The Whisperers: A Three Book Box Set Read online

  “Oh but you have.”

  “No. I swear to you –“

  “Jake, I’m not criticizing. Just stating a fact. Let me ask you something. Just now. What were you thinking when you touched me?”

  It took a moment for him to respond and when he did, she knew he was being honest. “I was thinking how damn beautiful you are and how much I want you and wishing you wanted me just as much.”

  Teddy nodded. “I do Jake. I do. But every time you feel that or as you say wish it, it ramps up energy inside you and seeps out – into me or whoever your attention is focused on.”

  “So what you’re saying is when you want me, it’s not really you?”

  Teddy knew a split second before the words spilled from his lips that she’d stepped into a big pile. He was angry because now he thought that she didn’t really want him at all and he wanted her to want him all on her own.

  “No, that’s not what I meant at all Jake. It’s just that –“

  “No, no, that’s fine; you don’t have to say any more. I get it and I promise I won’t be projecting on you. And I got things to do so …”

  With that he turned on his heel and walked away.

  Smooth move, Teddy. She grimaced and started after him but stopped. Right now he was angry and until he cooled off nothing she said would get through to him. It was best to just give him some time. Besides, there were other things to consider other than her increasingly demanding libido when Jake was anywhere around.

  She refilled Whitefoot’s water bucket then closed the stall and headed for the house. The closer she got the more it felt like wading through air that was thick and pressurized. It actually felt like a physical weight on her body. Teddy knew what she was feeling – the worry and anxiety of the people inside the house.

  Perhaps she should work harder at keeping up her mental shields so she didn’t have to feel it. It was depressing. People worrying about what they were going to do to save the ranch, how in the world they were supposed to hold a wedding with all the worry that was piling in on them, whether Mik and Jesse could keep their winning streaks going. Worry after worry, the feelings bombarded her.

  Teddy stopped dead in her tracks staring at the house. What in the world was she doing? Nothing about her so-called new life was going as planned. She was way too involved with a man who’d never had a serious relationship and trying to run a business that was analogous to a sinking ship.

  In short, she was failing and at what cost? Mik had sold the farm, taking nothing for herself so that Teddy and Alex could pursue their dreams. And what was Teddy making of those dreams?

  Not much, it seemed. It was time for her to take a hard look at her life and decide what it was she really wanted, and what mattered the most. Maybe then she could get her life on track.

  Chapter Two

  Jake was tired, dirty and depressed when he walked through the back door of the lake house. He toed off his boots and left them lying on the floor. After hanging his hat on the hat rank beside the door, he made his way straight to the refrigerator with a course of action in mind. Cold beer. Shower. Food. After that? Well after that hopefully he could find a way to take his mind off what Teddy had said to him this morning.

  He hated to admit it but her words had rankled him something fierce – and not just in anger. He felt ashamed. Had he been doing what she said and projecting desire on women all his life and not been aware of it?

  God, he hoped not. He loved being the kind of man women were drawn to, mainly because he purely loved women. Loved the look, the feel, the smell and the taste of them. But he damn sure didn’t want them to be attracted to him out of some feeling he was giving them and not on their own.

  That kind of made him feel like a pervert or molester. If what they felt for him wasn’t real then what the hell kind of man did that make him to have taken from them?

  Jake snatched a beer from the refrigerator and used the countertop to pop the cap. One long draught and he closed his eyes, letting the coolness ease its way down. Damn that was good.

  That good feeling transformed into something else entirely when he opened his eyes. There in the doorway to the front room stood Teddy. And by the saints and angels, one look at her and his heartbeat was speeding up.

  In place of the flowing shin length skirt and wafty blouse she normally favored, she was wearing a dress that was strapless, displaying the top curve of her breasts. It was fitted down her lean torso and then flowed out over her hips in a bunch of little irregular lengths of fabric that stopped at mid-thigh, giving a real good view of her legs.

  And what legs. The phrase “legs that go on forever” crossed his mind. She was barefoot and her long tumble of blond curls was worn loose, framing her face and shoulders like a golden halo.

  Jake was pretty sure he’d never seen anyone so beautiful in all his life. Desire rose hot and fast, bringing thoughts of touching and tasting.

  Almost as soon as it did, panic or something akin to it, tainted his mind. Was she feeling that? And if she did was she thinking he was trying to project something on her she didn’t want?

  Damn, this shit was screwing with his head. So much so, that it threw darkness into his mood.

  “Didn’t expect to see you.” His voice was harsher than intended and he immediately regretted it.

  His feelings were running so high that it was impossible for Teddy not to feel them. She had her own regrets and wanted to make amends, to let him know that her desire for him wasn’t something he was forcing her to feel.

  “We need to talk.”

  “Uh, I think you pretty much already covered all the important stuff this morning, didn’t you?”

  “No, actually I think what was said this morning left the wrong impression.”

  “How so?” Jake took another swallow of beer and leaned back against the countertop.

  Teddy moved to stand in front of him. “What I said this morning, Jake. I wasn’t saying it to be critical, just … just kind of teasing. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.”

