by M. S. Parker
He sighed and pulled me against him. “My parents aren’t happy about me living here.”
“Oh.” I hadn’t been expecting that. I’d only met Jasper’s parents a couple times at special occasions. I hadn’t thought they’d loved me, but I’d assumed they didn’t have much of an opinion about me either way.
“They’re upset because of how people are reacting. They’re saying I’m embarrassing the family. Again.” There was anger in his voice and I wrapped my arms around his waist.
Apparently, it was my turn to apologize. “I’m sorry.”
“For what?” he asked, confusion on his face.
I looked up at him. “For making things difficult for you.”
He chuckled and shook his head. “You’re amazing, you know that? My parents are being assholes and you’re apologizing. We’re together and we did nothing wrong. They can either deal with it or not.” He brushed his lips across mine.
“But you shouldn’t have to put up with that,” I said.
“You’re right. And I know what I have to do.” A determined expression came over his face. “It’s time to stop talking about starting the clinic and just do it.”
“Without the money from Allen’s trust or the insurance?” I asked.
“I have enough to last me until the judge rules in your favor about the trust.” He grinned at me. “Unless you were going to make me start paying rent.”
“Well, the vineyard is paid off,” I said, drawing out the words. I slid my hands down to his firm ass and squeezed. “But making you work off room and board definitely sounds appealing.”
“I’m at your service.” He kissed me again, a little more firmly. “Just tell me what you want me to do.”
“I’m sure I can think of a few things.” I took his hand and started to lead him towards the bedroom. “Dinner can wait.”
Chapter 18
He did it.
Tuesday morning, he went into his father’s practice and quit. I was a bundle of nerves at school, checking my phone every few minutes until I finally received a text.
Did it. Going home now to work on plans. I’ll make dinner.
I breathed a small sigh of relief even though I was still anxious to hear the details. At least I knew that things hadn’t gone so badly that I needed to call him on my lunch break. I wanted to, but knew that if I did, I wouldn’t be able to concentrate all afternoon. I was already having a hard enough time this morning.
By the end of the day, I’d called three students by the wrong name, started to re-teach the previous day’s social studies lesson and forgot that I had playground duty. When the bell rang, I was more than ready to go home. I stayed my usual twenty minutes after, rushing to get through spelling tests so I wouldn’t have to worry about it tonight.
The smell of a roasting chicken greeted me as soon as I stepped inside the house and when I saw Jasper smile, the tension went out of me. I’d spent most of the drive home trying to think of ways to make him feel better about his parents being idiots. Judging by the expression on his face, he didn’t need any of it.
“How’d they take it?” I asked after giving him a quick kiss hello.
“Actually, they seemed a bit relieved,” he said as he followed me into the bedroom so I could change. “They even offered suggestions about what I should do now.”
The words had a bit of bite to them and I glanced up as I pulled on more comfortable clothes.
“Apparently, they think it would be best for the family if I tried for a position elsewhere. I believe Seattle, Los Angeles and Chicago were all mentioned. Dad said he’d be happy to make a few calls on my behalf.”
I was only half-dressed, but I didn’t care. I crossed over to him and wrapped my arms around him. “I’m sorry.”
His arms closed around me and he pressed his lips against the top of my head. “I’m not. They’ve had reason in the past to believe I’m going to screw things up. Now I get to prove them wrong.”
With that driving him, Jasper spent the rest of the week working on his clinic. He’d managed to convince a local businessman to give him a good deal on renting a property closer to the poorer section of town, but he didn’t have the money to hire someone to come in and do any renovations, so he did them himself.
I helped as much as I could, going to the clinic after school and helping him paint until late at night. It was exhausting, but satisfying. Some of that came from watching the place take shape, but most of it was from how proud Jasper was of what he was accomplishing.
There was only one downside to the whole thing.
Georgia Overstreet.
She’d been the receptionist at the Whitehall family practice for a couple of years and I’d always gotten the distinct impression that she didn’t like me. Now it wasn’t merely an impression. I was sure of it. Two days after Jasper quit, she showed up at the clinic, asking for a job. Jasper had been excited about it when he came home, telling me that Georgia was happy to work for a fraction of what his father had been paying her and was even willing to work for free until finances balanced out. I knew he was convinced that she was a wonderful person for doing this, but I didn’t trust her. She had ulterior motives to what she was doing, I was sure of it. She did, after all, have a thing for Jasper.
“Good evening, Georgia,” I said with a smile as I walked into the clinic.
She spent her time organizing the filing systems and setting up the hand-me-down computer Jasper had gotten. The thing was almost archaic, but it worked and it was free. I’d offered Jasper the money to pay for something newer, but he refused. I knew, until the trust was released, he wasn’t going to accept money from me.
