Jasper

It sounded like I was buried deep in a tunnel, sounds muffled and far away. My shoulder burned, and something warm and wet poured down my arm. But I had Sam pinned to the floor, and he’d stopped fighting me. His mouth moved, but I couldn’t make out the words.

I felt a tug, someone’s hands on me, and I shrugged them off, but they came back, hauling me aside. I gazed around, trying to figure out what was going on, and found the place swarming with people. Or maybe I was seeing double. There couldn’t be this many people here.

“Jasper!” I tried to focus on the face in front of me, but it took a lot of concentration and made my head throb. Slowly, the features cleared, and I almost smiled. “Jasper, are you alright?”

I could barely make out the words past the ringing in my ears, but I nodded, wincing when the motion tore at my shoulder in an odd way. Now that I assessed my pain, I realized both shoulders hurt, the right more than the left. “Shit, you’re shot.” The words permeated the fog, and everything went numb as things replayed in my head.

Sam smashing the bottle against my left shoulder.

The sound of a gunshot, followed by searing pain in my right shoulder.

Sam throwing me aside, and three more bullets fired.

Sam standing over me, and me grabbing him, pinning him to the ground.

And somewhere, lost in the middle of all that, a door opening and screaming.

I shook my head, trying to clear my damaged ears and only succeeding in making my vision blur with the agony in my skull. And even in that pain, I only had one question. It was hard to form words, the pain coming back with a vengeance, and I only managed to groan out two syllables. “Mina?”

Scott nodded. “She’s safe.”

I didn’t know if my hearing was returning or if I just wanted to hear those words so desperately I could hardly stand it, but the words were perfectly clear to me, and I sagged with relief. I’d figure out the rest later. As long as I knew Mina was safe, everything else could wait.

I forced a smile as two paramedics came over, checking my shoulder. I winced at their prodding, but I didn’t care. I nodded to Scott and grated out, “I thought you retired from active duty.”

He grinned back at me. “I told you, I’ve got friends. And I wanted to get my hands dirty.”

“Thanks,” I’d show proper appreciation later. Right now, two men were tearing at my arm, or at least, that’s how it felt. And I was determined to see Mina before they hauled me into the hospital. A wave of nausea washed over me as I realized Scott said she was safe, not that she was unharmed. I closed my eyes against it, telling myself he would have been honest about injuries, and what hearing I had picked up bits and pieces of conversations going on around me.

…dead when we got here.

Three shots. The big guy cops to it.

The body…fired once.

…taking in three. The others…morgue.

How many? Did we get them all?

…got five names…all of them.

My head was so foggy it was hard to put any of it together, but it sounded like two of the guys I’d counted on to be there for me for the past 15 years were dead, and the other three were headed to prison. I couldn’t feel sorry for them. They’d betrayed me, even when I’d stood resolute in my determination not to do the same to them. They’d come for me, and they’d come for Mina. It was unforgivable, and it hurt more than the damn bullet wound these idiots were toying with now.

It hurt more than anything I could have imagined, with the exception of losing Mina.

I shoved the medics away, promising I’d come back. I could walk, and I could move my arm. The damage couldn’t be that bad, and as I stepped away, I gazed down to find that the bullet had grazed the surface. Everything seemed like chaos, but I took it slow, weeding out anything that didn’t concern me and what I was looking for. There were techs taking pictures by the back door of the shop, and I glanced down, swallowing hard at the sight of Eric, sprawled out, three distinct bullet wounds blooming in red. Two to the chest, one to the leg.

Three shots. Sam had shot him. Sam had saved my life.

I didn’t want to hold out hope, but maybe they weren’t all lost causes. I searched the area and saw Sam being led in handcuffs toward a cruiser through the front windows. But I still didn’t have a clue where Mina was.

I pushed through the double doors and stepped into sunlight so bright it nearly crippled me. I blinked against it, letting my eyes adjust and ignoring the pain in my head. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a stretcher being wheeled toward an ambulance, and my heart jumped into my throat. I took off, unable to see who it was for the big, burly EMT standing between us, and I had to know. Some woman in a uniform tried to stop me, hold me back, but I pushed past her, hoping I hadn’t knocked her to the ground in my haste.

