UlteriorMotives (7 page)

There might still be a chance though. The suppression system
wouldn’t seal her in the house. So as long she made it to the door before the
fire got to her, she might be okay. Unless someone hit the safety bypass. She
shuddered at the thought. There would be no surviving the heavy foam that would
coat the house. It would suffocate her as easily as it did the fire.

She tried to hurry but that only made her crutches slip more
frequently. Her escape teetered on becoming an exercise in futility. She’d made
it most of the way down the hall when she glimpsed the first flicker of flames
licking the walls. But her situation seemed destined to get worse. When she
came out of the hall, it was to the discovery that the front room already had
flames rolling up the walls and scorching the ceiling. She was trapped.

Waves of heat from the fire surrounded her, causing sweat to
drip down her face and her back. And the thick blanket of smoke made it hard
for her to breathe. She should lower herself to the floor and crawl, but her
broken ankle prohibited that. Even if she could somehow manage to get down to
the ground, the pain would make her pass out before the smoke got to her.

She always had the answer. With her job, she had to. But now
she had none. She leaned against her crutches and surveyed the situation one
last time. She was dead if she stayed in her current spot. But she might be
able to make it across the front room before the ceiling collapsed on her, if
she could go fast enough. Which meant she had to put on her big girl panties
and get a move on.

It was difficult to balance on the crutches while her body
shook with coughing fits but she did her best. She’d made it to the middle of
the room before she heard the ominous creaking of the ceiling. She tried to
push herself faster but one of her crutches slipped. It all happened in slow
motion. She was falling in a room currently being devoured by flame and she
couldn’t stop. There wasn’t even a way for her to brace herself. In that moment
she didn’t doubt the outcome. This tiny slip meant her death. There were no
remaining options. Just as she expected to feel the sting of hitting the floor,
though, she didn’t. Instead someone lifted her into his strong arms. Cradling
her like a small child against a strong chest.

“Stubborn, impatient woman. Couldn’t wait for the cavalry,
could you?”

She couldn’t make out Jasper’s face through the mask he
wore, but she easily recognized his voice. “Determined,” she corrected around a
cough.

Jasper slipped a mask over her head as he carried her out of
the room. “What the hell happened? We were all in the barn when we heard the
alarm.”

“Jake came for a visit. I think he’s the one working with
the energy company. When I wouldn’t seal the ranch’s fate by sending you away,
he decided to up the stakes.” In his embrace she was able to make it out of the
house before the ceiling collapsed but, even after the door closed behind them,
the suppression system still didn’t seal off the house. “Someone is still in
there.”

Jasper took a deep breath and handed her over to Stan. “I’m
going back in. If there’s someone trapped in there, we need to get them out
before the whole thing collapses on top of them.”

“Don’t leave me,” she pleaded.

“I can’t stand out here and let someone burn to death. That
the suppression system hasn’t sealed it off means they’re still alive. There’s
still a chance.”

“Please. Let the sheriff go in.” She didn’t think she could
live if she had to watch him race to his own death.

“He’s busy looking for Jake. I need to do this, Kat.”

Stan started to walk away from Jasper with her still in his
arms. “Put me down.” But he wouldn’t. “Don’t you go back in that house,
Jasper.” Only, just as she suspected he would, he did. And, just as she knew it
would, her heart broke as she watched him go.

This was the second time in thirty-six hours he’d plunged
into a fire in the hopes of saving someone. Not even he could miss the
universal context of the rescues. This had to be some karmic punishment for
wanting to be the hero. If he hadn’t been so upset by Kat’s “compliment” that
first night, none of this would probably be happening.

Of course, according to Kat, Jake held some of the guilt as
well. Not that blame changed Jasper’s current circumstances. The fire consumed
the house around him as he went from room to room, checking for the trapped
person. If he didn’t stay focused, he would become trapped. At least he’d made
good time so far. He’d already made his way through the kitchen and was now in
the computer room. This was the heart of the house’s automated systems.
Heating, cooling, air filtration and—of course—the fire suppression systems
were all housed here. The quiet humming would’ve been comforting under
different circumstances. Things being what they were, the noise put him on
edge. Still, he pressed on. He walked around a large compression unit before
finally seeing the other person.

Jake lay sprawled out on the floor of the office area,
pinned under a bookshelf. “Thank goodness someone found me. I had just grabbed
a book Kat meant to lend me when the alarm went off.”

“So you did what any sane person would and tried to climb
the bookshelf?” He made his way toward the man warily.

“Can you please just get this thing off me? It weighs a
ton.”

The smoke wasn’t bad in the room yet. And when Jasper looked
up he could easily see the safe door hanging open just above where the top
shelf of the bookshelf would be. When it was upright, of course. “Were you rifling
through Kat’s things?”

“Of course not. Someone else must have been in here before
me.”

As if he believed that. Jasper took off the fire mask for a
moment so he could get a better look at the scene around him. If the man had
been going through Kat’s stuff, Jasper would bet a month’s salary that Jake had
been looking for something specific. A data chip lying just out of Jake’s reach
on the floor caught Jasper’s attention. “So when I put this in my reader, it
won’t be anything important to Kat or her ranch?”

