Missing the Stars: Chandler County Read online

Jessie had been mistaken if she thought parts of her were supercharged after being in the woods because right then her whole body was tingling with satisfaction over a kiss to end all kisses and at the same time protesting to her that it wasn’t enough. Not even close. There were other parts of her body that needed a thorough investigation and Jessie suspected if they didn’t do something about it, she wasn’t going to be able to focus on the very real reason she was there in the first place. Which sobered her up in a flash. There would be time to play later. They had marched across the manicured lawn to the front porch in silence, but she knew the wheels were turning in his head as much as they were in her own and she got a selfish sense of satisfaction over that realization. Good, let him suffer a bit too. But for now, it was time to focus.

  She followed him into the house where they found Coop sitting in the living room on the very couch she had been sitting on not that long ago. He looked long-suffering, as if he’d been waiting forever. What was worse, judging by the look on his face, he knew why he’d been waiting. Pulling on her mental big girl panties, she shrugged it off. Thirty-year-old women didn’t give a crap if someone judged them about their sexual prowess. At least, that was what she told herself. Yet, she did care to an extent. How could she not? He was Cole’s brother, and he had told her his family was everything to him. If anyone could put the brakes on this—whatever this was—it would be his brother not approving of the situation.

  “How long have you been back?” Cole asked, clearly sensing his brother’s agitated mood.

  “I came back in time to see you both riding off on my horses into the sunset.” The remark was a bit snide, but he covered it well with a smile. “Enjoy yourselves?”

  “First, it’s not sunset for another hour. Secondly, stuff it. You ran out of here pissed off. I needed to use my energy somewhere. We decided to take a ride around the property. Riding has always been something that focuses me, not a distraction.”

  “Me, too.” Why they hell had she offered that up? And why did her voice sound like she had been chastised? She wasn’t going to apologize. “I also wanted to see if we saw anything weird. For all I knew, JD could be lying in the woods somewhere hurt.”

  “Great minds think alike. I wanted to check out the lay of the land and see if anything wasn’t right,” Cole offered.

  Coop sat forward in the seat, zeroing in on her words.

  “Did you see anything?”

  “No, because when we were checking the perimeter…” Cole looked at her as if he was slightly embarrassed.

  “Don’t worry, I’m not embarrassed.”

  “We were about a half mile into the trail when we heard what sounded like someone in the woods. We came to a part in the trail where it was washed out.”

  “Cole yelled for me to pull up in time and the crisis was averted.”

  “Not before she was thrown from Royal Flush.” He looked pointedly at her.

  “Are you all right?” Coop asked concern etched on his face.

  “I’m fine. I have a bruised hip and ego. That’s about all.”

  “You’re lucky.”

  “She’s actually a pretty skilled rider.” Coop offered up.

  “Really?”

  “I had lessons when I was younger. Therefore, I had training on how to fall off a horse. I never have had to use that knowledge and today was no different. By the time I knew I was falling, I was already on the ground.”

  “Tends to happen that way. I should know.” Coop smiled at her. She grinned back. Was she actually starting to like the man? Yes. She was.

  Cole didn’t like the look his brother was sharing with Jessie. He had other things to focus on—important things—but he couldn’t seem to stop his inner boy from yelling, she’s mine, back off. Which he found a bit humorous and a whole lot disturbing. Even though the two men had had their share of girls through their lives, neither had ever let a girl get between them. If one liked a girl, the other went on their way, and for the most part, they had vastly different taste in women. Coop tended to go for high maintenance women. Whereas Cole liked girls that were more down to earth. Both men tended to stick to women that weren’t in it for commitment as well. But this was different. Jessie wasn’t just a girl, she was…what was she? Special. That’s what she was, and Cole wasn’t about to let Coop get a chance at her. He wanted to stake his claim, but how? Coop looked up at Cole and seemed to sense what he was thinking. Coop winked at his older brother and sent him a shit-eating grin.