As I reached the stretcher, I sighed with relief, though I swallowed hard at the sight before me. It wasn’t Mina, but Jake lay there, bandages on the side of his neck already soaked through with blood. His head lolled to the side, and they had an oxygen mask over his face. He looked a lot younger in that moment, and it hurt my heart to see him like this. I knew he’d brought it on himself, but I wished I could change it.

“Jasper!” Even over the buzz in my ears and the cacophony of people and cars around me, I heard the cry loud and clear. I turned and saw Mina launch herself off the back of an ambulance, throwing a blanket aside as she ran toward me. I grabbed her so tight I probably almost crushed her, but I couldn’t help myself. To see her alive and well was almost more than I could bear. “Oh, god, Jasper, you’re hurt! Why aren’t you with the paramedics?”

I shook my head. “I’ll be fine. I had to find you.” I kissed her forehead and tasted something metallic. Holding her away from me, I flinched. She was covered in blood, sprays of it in her hair and on her face. “What happened? Are you hurt?” I saw the bruising next to her eye, the bloodied lip, and I wanted to bring Eric back to life to tear him apart, rip Jake’s throat out. I didn’t know which one had hurt her, but I wanted to make them pay.

She shook her head and stroked my cheek. “No, it’s not my blood. It’s Jake’s.” I frowned, not understanding, but it didn’t matter. I had Mina here, in my arms, and she was safe and mostly unharmed. “We need to get you taken care of,” she said, starting to guide me back toward the ambulance where she’d been sitting. “What happened to you?”

I shrugged, regretting the motion instantly. “A bullet grazed one shoulder. The other one took a shot from a beer bottle. It could be a lot worse.” I pictured Eric’s body, but I didn’t mention it out loud. “Has anyone seen Tyler or Rick?” I asked, not really a question for Mina but to myself. I couldn’t figure out why I cared, but for some reason, it mattered. I knew one of them had to be dead. They’d said as much.

But Mina had an answer for me. “I don’t know who’s who, but there’s a guy in cuffs in that car over there, another in a car across the street.” She frowned. “And there’s one at the side of the house, covered with a sheet.”

I knew where Sam was, so I stepped around the ambulance to look at the car across the street. Tyler sat, staring out the window of the black and white with wide eyes, like a deer in headlights. That meant the body had to be Rick.

I wanted to throw up.

Instead, I pulled Mina close, burying my face in her hair. I didn’t care whose blood covered her. I wanted to smell her, to feel her against me. Nothing was supposed to happen like this, and it was devastating. But in the end, she was still here, still with me, and I hoped this hadn’t scared her enough to make her walk away. “I love you,” I whispered, praying my love was enough to keep her.

“I love you, too,” she murmured, tucking her face into my shirt.

Mina

So much blood. When it was all cleaned up, I was shocked at how small the wound from the bullet on Jasper’s shoulder truly was. It took a few stitches, as did the slice across his other shoulder from the broken beer bottle, but otherwise, he seemed unscathed. I let the paramedics clean up my face, but I refused to leave Jasper’s side at the hospital. I would be fine with a little Tylenol and a few days hiding out until my face healed.

I’d hoped we could leave as soon as the doctors had fixed Jasper up, but the police insisted on taking our statements before we went home. Apparently, Eric had been waiting for Jasper to leave so he could kidnap me, and he’d made the call to Sam regarding Jasper’s whereabouts after he’d knocked me out. Sam had already admitted to having the GPS signal on Jasper’s phone tracked, and that led him to the meeting with Jasper’s parole officer.

“You know, when it came down to the end, Sam saved my life,” Jasper said, rubbing his chin. “He shot Eric to keep him from killing me. And for the record, he never hurt me, other than the beer bottle, and I technically attacked him first.”

The lead detective – Russ something-or-other – nodded. “If he cooperates, I’m sure we can work something out. But you’ve got conspiracy for kidnapping, first-degree kidnapping, accessory to assault, manslaughter, and a whole host of other charges we have to contend with. And that goes for all of them.”