“How should I know what’s on it? I’ve never seen that chip.
Now are you going to get this off me?”

He should help the man. They had to get out of the house.
But Jasper needed all the facts before he made his next move. He dug his reader
out of his pocket and slid the chip into the device. He almost wished he were
surprised when the legal deed to Kat’s land popped up on his reader. If Kat
were dead and Loase got his hands on the deed, there would be no stopping the
politician. “You were going to burn her to death in her own damn house just to
steal her land?”

Jake pushed against the bookshelf and then cursed at his
inability to move it. “Yes. Fine. I tried everything else first though.” The
man said the words as if they somehow made attempted murder justified. “I made
an offer on the ranch when her parents died but she wouldn’t have it. Then I
tried to scare her a bit. But she refused to budge. Mark was just as stubborn.”

“Which is why you killed him,” Jasper guessed.

“He’d discovered the
inomoniam
. He would have
eventually realized you weren’t the one working with Loase.”

So the ranch hand had been innocent. Poor bastard had
probably been surprised when he discovered who the rat really was. “You’ll stop
at nothing to get this land from Kat.”

He looked up at Jasper, his eyes cold and calculating. “I
made promises to people. People who will kill me if I don’t deliver.”

“I don’t think you have to worry about those people
anymore.” A cold rage had filled Jasper as he listened to Jake. If he saved
Jake, the man would only turn on Kat again. And if Jake waited until after
Jasper had left to strike again, who would be here to protect her? In a perfect
world, Jake would go to prison and would never bother anyone ever again. But
the world they lived in was far from perfect. His father had taught him that.
Even if there were enough evidence to convict Jake, Loase would most likely
work out a deal to get Jake out just so he wouldn’t turn evidence on the
representative. Jasper couldn’t leave Kat in such a vulnerable situation. He
turned and started to walk away, leaving the man behind.

“Wait,” Jake yelled. “Don’t leave me here. I have
information. You need me. Don’t you want to know what they’re going to do with
all that H8?”

The fire had already spread to the computer room. He needed
to get out of here if he was going to survive. And he had every intention of
surviving. “If they told you, chances are someone else knows.”

“But you’re one of those do-gooders. You can’t leave me
here,” Jake said.

“Believe me when I say, this is my good deed for the day.”
He walked out of the room. The fire hadn’t devoured the kitchen yet so it only
took him a moment to run across it to the back door. Once he made it outside,
he pushed the safety bypass. He heard an anguished cry from the front of the
house as the fire walls slammed down to seal off the house and, not wanting Kat
to worry any more than she already had, he raced to the front yard. Relief
filled him as he found her still cradled safely in Stan’s arms. Stan nodded at
Jasper as he walked toward them, but Kat didn’t seem to notice. Her attention
stayed focused on the house.

He tore off his mask and continued walking over to her
slowly. When he got about ten feet from her, she finally turned to face him.
“But… The doors… They’re sealed. Someone hit the safety bypass.”

“I did.” He turned to the sheriff to say, “It was Jake in
the house but I couldn’t save him.” It was the truth but not in the way they
would interpret it. He could almost hear his father’s voice as he justified the
answer, but he refused to feel guilty about the half-truth, knowing Kat would
be safe. “I found this near him.” He handed the data chip of her deed to Kat
and then held his arms out to her.

She took the chip from him and then went gladly into his
arms. “I’m so glad you’re okay. When the sheriff couldn’t find Jake, I thought…
I thought…” She buried her face into his shoulder as she shuddered.

“It’s okay. I’m here.” He held her to him as she snuggled
into his neck. “And I’m not going anywhere.”

She laughed softly as she pulled away from him. “You’re
going to have to go somewhere eventually.”

His heart stopped at her words.

“I mean, you can’t very well stand out here all night.”

He let out the breath he hadn’t realized he was holding.
When had the thought of leaving become physically painful? He shook off the
question as he stared down at her. “I’m sorry I didn’t get to you in time to
save the house.”

“It’s okay. It’s only a house. It can be rebuilt. And a
couple of the cabins my ranch hands use are empty. So we have someplace to stay
in the meantime.”

“Is there a bed?” After everything that’d happened,
everything he’d done that night, he needed her wrapped around him.

“There is.”

He looked at the sheriff but the man shooed him away. “We’ll
do a preliminary investigation tonight but we don’t need you two for anything.
Go, get some rest. It’s been a rough couple of days.”

“Thank you.” He shook hands the best he could with the
sheriff while carrying Kat and then started walking toward the small collection
of cabins.

“Number three is empty right now,” she said as they
approached the small houses.

As he pushed open the door he noticed a slightly musty
smell, but as he walked into the main room it looked orderly and well-kept. “Is
there a shower?”

“There is, but I think I’m stuck taking baths.” She pointed
at her foot. “I don’t think I trust myself to stand long enough to take a
shower.”

“Okay. I’m flexible. Is there a bathtub?”

