Lucky Stars (19 page)

She was carrying his child and she thought he was a heartless bastard.

Because of this, he found he was willing to do whatever he had to do to disabuse her of that mistaken impression once and for all.

Jack looked down at her as she tipped her head back to regard him and his course, already started, became clear.

“Would you like me to prove it to you?” he asked softly.

He saw anger cross her expression before she said, “The papers think I’m a moron, I know. But you shouldn’t make the same mistake because I’m not. I won’t fall for your game twice.”

“No, you won’t,” Jack agreed.
“Mainly because you didn’t fall for anything the first time.”

“Honestly, James, I thought you were busy –” she said and may have intended to say more.

Jack would never know.

Because his hands shot out, closed at her waist and he yanked her body to his.

Then his head descended and his mouth crushed down on hers.

Her hips pulled at his hands but his arms wrapped around her and he held her tight against him.

She felt, he noted immediately, better than he remembered.

But he couldn’t taste her.

She wouldn’t open her mouth and she was pressing at his shoulders at the same time she was pushing her weight against his arms.

She tore her mouth from his and snapped, “What do you think you’re doing?”

“Proving it wasn’t an act,” Jack replied calmly as she squirmed, her soft body moving against his and Jack remembered how good that felt too.

“By
kissing
me?” she screeched.

“Poppet,” Jack murmured and when he did, she stilled in his arms. “That wasn’t a kiss.” His hand slid up her spine, her neck and into her hair, holding her head steady. “This,” he muttered, “will be a kiss.”

Then his mouth captured hers again.

She resisted.

He coaxed.

She kept resisting and his arm at her waist slid up her back, his fingers curling around and the tips started to stroke the side of her breast. He felt her stiff body begin to melt at his touch, he knew he was making progress and his lips moved a breath away from hers.

“Open your mouth,” he demanded softly.

She shook her head and he wrapped his fist in her hair, pulling her head back gently.

“Open your mouth,” he repeated against her lips.

She again shook her head.

“Poppet –” he started.

But she interrupted by whispering, “Don’t call me –”

She didn’t finish, as she was speaking, he muttered, “There it is.”

And his parted lips took hers, his tongue sliding inside her mouth.

Jack tasted her and remembered just exactly how much he liked that as well.

Like the first time he kissed her, she responded the minute his tongue touched hers.

Her body melted into his, her hands glided up his arms, one arm wrapped around his neck, the fingers of her other hand slid into his hair.

He felt triumph shoot through him at her response and as a reward to himself, and Belle, he slanted his head and deepened the kiss.

She welcomed it, a soft, sexy noise coming from the back of her throat and filling his mouth.

At the sound of it, the feel of it, the taste of it, the memory of how much he liked the noises she made nearly four months before when he was driving deep inside her, he groaned into her mouth in return as his arm left her back.

His hand went under her camisole, slid across the silken skin at her waist and up.

His body gladly absorbed the shiver his hand caused just as one of her hands yanked his shirt free of his trousers and he felt her soft, sweet, shy touch gliding along his own skin.

His fist in her hair tightened as he felt his need for her quicken and he knew in a moment he’d carry her back up the ladder and take her on the blankets where she slept.

And he was looking forward to it.

He was actually
aching
to do it.

“That didn’t take long.”

Jack’s body froze and he felt Belle’s do the same when they both heard Miles’s voice.

“This is a record for Belle. It’s been a whole week since you two have been under the same roof,” Miles went on as Jack lifted his head and looked into the somewhat dazed but also now frightened eyes of Belle.

She pulled at his hold but his arm grew tighter as he released her hair and contained her retreat by wrapping that arm around her as well.

Miles came to stand at their sides and Jack turned his head to his brother seeing Belle do the same.

“Unless, of course, she’s been sneaking to your room at night, Jack,” Miles noted with a sneer on his mouth, addressing Jack but his eyes were glued on Belle. “But Mum wouldn’t know about that, would she? She just got finished telling me it was all good, all platonic, everything was just
swell
. Even though she didn’t look like it was swell. She looked like she’d rather you two were going at it like rabbits.” His sneer deepened when he continued, “She’ll be so pleased.”

When Miles stopped speaking, his gaze moved to Jack and Jack clipped, “Are you finished?”

“Want me to leave so you can fuck Belle in the hayloft?” Miles returned
,
his voice coated with derision.

“Actually, yes,” Jack replied and he felt Belle’s body jolt but he kept firm hold of her as he watched his hit score and Miles flinched.

Then Miles recovered. “Don’t mind me. I just came to ride.” His head jerked to a stall and he went on crudely, “A different kind of riding than you’re about to do, of course.”

Jack barely restrained an urge to shift Belle aside and do bodily harm to his brother.

Instead, he let Belle have some space but kept her in his arms and turned partially toward Miles who was moving toward the tack room.

“I believe I left a message with your assistant asking you to avoid The Point for the next six months,” Jack called to his brother.

“I got the message,” Miles replied carelessly.

Jack felt Belle tremble in his arms, he took away the space he’d just given her and pulled her deeper into his body.

When Miles went on, he sounded like a spoiled child, “However, it is my home and I’ll come whenever I want.”

“It’s my home, Miles,” Jack noted with quiet meaning and he watched Miles’s torso twist so he could look at Jack.

“After Dad died, your name may have been transferred to the deed but it’s still my fucking home,” Miles fired back.

