Claimed: The Dark Christmases Trilogy Page 3

  Kat shook her head.

  “Do you remember what she looked like?”

  Again, there was a long moment of silence. “I don’t.” She sighed. “Well, sort of. It took me a long time to figure out how old Beth might have been when she gave birth to me, that’s if she’s my mother. The face of hers that I can’t forget is that of a teenager.”

  I fanned my fingers against my breastbone, stifling a gasp. It was clear to me that this Beth had the right credentials when it came to being Kat’s mother, as far as Randolph Christmas was concerned. The journalist in me had just bitten into another vital part of the story.

  “Are you positive she’s not your mother?” I asked.

  “I’m exhausted,” Kat announced with a sigh. “Can I close my eyes and rest?”

  “Yes,” Jasper said before I could push for a response to my last question.

  Perhaps he was irritated by my pushy method of questioning her, but I didn’t feel apologetic about it. We had just uncovered some very pertinent information. Eve’s real name was Katie. She was in hiding—we still didn’t know for how long. The biggest chunk of discovery was that a young woman who lived with her might have been her mother. But we needed to know more about Bam and the girls who lived in the house with Kat—hopefully some detail that would allow us to find them.

  “Got it,” Jasper said to the person on the other end of the phone. Then he took a quick look in Kat’s direction. His frown was severe. “Kat, do you have a cell phone?”

  She flinched. “Um, yes.”

  He held out his hand. “Let me have it.”

  Kat hesitated and then she bent over. I heard her bag unzip, then she put her cell phone in the palm of his hand.

  “Got it,” Jasper said.

  The vehicle slowed down until it stopped along the curb and in front of a driveway. Jasper opened the door and rushed out into the cold. Kat and I watched, stunned, as he trotted around the back of the SUV.

  “What the fuck is he doing?” she whispered, neck craned, body twisted in an effort not to lose sight of him. He threw the cell phone into a storm drain, and Kat gasped. “What the fuck!”

  A minute later, Jasper was back behind the wheel and calmly buckling his seat belt.

  “Why did you do that?” Kat cried, sitting on the edge of her seat.

  He pulled away from the curb. “My security believes we’re being tracked through your device.”

  “But I told you, Zach doesn’t have a car,” she whined. “And he hasn’t called like he should’ve by now, and I’m worried.”

  “We’ll get you another device, a safer one. And I’m working on a background check for Zachary Keating. Once he’s cleared, you’ll be able to communicate with him.”

  Her mouth fell open, probably in shock that he already knew her boyfriend’s full name. Suddenly, she turned to look out the window, probably contemplating her escape. Jasper was done explaining, and he didn’t acknowledge her distress.

  I put my hand on her shoulder. “Don’t worry. It’s for the best.”

  Kat shrugged my hand off her. “Don’t touch me.”

  “Hey!” Jasper roared.

  “You don’t just get to take my phone if you feel like it,” Kat said brusquely.

  “I told you I’ll replace it.”

  She shook her head frantically. “Let me out at the next corner.”

  “Just sit back and be quiet!” Jasper yelled in a tone that made me shiver.

  “You’re a monster!” she shouted. “You’re the fucking devil, like your father!”

  I gasped as my eyes grew wide. She had no idea how cutting her words were. My interest was split between wanting to calm her and console him.

  Jasper glanced at her, but this time, he took the precious seconds needed to really pay attention to her state of mind. “I apologize for the tone I took with you,” he said, keeping his attention on her while watching the road. “We’re in a dangerous situation. I’m trying to get us to safety without being noticed.”

  “But I can’t call Zach,” she said.

  Jasper’s eyebrows furrowed. “Not yet. I want to make sure this Zach is safe before you contact him again.”

  She sat back against her seat. “But he is safe.” Her expression indicated that she had no doubt about that.

  “If he is, then I’ll make sure you’re able to communicate with him. But right now, your safety is what’s important to me.”

  She stared at Jasper for several moments.

