Read Online Jasmine by Kathi S. Barton - Free Book Online Page B

year that Gracie
Anne had left. The girls, all but Gracie Anne, had been at the mall together. She
had been ill and had stayed home to take a nap. Guinevere had heard screaming,
loud and long, but couldn’t move. Couldn’t get up off the couch, but lay frozen
in place. That was the first time Ginny had been around her children she
realized now. And it was the last time that her Roscoe had slept with her.
    Gracie Anne had claimed that her
father, of all people, had raped her and that she, her own mother, had let it
happen. No matter how many times she’d tried to explain that she’d known
nothing about it Gracie Anne said she’d been there. It had taken three days to
get her daughter to return home and then their relationship had never been the
same. In fact, every time she came home for a visit Gracie Anne never said a
single word to her. A daughter shouldn’t treat her mother that way. There
should be friendship and…she never got anything from Gracie Anne, she realized.
All the other girls did; dresses, coats, even their wedding dresses and other
naughty items, but never her own mother. Guinevere frowned. She didn’t even
call her on her birthday or Mother’s Day.
    She picked up the phone to call
her daughter when she realized that she didn’t know the number. What kind of
daughter didn’t give her mother her number? She started to put the phone back
when she realized that it wasn’t working. The phone was dead.
    Hobbling to the kitchen to see if
it was not working there as well she noticed that the blood was still on the
floor. She had refused to clean up Ginny’s mess last night and she wasn’t doing
it now. Picking up the phone she found it didn’t work either. Their phone had
been shut off again.
    Damn it, why didn’t Cain take care
of her? It was his duty to care for his mother, wasn’t it? She went back into
the living room and sat staring at the television. The cable had been turned
off three days ago; that was one of the things she’d mention to Cain when she
saw him. She pulled a note pad off the table in front of her and began a list.
The next time she saw Cain she was going to be prepared. No more of this
fumbling around trying to get him to pay her more money. She wanted him to take
care of things.
    ~~~
    Nathan watched Jasmine. She was
nervous, he could tell. So was he, if he told the truth. He’d never had a sub
of his own before, just the ones he’d been with at the clubs. He watched her
move about the kitchen fixing dinner, wondered if she had panties on under her
skirt, and he wanted to know what she looked like bare.
    The fact that Sin had seen her at
the Body Shoppe had been a little bit of a surprise. He knew he’d told her to
go, but he expected her to put it off for a few days. His blood heated just
thinking about her naked beneath him. Her voice brought him out of his
daydreams
    “I didn’t get to go to the shop
today, the one on Tenth. My lawyer was late with our appointment and he kept me
longer than necessary. I’m very sorry.” She leaned over to get something out of
the bottom of the refrigerator and her voice was slightly muffled. “Then my
mother called wanting me to drop everything to come and take care of her.”
    “Who’s your lawyer? The reason I’m
asking is because I’m assuming you don’t use Drew.” She nodded as she began to
cut the lettuce. He stood up to help her. “I can cut the lettuce if you want. Why
not? Why don’t you use Drew?”
    She handed him the ceramic knife
and went back to the stove before she answered. “He would tell Alyssa. No,
that’s not it. I guess I’m a little embarrassed. I never expected…I never
dreamed that anyone would buy my books, and besides, I was already with this
other jerk before I even knew Alyssa or Drew.”
    “I think you should ask him. He’d
keep your secret, not that I think you should anymore. But he’d be very quiet
about it. He’s a good lawyer too. I would use him if I needed legal advice.” He
put