CHAPTER 6
Jasper
Abigail was marching at top speed down the street, and Jasper couldn’t decide which he would prefer: marching arm-in-arm with her, or following a few paces behind and enjoying the sight of her candy-cane legs. Her elf dress was shorter than her coat, giving the appealing illusion that all she had on under her quilted winter jacket was the stockings.
He decided to stick with marching arm-in-arm. She was walking so fast he was worried she’d leave him in the dust if he let go. She’d raced around the apartment before they left, stuffing a few things furtively in a bag, and now she was practically sprinting down the street. If he let go and she left him behind, he’d never get their plans sorted.
The clock was ticking. He hadn’t felt the strange, sick shaking apart of his human and dragon halves since he first kissed Abigail— but he knew he wasn’t home safe yet. Tick, tock.
“Four days,” he muttered out loud.
“What?”
Damn it. “Uh, I was just thinking. Four days until Christmas. That gives me…” He made a show of counting on the fingers of his free hand. “Hmm… twenty-four hours in a day, minus, I’m assuming, eight-hour work days— I guess we’ll need to sleep a bit, too, let’s say seven hours a night although I don’t think we quite managed that last night… I make it thirty-six hours available for dating.” He lowered his head to whisper in her ear: “Not including the hours where you’re sleeping in my arms.”
A line formed between her eyebrows. “Less than that.”
He stared at her, and she grimaced. “Sorry. I’m working double shifts.”
“Lunch break?” he suggested. She shook her head.
“The shifts are back-to-back, so I don’t get a long break between them. Just a half-hour lunch. At three. If we’re not slammed, which… we’re a Christmas gift store. We’ve been slammed since Halloween.” She rubbed her forehead and frowned harder. “We’re meant to get a short break for dinner too, but… well, meant to doesn’t always line up with reality. So that’s, what… sixteen hours?”
“Damn it, and I’m meant to look after Cole from two while his mom gets the Santa presents.” Jasper tried to smile, though his mind was still screaming in disbelief. Sixteen hours?
He shook himself. Sixteen hours into four made four hours a day for him to woo her. He’d follow her around carrying her grocery shopping, if that was what it took. Date nights at the laundromat. Or, at the very least:
“Dinner tonight?”
She grimaced. “I don’t get off until ten again.”
“You’re kidding me!”
Abigail let out a bark of laughter. “Afraid not. I’m on late nights until Christmas Eve—”
“Great, so—”
“— When I get off whenever Mr. Bell decides the shop is going to close, and no earlier. Sorry.” She bit her lip. “I didn’t exactly plan out my week on the understanding I’d be spending time with anyone.”
Jasper’s heart twisted. Her tone was ironic, but— She really doesn’t have anyone to spend Christmas with?
“I don’t see why that rules out dinner,” he said out loud.
Abigail raised one eyebrow. “Mini pancakes and apple tart again?” She wasn’t quite smiling; he couldn’t read the expression on her face. Whatever it was, it looked precarious, like she was standing on the edge of a cliff waiting for his next words.
“I’ll think of something even better.” A plan was beginning to formulate in his head. She said she liked mountains… And now she was smiling again. Properly. Jason’s dragon preened smugly as they turned the corner into the square. “Here we are.”
They came to a dead stop outside Abigail’s work. Abigail turned to him. Her face was flushed with exertion. He couldn’t help but think of how she’d looked the night before, her eyes shining with pleasure as she moved beneath him.
God, he wished he could take her away, right now. Inside him, his dragon flapped its wings. Fly away with her?
Maybe in a few days.
“I’ll see you tonight,” he promised. “Ten o’clock, right outside this door.”
“Mmm,” Abigail said non-commitally. “All right. If you insist.” She turned to open the door— then spun back around and pulled him into a kiss. “You had better be here,” she whispered into his ear, and then fled.
Jasper watched her disappear into the back of the shop. Joy glowed inside him like a sun, warming him from head to toe. Of course he would be here when she got off her shift. He loved her. He loved her!
And his dragon would love her, too. Once it met her properly, not just seeing her through his human eyes. Everything would be perfect. He turned around, looking across at the giant Christmas tree he’d been standing under when he first saw her. This was going to be the most perfect Christmas ever.
His pocket buzzed and he pulled out his phone. “Opal! Merry Christmas, best and most wonderful of sisters.”
Her snort crackled through the speaker. “Hey, bro. I couldn’t help but notice our guest bed looks remarkably un-slept-in this morning. And you didn’t pick up the key for the cottage, which I thought you might do, so… Things go well with the roof lady?”