  “Kat, if you are my sister, which I believe you are, then you can’t go back to where you were.” He glanced at her. “Your life will never be the same. You’re a Christmas, and that means your care is in my hands, at least until I know you’re not in any danger.”

  She blinked at him as if processing everything he had just said. I could only imagine being in her shoes. Here was this beautiful, powerful man saying that his mission was to protect her. But he wasn’t a lover or an admirer—he was her brother. He was family. Finally, she sighed as if letting go then folded her arms as she adjusted in her seat.

  “Okay, but I’m just going to rest because I don’t feel well.” She closed her eyes.

  Jasper and I looked at each other through the rearview mirror. My gentle smile was my way of letting him know that I was proud of the way he’d handled what could have been a catastrophe. He winked, and all I wanted to do was make out with him until our lips fell off. But I continued to smolder, not taking my eyes off him. Every now and then, he would take a break from concentrating on the road to meet and mirror my gaze. I only ripped my eyes off him when my phone chimed again, letting me know that I had another message.

  “You should turn off your phone, babe. It’s dangerous for you to have it on.”

  “Or maybe you can throw her phone down the drain too,” Kat said with her head still resting on the top of the seat.

  “What is it, Holly?” Jasper asked, watching me scratch my temple.

  I was wondering what to do next. The text had been from Rich, the lab technician who ran the DNA tests on the Christmases. My morning had been so full that I forgot I’d put my phone in Do Not Disturb mode, which only gave individuals I deemed critical contacts access to me. Rich was one of those people. His voicemail and text messages were simply, “I need to talk to you about 4834.” The number was code for one of my samples that triggered an FBI investigation.”

  “Babe, what’s going on?” Jasper asked.

  “It’s the lab.” I started texting Rich back.

  Jasper had said thank you to the other person he had been communicating with through his earpods. Our vehicle had picked up speed, and we were now driving across the East River. After asking Rich if I could call him, I looked up to see that we had just left Queens. Jasper had taken service roads all the way here. For the first time since getting rid of Kat’s phone, he was driving with intention. However, I caught him watching me expectantly. I raised a finger, signaling that he should wait.

  “So the two of you are a couple?” Kat asked out of the blue.

  Jasper glanced at her in the passenger seat. Then he watched me again through the rearview mirror. “Why don’t you answer, babe?” he finally said.

  I smirked just as my phone dinged. Rich was ready for me to call right then and there.

  “We’re a thing,” I said and speed-dialed Rich.

  “There you have it,” Jasper said.

  “So how did you meet?” Kat asked.

  The line rang. “Excuse me, Kat. I have an important call,” I said.

  My call was answered, and the first thing Rich said was, “Holy shit, Holly. You’re not going to believe this.”

  “Let’s hear it.”

  “Amelia Christmas’s DNA matches a girl named Doris Hollander who was kidnapped when she was twelve.”

  My jaw dropped. “My goodness, holy shit is right. Are you sure? Have you personally compared the results?”

  “I have indeed.”

  “And they’re really a match?” />
  “They are. But hey, let me ask you something,” he whispered.

  “What?”

  “Is this the wife of Randolph Christmas?”

  Shit. “Why are you asking?” I asked.

  “Relax, Holly. I’d lose my fucking job if they learned how I ran these results for you. But you know, if we get a hit, then we have to make it legit. Remember the slogan?” Then he sang, “If we get a hit, we make it legit.”

  I heaved a sigh. “Yes, I remember that song.” The weight of the world was suddenly upon my shoulders. “How long do I have before my name is revealed?”

  “Tomorrow morning at eight thirty a.m., my time.”

  I shook my head, watching Jasper, who kept eyeing me curiously. Then I had an idea. I told Rich I’d call him right back. I had a proposition for Jasper—a favor, actually—and I hoped he wouldn’t refuse.