I cleared my throat, glancing sideways at Jasper before I spoke. But I couldn’t, in good conscience, let this go. “Actually, Jake, the one with the gunshot wound to the neck, saved my life. Eric was going to kill me, had a knife at my throat, and Jake stopped him, sent him away.” I felt Jasper tense beside me and rested a hand on his knee to try to ease back the anger I knew was rising in him. “When we heard the gunshot, he released me, told me to hide if someone came in and pointed me toward the window to get out. And then…” I choked, had to swallow hard to continue, and Jasper’s arm curled around my shoulders. “He was going to kill himself. I couldn’t let him. He didn’t want to be a part of all this. He tried to stop it, but his hands were tied, just like they tried to force Jasper to cooperate.”

I looked the detective dead in his eyes. “If you try to put Jake away, I will testify that he wasn’t a part of this. I’ll claim that he came in to rescue me because he caught wind of what was happening from Jasper.”

I could feel Jasper stare at me in absolute disbelief, but I didn’t care. I turned and locked gazes with him. “He’s paid his dues, Jasper. You know he has. And no one else has any proof he was a part of this.”

Slowly, he nodded, and he turned to the detective. “She’s right. Jake was the one who warned me. He’s the reason I managed to get in touch with my parole officer before I met up with Sam.”

The detective pointed his pen at Jasper. “You received a call from Eric McVane’s cell phone. There are no calls or texts from Jake Rondo.”

“That was him, calling me. He was trying to do damage control. I don’t know if they took his phone or what.” Jasper sat beside me and lied through his teeth, just to satisfy my need to save someone else, someone who, by all rights, he felt needed to be punished. Jake had stabbed him in the back, had turned on him, and had been part of the whole mess that led us to this moment. But he’d also told me a truth I wasn’t sure he had realized until that moment, and he tried to find closure without bloodshed. He hadn’t managed to kill himself; I’d knocked the gun sideways so it had only blown off the side of his neck. But he was alive, and I felt he’d earned my forgiveness. Apparently, Jasper was willing to forgive, or to at least let it go for my sake.

The detective squeezed the bridge of his nose and shook his head. “I don’t know if we’ll be able to let him go entirely. Don’t get your hopes up. It depends on what the other two men we arrested have to say.”

Jasper pulled me tighter against him, rubbing his hand up and down my arm. I took that as a sign that he would make sure Sam and Tyler agreed with the story. In all fairness, Sam could probably reduce his sentence by pinning most of the blame on Eric and Rick, and Tyler could probably benefit from doing the same. I wasn’t sure I cared. After all, I didn’t feel so forgiving of either of them. And as much as I hated the thought of death, I wasn’t sorry that it had found Eric.

I nodded. “Well, I have faith in the system and in the people who run it.” It was all I could say, and I saw the defeat in the detective’s expression.

Minutes later, we were on our way. I’d decided we could go grab our things from the resort later, or I could send someone else to do it. In the meantime, one of the uniformed officers gave us a ride to my place, where I packed another bag, determined to be with Jasper, who desperately wanted his own bed. I didn’t care where we were, as long as we were together.

I let him drive the Mercedes, despite the injuries. He seemed levelheaded, but I could tell he needed a sense of control over something. I thought the wheel of the car might satisfy that urge. “You’d lie to save Jake,” he said at last, when we were drawing close to his place.

I chose my words carefully. “It’s only a partial lie, Jasper. He found redemption. He wanted to save me, in the end, and he was so overwhelmed with guilt over how things turned out that he didn’t want to live with it.” Jasper’s jaw was set in a hard line, and I added softly, “He said that he changed his mind when he saw how happy you were, Jasper. And he meant every word of it.”

He inhaled sharply and glanced at me before training his eyes back on the road in front of him. “Sam said something about striking a deal. Do you know anything about that?”

I bit my lip and looked out the window. “Eric wasn’t going to let it go. He wanted us both dead. But Jake…” I trailed off, the memory so fresh it stung. “Jake offered to let both of us go for twenty-five million. Five apiece for them, in an offshore account. I agreed.”

We came to a red light, and Jasper stared at me. “You agreed? Knowing they’d just come after us?”

