Be Ours: A Valentine's Day Romance Read online

  Be Ours

  Jagger Cole

  Contents

  Be Ours

  A Special Present

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Epilogue

  Also by Jagger Cole

  About the Author

  Be Ours

  Jagger Cole © 2021

  All rights reserved.

  Cover by Plan 9 Book Design | Editing by MJ Edits

  Proofing by Jessie Stafford, Teshia Elborne

  This is a literary work of fiction. Any names, places, or incidents are the product of the author’s imagination. Similarities or resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or events or establishments, are solely coincidental.

  * * *

  No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without prior written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  * * *

  The unauthorized reproduction, transmission, or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal and a violation of US copyright law.

  Created with Vellum

  Be Ours

  There are rules. There are lines you don’t cross.

  But she makes us want to break and cross every single one.

  She’s scared and on the run. The Cartel wants her dead. So does the corrupt chief of police who pulled the trigger on a hit she witnessed.

  We’re just one cop and one retired Marine. But when we catch her breaking and entering, we’re suddenly something else: her protectors.

  Neither of us have any business even thinking about her like this. She’s too young for us. She’s too innocent for the darkness in our hearts. She’s a witness to the biggest crime this town has ever seen, for God’s sake.

  Nothing’s ever come between us. But then, there’s Cora, caught in the middle. And now she’s the only thing we ever do want between us.

  This temptation is almost as dangerous as the killers trying to hunt her down. But once we’ve both had a taste, there’s no turning back.

  This Valentine’s Day, and every day, all we want is her. And no one is going to stand in our way.

  * * *

  All of the attention is on her in this mfm romance – no m/m! Extra hot, VERY over the top (for real, it’s ridiculous), and packed with explosive insta-love. Safe, absolutely no cheating, no cliffhanger, and a perfect happy ever after.

  A Special Present

  The Jagger Cole fans-only newsletter is the first place to hear about new releases, giveaways, and more! Sign up today to grab a free copy of Mr Big - an extra hot billionaire romance not available anywhere else!

  1

  Bishop

  I frown into the darkness, peering up at the huge cliffside manor. My eyes dart to the windows, looking for movement. The few lights on inside on the first floor aren’t an accurate indicator—I know they’re on timers. The owner, Ms. Loretta Kenner, is off in Europe for the next few months.

  Christ, I mutter to myself. Must be nice to be rich.

  But the silent alarm fifteen minutes ago says what the lights aren’t; someone’s in there. Or at least someone was in there. That’s why I’m here, gun out and ready.

  Maintaining trigger discipline, my fingers curl around the gun. The surf crashes softly in the background down on the beach, at the far side of the house past the cliffs. But it’s dark now. No stunning Pacific sunset like a painting that Santa Marina draws tourists for.

  Actually, it’s past tourist season anyway. Hell, it’ll be Valentine’s Day in a couple days. I know as a resident, that should sour my mood—the end of tourist season, I mean. When you’ve been on your own as long as I have, you’re not even bothered by shit like Valentine’s Day.

  But as for the end of tourist season, my mood isn’t all that soured. Yes, this town relies pretty heavily on tourism to draw folks away from San Francisco and all it has to offer as a much bigger city. But we’ve got better surf, if you’re into that. And I am. Less pretentious bars, less pretentious people, too.

  But no, I’m not sad to see tourists season fade. Even if it means folks tighten their belts a little more around here. See, for me, tourist season just means a whole lot more bullshit: more bar fights, more stupid college kids getting into trouble, more drunk driving. It basically means a fuck-load more work for the same paycheck for me. But that’s the hazards of being a small town cop, I guess.

  I glance back up at the huge house. Loretta Kenner’s been a Santa Marina resident since the sixties. Well, she’s not actually a resident probably three quarters of the year these days. But whatever.

  There’s the faintest rustle in the bushes nearby. I freeze and then crouch, senses tingling. I’ve always been ready for action, but its’ been heightened in the last two year. Getting shot will do that. I’m healed now. But with the scar tissue came even more heightened awareness. That’s long-hand for “no one’s sneaking up on me to shoot my ass ever again.”

  The rustling happens again, and I growl. I aim at the bushes, and I raise my flashlight—off, but ready. I swallow, and take a breath. I’m about to yell “police, freeze!” when the man comes lurching out.

  “Who the fuck are—!”

  My finger halts just shy of blowing his fucking head off, and I feel my heart jump into my fucking mouth.

  “Fucking hell,” I snarl. My arm is still outstretched, gun aimed at him. But he’s got his aimed right at me, too. Slowly though, Tanner grins and lowers his gun, and I do the same.

  “Fucking hell is right,” he grunts. “Jesus Christ, Bishop, you have any idea how close I was to blowing your head off?”

  “Not close at all,” I grumble. “Because we both know I would have taken you out first.”

  My buddy grins. “You wish, old man.”

