BROKEN (4 page)

“Lunch?
 
Is it really that late?”
 

Del nodded absently, his less than friendly gaze focused on the half dressed man beside her.
 
A quick glance at
Kincaid’
s guarded expression told her he wasn’t exactly thrilled with Del’s presence either.
 
It was obvious this was some sort of standoff and neither of the men was about to make any gesture that could be construed as friendly.
 
But knowing how Del felt
about
her, Jessie had compassion for him since it was quite evident
Kincaid
had spent the night in her bed.
 
On the other hand, it was
a
prime opportunity to insure Del knew the only man in her life was Adam
Kincaid
.
 
Slipping her hand into
Kincaid’
s, she asked
Del
why he’d come up to the house.

“What I’d like to know,”
Kincaid
interceded before Del could respond, “is what makes you think you have the right to come tromping in without knocking?”

Jessie glanced up at him sharply.
 
“Adam!”

Del visibly bristled.
 
“I didn’t recognize the truck and wanted to make sure Jessie was okay.”

"It’s mine, obviously.
 
And as you can see, Jessie is fine.
 
We were just about to sit down to breakfast, so if there’s nothing else…”
 
Kincaid
left the sentence hanging there, a less than subtle request that Del dismiss himself.

Jessie’s eyes moved from one to the other in disbelief, the open hostility between the men growing by the
second
.
 
“What in the world has gotten into you two?”

Mitch dropped her hand and wrapped
a possessive
arm around Jessie’s waist, an unreasonable jealously rising inside of him as he glared openly at Del.
 
What gave this man the right to place himself in the role of Jessie’s protector?
 
And just who the hell did he think he was to enter the house without knocking?
 
For all Del knew, Jessie could have been walking around in that silky nightgown she’d had on the night before.
 
Or maybe that was
why
he hadn’t bothered to knock.
 
Mitch kept his voice low and even,
although
he doubted even this big oaf could mistake the dangerous undertone.
 

“I don’t like the idea of you just waltzing into the house anytime you want to.”

“Turnabout is fair play,” Del said between clenched teeth, “because I don’t much care for the idea that you just waltz in here anytime you want to either.”

Jessie couldn’t believe this was happening.
 
Way too much testosterone was in play here and somehow she had to diffuse the situation before they started taking swings at each other.
 
There had always been a little male bristling between the two
.  Kincaid
apparently felt Del was a threat, but he’d never been so aggressive about it before.
 
For obvious reasons, Del didn’t like
Kincaid
, but this was the first time he’d dared to voice his opinions about it to
Kincaid’
s face.

Jessie wrapped both her arms around
Kincaid
’s waist and smiled up at him.
 
“I think you need to eat something.
 
The bear in you is coming out.”
 
She turned her gaze to Del.
 
“I appreciate your concern, but maybe next time you could knock?”

“It never bothered you before,” Del replied in a manner that suggested it happened much more frequently that it really did.

“Well
,
it bothers her now,”
Kincaid
growled.

Jessie moved out of
his
arms, her eyes flashing.
 
“Okay, that’s it!”
 
She pointed towards the table.
 
“
Kincaid
, sit.
 
And Del, please go
. 
I’ll talk to you later.”
 

She smiled smugly when they both did as she asked, each of them scowling
,
but apparently realizing she was not in the mood to have her patience tested any further.
 
After Del had gone, she poured a cup of coffee and set it down in front of
Kincaid
then
pulled the food from the oven and dished it up.
 
She waited until he’d eaten a good portion of his meal and his temper had cooled before attempting to speak with him.

“Would you like to explain what that was all about?”

“I don’t like him,”
Kincaid
said, shoveling a bite of eggs in his mouth.

“You never have, but you’ve never been rude to him before.
 
He’s my foreman, and he does a good job.
 
I’d hate to lose him just because you decided he’s some sort of threat.”

He sat back in his chair, his eyes sweeping over her.
 
“He didn’t seem at all surprised or embarrassed to find you in nothing but a shirt.”

Jessie laughed.
 
“That’s it?
 
That’s what got your dander up?”

“I don’t like it, Jess,” he frowned.
 
“It made me wonder how many times he’s walked in to find you dressed like that.”

She shook her head, laughing even harder.
 
“Oh, Kincaid, you are definitely fishing in the wrong pond.
 
First of all, he rarely comes in without knocking, and if he does it’s because he’s with the rest of the boys who
hav
e come for a meal.
 