I shook my head. “Jake had that worked out, too. He was willing to turn himself in.”

“You’re lying.”

I scowled at him. “Have I ever lied to you?” Horns honked, and he had to drive, but I didn’t turn away from him. “I watched him collapse, Jasper. He didn’t want this, any of this. He’s going to be traumatized when he wakes up, and I think that’s punishment enough. Don’t you?”

I could see the internal struggle, but eventually, Jasper nodded. “I guess you’re right. If that’s really what happened, I have to be grateful that he turned around in the end. I could have lost you.” He took a deep, shuddering breath, and my heart ached. I had never dreamed of having someone love me so much, but Jasper truly did. And I was glad because I didn’t think I could live without him.

We pulled into an empty parking space a block from his apartment, and I threw my bag over my shoulder before he could take it from me and hurt himself. He grunted and took my hand, leading me into the building and up to his place. It felt good to be here, cozier than my place, more of a home than the bungalow. I went straight to the kitchen, digging around until I found the makings of a couple of decent sandwiches, and I went to work.

Jasper didn’t say anything, just sat at the table and watched. “We both nearly died today, and here you are, getting all domestic in my kitchen. What’s that about?”

“I don’t know. I guess a near-death experience whets my appetite and makes me appreciate the finer things in life. Like pickles and mayonnaise.” He laughed, and that made me smile. He’d been so serious that I was starting to worry. I knew he had a lot on his mind, but I didn’t want it to weigh him down and put him in a dark place. If I could just make him smile or laugh, I hoped I could draw him back out of the tunnel and into the light.

He moved so fast I didn’t see him get up. His hand slid down my arm, taking the knife from my hand and setting it on the counter as his mouth came down on my neck. The heat of his lips seared my skin deliciously, and I tilted my head so he could access it better. He trailed kisses down my shoulder as his other hand curled around my waist and pressed against my stomach, fingers splayed. I felt my insides twist with need, and my breath hitched in my throat.

He shifted his hips, and I felt the raging hard on pressed against my back. It made me gasp, and Jasper caught my lips, wide open, his tongue darting past my teeth. I turned my neck further, delving into the kiss with all the passion and fear and rage that had welled up inside me throughout the day. His hand slid down into the waistband of my jogging pants, teasing just above the swollen nub of my desire, and I panted into his mouth in anticipation.

“God, I want you right now,” he whispered against my lips.

“You’re injured,” I groaned as he nibbled at my lower lip. “You could hurt yourself.”

“Go easy on me,” he countered as if it was a casual suggestion. “And I don’t care. What’s a little blood in the grand scheme of things? I’d rather bleed a little to have you right now than wait another minute to taste you.” He gathered the hem of my t-shirt and tugged, pulling it over my head, and he moaned as my bare breasts fell into his palms. I sighed, leaning into him as he squeezed and molded them, the tantalizing sensation shooting straight to my core. I poured for him, and I couldn’t deny him anything. He dipped one hand back into my panties, and his forefinger pressed against my clit with maddening slow circles. I couldn’t hold myself up, and I flattened my hands on the counter for support, knowing that part of my excitement came from the heightened emotions of the day. But it didn’t matter because, at the end of it all, only Jasper had this effect on me.

He tugged my pants down, and I gasped as my skin hit the chilly counter. I heard his belt jingle, and then I felt the heat of his skin as the length of him pressed against me, hard and throbbing. I could feel the blood pulsing through it, and I rubbed against him, making him growl and bite down on my shoulder. “I want to take you right here and now,” he grumbled at me. “And then, I want to carry you to the bed and have you straddle me while I take you again.”

I made a strangled noise, nearly coming just with those words. I pushed back with my hips, bending lower over the counter. I couldn’t speak, but I still managed to communicate what I wanted. Jasper’s fingers gripped my waist, biting into me, and I felt his knee pressing between mine, urging my legs apart. I obeyed, and the cold marble of the counter pressed against the same sensitive spot he’d already coaxed into a frenzy, making me cry out. Then, he entered me, one long thrust that went in smoothly with my juices as a lubricant, and I couldn’t hold back. I came hard, my body racked with spasms, and Jasper offered no relief, torturing me as he found a fast, violent rhythm. He slammed into me over and over, keeping the orgasm going for what felt like hours before it finally seemed to subside.

