Jared let the mantra run through his mind as he confronted his eldest brother. He’d just taken his load of groceries to the kitchen when he caught sight of Evan and Mara on the beach. He’d gawked as Mara jumped out of her chair and Evan put his arms around his woman, holding her just a little too long for Jared’s liking. He’d seen Mara stumble because of her ankle, but that didn’t mean that Evan had needed to hold on to her as long as he had, and he certainly didn’t need to cuddle up to Mara and carry her once she was steady. Jared reminded himself that he’d carried Mara everywhere for the last several days. But that was different. Evan was a stranger to Mara, and she to him. What right did his brother have to even touch her?
“She said you were just friends,” Evan said disdainfully. “I didn’t get any indication that you’d staked some sort of claim on her. Isn’t that a little barbaric?”
Jared gritted his teeth and let go of Evan as his elder brother shook off his grip. “We are friends.” And we’re also lovers. Okay . . . maybe lovers only once, but I obsess about it day and night. “She’s been through a lot. The last thing she needs is a man like you.”
Evan folded his arms gracefully in front of him. “What exactly does that mean? I certainly have the funds to give her everything she needs.”
“She doesn’t need funds,” Jared ground out, trying to hold back his temper. Mara would succeed with Mara’s Kitchen, and he planned on making certain she did. Jared knew he owed Evan a lot, but he wasn’t about to sit back and watch while Mara slipped away from him.
“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.