She nuzzled his neck as she pointed toward the door on the
opposite side of the room. He carried her through it not knowing what to expect
but was delighted to find a decent-sized bathroom on the other side. Nothing
opulent—it had a combined shower and tub—but they didn’t need opulence right
now.

He sat her down on the tub’s edge and then began running a
bath for her. It took some wiggling and shimmying to get her out of her
clothes, but he wasn’t complaining. Actually he found the whole process rather
captivating.

She removed the ankle brace last and then sank into the warm
water with a sigh of contentment. She scooted down until the water lapped at
the underside of her breasts and closed her eyes. “This is bliss.”

He smiled as he studied her curves under the pristine water.
“I agree.”

She splashed a little water in his direction without opening
her eyes but her smile assured him she was only teasing. “Why don’t you make
yourself useful and grab a washcloth out of the closet?”

He skimmed a hand up her thigh to her sex. “Oh I can think
of much better ways to be useful.”

“Is that so?” Her eyes opened slowly to reveal the heat of
desire in them.

He cupped her breast with his other hand as he slid a finger
through the lips of her pussy. “If you disagree, though, I’d be happy to get
the washcloth for you.” He pulled away from her just to hear her gasp of distress.

“Tease.” She licked her top lip and then moved her hand down
her body. “Two can play at that game.”

His stomach fell as he watched her spread her thighs to
accommodate her hand. “You were wrong. This is bliss,” he said as she began
stroking her clit.

“And let me think. Where was your other hand?” She winked at
him as she began cupping her breast. “That’s right. Don’t believe you’d gotten
around to this though,” she added as she pinched her nipple between her thumb
and first finger.

“Nope. Hadn’t gotten to that yet.” His throat was dry and it
caused his voice to crack a little.

The woman had no mercy as she stroked her clit and played
with her nipple in front of him. He ached with the need to touch himself to
relieve some of the tension and hunger that grew inside him as he watched the
highly erotic show she put on for him.

She quirked an eyebrow as he unzipped his pants, but then
smiled as he started stroking his already hard cock. “Do you enjoy watching?”

“I enjoy doing everything with you. Watching, touching,” he
said as he ran a finger over her breast. “But I especially like tasting.” He
leaned over the tub to take her nipple into his mouth.

Her moan pulled his attention away from her breast. He was
helpless to do anything but watch as she pushed two fingers inside her sex. He
wouldn’t be able to keep his control for much longer. He wanted her so badly.
And so little separated him from her. It took all of his resolve not to stoop
over and pluck her out of the tub so he could take her against the nearest
wall.

He really needed to speed things along before he finished in
his own damn hand. He stood and made his way over to the closet with his pants
still unfastened. When he returned, he threw a washcloth at her and said,
“You’ve got five minutes. Then you can either join me out here or I’ll climb in
there with you.”

“Five minutes, huh?” She soaped up the washcloth and then
started sliding it over her water-slicked skin. “I’m not sure that’ll be enough
time for me to get good and clean.”

He was done playing though. Every second she spent in the
tub without him was painful. “Lean forward.” He took the washcloth from her and
began to soap up her back.

She laughed. “Decided to rush things along?”

“Just trying to get to the good parts.” He ran the washcloth
over her shoulder and then trailed it around the swell of her breasts. “And
this is one of my favorites.”

“I would’ve never guessed.” The water sloshed around her as
she settled back against the tub wall.

He continued his explorations by skimming the washcloth over
her ribs. He loved the way her skin broke out in goose bumps under the soft
cloth. “I’m also pretty partial to this part.” As he swirled the washcloth
around her bellybutton, she shivered and closed her eyes.

“I like that part too,” she said. Her hands curled around
the edge of the tub as he dragged the cloth lower.

“And this.” He caressed the cleft of her sex first and then
her inner thighs, encouraging her to spread her legs wider for him. Once she
did, he released the washcloth so he could feel her heat with his fingers. “The
thought of touching you has had me hard all day.”

She sat up and held her arms out to him. “I do believe my
five minutes are up.”

He pulled her out of the tub and then wrapped her in a thick
towel. “So how’s your ankle holding up?”

“It’s feeling much better.”

He carried her snuggled in his arms from the bathroom to the
bedroom, where he let her towel slip to the floor. “I do believe it’s tomorrow.
It’s early, but technically still a new day. Which means, as long you don’t put
weight on that ankle, we should be good.”

“And how are you planning on keeping me from putting any
weight on it?” She wrapped her arms around his neck as if anticipating his next
move.

With a quick movement he had her straddling his hips with
his hands under her ass to support her weight. “This feels pretty good.” He
took a couple steps so he could brace her against the wall and then he reached
into his front pocket and pulled out a condom.

“Optimistic?”

“Prepared,” he corrected.

“This does feel good.” She wiggled in his arms so she could
push his pants and boxers past his hips. “But that feels better,” she said as
she rubbed against his cock.

He balanced her weight between the wall and one hand so he
could give her the condom. “You’ll have to put it on me,” he said as he quickly
returned his hand to her delectable ass cheek.