  Chapter Four

  We’d left Kat’s house more than three hours earlier and finally arrived at an airfield for helicopters in New Jersey. I’d told Jasper that I needed to talk to him before we decided to fly away from the city to God knew where. He arranged for Kat to fly out first. I watched Jasper and a guy in a heavy black flight jacket and helmet brief Kat on the trip to a place called Location Z. Kat stood with her shoulders curved, hugging herself while nodding. She appeared so tiny next to those two big guys. Then Jasper commanded my full attention. What a presence he had—so commanding, so sexy, and very safe. I focused on Kat again. She was timid, but I could tell she wasn’t afraid. She felt secure.

  Finally, Jasper patted the pilot on the shoulder and assured Kat once again that William, his butler, would see to her every comfort once she arrived at the location. He also told her that we should arrive shortly, but if it took longer, she would be in good hands. After one last nod, the helicopter pilot directed Kat past the glass doors and out into the cold air.

  I felt tense again once Jasper began walking in my direction. When he stopped to stand in front of me, his delicious energy washed over me and made me skip a breath. He must have known the effect he had on me, because he smirked.

  “You suggested we remain behind. I’m guessing it has something to do with your conversation with the lab technician?”

  I cut a tiny smile. I had no idea why I was being flirtatious. It was certainly not the right time for it. “It does.”

  His eyes smoldered, and he swallowed. “Then let’s hear it.” He cleared his throat.

  Oh, that look in his eyes. I’d seen it many times before. It meant that Jasper Christmas wanted to fuck. It was nice to know we were in the same frame of mind.

  I rubbed the back of my neck, trying to pull it together. What I had to say was too serious for all of this sexual excitement to be flowing between us. A girl working behind the desk kept staring at us, and a television attached the wall was blaring. I looked around for a quiet spot, and there was none.

  “We have to go back to your car,” I said.

  He frowned as if he wondered why, but then he nodded, took my hand, and walked with me out of the terminal. Jasper insisted we both get into the back seat of his vehicle. He sat with his legs wide to give his erection space in the crotch of his pants.

  I kept my eyes on his dick. “The DNA of your mother, Amelia Christmas, matched that of a girl who was kidnapped thirty-five years ago. She was twelve years old.”

  Jasper covered his face with his large hands as he pushed his head against the seat. I was no longer watching to see if he still wanted to fuck. His reaction said the lust had passed, and heck, I didn’t want to fuck anymore, either.

  He took in a deep breath and forcefully released the air from his lungs. I kept waiting for him to say something. The seconds kept ticking by. It was torture giving him time to think. I hadn’t yet asked for the favor I needed.

  “Okay,” I finally said. My loud voice seemed to disturb the silence. “There’s another thing.”

  He looked at me. In the early days of our relationship, the expression on Jasper’s face would have first sent a chill down my spine and then boosted me into fight-or-flight mode. I never fled. I was always a fighter. But now I realized Jasper was only arranging the pieces in his head. He was always thinking. Even when he slept, he was contemplating one thing or another. He was a man who lived without peace, and I was about to pile more shit on top of him.

  “The FBI is going to want to know who submitted the DNA for testing. For a reporter, that can get a little hairy, so I was wondering…”

  “Done,” he said without hesitation.

  “Done?”

  He took my hand in his. “You want me to say that I submitted the DNA? Done.”

  I stared at his face. My heart, throat, and nostrils felt tight. It was true—Jasper Christmas had become the one man in my entire life that I could count on. This feeling was brand-new, and I had no idea what to do. But I didn’t want to cry. I didn’t want to show him how lacking I was. Jasper took care of everybody—his sisters, brothers, father, and employees, just everybody. Am I special to him? I had never been special to anybody.

  He kissed the back of my hand. “You were right to tell me this before we boarded the helicopter.”

  I swallowed as I continued forcing myself to not cry, and then I cleared my throat. “I thought it was the right thing to do.” Good, that came out clearly. I was pretty sure Jasper couldn’t detect how emotional I’d been only a few seconds before.

  Suddenly, his face was inching its way toward mine. Our lips connected. His tongue brushed mine as his hand fondled its way past the front of my coat and under the hem of my sweater, sliding up my skin and under my bra to cup one of my breasts and stimulate my nipple. My chest floated toward his fingers, begging for more of that pleasurable feeling. Our kissing turned deeper as I ran my fingers through his hair. He gathered a handful of my tresses to hold my head back so that he could suck, bite, and lick my neck.

