I ROLLED OVER, HUGGING THE pillow in a rare moment of bliss after having slept through the night without any nightmares. I sighed, feeling refreshed as I stretched my legs out and hit warm, hard—
My eyes flew open and I came face to face with a naked smooth torso with black ink lines running the length of his side. The sheet covered his legs then stopped in a crumpled chaos at his hips. My gaze trailed down the path of hairs to . . . I bolted up right, yanking the sheet with me.
“Morning, sunshine.” He was sitting up in bed leaning against the headboard, eyes glued to his phone as his fingers tapped on the screen.
“You’re in bed.” Jasper had ignored the hint of blanket and pillow on the floor and slept in bed with me. I should’ve known he would. His leg rubbed against mine and abruptly, I pulled mine away.
“You’re certainly observant first thing in the morning.”
“And your asshole button doesn’t have an off switch.”
He chuckled. “About time you woke-up. Been awake for hours listening to you snore like an elephant with its trunk kinked.”
I gasped. “Elephant . . . kinked . . . you’re such an asshole.”
“Hmm, you also lack variety in your vocabulary.” His mouth twitched and I wanted to smack him. I didn’t because I had no intention of putting my hands anywhere near him. He was naked or partially naked. I was in his t-shirt and boxers and I couldn’t decipher if the fast pumping rush through my veins was from anger or from the thought of him being naked in bed with me.
I’d coasted through the last four years without having to say much and suddenly in the last twenty-four hours, I was talking back, arguing and even smiling. “What are you doing?”
“Playing angry birds. Addicting. Red bird is the shit—”
I exploded. Not like me. So not like me, but I was furious. I hadn’t felt emotions like this since . . . my first few months in captivity. “What the hell are you doing in bed with me?”
He continued to play on his phone without even reacting to my outburst. His brows lowered in concentration and his lips pressed together as he slid his finger across the screen.
“Are you listening to me?” Jasper’s nonchalance was making me react irrationally and I had a feeling that was exactly what he wanted. And this was why I preferred to be silent rather than talk because people rarely listened to anything but themselves. “God, so typical.”
“Oh, I’m anything but typical. And I heard you, just chose to ignore you. My right. It’s your right to get out of my bed.”
“Your bed?”
Jasper’s brows rose and there was no sign of his playful grin. “Yeah, sunshine, my bed. I clearly remember shoving a handful of bills in your hand to pay for this room. And I paid for the room next door, which by the way still pisses me off. I don’t like to waste money.”
“Well, it wouldn’t have been wasted if you let me sleep there.”
“It wouldn’t have been wasted if you’d listened to me in the first place.”
He lowered his hand from his phone then slowly stroked his abdomen, fingers moving over the blocks of muscles. I watched, breathless, unable to look away from his smooth, hard body. Then his hand slid lower, down the trail of hairs . . . the sheet lifted and his hand disappeared. I swallowed. The sheet tented . . . I wasn’t sure if it was his hand or . . . I jerked my eyes away, but my gaze didn’t go far; instead, I was staring at his chest, admiring the hard mounds and valleys.
“Done with your perusal?”
My already heated cheeks burned. “Surprising you even know a word like that.”
“Oh, baby, you’d be surprised about a lot of things I know. Care to find out?”
I scrambled out of bed taking the sheet with me. Big mistake. Well, it wouldn’t have been if I hadn’t looked, but I did and he only had boxer briefs on and his cock was obviously rock hard—and huge. My eyes flew to his and there was no smile, no cocky smirk . . . he was smoldering with desire.
“Oh, God.” I spun, ran into the bathroom and slammed the door. I heard Jasper’s deep chuckle following me.
Damn it. I felt like a nuclear weapon traveling on a road ridden with potholes. Unsteady and ready to explode at any minute. Everything he did was testing my control. Shit, he wasn’t testing it; he was splitting it apart.
I put my hands on the lip of the sink, closed my eyes and tried to will the eruption of emotions away, but the image of Jasper, lying in bed half naked, casual, confident, making no apology for his erection, wouldn’t vanish.
He desired me. He was turned on and we hadn’t even touched. It made me feel . . . wanted. Desired. God, why did I want him to want me? He was arrogant. Selfish. An assassin who was hired to protect me from someone . . . a someone who had no reason to want a girl who lived for four years tucked away in Spain.
“Max. Let’s move.” Jasper knocked on the door. It was a no nonsense voice, stern as if telling his soldiers to move out.
