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Chapter One

Jase in her inbox and smiled as she read the text

Of course you can come home And about damn time, too We’ve missed you, Jaz You shouldn’t even feel you had to ask I’ve already booked your flight into Houston Your confirmation numbers are below I’ll meet you at the airport

—Zane

Home She stood up fro to theoverlooking the beautiful Parisian skyline In the distance, the Eiffel Tower gleahts

She loved it here, and she’d miss it, but she loved it back home on the Texas ranch more Even if she hadn’t considered that she’d return when she left a year ago She stepped out onto her s air blew over her face

Zane and Seth She couldn’t wait to see them It had been painful to stay away from them for the last year So many times she’d nearly caved, picked up the phone and asked to co back to a place where she’d be res for botha chance with either hadback impossible Until now

Now? She was going back with a purpose

When she arrived in Paris, she’d been defeated Heartbroken and convinced she’d never get over the painful dileed soIt was because of Cherisse that Jas a chance

She wouldn’t go hoirl Zane and Seth had looked out for after that disastrous night in Houston so ht shudder worked over her shoulders as she revisited her past shame

No, she’d go home a sophisticated, mature woman One who knehat she wanted and exactly what she had to do to get it After a year away, Zane and Seth would see beyond their overprotective tendencies and see her A living, breathing woman with adult needs She needed theive her And somehow she knew that they needed her just as much

Jas it fall around her shoulders She dragged her fingers through the strands and tucked the layered bangs behind her ears as she stood waiting for the line of passengers in front of her to disembark She twitched with ily

She shoved her thumbs into her jeans’ pockets and looked down at the waistband that barely cleared the top of her pelvis The shirt she’d chosen to wear bared a three-inch strip of her abdoly bared more when she moved her arms upward

Yeah, she’d chosen her outfit carefully She wanted to knock Zane’s socks off It would help to get a reaction fro to be a harder sell, of that she had no doubt

He was the oldest, the responsible brother Zane was the younger,He’d flirted shaone beyond idle teasing She was going to change that coh water

Finally the lineShe strode up the long ramp and finally burst into the terminal She didn’t waste any ti about and headed for the security checkpoint where she knew Zane would be waiting

As she traveled down the small exit corridor, anticipation quickened her stride When she stepped out of the hallway, she stopped and stared around, her heart beating an anxious rhythm Then she saw him

She sucked in her breath and tried to control the urge to run pell-ht of hi out until she felt warht she was attracted to hi him for the first time in a year hit her square in the hormones

He stood staring at her, a sed a damn bit

His ht curl linted in his left ear He wore a tight T-shirt that stretched across bulging biceps and a hard, muscled chest Wrapped around his upper arm, between the upper and lower muscle, was an intricately woven tattoo A pair of deer antlers interrupted the circular flow of the band It was the saraphic that was branded into the metal arch over the driveway to Sater Ranch

Zane’s blue eyes twinkled in welcoot all about not throwing herself at hi of tears at her lids She was home She flew across the crowded room and launched herself at him

He caught her with a chuckle and pals around his waist

“Gee, Jaz, one would think you missed me”

Following her instincts, and her desire, she ignored his outburst and pressed her lips to his He stiffened in surprise, his hands tightening on her behind

For the briefest ofhis mouth to work hot over hers It was a bolt to her system, a welcome flood of desire

One of his hands slid up her back, resting against her spine She shivered at the feel of his palue brushed over the curve of her mouth before he tore his lips away He stared at her, his eyes ith shock and so else Lust He blinked rapidly and eased her body down his until her feet hit the floor with a thud

Behind hiht her attention

It was then that she saw hi behind his brother Had he been there the whole time? Why hadn’t she seen him before now?

A groan worked fro Zane hadn't told her

She sed and looked up at hiave her He closely resembled Zane He still wore his hair cut short, but it was the same silky black as his brother’s His eyes were the same intense blue, and the tattoo on his arm was an exact ht dead with any piercings

Where Zane gave the appearance of being easygoing and laid back, Seth was his polar opposite—ultra responsible and brooding, seriousness etched into every facet of his face

“Hello, Seth,” she said nervously

He looked curiously between her and Zane It didn’t help that Zane shuffled frouilty as hell”

“Ah, why don’t we go see about your luggage, Jaz?” Zane asked

“Do I get a hug?” she asked Seth in a husky voice

He hesitated for a split second before opening his ar her arms around his waist She buried her nose in his shirt and closed her eyes

This was co home For a year, she’d ached for him Missed him Yearned to be back home and in his arms And finally she was here

A current of electricity flowed between the that had been absent in the past She could feel his quick intake of breath, as if his realization of her was sudden and unexpected

After a second, his hand crept up to stroke her hair He kissed the top of her head “I missed you, little bit”

It was so he’d called her plenty of times in the past, but now it irritated her

She pulled away, frowning at him “Little bit?”

He grinned “You’re still a little bit of a thing You barely reach my chest”

She clenched her teeth together in annoyance He was already putting distance between theirl he was used to Maybe it ive a damn about his comfort She wanted him to burn the way she burned Want the way she wanted

She turned to Zane easing her jaw as she set home”