  Just like that, the jealousy that had been threatening to destroy every intelligent cell in his brain was distinguished. First, no woman would come between his brother and himself. Secondly, Coop wasn’t interested in Jessie. He was just trying to get a rise out of Cole.

  “All kidding aside, did you see anything in your short adventure?”

  “No. But we did hear something in the woods,” Jessie said.

  “What did you hear?”

  “I don’t know, something moving through the woods. We both heard branches break. I don’t think it was an animal. We hightailed it back here, and then JD called Jessie…”

  “Wait, what? Why didn’t you mention that part sooner?”

  “Because I wanted to start at the beginning.”

  Coop was understandably frustrated with the situation, of that he was sure. He also probably realized there was more to the story than met the eye—he would have to be pretty dumb not to realize as much.

  “Let me get this straight, not only is someone skulking around my woods, but you also received a phone call from JD?”

  “That about sums it up,” Cole said.

  “What did JD say?”

  Cole held up his hand to silence them and did a quick sweep of the house again. They’d left the house, and he wanted to make sure no one had come in and put listening devices inside while they were gone. He made fast work and gave them a thumbs up.

  “I swept earlier, but with us being outside the house, even for a short time…you just never know. I have an audio jammer, but you just can’t be too careful. Originally, we were working under the premise JD had absconded with Race the Stars. Now we know that not to be the case.”

  “First, let me say your equipment is impressive and it’s a little scary what you carry with you while on vacation.”

  “I’m never really on vacation. You never know what will cross your path. At least in my line of work I tend to be prepared for any possibility.”

  “Still, it is pretty impressive for a PI operation. No offense intended. Of course, I should realize that you wouldn’t do anything half-assed. From what I learned in my digging, you come highly recommended.”

  Cole hadn’t been surprised earlier when Jessie didn’t question his equipment, but her observation that it was top notch had Cole pausing for a moment to wonder where she would have learned about surveillance equipment. A normal civilian wouldn’t really think about having counter surveillance devices handy. Why would they? For nearly every ordinary citizen there would be no one interested in bugging their house. Which meant Jessie was, what? Certainly not an average civilian, that was for sure. She worked as a paralegal and may have learned about surveillance in her line of work, and her parents had been special agents. Their deaths had shaped her future, and it would stand to reason that Jessie would be cautious to the point of knowing about surveillance. After all, her parents were killed in an undercover operation. Nevertheless, it still warranted asking.

  “You seem to know a lot about surveillance.”

  “Special agent parents, remember?”

  “That’s right.” Something was still slightly off there though. “We need to figure out a timeline, when is the last time you spoke to him?” Cole asked his brother.

  “A couple days. Like I said, I gave him a long weekend, and he was happy to take it. I didn’t hear anything more from him. I was shocked when I woke up and Race the Stars was gone.”

  “He didn’t take Race the Stars to sell him. He took him to hide him,” Je
ssie said.

  “Hide him?”

  “Hide him from whoever has JD,” she said. Her voice was distant as if she’d gone on autopilot. He suspected she was thinking things through.

  “I didn’t really think JD would do anything to Race the Stars. He loves him too much. If you saw him with the horse…the thought never really solidified into real suspicion. I was more worried about his safety from the onset.”

  “I appreciate your trusting him.” Her voice was still distant.

  “What are you thinking?”

  “Nothing. I just don’t know where to start. He tells me I will know where to find Race the Stars, yet I have no idea, and then he tells me he’s in a storm cellar. Gah! How many of those are in the freaking state of Kentucky?”

  “It would be impossible to find him without more to go on, and as much as I want my horse back, I want JD back more,” Coop said quietly.

  “I appreciate that. It means…a lot to me.” She sounded genuinely surprised that Coop would care more about JD than his horse, but Cole knew his brother, and he felt the same way. JD was the priority.

  “We have a radius to start with since we know which tower his phone pinged off of.”