“Her name is Abigail. And she’s…” His voice trailed off. There were too many words he could use to describe her— wonderful, incredible, heart-stoppingly gorgeous— and none of them were enough. He sighed, looking up at the strings of Christmas lights hanging above the square.
“Oh, it’s like that, is it?” Opal laughed fondly. “I’m happy for you, Jas. Actually, I’m fucking relieved. You were cutting it kind of close, there. So, are you bringing her up to the lodge?”
Jasper kicked at a snow-drift, breaking through the crust of ice that had formed overnight. “Hmm.”
“Jas?” Opal’s voice held a note of warning.
“She has to work. I’m seeing her again tonight, but she doesn’t get off until late and… I don’t want to disturb everyone once you’re already gotten Cole to bed.”
Opal gave a disbelieving snort. “You haven’t sealed the deal yet, have you?”
“Christ, sis, way to take the romance out of it.” Jasper breathed in. The square smelled like spices, and coffee, and— well, not pine, actually. The giant tree was plastic, after all. “She’s human. It’s not like with you and Hank.”
“Worried you’ll scare her off?”
“Worried she’ll think she cracked her head open when she fell off the roof and got a concussion, sure.” Jasper’s heart flipped. How would Abigail react when she saw his dragon?
If she ever does, whispered a quiet voice in his head. His skin went cold.
Of course she would see his dragon. Before Christmas. And after Christmas. And every Christmas afterwards. She was his mate. She completed him.
His skin prickled as he realized the absolute truth of that statement. With her in his life, he would be whole. He wasn’t going to lose half of himself.
And what if you can’t make her fall in love with you by your birthday?
He shook his head. That wasn’t going to happen. He had a plan. Four days of perfect dates, and then she would be his.
“You’re still looking after Cole this afternoon, right?” Opal’s voice cut through his thoughts.
“Wouldn’t miss it.”
“Oh, and you’re still in town, right? Can you pick me up a few things before you head back to the lodge?”
Jas listened as Opal began to recite her shopping list, but quickly gave up and grabbed a pen and paper from his coat pocket. He was going to need to go all over town to pick up everything she wanted. Which would mean getting a rental.
Which was perfect, actually. It would give him a chance to organize some things. And pick up a few items of his own…
* * *
Jasper tipped his head back, enjoying the crisp breeze playing over his face. It was another clear night. Here in the square, the only lights in the sky were the strings of Christmas lights— and the glowing, glittering Christmas tree. But beyond the electric lights, the sky was clear, and beyond the town…
“You’re here!”
Jasper spun around at Abigail’s voice.
Abigail hurried up to him, her face tight with the sort of contorted half-smile people get when they’re trying to hide how pleased they are. She slowed down a few paces away, and Jasper pulled her into a kiss.
“How was your day?”
“Long.” She breathed out heavily and rested her head against his shoulder, just for a minute. “So— you’re here! What’s the plan?”
Jasper rubbed his gloved hands together. Abigail’s hands, he noticed, were still bare. But her legs…
“Enjoying the view?”
Jasper snapped his eyes back up to Abigail’s face. Her cheeks were pink, but she was smirking. She had changed out of her candy-stripe stockings, but the black pants she was wearing instead were tightly fitting enough to capture Jasper’s attention. Really, if their skin-tightness was any indication, they probably didn’t provide much more insulation than the stockings...
“Because, really, if your big plan is just to stare at my legs—”
Jasper hauled his eyes up again. Abigail’s cheeks were even more pink— and she looked even more pleased. “It’s part of the plan, but not the whole plan.” Jasper slipped his arm around her waist. With two layers of bulky winter coats between them, he couldn’t feel much more than the outline of her body— but there would be time for that later. “The other part of the plan is… you said you like the mountains, right?”
“Yes…” Abigail sounded uncertain, like she was waiting for the rug to be pulled from under her feet. Jasper reached into his pocket and pulled out a small package. It was not gift-wrapped— well, it was, but only in plain tissue. No Christmas wrapping paper. No ribbons, no card.
“Here. You’ll need these.”
Jasper rocked on the balls of his feet as Abigail slowly unwrapped the gift. His dragon watched through his eyes, unblinking.
“This is…” Abigail pulled Jasper’s gift out of the tissue paper. A pair of dove-grey leather gloves, and a matching woolen scarf. She stroked the soft wool, and then looked up at Jasper, her eyebrows drawing together. “These are— thank you. They’re lovely.”
“I noticed you didn’t have gloves on last night or this morning.” Jasper’s heart felt like it was about to burst. She likes them! She accepted my gift!
