Chapter 26 #2
“Oh, thank God,” I murmured, squeezing my eyes closed.
“Thank God for what?”
“That you aren’t JR,” I mumbled into my pillow. “I had this horrible idea that JR was shaving his legs and had painted toenails.”
She chuckled in amusement, sliding something that smelled suspiciously like tea under my nose. “That would be scary. Here, JR said you drink herbal tea.”
“Yes, but I have a method,” I grumbled.
“He said that as well.”
My heart kicked up at that, and I sat upright, eyeing the suspiciously normal herbal tea. It smelled the way I made it. It looked right, but…how?
“JR went next door and demanded all the things you use. Apparently, this isn’t the first time he’s done this,” she said, raising her eyebrow questioningly.
I shook my head, but said nothing else. Taking a tentative sip of my tea, I instantly felt better as the benefits of the delicious and nutritious drink soothed my dry throat.
“He’s a God,” I whispered.
“I wouldn’t go that far. I’ve heard him called many things, but never that, and never because of tea.”
“I need tea to function,” I explained. “So, are you his wife? His mistress? His—”
“Sister,” she cut off.
I was about to take another sip, but paused before the cup could reach my lips. “You’re…”
“Are you surprised by that?”
My eyes took inventory of the state of how she was dressed. She was wearing his shirt, and even though it covered all the major bits, there was still a lot of skin showing. I wouldn’t walk around like that in any of Sawyer’s things.
“But…you’re half-naked.”
A smile tilted her lips for a split second before she winced, pressing her fingertips gently to her face.
The early morning and my first regular sleep in days had distracted me from the fact that this woman had a massive bruise on her face. A huge one. I sat up, my attention fully on her.
“Are you alright? JR didn’t—”
“He would never,” she said before the words could slip from my lips.
Relief rushed through me, but I wasn’t sure why. I never felt at all like JR would ever do something so horrible. Yet, I had to be sure.
“No, this is the product of yet another bad decision.”
“Do you make a lot of those?”
“Unfortunately,” she answered, taking a sip of whatever was in her cup. “Hmm, this isn’t bad. JR says you run an apothecary shop.”
“I do.”
“That must be why the tea is so good. You use really fresh ingredients.”
“You…you like it?”
That flabbergasted me. Most people complimented my tea, but secretly desired coffee. But she seemed to genuinely like it.
“It took a few sips to really catch on, but yeah, I like it.”
I shifted on the couch, pulling the blanket tighter around me. I felt awkward, sitting here with a woman I didn’t know, acting like we were good friends.
“So…JR is your brother?”
“Yeah,” she chuckled. “Foster brother, but real brother in every way that matters.”
The information hit me like a sledgehammer, but before I could process it, she continued.
“He’s saved my life more times than I can count.
See, JR is…distant with people. The way we grew up, it made him hard.
But me?” A whimsical smile crossed her face.
“I choose to believe the best in everyone. And that has led to some very bad decisions. No matter how many times I think I’ve found the man for me, he always turns out to be worse than the one I just left.
And JR is there every time, picking up the pieces of my broken life. ”
She chuckled humorlessly, studying her tea.
“I’m sorry.”
She shifted in her seat, shrugging slightly. “Well, one of these days I’ll learn. That’s why JR is so…on edge.”
I glanced around, but saw no trace of him. “Where is he?”
“Making sure no trouble followed me. Talking with Archer. Yet another one of my saviors,” she laughed humorlessly.
I didn’t even want to think of what that meant. There had always been a dangerous vibe to JR, something I never looked too closely at, but I never actually thought he would do anything…bad.
“He wouldn’t…” The words wouldn’t leave my mouth. I wasn’t sure I even wanted to know. Because if I did, that might change the way I looked at him, and then where would I be?
“Alyssa,” JR’s deep voice rumbled from behind me.
I stiffened at the sound, wondering how much he had heard.
“Give me a minute.”
“Sure.” Alyssa smiled at me as she got up slowly, walking carefully out of the room.