  “Ah,” I sighed and then moaned. His mouth felt so warm, and the softness of his tongue was erotic. I could feel my pussy pulsating as it got wetter and more ravenous. Our gazes locked, and in his eyes I could see the same question I was asking myself: Is now the right time for this? As our mouths collided and Jasper tugged at the button of my jeans and then my zipper, it was clear that we both had the same answer: No, it is not the right time, but it is too late to stop what’s about to come next.

  I pulled at Jasper’s thick leather belt. For some reason, the smooth metal of the buckle turned me on even more. Jasper relished the finer things in life. He didn’t have to show off, either—he was naturally a man of taste and sophistication. And that was why I moaned as my tongue lapped his. I wanted my mouth to melt with his. I wanted the two of us to become one as my hand finally found his rock-solid erection and shifted up and down his firm cock.

  With his fingers still in my pants, Jasper tossed his head back and gnawed on his bottom lip. “Oh.” Instead of slowing down, I shifted to faster. “Whoa,” he finally said and shoved his fingers deeper into my pussy.

  “Take off your coat,” he commanded.

  I did what he told me to do, and lightning fast. He did the same even faster than I had. Then he took a condom out of his pocket.

  He winked at me. “I knew I’d be seeing you today,” he said, answering the question in my eyes.

  Then before I knew it, Jasper had grabbed me by the thighs and tugged until I was lying on my back. In a haze, I watched him pull my pants off. His fingers slipped in and out of my wetness as he easily finished taking off his pants and freeing his erection. Then there was the delectable sight of him rolling the condom over his fat cock. Twice, he slapped my thigh and then grabbed it as he pulled me in his direction. He was taking charge. Jasper always took charge, but this time, the act alone made me extra wet.

  My wet pussy straddled his dick. He had my thighs tight in his grip. We couldn’t look away from each other. Slowly, methodically, he pushed my pussy down over his cock. Lower. I tightened my grasp around him. Lower. I tightened it s
ome more. Lower.

  He sucked air. “Fucking shit, baby…”

  My pussy felt good, just like I wanted it to. His expansive cock also felt divine inside of me.

  The snow was raging now, hitting the top of the car as if the metal and ice were in a fistfight. The friction of his cock against my pussy walls further grounded us in the moment, our breaths crashing against each other and our lips only inches away, making it even more organic.

  Then Jasper’s teeth gently gathered my lower lip, and he chewed and licked and sucked on it. I loved this game and wanted to play along, so I did the same to his top lip. His eyes narrowed with amusement and lust.

  “Fuck!” he finally roared as he grabbed my hips and crashed my pussy against his cock at the speed of a jackhammer. The fullness of him inside me and the way my pussy sparked with the fluttering sensation of a brand-new orgasm made my head fall back as I gasped for words to express how extraordinarily delicious this moment felt. He kept up the intensity. It was coming—the burst, the gift of pure and divine pleasure. The windows were steamed.

  Jasper’s teeth banged against my skin. “Come, baby,” he whimpered.

  I knew I would have to climax first before he could even think about letting go. So I concentrated on the movement of his cock, twisting my hips whenever I felt it more in a specific region of my pussy, allowing his dick to give me a lot more stimulation in that spot.

  Dammit, it feels so fucking good. My only disappointment would have been if he’d stopped. But he kept going as I clung to his shoulders, my fingers digging into his flesh. I moaned and gasped as I felt it coming. The sensation of a new orgasm raced through my pussy and expanded.

  “Ah!” I shouted at the top of my lungs.

  “Oh,” Jasper said after fastening my pussy against his cock. He jerked and quaked against my body. When I slowed and he simmered down, we kissed some more. I knew Jasper, too, would have loved to keep going. There were so many things we could have done to steam up the windows even more, especially since my pussy was so sensitive and ready for more orgasms.