  I grit my teeth. I’m usually always down to banter with Tanner. Even with him not being my partner anymore—and off the force—we’re still thick as thieves. But tonight, I’m not in the mood for his brand of happy-go-lucky bullshit.

  “The fuck are you doing here, Tanner?”

  “I could ask you the same, buddy.”

  I roll my eyes and tap the badge on my jacket. “Take a fucking guess, smart guy.”

  He grins.

  “And you?”

  Tanner scowls at me. “What, you think I’m the one who tripped the alarm?”

  I frown, curious how he’s privy to that information. But Tanner sighs. “Loretta’s a client, man. I’ve got my own eyes on the house. But, big props to the Santa Marina PD for timeliness. I only beat you here by like five minutes. Maybe ten.”

  Tanner and me go way back. We were partners for years until the incident two years ago. That’d be the incident that got me shot and him kicked off the force, which is some major bullshit. But he’s doing pretty good these days running his own private security firm.

  I glance at the house. “Well, the big boys are here now. So go sit this one out.”

  “Like hell I am.”

  “Tanner,” I sigh.

  “She’s a client, Bishop.”

  “This is police business.”

  “Until you figure out there’s a crime going on, it’s mine too.”

  I sigh. “Whatever, I’m checking the cliff side.”

  “Already did.”

  Tanner look
s like the smug prick he is when I glance at him. “And?”

  He shakes his head. “No signs of forced entry. No broken windows, no jimmied doors. Fuck, the alarm system even got turned off with the key code.”

  I furrow my brow. “You’re sure Loretta is still in Europe?”

  “Positive.”

  “So what set it off?”

  “Motion sensor upstairs, master bedroom.”

  I frown. “Just upstairs? She got a cat or something?”

  “A cat that can use a keypad? Yeah, for sure,” he says sarcastically.

  I grimace. “Let’s check this out. Tag along if you want, but keep that fucking gun holstered. And stay back.”

  Tanner follows me around to the cliff-facing of the house, but I notice he doesn’t do shit about holstering that firearm. Prick.

  The surf crashes behind us, and the big moon is white on the waves down below.

  “Nice night,” I grunt.

  “So romantic,” Tanner sighs sarcastically. “Aww, now Bishop…did you set this up just for me for Valentine’s Day?”

  I roll my eyes and chuckle lowly. “You’re a fucking weirdo, you know that?”

  “I do. So do the Marines,” he snorts. He nods at the sweeping patios and layered decks around the huge pool.“Up there,” he nods at the top landing, which leads to a huge wall of windows.

  “Master bedroom?”

  He nods.

  “I’ll call in.”

  “What?” Tanner frowns. “No. We got this.”

  “Ever heard of a warrant?” I mutter.

  “We’re not going in. And if we do, I have the power to do so as her security consultant.”

  I eye him.

  “I’ve got a contract signed with power of estate if you want to see it, dickhead.”

  I’m about to tell my younger friend to dial it the fuck back again. But suddenly a light flickers upstairs. It’s got the distinct waver and glow of a cellphone screen, and I glance at Tanner.

  “Let’s go. But I’m not kidding; holster that fucking sidearm. I’m saying that as a cop, Tanner, not your friend.”

  He frowns. “Fuck, fine.” He slides it back, but I notice his hand hovering right over it.

  We both head up the big staircase to the grand deck over the pool looking at the ocean. The same light flashes again at the far end of the big windowed wall.

  “That’s the master bathroom,” Tanner mutters under his breath.

  I nod. “Let’s go.”

  We stalk closer. My gun is out, and Tanner is about a nanosecond away from grabbing his.

  “Keep it in your fucking pants,” I hiss quietly. “You shoot someone, and this’ll go nuclear real fast,” I growl. We start to peek around the far corner, into the big windows of the bathroom.

  “If they shoot me, I’m shooting them—”

  We glance around the windows, and we both stutter to a stop.

  “…back,” Tanner barely grunts out as his jaw follows mine to the ground.

  Holy shit.

  The girl is naked, her back to us. All I can see is smooth tanned skin, long blonde hair, curvy hips, long legs, and an ass I could sink my teeth into. I growl, and so does Tanner.

  She’s toweling off, like she just stepped out of the shower. She bends over at the waist, drying her legs off, and we both groan. Because right then, the clouds part and moon glistens in, illuminating her, well, everything between her thighs.

  My arousal surges and hardens. Raw desire pulses in my chest. My blood hammers in my ears.

  “Well, that wasn’t what I was expecting,” Tanner groans thickly.

  “No, it wasn’t.” Not in a million years did I expect this.

  “So, uh,” he grunts. His jaw tightens as he swallows. I do the same, a bulge tenting my pants as I stare at the gorgeous, naked young woman not four feet from us through the glass.

  “Now what?”

