“What does she need?”
“She needs someone to give a shit about her. After spending her whole adult life taking care of a sick mother, and then losing everything to a fire, it might be nice if somebody took care of her needs for a while.”
“And if I’m willing to do that?” Evan questioned.
“Just. Don’t.” Jared knew he was being territorial, and the last thing he and his brothers would usually fight over was a woman. But this was Mara they were talking about, and Jared would fight his own brother if necessary. “And don’t touch her again.”
Evan strolled over to a bench in front of Jared’s house and sat down to put his shoes and socks on. “You’re being irrational.”
“I don’t give a damn if I sound fucking insane. Leave her alone.”
Evan brushed off his foot before putting on his socks. “Are you claiming her then?”
Was he trying to tell Evan that he wanted Mara exclusively? His dick certainly did, the damn organ seeming to prefer only her. “We haven’t talked about it,” he admitted reluctantly.
His shoes back on his feet again and his pant legs back in place, Evan rose. “Then it isn’t agreed on,” he observed. “Actually, I like her, and I haven’t been able to say that about many women in my life. She’s smart, ethical, and she isn’t afraid of me.”
Jared clenched his fists to keep from striking his annoying, arrogant eldest brother. “She’s also warm, caring, and strong. And she belongs to me.” Goddammit! No way was he going to let Evan snatch Mara out of his grasp. He fucking needed her. And she needed somebody who really cared about her.
“Then I suggest you claim her,” Evan said reasonably. “Or somebody else will.” He turned without another word and started walking down the driveway.
Jared wondered furiously what the hell that comment had meant. Was Evan trying to tell him that he wanted Mara, too? He watched his brother’s retreating figure get smaller and smaller as he moved farther and farther away.
Irritated that he couldn’t quite figure out where he and Mara stood, he stomped up to his door and into the house.
It took him less than five minutes to realize that Mara wasn’t in his home. He’d glanced outside and she wasn’t on the beach, either. After searching and bellowing her name until he was hoarse, Jared stepped onto his massive back porch, took the steps two at a time, and strode determinedly toward the guest house, the aroma of food drawing him to the smaller home almost immediately.
She’s there. She’s in the guest house.
What the hell is she doing there? Yeah, he had told her she could use the guest house, but he didn’t actually want her there. In the last few days, he’d become accustomed to hearing her voice on a regular basis, and her laughter, a sound that made him instantly hard. He wanted her in his home, and in his damn bed.
After their first night together, a night that shouldn’t have happened until she was healed, he’d fantasized about being inside her again. And again. Now it was damn near all he could think about. She’d been so damn tight, wet, and perfect. He was a well-endowed man, and he knew he’d probably hurt her. She hadn’t exactly been complaining, but when he’d seen the furious swelling to her ankle the next day, he’d been pissed at himself. What had happened to his carefully cultivated control? He’d definitely lost it with Mara.
Not. Happening. Again.
The last thing he wanted was to hurt a woman who had already suffered enough pain and heartache.
What happens when I’m done with her?
A low growl reverberated in his throat as he approached the door of the guest house. He’d never be done with her. Usually once he’d screwed a woman, he’d had his fill. For some reason, he knew he could have Mara in every way imaginable and he’d still crave her like an addictive drug.
Because she wants me, too.
A woman couldn’t fake a reaction like Mara’s. Her body had trembled when he touched her, her desire as fierce as his own.
She was vulnerable. She needed me then.
Turning the doorknob as he acknowledged that it might be him who ended up hurting over his obsession with Mara, he was pissed all over again to find the door unlocked.
I’ll make her need me just like I need her.
“Mara,” he called irritably.
“In here.” The feminine voice was coming from the kitchen off to his left.
“The door was unlocked,” he informed her, his tone annoyed as he walked into the kitchen.
“I’ve lived in Amesport all my life, and I never lock my doors except at night. The Peninsula is private. Nobody will come here except family.”
Jared opened his mouth to tell her any tourist or transient could wander onto the property. Or a nosy, gossip-seeking reporter could find her if they were trying to probe into his personal life. Just her association with him made her a target for almost any crazy, and it was something he had to make her understand. But he halted near the entrance and became suddenly mute, fascinated as he watched her moving from one place to another gracefully, even though her ankle was injured. Her face was flushed from the warmth of the kitchen, but she flowed from one place to the other with a confidence that made every other thought fly out of his brain. All he wanted to do was watch her.
She’s so damn beautiful.
All it took was for her to look up and smile at him for his cock to stand up and greet her with rampant enthusiasm. His heart began to race with some kind of deeply buried longing that he’d never experienced before.
Jesus. I’m so damn screwed.