Page 28 of Renaissance Bear

Jon spluttered, but dropped her arm. "How do you not notice a bruise like that?"

"Well." Alis let her boob go and lifted her arm again, demonstrating with a gesture how it got in the way of her line of sight. "And I've been on the road, staying in an RV with a bathroom mirror about the size of a nickel, so I didn't see it in my reflection."

"But bruises hurt!"

Alis couldn't stop herself from prodding the bruise, which of course hurt, which made her laugh. "Yeah, but how often do you poke yourself in the ribs? And it's right below where my bra sits, so the band doesn't put pressure on it. And…" She shrugged. "Sparring is how I get most of my exercise. You get used to bruises from it and kind of stop noticing, you know?" She twisted, trying to get a better look at the rest of herself. "I probably have others. Yeah, my calf, my hip there…"

Those ones were older and less horrible, because shedidspar a lot, and hadn't taken any meaningful hits three days ago in those places. Poor Jon still looked horrified, even when she gave him an apologetic smile. "I'm okay, really. Sorry to freak you out."

Jon shook his head and put his hand out for hers. Alis took it, letting him reel her in and press his forehead against her breastbone as his hands slid to her waist, big and strong and confident. His breath spilled down her belly, warming her, before he gave an embarrassed chuckle. "I have this overwhelming compulsion to keep you safe," he said against her skin. "Seeing a bruise like that lit up all the 'grr, argh' parts of my brain. Sorry if I got a little intense."

Alis laughed quietly and tilted his chin up with both her hands so she could bend and steal a soft kiss. "I can take care of myself, but thanks for the thought."

"I don't doubt it, but…" Jon took a deep breath and sighed it out. "There's something I should probably have mentioned earlier, but it's hard to explain in words. But it has to do with that compulsion to take care of you."

"Compulsion, that's a weird word, like I have you enthralled." Alis made woo-woo fingers, wiggling them at Jon, who laughed, started to speak again, and was drowned out by Alis's phone. "That's Jasmine's ring, I better get it."

"That's fine." He fell back into bed, folding his arms behind his head to watch her. Alis usually felt self-conscious being watched when she was naked, but Jon's little pleased smile made her feel rather strong and powerful. She found the phone on the floor beneath her shorts and answered, trying to sound normal.

"Hey, Jazz, what's up?"

"Oh my God, youdidget laid. You sound like the cat who stole the canary."

Alis felt a blush starting somewhere around her ribcage and hid her face in one hand. "That is none of your business. Also, what did you think I was going to do?"

"I thought you might chicken out. You're not really the one night stand twin. Anyway, you can tell me all the details later. I wanted you to know the guy who signed off on the fairground sale is a Chester Whitfield. The town mayor, apparently."

"Oh my God. Does he like dressing in baby clothes and being spanked?"

Jasmine screeched a horrified, "What?" in her ear as Jon crunched up, suddenly alert.

"No, nothing, it was a joke, but—how did you find that out? Why did he sign off? Does sign off mean the sale has gone through, or just that it's been approved by the town?"

"I don't know why, but the last part. It's been approved by the town, in the form of the mayor. There's a bunch of other legal stuff that's supposed to go down at the bank before the actual sale goes through."

"Jazz." Alis wobbled back to the bed and put the phone on speaker. "I'm putting you on speaker so Jon can hear this too. Jon, this is my sister Jasmine."

"Hi, Jasmine. Nice to meet you. Sort of."

"It's sort of nice to meet me?" Jasmine sounded properly indignant, and Alis, trying to untangle her bra, giggled.

"It's nice to sort of meet you!" Jon said, equally indignant at her misinterpretation.

This, Alis thought, was goinggreat. They would smart-ass each other to death if she gave them the chance. "Jazz! Focus! How did you find this out?"

"Just because I don't wear purple and red together doesn't mean I don't know people who do," Jasmine said cryptically.

Jon blinked at Alis, befuddled, and she groaned. "Oh. I see. I'll explain when we're off the phone," she said to Jon, whoseexpression relaxed into acceptance. "Did anybody else sign off on the sale, Jazz?"

"Not as far as I can tell. Does the mayor even have the power to do that?"

Alis exhaled loudly. "According to Jon's brother, yeah, he does."

"Is his brother a lawyer?"

"No, but he is a busybody," Jon said. "And he must be right, because if the mayor doesn't actually have the power, the sale wouldn't be legal, so all of this subterfuge would be pointless."

"Unless the buyer is counting on possession being nine-tenths of the law," Jasmine said. "I bet they could tie it up in court for ages, anyway."

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