To Protect the Heart of a Brazen Woman [Brazen Sisters 6] (Siren Publishing Classic) by Rita Sawyer

encourage his delusions that things between him and Kerri meant nothing. She added a few other goodies, including some of the homemade cookies Sam always had on hand, to the bag she packed for Jake. It might be the case for him, but he couldn’t know what went on in Kerri’s mind. Hopefully, her sisters would find something quickly and Jake could use the information to wipe out the threats this woman was making.
    Jake needed to get to the bottom of things so she could get back to her life. She knew he was doing everything in his power, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t help. Her hour reprieve was almost over. He’ll be there soon, she thought, peeking out the window into the backyard.

Chapter Nine
     
    Jake could tell she was getting cabin fever. He was, too, though he was better at hiding it. For the past three days, they’d done what they could to pass the time. Reading, watching movies, and playing cards—anything but doing what they both really wanted to do. Though, she offered to wipe out his sixty-dollar debt he owed for losing at gin for a massage. Jake would love to rub down every inch of her, but he knew where it would lead.
    The desire they felt for each other was only getting stronger. It burned them both at night and he found it impossible to keep from holding her in his arms. She would snuggle back against him, her scent made him tighten his hold. She had to know she was driving him crazy. Hell, every time she shifted she rubbed his cock, which kept him in a constant state of arousal. Not reacting was a test of his determination and endurance.
    Everything in him screamed for him to take her. Jake knew she wanted him to, but if he did there would be no letting her go. His pride and the love he felt for her would demand he put a ring on her finger and keep her forever, but whether it was rational or not, he just couldn’t bring himself to do it. He knew it was going to be really hard to let her go when they returned to the real world.
    Bobbie was too damn young to settle down. She deserved to be free to live her life and go out and experience the world. All he had to do was look at his brother to see what a mistake marrying her would be. It was a history lesson he didn’t want to repeat.
    Beau and Heather had been madly in love, a perfect fit from the start. Not long after graduating high school, they defied their parents and snuck off to get married. They came back home and everything seemed wonderful at first. Heather had immediately started pushing for them to have a baby. Beau willingly gave in against everyone’s advice for them to wait a little while. Charlie came along not too long after. What Beau hadn’t known was somewhere along the line Heather had changed her mind.
    She no longer wanted to be tied down by a husband and a baby. Jake remembered her saying she wasn’t sure she ever wanted them. It had been in the heat of the moment, but hurtful things like that just can’t be taken back. She had been too young and wanted the freedom she gave away. Beau had been devastated, but he let her go, hoping she’d come back. Three days after she left to go stay with her cousin in Chicago, they got the word she’d died in a car accident.
    Beau never got the closure he needed, and Charlie had been left without a mother. Jake wasn’t sure he would have been as strong as Beau. He’d put Charlie first and raised his daughter alone.
    Jake knew Bobbie was nothing like Heather. She would never abandon her child. And once she got married she’d stick it out no matter what happened. There would be no admitting she’d changed her mind, and he wouldn’t be able to stand seeing her suffer. So it was best all around if they didn’t cross that line.
    Bobbie tossed the book she was reading on the old, scratched-up coffee table and got to her feet.
    “What’s wrong?” He didn’t want to ask but he had to.
    “I don’t know what you mean.” She shrugged her shoulders as she walked toward him. “I was