I tugged the blanket tighter around me, distracting myself with a sip of tea as JR walked in and took her seat. For a moment, his head hung low as he rubbed one palm against the other.
“I guess you have questions.”
“Oh, so many,” I teased, hoping to lighten the mood. “A sister. Will she have all the goods on you?”
“That and so much more,” he smirked, but it was forced.
“So…last night when I pushed in here…”
“She’s been here for a few days. I think you can guess that she’s not here for a friendly visit.”
I nodded, taking another sip of my tea. “She made it sound like she’s gotten herself into some trouble.”
He scoffed at that, his eyes finally meeting mine. “More than a little. Let’s just say her latest boyfriend wasn’t the best news. But that’s not unusual for her.”
“And you didn’t want me here because she’s here.”
Stormy gray eyes locked on mine. “And other reasons.”
I nodded, unsure of what else to do. I’d never actually met someone like Alyssa, who had gotten herself into trouble like this.
Then again, after what Liam and Bailey went through, I shouldn’t be all that surprised that things like this happened in the world.
But I was from a small, sleepy town. We were all so normal and happy.
I was intruding, pushing in when he was trying to take care of his sister. And those ominous words she spoke about him taking care of things made me wonder just how far JR would go to protect her. I had a feeling I didn’t actually want to know.
“I should leave.”
I was already pulling the blanket from my body when JR stood, shoving his hands in his pockets. “I’ll go with you.”
Stunned, I stared up at him in confusion. “You—I’m sorry, what?”
“Just…to be on the safe side.”
“Safe side of what?” I asked in confusion.
“Things.”
Okay, that was very cryptic, and while part of me was dying to find out what he meant, the other part of me screamed to run as far and fast as possible.
Only then would I truly be safe from whatever was going on.
But then I remembered how it felt to have his body pressed against mine last night—how I desperately wanted for something to happen.
To feel his breath on my skin and his fingers skating along my spine would be absolute heaven. But those were the wrong things to think about. His sister was here and she’d just been through the wringer. My needs and wants had to wait.
“Am I in danger?” The words felt awkward on my lips, and even as I said them, I found myself smiling. If I thought of this as some big murder mystery, maybe it wouldn’t seem so bad.
“No.”
“Then why would you need to come with me?”
“Protection.”
I snorted out a laugh, but when he just kept staring at me, the humor of the situation died.
Bad choice of words.
“Protection from what exactly?”
“Things.”
“You said that already,” I pushed. “Why do you keep saying things?”
“Because things happen.”
“Yes, I get that things happen,” I answered testily. “But you haven’t explained what these things are!”
“Bad things.”
Rolling my eyes, I headed for the door. “Well, thanks for the clarification on that.”
But as I shoved past him, he grabbed my arm, pulling me back to him. “It’s probably nothing,” he said slowly, his voice brushing against me like silk.
I shivered, my resolve to storm out of here melting as his hand slowly trailed down my arm, brushing against my fingers.
“JR, what’s really going on?”
He shifted only an inch, but it was close enough that he overwhelmed me. His masculine scent wrapped around me like a warm blanket, protecting me from whatever he deemed a threat.
I didn’t understand it, but I got the feeling I didn’t need to. Whatever was happening, JR was here, and he would keep me safe. Of that much I was sure.
But who would keep me safe from him?
“If you knew, you’d hate me.” His words drifted over me like silk, and I closed my eyes, shifting a scant inch closer.
“Why?”
“There’s so much you don’t know about me. I’m not the man you think I am, Josie.”
Shivers raced down my spine as his lips brushed my forehead. God, if he moved any closer, I would combust. I was already dizzy with need for him, and his warnings to stay away were doing little to sway me.
“Then tell me.”
For just a second, I thought he was actually considering it—that he would open his mouth and tell me all about himself. That there would be no more secrets between us, and I would finally understand the man I craved so much.
But just as he opened his mouth, he stepped back and shoved his hands in his pockets.
“Go get ready. I’ll be over in a few minutes.”