Chapter 43

Jasper

If looks could kill, Anders would be a pile of dust by now.

I’m shooting daggers in his direction, but he’s too fucking spaced out to even notice.

My blood is boiling. Rage is pumping through me, and I feel like fucking punching someone.

If Aurora wasn’t in the car with us, I swear I’d hit that little shit right between the eyes and if he asked so much as why I hit him, I’d hit him even harder.

The longer I have to look at Anders, the angrier I get. It’s one thing to get your own life into a mess. I get that. We all make mistakes.

But it’s another to do it at the cost of an innocent person…especially the woman I happen to be into.

Hell, I’m no fucking angel. But any mistake I’ve made has not had the consequence of dragging my brothers down.

I mean, if you want to go and ruin your fucking body, do it—but don’t do it at the expense of your sister, particularly if your sister is as gorgeous and precious as Aurora is.

Of course, I’m not going to harm the little shit, but boy am I close to doing it. The way Aurora stares at him through those big eyes of hers. Fuck, man, it hurts to see how much she loves him and how much she’s hurting by what he’s doing to her.

In my book, hurting someone close to you, particularly family, is off the table. I know my brothers and I have had our differences, but we’ve never acted like Anders. But then again, we don’t do fucking drugs.

Finally, the car comes to a stop, and I realize we’re here. Aurora gasps. At first, I’m not quite sure why, but then I see her eyes take in the size of our beach house.

I guess it’s not the type of beach house ordinary people have. Ours is a beach mansion, more like. It’s as you would expect would be befitting of billionaire playboys.

The grounds are made up of a manicured lawn, neatly trimmed hedges, ornamental gardens, and all of it right in the cusp of the beach.

The entire fucking ocean is right there to wash away my baby’s worries—and possibly to drown Anders in if he gets out of line. I kid. But really, where’s the little punk gonna get drugs out here when he’s under our personal version of house arrest?

Our house has ten bedrooms, I think, and five living areas, several bathrooms, a gym, a wine cellar, and a media room.

It was worth every penny. All of this is spread out over two floors and a large surface area. I’m not good with fucking detail; I just know the house is huge. That’s all I need to know.

It is one of those modern architectural buildings, with massive windows to take advantage of the view and sun, and it has an overall square look.

Without waiting or asking for permission, I take Aurora by the hand and lead her to the house.

“May I give you a tour?” I whisper and notice her tiny smile.

Her eyes are still as large as ever. I swear I see a goddamn sparkle in them as she realizes this is where we’re staying.

All I want to do now is drag her into one of the rooms and fuck her. But I can’t. I’m here with my brothers—and Anders and the nurse—to keep an eye on our little druggie while he needs to start detoxing. It’s a full fucking house.

When will I get to be with her alone?

I can tell how overwhelmed Aurora is by all this. We simply took charge of the situation. We didn’t even need to consult with one another; each one of us knew what to do.

Maybe we’re not as fractured a family as I thought.

Of course, we’re no closer to resolving this thing with Aurora. We went to see her to ask her to choose between us. And then there was a fateful emergency. We saw that she was crying, and now we’re here.

Fuck, how I wish I had her alone. There’s no possible way to have her make a decision now. Any undue pressure on her would not be a wise move.

As soon as we step through the door, I put my arm around her waist and steer her upstairs.

“This is my favorite part of the house,” I explain as I show her the bedrooms that overlook the water.

“It’s beautiful,” she says, and she looks at me with such intensity that I know she’s thinking it, too.

She wishes I would lay her down on this bed and make fucking love to her all night. And I swear I would…if it wasn’t for the situation.

Fuck.

I lead her through the huge entertainment theater and the bar. She walks around and touches everything. And I watch her walk, the sunlight hitting her beautiful blonde hair.

I show her a living room and the walk-out basement that leads right to the sand. If you look long enough out to sea, you can see everything fading over the horizon, the ocean looking endless.

It’s exactly how I feel about her. My feelings are endless. I don’t know where I begin and where she ends.

I swear to God we are one. And that’s exactly how I want it to be.

Except, I want to cement this thing physically and make sure that she never thinks about one of my brothers ever again.

“Wow,” breathes Aurora and I feel her snuggle into me. “You guys really are quite…powerful. You have money and property and everything you want,” she finishes.

I stop and pull her toward me. “I can make any dream you have come true.”

I’m breathing hard and struggle to control myself. I just want to rip her clothes off and fuck her brains out. “You name it, and I’ll get it for you.”

Aurora’s eyes grow even bigger. “Really?”

She looks like I’ve just dangled a treasure trove of riches before her. And I would. I would do fucking anything to see her happy.

“But you know,” I start and kiss her gently on the lips, cheeks, nose, ear. “You must choose one of us. I know you’ve dated the others. It can’t go on like this.”

Now her face turns somber—and shit, I’m responsible. Gone is the smile and her relaxed demeanor. Her body tenses, and she pulls away from me.

“I can’t do this Jasper,” she cries, and she bolts down the stairs.

I watch her run past Declan and Finn and out the door.

They glare at me.