  She felt his anger and discomfort and mentally kicked herself. She was handling this all wrong. But what could she do to assure him? Maybe it was time to take a page from Mik’s playbook.

  “Look, Jake, we both know what you and your brothers can do. But I don’t believe you can force a woman to want you against her will. I think you just enhance what’s already there.”

  He stared at her for a long time before speaking. “So you’re saying …?”

  “That you’re hands down the sexiest man I’ve ever seen and if I’d been surer of myself, my life and … and a whole lot of other things, I’d have jumped you the first time I set eyes on you. I want you ̶ honestly more than I’m comfortable with. Truth is, I’m scared of it. I need more than sexual attraction and I need to know that the man I choose is someone I can trust with more than just my body.”

  Jake straightened and the movement brought them closer, so close she could feel the heat from his body. He put two fingers under her chin to tilt her head up. “Honey, I’d never hurt you. And I want … well, it’s a given that I want you, but not just for a quick roll in the hay. I want more, too, Teddy and I think I can be more. I’d just really like you to give me a chance.”

  “Well here it is, cowboy.” She kept her eyes on his as she peeled her dress down her body and let it drop to the floor around her feet.

  Jake couldn’t stop his eyes from following the path of that bit of material as she worked it down her body. Breasts that were firm and graced with the prettiest pink nipples he’d ever seen made his fingers tingle to touch. But he held firm and allowed only his eyes to touch her flesh, continuing the trek down her body.

  When he reached the junction of her thighs, his knees damn near went weak. Smooth and completely hairless, her sex drew him like the proverbial bee to honey.

  “God almighty, Teddy. Girl now’s your chance ‘cause if you don’t run in the next two seconds I’m gonna put my hands and mouth all over you.”
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  “Seeing is believing, cowboy.”

  That’s all the encouragement it took for him to reach out, grab her behind the neck and pull her to meet his lips. His free hand moved to her breast, thumb tracking over her nipple and feeling it harden. He’d kissed her before, but this was the first time he felt like she was kissing him back. And what a kiss.

  There was nothing shy or hesitant in the way her tongue warred with his, or the way her hands moved to work at the buttons on his shirt. There was nothing delicate in the way she gave up on the buttons and ripped his shirt open to bare his skin to her touch.

  She broke free of the kiss and lowered her head to trace her tongue down the center of his chest, all the while working to loosen his belt and jeans.

  When she shoved his pants down around his knees and took him in her hand, fire swept through his mind, obliterating every other thought but wanting her. He grabbed her by the waist and hoisted her up, cupping her firm rear as she wound those mile-long legs around him. Her fingers tangled in his hair, her lips seeking dominance over his.

  He couldn’t fight it. Her sex was wet against his belly, her lips hot on his and little breathy sounds came from her throat.

  Jake turned, backed her up against the refrigerator and reached beneath her to guide himself into that liquid heat. Teddy threw her head back, banging it against the refrigerator and screamed. “God yes!” as he slid inside her.

  After that there was no room or time for thought. It was just them, locked in a primitive dance of mating, all at once completely physically and totally emotional. He’d never felt anything like it. It was intoxicating, overwhelming and irresistible.

  “Oh god, yes. Yes, yes, yes!” The volume of her voice increased with each word, meeting him stroke for stroke, her body vibrating with the onset of orgasm.

  One final “Yes” turned into a full-blown scream of pleasure.

  And in almost the same instant came another sound.

  “For god’s sake Teddy! The whole fucking county can hear you!”

  Jake went stone-cold still and looked over his shoulder at the door. There stood Teddy’s sister, Alex with her hands on her hips.

  “Knock much?” Teddy growled and when Jake tried to disengage, she swatted at him. ‘No, don’t you dare move. Alex, get out.”

  “Fine, whatever. Just thought you’d like to know that Manning’s attorney called. We’ve got two weeks to come up with the money or he’s taking the ranch.”

  That took the starch out of Jake’s sail and Teddy’s as well. “We’ll be there in a few minutes.”

  “Fine.” Alex turned and left, slamming the door behind her.

  Teddy looked up at Jake and to his surprise, burst out laughing. Before he knew it, he was laughing too, and it wasn’t long before they both were howling, unable to look at one another without inciting another wave. Finally she sobered, wiped her eyes with her fingers and blew out her breath. “Well, damn.”

  “I can’t believe she just walked in like that,” Jake said as he allowed her to disengage.

  “Yeah, that’s Alex,” Teddy replied. “Miss Buzz Kill.”

  “And just when things were getting good.” He pulled her to him and wrapped his arms around her waist.

  “Good doesn’t even come close to it, cowboy,” she said with a smile. “But we better get to the main house.”

  “And later?” he asked.

  The smile she gave him held promise. “Well, I do think I might be too tired to drive home so …” Her smile faded. “Is it wrong to be this way, Jake? I mean with everything that’s going on?”

  “Trouble happens, honey. That’s life. But you can’t let it steal everything from you. If you do then trouble wins. You know what I’m saying?”

  “Yeah, I do. I just wish there was something - oh my god! Jake, I know what to do!”

  “Say what?”

  “I know how to help.”

  “How?”