I had to stop this . . . this . . . well, whatever it was. People used people to get what they wanted in life. I’d learned that really young and Jasper was certainly at the top of the list of using others, except he didn’t try to hide it. I knew he was being paid to protect me. I also knew he was playing with me and enjoying it.
I turned on the taps and washed my face with cold water, the burning in my cheeks slowly dissipating. It took a good five minutes before I pulled my shit together.
When I opened the door, Jasper was dressed and on his phone, standing with his back to me. Whoever was on the other end must have been doing all the talking because Jasper said a few short curt words then hung up. Without looking at me, he opened the door and left.
When I heard the bike start up, I noticed his bag and my blades were gone. I went outside and came up beside him. “I need clothes. I can’t wear this.” I gestured to the boxers and t-shirt.
“You look fine to me.” Jasper was sitting astride his bike, his hands resting on his thighs looking completely in control. Shit, he was in control.
I cocked my hip and put my hand on it and then I saw the slight twitch at the corners of his mouth. He was playing with me again.
“I want clothes and a phone call before I go anywhere with you.”
Jasper shut down the engine, pulled his cell out of his front shirt pocket and handed it to me. It was so casual, as if he’d expected me to ask. “Have at it, sunshine. And tell him his house is a write off.”
“How’d you—”
Jasper quirked a brow. “You have no friends. No boyfriends. You never travel, and spend your days looking after Xamien’s garden and practicing with those blades of yours. The garden thing is boring as hell, but guess it’s a Healer thing . . . making things grow and shit.”
“You know a lot about me having just met me.”
He clenched his jaw. “My job to know.” He chin-lifted to the phone. “Call him if it makes you feel better. Number three.”
I pressed number three and Xamien picked up on the second ring. “Jasper.”
“No, sir, it’s Max.”
“Max. How are you? Are you guys somewhere safe?”
I glanced at Jasper and he leaned his elbow up against the handle bar. I noticed his eyes remained focused and intense, even when he was being annoying and flirting with me.
“Your house . . . it’s ruined, sir. Jasper says the men who did it are after me and he’s been hired to protect me. Is that true?” Then I added, because Jasper was pissing me off by looking so cocky and full of himself, “Should I kill him?”
Jasper burst out laughing and the sound made me smile, but I turned slightly so he couldn’t see it.
Xamien chuckled and I heard him murmur something to someone in the background. “Do what he says and he’ll keep you safe. I trust him.”
“Xamien, what’s going on? Why would anyone want me?” I held my breath as there was silence at the other end of the line.
A cold wave of dread came over me and my breath locked tight in my chest. “Max . . . I know you’re a Healer.” I closed my eyes, hand tightening on the phone. “Healers are always in danger and I think that’s why you’ve kept it hidden.”
I looked at Jasper. He smirked. “Did Jasper tell you?”
“No,” Xamien replied. I don’t know why I cared, but I was relieved Jasper hadn’t lied to me. That he’d kept my secret. “I’ve known for years, but I’d never force you to use your ability if you chose not to, Max. I’ve never told anyone either. I’ll meet with you and Jasper tomorrow. By then, I may know more. For now, do as Jasper says. He’s the best at . . . what he does. Keep close to him.” He paused, then, “And Max . . . be careful. Let me talk to him.”
I said goodbye then held the phone out to Jasper.
“Stay with the bike, babe.” He lifted his leg over the seat then walked away, phone to his ear. I couldn’t hear what was said, but his grin had vanished and his spine stiffened, fingers gripping the phone a little tighter.
He strode back to me and put his phone back in his pocket. “Satisfied?”
“Not really.” But I could wait until I saw Xamien tomorrow.
“Don’t worry, Xamien’s warning to keep my hands off won’t deter me.”
I ignored his attempt to get me riled. “Do you have clothes for me or are you going to continue to be a dick?”
He grinned. “Nice to see we’ve moved up from asshole.”
I frowned. “Who says dick is any better than asshole?”
He raised his brows and looked down at the bulge between his legs. I rolled my eyes and he laughed, a sound which made my insides light up like I swallowed a flare. He nodded to the leather saddlebag. “Jeans and a shirt in the bag. And a sweet-ass pair of red panties.” My mouth dropped open. “You have one hell of a panty drawer.”
What? “What?” I dove for the bag and sifted through his clothes and there at the bottom, I caught the flash of red. I yanked my panties out then my jeans and t-shirt. By the time I stood up straight, my clothes in my hand, I was seething. “You had clothes for me?”
“Guess you’re not going to thank me for taking the time to grab a couple things for you.”
