Chapter 43 (Mandy)

I must have dozed off because the next thing I knew, Jasper was carrying me in his arms once more. I groaned and buried my face in his chest. “Where are we going?”

“I thought you might enjoy a nice bath. Since we are here, I thought we might as well take advantage of the Jacuzzi.”

“You have a Jacuzzi?” I asked, eyes widening.

“Mhm. And I haven’t had reason to use it before today.”

Once we reached the bathroom, he placed me on the sink. “Stay beautiful.” He said with a wink.

I watched as he walked toward a marble tub and turned on the water. He ran his hand underneath the stream, making sure that it was set to the right temperature. When he was satisfied, he added some sweet-smelling bath salts that fizzed against the warm water.

“Ready?” He asked, walking back over to me.

“Mhm.” I smiled, wrapping my arms around his neck. “ I think I need a nice little kiss first.”

“That can be arranged.” He leaned forward, pressing his lips against mine.

A warm flame ignited inside my stomach. I smiled into the kiss, feeling like my heart would beat out of my chest.

When he pulled away, I had the urge to pull him back, to kiss him all night long.  at the same time, I was eager to get into the bath.

He picked me up, resting his hands on my ass, cupping them gently. “You have such a nice ass.”

I giggled. “You like it, don’t you?”

“I love it.” He kissed the side of my neck before placing me into the warm water.

“Ahh…” I moaned, closing my eyes and sinking into it. “This feels so good.”

A second later, Jasper joined me, pulling me into his lap, arms wrapped around my torso. As we enjoyed the water, he continued to kiss my neck, making me shiver with pleasure. “You’re so good to me.”

“I just want you to feel as amazing as you are.” He whispered. “You deserve nothing but the best.”

***

Just when I thought the night couldn’t get any better, Jasper walked into the bathroom with a bright red dress in his hand.

“I thought you were getting towels,” I said.

“I lied.”

“What’s this?” I asked, tilting my head, taking the hanger from him.

“I thought we could enjoy dinner tonight.”

“Wow, you’re just going all out, aren’t you?”

“Well, you just got released from the hospital. I want to make it a special occasion.  if you want to go back to the cottage, we can do that too.”

“No, I would love to go on a date with you.”

“Perfect. Take your time. I’ll be waiting in the living room downstairs when you’re done.”

“Okay.” I pulled him in for one more kiss before letting him leave.

Once I was alone, I stood in front of the mirror, staring at my reflection for a mirror. I tried to see what he saw in me but as far as I could see, I was just a normal girl. There was nothing particularly special about me.

Still, I could tell that when Jasper looked at me, he saw something different.

I smiled at the thought.

He really did make me feel loved.

With this thought in my head, I slipped on the red dress. The cut of it was absolutely perfect, accentuating all of my curves. I stepped back so I could see my full reflection.

Damn.

I looked like a completely different person.

If he found it hard to keep his hands off me before, it was going to be impossible now.

Wanting to add a little bit of flair to the look, I decided to do something to my hair. First, I tried a messy bun but I didn’t like the way it looked. Then, I tried a braid but that also looked silly. In the end, I settled for an inverted ponytail. It was simple but classy. Hopefully, he would like it.

Feeling confident, I headed downstairs.

To my surprise, Jasper was wearing a form-fitting blazer and some designer-brand dress pants that looked freshly ironed.

I stopped at the top of the stairs, surprised. “You look fantastic,” I whispered.

“I can say the same for you.” He smiled. “The dress fits you like a glove. I like it.”

“Do you?”

“Can you turn for me?”

Carefully, I did a full three-sixty, trying to do so as elegantly as possible.

When I turned around, his eyes were sparkling. “I can’t believe that I get to call you mine.”

“For as long as you want to keep me,” I said, descending the remaining steps in order to reach him.

He took me into his arms and kissed the top of my head. “In a way, I’m worried.”

“Why are you worried?”

“This almost feels too good to be true. A part of me thinks that I’m about to wake up at any moment and none of this will be real.”

“Well, I can promise you that this isn’t a dream,” I said, pinching his arm for good measure.

“Ow!”

“See, I told you it wasn’t a dream. You’re stuck with me.”

“And, I wouldn’t want it any other way.”