  “I’m about to tell you, but we need to get dressed and I need to shower off so … come on, I’ll tell you in the shower.”

  Jake just shook his head and followed. This was turning out to be one hell of a day.

  Chapter Three

  Teddy drummed her fingers on the top of the desk as she stared at the numbers on her spreadsheet. At the rate things were going she’d be lucky to have enough to pay the rent on the shop and her house next month.

  To say business sucked was being very kind. It was dead. Tag on the toe, call the undertaker dead.

  She wanted to cry. This shop had been her dream. Well, at least she thought it was her dream. If she was completely honest she’d admit that even from the beginning it hadn’t given her the satisfaction she’d hoped.

  Maybe she had been wrong. That brought a frown to her face. When she was wrong, she was wrong in a huge way. Mik had given up everything for her and Alex. Alex seemed to be making her dream work. She had landed a partnership in a very prestigious firm in Charlotte as a CPA and while she wasn’t rolling in the dough yet, she was sure as heck doing better than Teddy.

  Which made it all the harder for Teddy to admit that she was failing miserably. Where had she gone wrong? Her shop was decorated so pretty, with really interesting and unique inventory and she was friendly and kind to everyone who visited.

  Maybe Alex was right and she had chosen the worst possible place to open such a store. Monroe was a nice little city, but the foot traffic in the downtown area wasn’t exactly brisk and what few people did visit the shop didn’t seem at all interested in what she had to offer.

  To make things worse, she’d given Mik the padded envelope she found when she unpacked her things into the house she’d rented. It had come from their parents and Teddy had never dreamed it would contain anything that would upset or harm Mik.

  But it had. It had contained a letter to Mik, explaining that when she was adopted, the only thing that was given to them from Mik’s biological mother was a small box with a Morgan silver dollar inside it. When Mik tried to pick up the coin it had knocked her flat on her behind – literally rendered her unconscious.

  Stranger still, it affected Jed and Jake the same way. Teddy wanted to hold it. She had psychometric abilities and she was certain she could get information about who had owned the coin. At first Mik forbid Teddy to touch it, but in time she relented.

  Teddy could still remember every detail of what she’d seen when she touched that coin.

  The only light came from the oil lamp on the sheriff’s desk. The boy felt sweat roll down his sides despite the chill in the jail. He didn’t want to be there, didn’t want to talk to his mother. What was there for him to say? They were going to hang her tomorrow and there was nothing he could do about it.

  The sheriff unlocked the cell and Jacob stepped inside. His mother’s embrace was almost brutal she held him so tight. “Jacob, my precious Jacob.”

  He tore away and she grabbed his hand, clinging to it. She smelled and there was a wild look in her eyes. A look he remembered.

  The last time she looked like that, his father had died.

  She pulled him to the far side of the cell, backing him into the corner. “We have to be quiet,” she whispered and cut a look over her shoulder. The sheriff was sitting at his desk, drinking coffee and reading the paper.

  His mother fumbled in the folds of her skirt then pressed something into his hand. Jacob winced and looked down. A silver dollar lay in his palm, the metal like a burning brand against his skin.

  “You will be my weapon,” his mother whispered. “My vengeance.”

  “Mother, please, I—“

  Her hiss was as sharp as a viper and her eyes sharp as a blade. “Be silent. You are my son. My flesh and blood. Through you and all who come after you I will have revenge on those who have wronged me.”

  “You killed that girl!” he insisted. Yes, she was his mother, but she was also a murderer. Not one, but two lives had ended by her hand.

  “He forced me. He forced me! I offered him forgi
veness. Love. He laughed at me. Scorned me. Me! The women he seduced. He stole my innocence, Jacob. Used me then cast me aside. It was because of him I was forced to endure the torment your father inflicted on me year after year.

  “But I bore it, Jacob. My darling boy. I bore for you.”

  “You killed him!”

  She cut another look at the sheriff who had leaned in his seat to look in their direction. “Keep your voice down,” she warned. “I killed him for you. So that you would not have to suffer at his hands the way I did.”

  “Mother, he never put a hand on me. Never. Father wasn’t an evil man.”

  “He was the devil! The devil, I tell you.”

  Jacob knew better. Malacai Whitestone, his father, had been a hard man but a man of God. A preacher who fought the powers of the devil with whatever means necessary.

  “Now you listen to me, Jacob. You are mine. And I will be a part of you as long as you live. You will do what I say. This coin is the symbol of the pact we make tonight. No matter how long it takes, you will hold this symbol and follow the directions I give.

  “Those who wronged me will pay. Their evil powers will be their doom. They will be denied that which they desire the most. Never will they feel the love of hearth and home, the comfort that comes from knowing they are loved and cherished. Their lives will be mere shells, cheap imitations. They will love and lose until the day my vengeance is complete.”

  “That’s insane!”

  Her scream prompted an answering one from him as she flew at him, hands formed into claws, nails raking at his face. Filthy words and spit flew from her mouth, her eyes wild, face red, and distorted in rage.

  He held her off as best he could, screaming for the sheriff.

  When finally he escaped the cell, he hurried to the door, stopping to cast one final look at her. “Do my bidding or see yourself as damned as they,” she intoned.