“When?”
“When what?”
I stomped my foot and that pissed me off because I didn’t stomp or get angry or become flustered and I was all of the above. “You know damn well what I’m asking.”
Jasper snagged me around the waist and brought me into him. I landed hard against his thigh, my hands going to his chest with my clothes the only thing separating us. “Babe, you and me . . . it wasn’t a spur of the moment thing. Grabbed a few of your things when you were out in the garden a few days ago just in case shit went bad. Then shit went bad and I had to get you out of there.” He tugged me closer and his knee went between my legs. My breath locked in my throat. “Now, angel, you want to get changed or stand here talking about how I got your clothes because I need coffee.”
The fastest way to get him to release me was to agree with whatever he said. “Yes.”
His fingers curled into my waist. “Yes what, sunshine?”
I bit my lip to keep from smiling as I said, “Yes, sir.”
His brows lowered and his lips pursed together, just like I knew would happen. Then he shook his head and chuckled; the vibration sent my insides haywire. “Fuck, you’re cute when you try to piss me off.” He slapped my ass and I jerked away, staggering back a couple steps then darting for the motel room. I expected his laughter to follow, but it didn’t.
When I came back outside dressed in my clothes, I didn’t even look at him as I threw my leg over the back of the bike. This time, I wasn’t going to hold onto him no matter how fast he went or how sharp he took the corners. I’d rather become road kill. I grabbed the sissy bar behind me and Jasper didn’t say anything as he took off.
Thirty minutes later, we pulled into a cute roadside restaurant, venta, with large bay windows and orange stucco walls. It was called Medina’s and it was packed.
We found a booth and I noticed Jasper scan the place as if he was expecting one of the customers to pull out a gun and start shooting. Jasper ordered two black coffees, churros, sweet rolls and rye toast with butter. I was more of a coffee and toast breakfast person, but suddenly, I was starving with the smell of sweet pastries wafting around me.
The waitress brought over the carafe and poured us each coffee. I noticed she poured Jasper’s slower while her eyes kept flickering up from beneath her mascara-caked lashes to look at him. The girl was cute, with a short brunette bob and bright blue eyes. She also looked young, not that it would matter to Jasper.
I grasped my coffee and curled my hands around the mug. “Who is paying you to protect me?”
Jasper ignored the girl who was desperately trying to get his attention by leaning over the table and placing napkins near the opposite end of the table. I rolled my eyes and blurted. “Thanks. We’re good now.” The waitress straightened abruptly, looked at me briefly and walked away.
“Adrian.”
“Is he a Scar?”
“Yep.” He lifted his coffee and I watched his lips curl around the edge of the mug then his Adam’s apple move up and down as he swallowed.
“Why does he care if I live?”
He hesitated then said, “He doesn’t exactly.”
“What does that mean? Why would he hire you to protect me then? And I don’t understand why Xamien wouldn’t.”
Jasper set his coffee down, stretched his legs out to the side and crossed his ankles. “A lot of questions for a chick who doesn’t like to talk.”
I hated talking. Worse was talking and asking questions to a guy who was being cagey. It was like prying open the mouth of an alligator. Then sticking your head inside and waiting for it to snap closed on the answer you didn’t want to hear. “Why are you being evasive?”
“Not my job to give you answers, babe.”
Fine, he didn’t want to give answers then I was leaving. Well, not really as I had nowhere to go and no vehicle, but I wanted answers and Jasper had them—or at least a few. I was halfway to my feet, when Jasper’s hand shot out and grabbed my arm.
“Sit. Now.”
I didn’t.
His grip tightened. “Not playing here. We cause a scene—and babe, I will cause a fuckin’ scene if that’s what it takes to stop you from walking out—then whoever is after you will have a lead on which way we’re traveling.” He nodded to the patrons. “You think these people won’t talk about the guy and the girl who caused a disturbance at Medina’s?”
The clatter of plates plopped down on the table. “Need anything else, sexy?” The waitress asked, ignoring me standing there.
Jasper was still staring at me waiting for my response and didn’t acknowledge the waitress. “You going to sit?”
“You going to give me something?”
His jaw clenched and then he let me go, leaned back and half-grinned. “Sure. I’ll give you something.”
I glared. “Jasper.”
“Fine. Sit down.”
The waitress looked between us. “Is there a problem?”
I sat and quirked a half-smile and so did he. He reached for a napkin. “We’re good, thanks,” he said to the waitress without looking at her and she walked away. “Eat up, sunshine, and I’ll tell you what I know.”