“I did have some, but I think they fell out of my pocket a few days ago— I meant to get some more at the grocery store, but these are… these are wonderful.” She turned one glove inside-out, feeling the cashmere lining. Her eyes widened, and for a moment, Jasper’s warm glow of success faded.
Are they too much? He’d bought them from a local designer store. They had been expensive, yes, but he couldn’t possibly have bought his mate anything but the best.
Abigail closed her hands around the gloves and scarf and smiled up at him. “Thank you.”
Yes!
“Great! You’d better put them on now. Tonight’s date is a Chr— a winter wonderland adventure.” Abigail raised one eyebrow, and he added quickly: “With dinner first.”
Abigail grinned and shook her head. “All right, then. Lead on.”
Jasper had been very organized: they ate at a small deli that specialized in magnificent platters of cheese and meats, and crunchy fresh-baked bread. Then it was back out into the chilly winter night, and the next step in their adventure.
Their first stop was the rental car Jasper had picked up that morning. Swinging into town on a bus was fine when you were planning to spend the week out in the lodge, with the family 4WD— not so much when it came to wining and dining a beautiful lady. The rental was sleek, red with gold highlights. Jasper glanced sideways at Abigail as he opened the door for her, trying to gauge her reaction.
Red and gold were just colors, after all. They weren’t necessarily Christmassy colors. And she still looked happy. So far, so good.
Abigail smiled at him as he sat down and pulled on his seatbelt. “So, where are we— ooh,” she said, wriggling slightly. “Are these… heated seats? Oh, my God. You could tell me we’re spending the evening sitting right here, and I’d be happy.”
“Sorry to disappoint,” Jasper said, laughing. “I have a bit more than that planned…”
It wasn’t a long drive; their destination was just at the edge of town. “Here we are,” Jasper said as they rounded the final corner. He parked and turned a woebegone expression on her. “Unless you’d prefer to stay here with the car seats…”
* * *
“I haven’t done this for years,” Abigail complained, wobbling on her skates. “So if I fall over, don’t blame— eek!”
She clutched at Jasper as another ice-skater sped by. Jasper wound one arm around her waist. They were at the outdoor ice rink at the edge of town. The oval-shaped rink was edged on one side by pine trees, and the other looked out down the side of the mountain.
Its exposed situation meant that the owners had gone easy on the Christmas decorations— they didn’t want them blowing away into the sky— and the rink was far enough from the town itself that the ever-present Christmas carols were barely a whisper on the air.
Jasper was sure Abigail was going to love it. Even if right now she was wobbling like a new-born fawn.
“Don’t worry,” he said, striking a noble pose. “If you do fall, I’ll be there for you to fall on top of—”
Abigail snorted and poked him in the ribs, but her eyes were shining. “Clutching your broken ribs, and groaning, Oh, if only I’d decided to just have a quiet evening in the car with the heated seats…”
“Save your I-told-you-so’s for after I’ve been grievously injured, please.” Jasper tucked the corner of Abigail’s scarf back under her coat collar. “Now…”
He took her hand and skated around in front of her, until they were standing face-to-face. One hand on her waist, he took a slow, gliding step backwards. “Just relax. Move with me.”
Abigail’s expression was caught between aggravation and anxiety. She took a deep breath. “Okay. Move with you. You make it sound so easy, but I warn you, I was never good at this even when I was a kid…”
He stared deep into her eyes, letting his own gaze grow warm and intimate. “But this time, you’re skating with me.”
Her cheeks went pink. “And that’s going to make a difference, is it?”
“Of course it is.” He pulled her close and whispered into her ear: “Because you’ve never been skating before with someone who knows your body like I do.”
Hot breath blasted his neck as she gasped in surprise. “You—”
Jasper glided backwards, drawing her with him. At first she stiffened and he changed his weight to counterbalance her— and then she relaxed, limbs becoming loose and they moved together, bodies in sync as they slid across the ice.
“Oh my God,” Abigail gasped. Jasper spun around, linking arms with her to skate side-by-side across the rink. Her arm went stiff as iron. “No, please, go back—”
He obeyed and she grimaced at him ruefully. Her cheeks were pink.
“Sorry— I didn’t mean to freak out—” She groaned, her eyes slipping down. “I just see everyone else going so fast and I’m sure I’m going to skate straight into them…”
“You think I’d let you do that?” Jasper squeezed her hand.
She groaned. “I think the sheer magnitude of my incompetence would send me barreling into them regardless of how hard you tried to stop me.”
“Whereas if I’m in front of you… out of sight, out of mind?”
“You’re nicer scenery, anyway.” She grinned and Jasper laughed.
“Always happy to be useful.”