  “Coop’s right, though, it would still be impossible.” Her brows were knit together. He would have missed it if he wasn’t watching her closely. The eyes that didn’t meet his, the small intake of breath, the slight flush that crept into her cheeks.

  “What?” Coop had noticed the intense scrutiny Cole was directing at Jessie and was looking between them, his expression one of complete bewilderment.

  “It’s you…the phone call. There’s only one reason they would allow him to keep it…” Jessie had already figured it out, but for some reason, she hadn’t told him her suspicion. He was focused on the fact he was missing but still alive and he had missed the only possible reason JD was even allowed to have the phone. Which had led Cole to a very important element of the situation at hand, none of this had to do with JD, and all of it had to do with Jessie. “They’re trying to track you.”

  The look on her face was all the confirmation he needed, and she smiled wanly before shrugging.

  “It was a wasted effort though since they were probably the ones in the woods.” Without elaborating, she turned and left the farmhouse. Cole wanted to chase after her, but Coop stopped him.

  “Give her a few minutes before you run after her.”

  “She’s hiding something.”

  “Yes. She is.”

  “Doesn’t that bother you?”

  “She’ll tell us when the time is right. She won’t jeopardize her brother. Of that, I’m confident, and right now we have little to go on to find him.”

  “Yeah. You’re right. When did you get so smart?”

  12

  The barn was quiet as she stroked the brush down Royal Flush’s hair. Jessie had retreated to the barn to give her the brush down she’d promised. She was also hiding, trying to figure out what to do. Royal Flush was being extremely patient, and while she was an older mare, she was still gorgeous in all the ways that mattered. Her coat shone like gloss, and her muscles rippled when a fly landed on her. The only thing that belied her age was her soulful eyes. Intelligent eyes that seemed to know what she was thinking as if she were her soul animal. Jessie liked the sound of that. If she had to pick an animal to have a connection with, it would be the gorgeous animal patiently letting her rid herself of her worries by brushing the poor mare’s mane.

  She didn’t jump when Cole was suddenly behind her, pressing his long, lean body into her own body. Unconsciously, she leaned against him, her mind telling her to rely on him for just a moment or two. He reached around her, and his scent invaded her nostrils as he took the brush out of her hand and set it on the ledge of the door. Somehow, he managed to maneuver without breaking contact with her.

  “I think you got that section pretty good, don’t you?”

  “Yeah…I mean, I guess so.”

  His hands began to knead her shoulders, and she moaned and leaned a little away from him to give him better access, which caused him to chuckle. After he had massaged all the knots out of her shoulders, his hands began to roam over them around to the front of her body, running down and over her breasts, causing her breath to hitch as his hands continued farther down to her lower abdomen. Her legs became weak and warmth spread to all the right places, and her nipples ached to be touched. Really touched. His mouth was by her ear, and he inhaled deeply.

  “Jessie…sweet, sweet Jessie. I want to taste every inch of you. Does that make you uncomfortable?”

  “Not at all.” Her breath was coming in short gasps as his hands continued to roam over her, one hand dipping inside her waistband and the other snaking under and up her shirt to touch her breast.

  “What does it make you?”

  If he thought she was going to shy away from some dirty talk, he was wrong. She was all on board for the whole enchilada.

  “It makes me hot. You make me hot. I want…” Her words were cut off by a sensual moan as his hand dipped lower and grazed the top of the silk scrap of fabric she was wearing. Mentally she thanked the fact she’d been in a hurry and had grabbed what was handy and not sensible. Because the lacey thong wasn’t her typical attire.

  “What do you want?” he whispered into her ear as he began to nibble on the lobe. What? Oh, what does she want.

  “I need you to touch me. Everywhere—and I need to touch you.” He growled in her ear—clearly, she had said what he wanted to hear.