  2

  Tanner

  I stare at the gorgeous girl standing barely six feet from us. She can’t see us. We’re hidden by shadows around the corner of the wraparound porch. But if she did, I know damn well she’d see fierce, hungry lust on both of our faces.

  The girl stretches up and runs the towel over her back. She bends over again, and I groan.

  “Look away,” Bishop grunts at me quietly.

  I glance at him and smirk. “Fuck you, you look away.” I slide my eyes back to her and let my breath out slowly. Bishop groans too.

  “Well, not what I was expecting,” I whisper.

  “No shit, but she’s still breaking and entering.”

  I frown. He’s right. Gorgeous or not, and making me hard as fuck or not, this is not Loretta Kenner. I pull Bishop back and nod at the sliding door to the master bedroom. It’s even ajar, too. He nods, we slowly slide it open and ease inside.

  “Stay out here,” he hisses.

  “Not happening.”

  My friend glares at me. “This is now officially police business.”

  “Didn’t you get shot last time you had a gun out on the job?”

  “You really want to go there?”

  Last time Bishop had a gun out on the force was the last day I was on the force. That was the night I shot…well, that’s the night I learned how justice really works.

  Bishop glares at me. But I’m the forever-smart-ass. So just grin. “What, you did. Just watching your back, buddy.”

  “And your client’s house.”

  “That also.”

  He sighs. “Fuck it. Fine, let’s go.”

  We slide inside and approach the open bathroom door. Bishop glances at me.

  “One, two,” he whispers and raises his gun. “Three. Police!”

  She screams when he yells it, really fucking loudly, too.

  “Santa Marina police!” Bishop roars around the corner. “Miss, I need you to step out nice and slowly with your hands in—”

  The glass next to us explodes.

  “Motherfucker!” I roar and hit the ground. So does Bishop. For a second, I think our naked burglar shot at us. Though fuck knows where she’d have been hiding a gun. But no, it’s coming from outside by the pool house. More shots bang out, shattering the windows and raking the room with holes. The girl is screaming, and we’re both up at the same time.

  Bishop and I charge through the door, and we both grab her at the same time. She’s barely got a towel around her, but we both tackle her behind the vanity. She’s screaming, but we cover her with our bodies as more bullets smash into the room.

  Hell, I don’t even know why—heroism? Just second nature, I guess. I mean Bishop’s the cop, I’m the former cop, and we’re both former Marines. When the shooting starts, this is just what we do.

  Bishop glares at me as another hail of bullets shatters through the bathroom windows.

  “Far side of the pool”, he growls. “I’m guessing behind the pool house.”

  “You distract?”

  He nods. “Let’s do this.”

  We both roll away. The girl is still screaming, and probably terrified. But we need to shut the shooting down before we can get her out of here. Bishop pops up and squeezes off some cover fire. I thunder out the door and start bolting down the stairs. Bullets pepper the steps behind me, but I roll into the shadows.

  I’m up a half second later, laying down some more fire. I see Bishop literally hurdling the railing and monkey-swinging his way down the decking posts.

  “Fucking gorilla man over here,” I mutter. I lunge around the corner, just as a man pops up. I lay that fucker out cold. Another bad guy goes down from Bishop, and then we’re on them. We each pop one more, and then that’s it.

  I’m panting, adrenaline burning through my veins.

  “What the fuck was—”

  We both hear the screaming, and Bishop and I turn and run back up the stairs. We practically smash through the ruined glass door. The girl is hugging herself, shaking and screaming in terror.

  “Hey, hey, it’s okay,” I growl. I kn
eel and she flinches. “We’re not going hurt you,” I say quietly.

  “We’re here to help,” Bishop says gently.

  She swallows and glances at both of us, hugging the towel around herself. “Thank you. I…I…”

  She can barely form words; her breath is hitching so much. I try and smile to calm her.

  “Who are you?”

  Bishop taps my shoulder. When I turn, he shakes his head with a hard look. “Tanner,” he grunts.

  I sigh. “Yeah I know.”

  He’s gotta call it in. This is way past a security breach now. I turn back to the girl, but she suddenly looks up at Bishop’s badge, and her face goes white.

  “No!” she screams, scurrying back away from us in pure terror. “No!”

  “Hang on, miss,” he growls. “Hang on, no one’s going to hurt you. I’m just going to call this in—”

  “No!” she screams again, bloodcurdlingly. “No, I—please don’t! Please!”

  Fuck, she’s begging, and it’s not the begging of someone who doesn’t want to be arrested. It’s begging out of pure fear.

  We both glance at each other and frown. “Listen,” I shake my head. “I’m Tanner, this is Bishop, and we’re the good guys, okay? We’re going to call the police, so that we can—”

  “You can’t do that!” She gasps, her face white as snow.

  I frown. “Look—”

  “The police—” she swallows, her eyes wild. She looks past me up at Bishop, seemingly terrified.

  “He’s a good man,” I say quietly. “You have my word.” She slowly nods and swallows thickly