“After Dad died, my name was transferred to the deed, making it
my
home and I let you stay here when I please,” Jack returned and Miles moved to face him fully as Jack kept talking. “When I don’t, you stay away. And for the next six months, you’ll stay away.”

Miles stared at Jack in incredulity for a moment before he spat, “You must be joking.”

“No,” Jack replied immediately. “I’m quite serious.”

Miles’s eyes shifted to Belle and they narrowed as his face filled with scorn.

“So you’re saying you’re kicking out your own brother so your latest fuck won’t feel uncomfortable?” he asked, his voice snide.

“I wouldn’t put it that way, however, Belle and her family are here, this is their home now and I intend them to feel safe and comfortable. I can imagine by your behaviour four months ago and just now that Belle isn’t feeling exactly safe at the moment. So yes, in essence, what you say is true.” Miles opened his mouth but Jack got there before him and when he spoke his voice was low and vibrating with fury. “And, I swear to God Miles, if you call Belle my ‘fuck’ again or utter one more vulgar statement alluding to her, I’ll rip your goddamned head off.”

Jack felt Belle’s stiff body go solid before it began to relax at his side but he didn’t take his eyes off his brother.

Miles glared at Jack and Jack calmly held his glare.

Though Jack did not feel calm.

He was even more incensed than he’d been when he arrived at the stables.

He was no longer angry at Belle, but at his fucking brother and, more importantly, at what his fucking brother had interrupted.

When Miles didn’t move or speak, Jack did the latter. “You’re still standing in my stables.”

“My horse happens to be stabled here,” Miles returned.

“Call Olive.
Tell her where you want Mystery stabled and I’ll have her transported,” Jack replied.

Miles’s eyes grew wide. “So now you’re kicking out my horse too?”

Jack turned fully to his brother but held Belle closely at his side with an arm tight around her waist.

“I’d like to take the time to explain things to you fully, Miles, so you’ll understand precisely how I feel about you right now and my intent that you and anything of yours you need is gone as soon as possible. But it’s more important I have the opportunity to speak with Belle. So I’m asking you nicely to go, call Olive, tell her what you need and where you want it to be. She’ll arrange everything,” Jack said to his brother.

“You’re asking me nicely?” Miles queried spitefully.

Jack’s voice dipped low with warning when he returned, “If you’d prefer, I’ll make my wishes clear
not
nicely. However, as I mentioned, I need to speak to Belle and, to make my wishes clear to you, I’d have to ask her to leave.”

Without delay, Miles started to roll up the sleeves of his shirt, his eyes glued to Jack, and he challenged, “Then ask her to leave, Jack. I’d vastly prefer you make your wishes clear not nicely.”

For the first time since Miles arrived, Belle spoke, she did it softly and with a good deal of disgust obvious in her tone, “I don’t believe this is happening.”

Jack looked down to see she was staring at Miles with unhappy astonishment.

Then before Jack could speak, she said to Miles, “You need to grow up.”

“Run along, Belle. Jack and I have things to discuss,” Miles returned, his eyes not leaving Jack.

“I won’t
run along
while you two beat each other to a pulp. What’s the matter with you?” Belle snapped and Miles’s eyes cut to her.

“Oh, I don’t know,” he drawled sarcastically. “Maybe it’s the fact that my brother, who owns my fucking house and the stables where my fucking horse is housed, is standing with his arm around the woman I used to fucking date.
A woman who had his fucking tongue in her fucking mouth not five minutes ago.
And who’s also carrying his bastard fucking child, because, within hours of meeting her, she was so gagging for him she opened her fucking legs,
that
brother is telling me to get the fuck out. Don’t you think that might make you a bit peeved, gorgeous?”

Jack heard Belle gasp but it didn’t register.

He’d heard enough and it had all poured forth from his brother’s mouth.

He was done.

He pushed Belle behind him, his eyes locked on Miles and he muttered, “Go to the house, Belle.”

He felt her hands wrap around his forearm in a firm grip.

“Don’t let him –”

But Jack turned, his eyes pinned her to the spot and he repeated, “Poppet, go to the house. I’ll be there shortly.”

She stared at him a moment, her gaze soft and pleading, and she whispered, “Don’t do this, Jack.”

He felt Belle’s use of his nickname slice straight through his gut.

For some irrational reason he didn’t have the time to process, he realised the feeling was fierce and intensely satisfying.

He still didn’t change his mind.

Instead his hand went to her jaw and his thumb slid along her cheekbone.

“Go to the house, love.”

Her eyes moved to Miles then back to Jack.

Then she nodded, turned on her heel and ran out of the stables.

She stopped at the door and cooed at his dogs, patting her thigh. They ran to her and out the door she closed behind them.

Jack faced his brother.

“I’m going to enjoy this,” Miles sneered, slowly advancing.

Jack very much doubted it.

And, in the end, Jack was right.

Chapter Nine

Multiple Personalities

Belle

Belle woke on her side in her big, soft bed at The Point feeling for the first time in her week of living there, strangely pleasant, cosy and safe.

Then it registered there was warmth at her back and a heavy weight on her waist.

She opened her eyes and looked down to see a man’s hand (not
any
man’s hand, she’d know that strong, long-fingered hand anywhere, it was James’s) dangling at her waist. She saw in the sunlight streaming through her windows that the knuckles were raw and torn, painful-looking scabs forming at the splits.

She no sooner processed this disturbing fact when she heard dog tags and two canine heads popped up on her side of the bed.