  With one deft move, he rotated her, so she was facing him. Her body protested that his nimble fingers were no longer in her pants or touching her breast. That was until he began kissing her mouth as if she were what he needed to survive. His hands found her bottom, and he lifted her up until her legs were clamped around his hips. He exited the stall and shut the door behind them, walking across the aisle into another stall.

  “What…”

  “I’m not going to make love to you with an audience. Even if that audience is Royal Flush.”

  Those words seemed to bring reality crashing back. Right—they were in a barn. A barn anyone could enter or exit.

  “Wait, wait…Cole, we can’t do this here. Someone could see us.” Her voice was husky, and she was panting as she tried to slow down the pace of things.

  “We can do this here. No one is around. Coop went into town—supper plans—he will be gone for hours. He told me so himself. I think he suspected we needed some alone time.”

  “He knows you came in here to…to…”

  Cole’s mouth descended on hers until she was panting.

  “He doesn’t know anything,” Cole said in between feathering kisses down her neck as his hands tugged at the hem of her shirt.

  “What about the hay?” she whimpered, knowing her protests sounded as weak as the way his kisses were making her knees feel.

  “What about it?” he asked as he tugged her shirt up and over her head, the night air skimming over her skin.

  “I…what?” She shook her head to clear it—right—hay, she was talking about hay. “Slivers. Won’t we get slivers?” His laughter had her face flaming red.

  “You won’t get slivers from hay; it might make a mess out of your hair though. If it makes you feel better, I already put some saddle blankets down.” She glanced down, and indeed there were blankets on the floor of the stall.

  “Well, aren’t we the little Boy Scout. It’s kind of presumptuous.”

  “Not presumptuous. Hopeful is a better word and, yes, I’m always prepared.” He kissed her again. “This is happening—you want me, and I want you. There is no use tiptoeing around the fact.” He punctuated the last word with a tug on her bra and the clasp released, sliding from her, and before she could breathe, his mouth was on her breast, his teeth skimming her nipple. She arched against him. Who was she to argue with this alpha male? He kissed her as he slowly backed her up until her back was against the back wall of the stall.


  Then all thought seemed to cease as he unbuttoned her jeans, sliding them and her underwear down her legs and tugging off first one boot, then the other so she could kick the jeans off. Then he kissed his way up her legs to her tummy. Her knees nearly buckled, but she managed to keep standing as he buried his face between her legs, hooking one leg up and over his shoulder as he teased her with his lips and tongue. The man had a talented tongue. Just as she thought she would sink down the wall and fall to the ground, his big hand pressed into her lower abdomen, pinning her in place. He was virtually holding her up with one hand while he went to town. All too soon she was reaching her climax while he held her in place. Once she came down from the high, he released her.

  “You good?” he asked. She stared blankly at him. What was he talking about?

  “Am I good? I’m great. As a matter of fact, I’ve never been better.” She didn’t feel even remotely shy, even though she was completely bared to him and anyone else that walked by the stall. He chuckled quietly, and she felt heat fill her face. What the hell? Why was he laughing at her, and why was she suddenly blushing all the time?

  “Well, I’m glad to hear that, darlin’, but I was actually just wondering if you were back to yourself because I’m not done with you. Not by a long shot.” The smile on his face was downright wicked. She should be embarrassed, but she wasn’t.

  Instead, she was turned on even more, and she grabbed him and pulled him toward her, kissing him feverishly. When they were both breathless, she pushed him away, smiling.

  “Well then, challenge accepted, because I’m not done with you either. In fact, I have a feeling we’re just getting started.” She stretched naughtily, licking her lower lip as she reveled in the moan that escaped his lips.

  “Lady, you shouldn’t start things you can’t finish.”

  “Who said anything about not finishing what I start?” She ran her hands down her body, tweaking her own nipples and licked her lips again. She loved the way his eyes dilated as he watched her. She reached out and ran a finger down his chest, across his waist, and to his erection, tracing a nail across the hard ridge. She leaned into him, and as he growled, she nipped his lip.