Secondly, he was too busy glaring at you to even notice what I was or wasn’t wearing.
 
And no, I don’t usually go around dressed like this
,
but I’d just had a glorious night of fantastic sex and wanted to wear my lover’s shirt.”

Kincaid
’s dour expression slipped into a grin.
 
“Fantastic sex, huh?”

Jessie rose from the chair and went to him, settling herself on his lap.
 
“It was mind melting, heart stopping, out of this world sex.
 
There
is
no one but you, Adam
Kincaid
.
 
You’re the one that I want, the only man I
have
ever given myself to, you know that.”

Mitch hugged her to him, but his good mood was nothing more than a façade to keep her happy.
 
The mention of Adam’s name was a harsh reminder that Jessie’s heart belonged to his brother, not him, and Adam himself had confessed he’d taken her virginity.
 
How would
Jessie
feel if she discovered she’d been deceived into sleeping with a man she didn’t even know, that she
had
unwittingly been unfaithful to Adam?
 

And here she was
,
doing her damnedest to convince him he had no reason to be jealous of Del when the truth was
, he
had no right to feel that way.
 
It was disheartening to say the least.
 
Guilt and remorse also made their appearance
,
and for a moment he considered telling Jessie the truth.
 
Then she whispered in his ear that she wanted him again, followed by a slow, extremely in depth kiss, and suddenly honesty didn’t seem
nearly
as important as taking her back to bed.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                        
***

Lying in a tangle of sheets
with Jessie curled up in is arms, the rest of the world seemed a million miles away.
 
He understood
why Adam kept coming back to her.
 
There were no rescue plans swirling around in his mind, no dark nightmares about the death and violence that went along with those plans.
 
Even the stabbing pain of Adam’s death had dulled a little
.  H
e could only attribute that to the beautiful woman in his arms.
 
When Jessie flashed one of her radiant smiles on him, it was easy to forget that pain and sorrow existed.
 
His thoughts were consumed with
Jessie
and had been since the moment he’d laid eyes on her.
 

After spending less than a week with her, Mitch felt like a new man.
 
She replenished his soul, filled his heart in a way no other woman ever had
.  A
nd for the first time in his life, he found himself thinking of marriage and children and white picket fences.
 
He was falling fast and hard for Jessie
,
and it hurt like hell knowing any feelings she had for him weren’t his to claim.
 

If she reached for him in the night, it was really Adam she wanted.
 
When she turned to him with that adoring look in her eyes, it was Adam she was seeing.
 
It was Adam she kissed, Adam she made love to, and God forgive him, but Mitch was starting to feel resentful towards his brother for coming between them.
  Jessie must have sensed the shift in his mood because she burrowed more snugly to his side as if she knew he needed
to be comforted.

“Do you want to talk about it?”
 
she
said softly

“Talk about what?”

“Whatever’s bothering you.
 
You’ve been mumbling under your breath for the last hour.”

Mitch pressed a kiss to her forehead.
 
“I’m sorry, honey, I didn’t mean to
keep you a
wake.”
 
 

Silence followed
. 
Jessie knew from past experience he wasn’t ready to open up to her yet.
 
She sensed this last mission had been much worse than any of the others, leaving emotional scars that would take more time than usual to heal.
 
But she was patient.
 
Selfishly, she hoped he wouldn’t start talking about it too soon because it would hasten his departure.
 

It had always been like that;
Kincaid
arriving on her doorstep looking as if the weight of the world was on his shoulders, and Jessie giving him all the love and kindness she could until he was ready to bear his soul.
 
Then, once it was all out and he felt he was ready to face the world again, he’d be off on another other dangerous mission.
 

Del thought
Kincaid
was just using her, and in some ways he was probably right.
 
She was the salve that
Kincaid
applied to his wounds, at least that’s how she saw it.
 
He needed her to help put the pieces back together, needed her gentle touch, her light hearted outlook on life, the physical passion they shared.
 

She liked how being needed made her feel
,
and found a great deal of happiness in knowing she was able to help him when no one else could.
 
Maybe
Kincaid
wasn’t the most giving man, but she knew in her heart that he
had
given more of himself to her than any other woman he’d ever been with.
 
No, it wasn’t the forever after kind of love, but for now it was enough.

Jessie rose up on one elbow.
 
“It’s almost dawn, did you get any sleep at all?”