends a shiver through my scorching body. His lips leave my mouth and travel down my neck to the valley of my breasts. My chest rises and falls in a needy rhythm, my breath escaping in pants.

“Damn, you’re so beautiful, but we can’t do this.”

The heat and passion zaps from me like a camp fire having a gallon of iced water thrown on top of it. Realization and embarrassment make me want to throw up. I can’t look up as I pull my dress down to cover my exposed panties. 

“I’m sorry,” I stutter, trying to compose myself.

I feel the warmth of his hand as he grasps my chin, tilting my head back, so my eyes meet the fire in his. “Don’t be sorry, Beauty. I loved every second of having your body against mine, the soft touch of your lips on mine. I just know you’ve been drinking and I don’t want to get carried away when there is no rush, baby. And there is no way I want to waste our touches in a drunken haze.”

I nod my head as he releases me from his grasp. “Okay, you’re right,” I agree. “I should grab a cab.”

The breath leaves me as I’m re-pinned back against the wall, his heavy frame consuming my smaller one. “Stay. Sleep in my shirt and just stay. Wake up and have coffee with me, please,” he asks, but it sounds like a plea. His lips gently press against the sensitive area just below my ear and tingles assault my skin, leaving goose bumps as the proof of his effect on my body.

 “Okay,” I whisper, pushing my body into his.

His lips find mine again briefly before pulling away. “God, I need to shower. Come with me. I’ll get you a shirt to sleep in.”

I follow him up the stairs to his room. It’s masculine; the walls are the colour of slate, the furniture sleek and stylish, and a huge four poster bed is the focal point.

He walks over to a dresser, opening a drawer and pulling a shirt free, handing it to me. “I need to shower. Did you want to shower?” he asks. Tension builds and my body gently quivers.
Oh God, we will be naked, together. Would he want…?

“Your own shower, Beauty.” He chuckles. “I told you I don’t want to do anything like that with you yet. Not until you’re completely coherent so you can remember every place I touch you.” He steps forward, his lips hovering near mine. “And I will be everywhere. There is not an inch on this perfect, beautiful body you won’t feel me. I’ll leave you hypersensitive and aching in the most delicious of ways.”

My nipples peak as they brush against his chest with my needy uneven breaths.

He slips past me, leaving me lightheaded. I feel like I could orgasm from just his words. “Beauty,” he calls holding out his hand. I walk to him and grasp the hand he offers, letting him lead me across the hall to a new room. The room is completely cream everywhere—the walls, the carpet, the furniture—and it’s airy and feminine.

“This was River’s favourite room. She said it was soothing. She used to come in here to read.” He points over at the bookshelf loaded with books. I walk over and brush my hand across the spines, stopping and pulling out,
Denying Heaven
. A smile snakes across my lips at the title; fitting really, considering I was denying my body a release it desperately yearned for.

“The bathroom is through there. I’ll be back to check on you when I’ve showered.”

I watch him stride from the room and exhale the breath I’d been holding in. My body is on the edge of explosion. I drop the book onto the bed and slip my dress down, leaving me in my strapless bra and panties. I check the door and hear the shower running from across the hall in Derek’s room.