Jasper reached out with his shifter senses. His dragon complied happily, sharpening his hearing and awareness of his physical surroundings. Using his shifter senses in his human form felt strange, like stretching a muscle that didn’t exist— but it was effective. Jasper skated backwards around the rink, magically avoiding every other skater.
With his other senses on high alert, his eyes were free to drown in Abigail’s gaze. Her expression was open, clear and happy, without a trace of the previous night’s wary defenses. Jasper realized, smugly, that she must be so focused on skating that she didn’t have any attention left for the spiky walls she’d carefully built around herself.
“Enjoying yourself?”
Her eyes flicked to his, bright as stars. “Maybe. Oh, hell— yes. I never thought I would enjoy ice-skating this much!”
He pulled her into a slow spin, drawing her under a pine tree at the edge of the rink. “Here. Put your hand on the railing.”
“Why?”
He pulled her scarf down over her chin. “Because I’m going to kiss you, and I don’t want you to fall over.”
Abigail’s eyes softened as Jasper pulled her to his chest and bent his head to kiss her. Her lips were soft, and warm from being covered by her scarf. Her nose, not so much.
She giggled as he kissed the tip of her nose. “Hey!”
“You’re cold. It’s my job to warm you up.” He kissed her nose again, holding her tight at she squirmed. “And to stop you from falling over…”
Abigail’ shoulders shook as she pulled her face away and burrowed it into his own scarf. She let out a deep contented breath. “There. That’s better. Warm, and no tickling.”
She molded her body against his. He couldn’t feel her warmth through all their clothes, but he could feel the shape of her, her curves and softness— and the steely spine that was starting to unbend for him. He ran his gloved hand down her back and she sighed happily.
Happiness opened like a spring blossom in his heart. So what if he was on a deadline? There was still time for moments like this. There had to be time for moments like this. Quiet, perfect togetherness.
Inside him, his dragon resettled its wings. Here under the stars, with the night air still and crisp around them— perfect moment or not, it wanted more. And Jasper knew just what to do.
He unwound his arms from around Abigail and took her hands. “Ready for another spin?” he asked, quirking one eyebrow up. Her eyes shone and she started to move aside so that he could take up his place facing her again.
Jasper put his hands on her shoulders, stopping her. “No— I have something else in mind.”
Abigail’s eyebrows shot up. “O-kayyy…” Her uncertainty was clear, but so was her determination not to back down. “What’s your plan to stop me from crashing into all the other skaters?”
“This.” Jasper took her hand and skated behind her so he could gently cover her eyes with his other hand. He whispered into her ear. “Do you trust me?”
“Yes,” Abigail breathed, and then caught her breath. “I… yes. I do.” She laughed at herself. “Well, I trust you to do this, at least. God knows why. I’m probably going to wake up in the hospital.”
“Nonsense. Pine Valley doesn’t have a hospital.” Jasper snuck a kiss from Abigail as she groaned, and then straightened up. “Let’s go.”
Jasper skated forward slowly, his own momentum pushing Abigail along. They were close enough that he could feel her body’s reactions: her brief moment of tension as she began to move blindly across the ice, and the calmness that flooded through her body as she got into the rhythm. Skate, and glide. Skate, and glide. Two bodies, moving together. Jasper and his mate.
Just as we should be, he thought.
His dragon senses let him avoid the other skaters. He led Abigail around them, sweeping past meandering couples, parents each holding one of their tiny offspring’s hands, and giggling clusters of teenagers. The speedster who had almost made Abigail lose her footing earlier whipped past again, so fast Jasper could feel the wind of his wake on his cheeks. Which meant Abigail must have felt it too— but she hadn’t tensed, or lost her balance.
She trusted him. She might have walked it back before, specified that she trusted him to do this… but those weren’t the words that had sprung instinctively from her lips. She trusted him.
And the ice ahead of them was empty. And his dragon was stretching its wings inside him.
“Want to go faster?” he asked.
Abigail squeezed his hand. “Yes!”
He slipped his hand from hers and held on to her waist, keeping his other hand over her eyes. Her breaths came faster. He thought if he took off his glove, wormed his hand down under her collar, under her scarf, her pulse would beat like a hummingbird’s wings under his fingertips.
He left his hands where they were— gloves on, clothing undisturbed— and started to move. Slowly at first, and then faster, until the ice flew past under his skates. And Abigail kept pace, throwing herself blindly into the night, trusting that she was safe in his arms.
The speedster zipped past again. Jasper barely noticed. They were approaching the far side of the rink, where the mountain fell away in a vista of snow and rock and starry night sky.
Jasper pulled Abigail into a spin. He grabbed both her hands, uncovering her eyes— but she kept them shut, her head flung up to the sky.