But even then, I was already on the edge, and I knew it wouldn’t be long before he brought another one on. His lips trailed down my spine, and I shivered. He slowed his motions, reaching one hand around and clasping my breast, pinching my nipple and sending sparks flying in my vision. He shoved into me so hard my pelvis banged against the counter, and I knew I’d be bruised, but I couldn’t find the wherewithal to care. I took it, and I loved it. I rode the wave of ecstasy as it washed over me again, marveling at how he managed to find all my weakest points, all my most potent buttons, every time.

When he came, it was with such force it lifted me off my feet, and he cried out, screaming my name before it disintegrated into a wordless growl. I flooded, my eyes rolling back in my head as the sheer bliss neared the line between pleasure and pain and then crossed it. I didn’t know it was possible to come so hard, and I didn’t even try to speak or breathe as it consumed me.

Jasper leaned his forehead against my back, and I felt the cold sweat dripping from his brow as he fought for air. When he pulled away, I shivered, but it didn’t last. He spun me to face him, pressing the length of his body against me. “I’m never going to get enough of you. Your mind, your body. I’m going to crave you, all the time, no matter how much I get of you.”

I liked the sound of that. I wanted him to crave me the way I craved him. It wasn’t just the sex, though he was so enticing and such a beast when it came to sex I had to admit that had its own draw. But even just being in his presence, in the same space, had its effect on me. I needed him, needed to know that he was going to be there. I realized that had been my biggest fear today. It wasn’t death or being taken from this world. It was not having more time with Jasper, whether it was him or me that was taken.

He hoisted me in his arms, and I stared at him with wide, worried eyes. “You’re going to hurt yourself.”

“You’re light as a feather,” he teased, carrying me into the bedroom despite my protests. “Stop treating me like I’m fragile. It’s going to kill my libido, and I like how that feels right now.”

I liked how it felt, too, as he laid back and pulled me on top of him. We’d just had a phenomenal round of rough sex, and he was already getting hard again. I rocked my pelvis against him, encouraging him, and he groaned as his cock grew and hardened against me. “You’re going to be the death of me.”

“Too soon,” I murmured as I nibbled at his ear and his neck. He closed his eyes and lay perfectly still as I made my way down his chest and over his solid, flat stomach. I took him in my mouth, tasting myself still on him, and he jerked, grunting in response. I licked along the bottom of his shaft and around his head, and then I drew him in again, deeper and deeper while I fisted the base of him.

“Fuck, Mina, I’m going to come in your mouth if you don’t stop,” he warned in a tight voice. I glanced up to find his hands clenched in the sheets, probably to keep from forcing his own rhythm on me. It was arousing and empowering, seeing his reaction to me, and I wasn’t sure I minded the idea of swallowing for him. But his hands found my shoulders, and he dragged me up his body until he had me straddling his waiting cock.

I was too high on the sexual tension, and I couldn’t move, but it didn’t matter. He thrust his hips up, impaling me with his length, and I came on the spot. It was hazy, like a dream, as the pleasure took hold of me, and I moved automatically, my body taking over the motions rather than allowing my brain any kind of conscious control. I slid along Jasper’s chest, the sheen of sweat between us a perfect lubricant, and when I couldn’t take it anymore, I reared back, moving up and down with my head thrown back.

His hands worked my breasts, and I was nothing but one big nerve ending, the sensations overriding anything else. Everything was physical, and I gave into it with abandon. I was about to come again when Jasper sat up and rolled me over to my back, pumping into me with such long, determined thrusts I knew he was chasing something, a specific feeling. I let him have his way, knowing I’d get what I needed no matter what. He just did it for me, and he didn’t even have to try hard.

He slipped a fraction of an inch deeper, and I cried out with the new feeling, my inner walls pulsing against him. At the same time, he roared and convulsed, the ecstasy taking over. I followed him into the massive tidal wave of sexual pleasure, sight and sound disappearing. All I knew was his body and mine, in mutual bliss.