“Good one,” Finn hisses. “What’d you do? Try and fuck her before we’ve had a chance to talk to her?”

I shake my head. “Shut up, Finn. She has to decide sometime,” I shoot back and make my own way back upstairs.

“Or did you tell her how stupid she is for caring for caring about her drug-addicted brother?” Declan chimes in.

Again, I feel the urge to hit someone.

Right now, the urge is directed toward my brothers.

“Assholes, both of you.” I spit at them. They shrug and put their bags down.

“I just said to her that she’s got to choose between us. She said she can’t choose and ran the fuck out.”

Finn looks at me.

“We better look for her,” says Declan and heads out the door. “Couldn’t you wait before you put the fucking weight on her? I mean you know it’s not as if she doesn’t have enough on her mind.”

His words are biting, and he may be right, but I can’t last another second without knowing who she’s gonna choose.

What’s wrong with getting her to choose now? Life’s a bitch. It might not be better for her tomorrow.

What if her loser brother goes off on another drug bender and ends up dead? Then it won’t be a good time either to raise the matter of choosing between us. There is no good time.

As far as I’m concerned, she needs to decide.

“Yeah,” Finn chimes in. “You could have given her a few minutes. Maybe even offered her a drink. She’s pretty shaken up by all this. But no, Jasper has to charge like a fucking bull at every fucking moment.”

Now I’m getting offended.

“There she is,” I point to our left.

She’s standing by the beach, facing the water, her hair blowing in the wind.

I try and ignore the criticism from my brothers. They think I’m egotistical and self-centered. But they don’t know a goddamn thing, because we haven’t been close in years.

If it wasn’t for that annual meeting our father made us attend, I never would’ve even seen them. They’re like strangers to me now—and I the same to them.

I don’t believe in standing by and doing nothing. I believe in solving problems as soon as they arise and taking action before they get totally blown out of proportion.

“Maybe you should let us do the talking,” growls Finn in my ear, and I clench my fists by my side.

“Hey, Aurora,” Declan calls over to her, and she turns around to face us from her spot on the sand.

Her eyes take us in. She looks from Finn to Declan to me and then back to Finn.

She looks sad. Her cheeks are tear-stained, and I just want to fucking hold her and make her world okay.

“I-I’m sorry,” she says, walking back toward us.

“Come on, baby,” Finn takes a step toward her.

His fingers caress her arm.

Aurora shivers. I see the storm clouds loom on the horizon. I want her back inside, safe and sound under my protection. Something fierce is coming—and I don’t just mean in terms of the storm.

“We just want what’s best for you,” I start but am not sure what else to say.

Her expression is pained. My hand instinctively grabs hers, and I squeeze it, trying to provide some reassurance.

“I know, and I’m grateful, and I know you want me to choose, and—” she chokes.

“Told you, you’re a pushy bastard,” Finn rounds on me.

“If you hadn’t bombarded her with this ‘You’ve got to choose business—” Declan starts.

“Stop!” yells Aurora, and we all look at her startled.

I let go of her hand.

“Listen to yourselves, to your bickering, and to your crap. You’re brothers. You should be grateful you have each other.”

I look at my shoes and shove my hands into the pockets of my pants. She’s right. I know she is.

And I also know this might have struck a hurtful chord with her, given the precarious nature of her own brother right now.

“I’m sorry,” I start again. “It’s just we need you to choose,” I say as the others groan.

I don’t know what their fucking problem is. I’m saying the truth. I’m saying what’s on each of our minds.

“I can’t.” Aurora is now sobbing. “Don’t you understand? I can’t choose between you guys. I just can’t.” She’s about to collapse on the sand, but I catch her.

“Shhh,” I make a soft calming noise. “It’s okay, baby. We’ll work this out. We’re here for you.” I smooth her hair.

Finn comes up on my right and strokes her arm. I notice that she trembles at his touch, and I realize they may also have a connection. No wonder this is so hard for her.

“Don’t worry, Aurora,” he also reassures her. “We’re here for you. We’re here.”

It’s Declan’s turn, and he comes up to hold her hand.

I can see Aurora smiling weakly at us.

My mouth moves toward hers again, and I kiss her. Then Declan leans over her and also gives her a kiss. Finn has the last go of it.

And we’re all just standing there, partly on the sand, partly in the mansion on the beach. The storm rolls in, and for a second we’re united in that fact that we all love this girl—or at least, we all have feelings for her.

That’s not the typical Grayson way, but it’s becoming my reality—one that I can no longer deny.

“Let’s take you inside and see if we can do something to cheer you up,” I say and see her eyes brighten a little.

“I’m sure we can all think of something to do to pass the time,” she says and looks from one to the other.

“I’m all ears,” I say and smile.

“As long as it involves something private in the bedroom,” says Finn darkly, and we chuckle.

I guess we’re about to be there once again for this gorgeous angel. There’s no one else in the world that I would put my differences with my brothers aside for—but she seems to need it.

Once we’re back inside, she lingers in the doorway, not knowing what to do.

“I think we should grab a drink before we do anything else,” I announce and am pleased to see Aurora nod. “Then let’s see what else we can do to pass through the night and the incoming storm.”