I gestured to the all the food he ordered. “I’ll become a hippo if I eat all that.” I wasn’t afraid to eat, but the amount of sugar on the plates in front of me was like slapping a tub of lard onto my butt.
“Angels can’t be hippos. Won’t happen.”
I couldn’t keep back the twitch at the corners of my mouth. “Why not?”
“’Cause a hippo is a mean fucker. Angels aren’t. And I’ve decided you’re an angel. With issues of course. You know the ones, stuck on earth in limbo because they shot some guy in the thigh.”
This time I couldn’t control the smile as I shook my head. “That’s ridiculous.”
He chuckled and a rare bubble of laughter rose in my chest. He chin-lifted to the plate. “Eat. Don’t know when we’ll be stopping again.” He took a bite of a sweet roll and powdery sugar sprinkled onto his plate.
I wrapped my hands around my coffee mug and lifted it before blowing a stream of air on it then took a sip. When I went to put it back down, Jasper’s eyes were on me. He quickly looked away and it was the first time I thought he looked uncomfortable. It was surprising and even more surprising that I liked his eyes on me. I liked him watching me as if . . . as if I was more than a job. More than a woman he wanted to fuck.
After a few minutes, he started talking, keeping his voice low, although there was no one at the booth next to us now. “Adrian runs a . . . quiet organization.”
“Secret?”
He nodded. “It’s for jobs that are . . . different.”
“So, he breaks the Scars’ laws?”
Jasper bit into a piece of toast then tossed it down on the plate and leaned back against the green plastic backrest. “More like looks after situations he doesn’t feel should be brought to the Deaconry. That should be dealt with internally.”
I’d been taught by my Talde about our history and knew how we lived by an oath to the Goddess who created us to uphold the laws. By the sounds of it, this Adrian guy and his organization was finding a way around them. “But how did he know someone was after me? And if you and Xamien didn’t tell anyone I’m a Healer, then how does anyone else know?”
“Don’t know that. Adrian has connections, lots of them, and he knows shit is going down before anyone else. My guess . . . that is how he heard that someone was looking for you.”
“And you don’t know who or why?”
“No, I don’t know who. All I was told was he was a Scar and can Trace.”
A wave of fear went over me as I thought of Drake. No. It couldn’t be. How could he find me? Why now? It couldn’t be him. His lungs required healing and he wouldn’t have survived all these years, and if he did, he’d be weak and wouldn’t be able to Trace. He needed healing in order to use that ability.
He met my eyes, unwavering, dark and swirling. He took a sip of his coffee as the waitress came over, cleared away our plates and placed a bill on the table. The girl hesitated at the table, and Jasper for the first time looked at her and then grinned. The girl blushed and I scrunched up my nose with disgust. Jasper saw it and it was that deep graveled laugh that had my stomach flip-flopping.
I waited until she moved way before I asked, “Does Xamien know about Adrian?”
“Nope.”
“Waleron?” His mother was one of the original Scars from Zugarramurdi and from the one time I met him . . . Waleron was powerful.
“Waleron knows pretty much everything.”
“So, Adrian must have a lot of money.” Because I was betting Jasper didn’t come cheap.
“Adrian keeps his business, his business, and I’ve never really given a shit why or how.”
“And you take jobs from this guy?” I couldn’t understand why Jasper would do this. Why he’d take jobs from a man he didn’t really know anything about.
“Yeah, babe. I do. That’s who I am.” His voice hardened and he abruptly took out his wallet and threw down some money. He was silent and his brows lowered with a slight twitch in his jaw. “And my life and what I do is none of your business.”
I shoved my mug aside and asked the question I was afraid to hear the answer to, but had to know how far Jasper would go. “Would you take money from whoever offered you the most?”
He stiffened and his eyes narrowed and darkened. “Probably.”
“So if this guy who is after me offered you a lot of money to give me to him, would you?”
“Jesus, Max.” He got up so brusquely, my mug toppled over as the table moved and the remnants of coffee spilled onto the table. Then he spat, “Yeah, I would. Is that what you want to hear? That what you’ve heard about me? Don’t worry, sunshine, he could never match what Adrian is giving me.”
I should’ve expected that answer. I did expect that answer, but for some reason, I’d expected more from Jasper. I thought when he’d touched my arm, softened his voice, and the grey in his eyes warmed, that there was good in Jasper.
Apparently, I was wrong.
“Let’s go.” He snagged my hand and before I could take my napkin off my lap, he had me up and walking out of the restaurant.