They spun together across the ice, Jasper carefully balancing Abigail’s weight, holding her safe in their own private world. The other skaters were staying close to the trees; they were the only two venturing out to the far edge, where the world dropped away. Where they could almost be flying.
Jasper drew Abigail closer, slowing them down as they approached the edge. She was still squeezing her eyes shut, but her mouth was stretched into a delighted grin. As they came to a stop, Jasper couldn’t help bending down to kiss her.
She opened her eyes as he pulled back and then grabbed his collar, kissing him back so passionately it left them both breathless.
“That was incredible,” she gasped, her words bubbling against his lips. “It was like— it was like flying. Like we were flying across the ice…”
She abandoned the sentence and kissed him again. Jasper’s heart leapt. Like flying? If she thought that was incredible, she’s going to love real flying, he thought.
He slipped his arm around her waist and led her slowly to the railing around the edge of the rink, out of the way of any other skaters who ventured this far from the hot-drinks-and-cookies stands. Abigail stood facing the railing, looking out across the immense, dark vista of the snow-covered mountains. Jasper fitted himself against her back, sneaking a kiss along the curve of her jaw.
“It’s beautiful out here,” Abigail whispered.
Jasper nuzzled under her scarf for another kiss. “Of course it’s beautiful. It’s your home. It’s got a lot to live up to.”
Abigail ducked her head and snorted. “Oh, come on… I can’t believe I’ve never been out here before.”
“And you’ve lived here how long?” The words were out before Jasper could stop them. But Abigail just sighed.
“I don’t get out much at this time of year. Not normally.” She glanced up at him, one corner of her mouth curling up. “Not without anyone to drag me out, anyway.”
“Happy to be of service, ma’am,” Jasper said seriously, and nipped the tip of Abigail’s nose. She laughed and turned around, burying her face in his woolly scarf. “Happy to drag you anywhere you like,” he added, and was rewarded with a snort and a giggle.
Abigail sighed happily, and murmured something into his neck. Her voice was muffled by his scarf, and he couldn’t make out the words.
“Hmm?” He pressed a kiss against her cheek and she tipped her head up. Her eyes reflected the lights strung over the rink, shining like stars. A shy smile hovered around her lips.
“Jasper,” she said quietly, “I—”
A whoop echoed across the ice. Abigail twisted to look past Jasper and he followed her gaze: two vans had just pulled up in the car lot and were spilling festively-dressed partygoers out into the calm night. Jasper could see their excited grins from where he and Abigail were standing— and their corny Christmas sweaters, and their elf hats and candy-striped scarves. And he could definitely hear the cheerful carols blaring from the vans’ speakers.
Abigail sagged into him. “Huh,” she muttered flatly, and then shook herself. “What do you think— tourist group, or a work party? Those outfits look like they came from the same wholesaler Mr. Bell got our uniforms from.”
She was still smiling, but it was a sharp, brittle smile. Jasper wound his arm more firmly around her waist. “Well, they all look pretty alike,” he said, taking up the game. “Maybe one huge, extended family, out for some Christmas fun?”
Abigail’s waist stiffened under his hand. Her smile was frozen on her face, so brittle it looked about to crack.
Last night, her disdain for Christmas had been a hot anger. It had stung at the time, but he preferred it to this flash of vulnerability.
Jasper pulled her close automatically, his dragon rising up inside him. He wanted to wrap his wings around her like a cloak and fly away with her, take her away from whatever it was that had made her freeze up like that.
She pressed her face into his chest. He thought he heard her swear softly, and when she lifted her head again, she looked… fine.
At least, she looked like someone who was trying very hard to look fine. She was smiling, but the corners of her mouth were tight, and her eyes weren’t sparkling anymore.
“Hey,” Jasper murmured, his stomach clenching. “Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, it’s just…” Abigail shrugged tightly. “It’s nothing.”
Across the ice rink, the last bars of Jingle Bells faded away, and were immediately followed by I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus. A ragged cheer burst out of the office holiday party/family reunion group, and several of them joined in with the song.
They were all off-tune— and all off-tune in different ways, which was impressive— but Jasper’s heart still warmed at the sound of people cheerfully caroling each other. That was what Christmas was about. People relaxing with each other. Letting loose. Celebrating.
He looked down at Abigail and his stomach twisted. She was pale, and however much effort it was taking her to look like she was fine, the cracks were starting to show.
“You want to get out of here?” Jasper suggested, and her smile flashed, genuine and surprised.
“God yes.” She grabbed hold of his collar. “Drag me away to somewhere you can kiss me until I fall over.”