Part of me really wanted to give him the insurance money, but now that I knew the truth about what Allen had done, I felt even guiltier about taking it. And that wasn’t even taking into consideration the fact that I could be in trouble for insurance fraud if it came out that Allen had committed suicide.
“Where’s Jasper?” I asked as I set my school bag down in one of the waiting room chairs.
They weren’t expensive, but they didn’t look cheap either and they matched the rest of the room perfectly. Jasper had a surprisingly good eye when it came to décor. He’d painted the walls a soft gray color and hung a few inexpensive prints to keep it from looking too bare.
Georgia scowled at me, not even bothering to pretend to be nice since Jasper wasn’t here. “Dr. Whitehall is painting the x-ray room.”
“Thank you.” I took my other bag with me as I headed into the back.
I made a quick stop in the bathroom to change into a pair of ratty jeans and a t-shirt, then went to the room at the far end of the hallway. Jasper didn’t have an x-ray machine yet, but that was one of the things he was already planning to talk to donors about. With the ability to do x-rays in the clinic, he wouldn’t have to refer as many patients to the hospitals. He’d be able to check for things like broken bones himself.
I stopped in the doorway for a moment, letting myself enjoy the sight in front of me. He was wearing clothes similar to mine – jeans and t-shirt – and they clung to his body in such a way that they showed off every muscle. It was funny when I thought about it, how I’d never really paid much attention to Jasper’s body before, and now I couldn’t stop thinking about it.
As if he’d felt me watching, he turned, a smile breaking across his face. He set down the paintbrush and crossed the room in just a few long strides, catching me up in his arms and giving me a resounding kiss.
“How was work?” he asked as he sat me down. His hands stayed on my waist, keeping my body close to his.
“Fine,” I said. “Adam Beardsley fell off of the jungle gym and was convinced that he’d broken every bone in his body.”
A look of concerned alarm came over Jasper’s face.
“He was fine,” I said, grinning. “Two minutes later and he was chasing Marigold Carpenter around.” I took a step back to look around the room. “What about you? It looks like you’ve gotten
a lot done.”
“I have,” he said. “Georgia came back and helped me tape things off this morning.”
I bit my tongue to keep from telling him what I really thought about his secretary. I’d caused him enough problems already. I’d just deal with Georgia. Besides, it wasn’t like I was going to be working here.
“Did you eat lunch?” I asked.
He ducked his head, a sheepish expression on his face. “I was busy.”
“Jasper,” I said, exasperated. “You’re a doctor. I shouldn’t need to be reminding you to eat.”
“Well, I’m hungry now.” He took a step towards me, the glint in his eye telling me that he wasn’t talking about food.
“Jasper.” I gave him my best stern look, but he simply grinned at me and wrapped his arms around my waist. I pushed at his chest, but I could’ve been pushing at a rock wall for all the good it did me.
“It’s been too long, Shae.” His mouth pressed against my jaw. “I want you.”
“What, last weekend wasn’t enough?” I was protesting, but my body was already melting against him. I couldn’t help it. His touch, the feel of his body against mine, the sound of his voice...all of it spoke to that deep, primal part of me.
“Never enough,” he murmured as he nuzzled the spot under my ear. “I always want you. Every minute of every day.”
I closed my eyes and a moan slipped out as his tongue flicked against my earlobe.
“I want you so much that it’s hard to breathe.” His lips brushed my mouth and he rested his forehead against mine. His arms tightened their hold and I could feel him hardening against my stomach.
I’d always known what the word insatiable meant, but I wasn’t sure I’d ever truly understood it until I’d started this relationship with Jasper. And it wasn’t only coming from him. My own need for him was just as strong. It was like an ache, a longing so deep inside that it was a part of who I was, and it wanted him, needed him. The thought of not having him, of him not being there was unimaginable, like trying to go without water or air.
“I feel the same way.” My whisper was so soft that, for a moment, I thought he hadn’t heard me.
Then he was lifting me off the ground and his lips were on mine. I wrapped my legs around his waist even as I slid my tongue along his, eager to feel the wet heat of his mouth. He had one arm under my ass, the other at my shoulders and still managed to open a door without even pausing in his plundering of my mouth.
I had a moment to register darkness, then something clicked and a dim overhead light came on. We were in a storage closet of some kind, one that was only half full of whatever supplies Jasper had already purchased. I didn’t care about any of that though. I was more focused on getting that damn t-shirt off him.
He set me on a stack of boxes, pulling back long enough to yank his t-shirt over his head and then toss mine down to join it. He didn’t bother taking off my bra, but rather simply pulled down the cups and let my breasts spill free. I buried my hands in his thick hair, holding his head to my chest as he took one of my nipples into his mouth. His tongue circled it, flicking against the tip before latching on tight and sucking hard enough to make me cry out.
“Shh.” He chuckled as he raised his head. “You don’t want Georgia hearing, do you?”
I could easily visualize the look of shock and hatred on her face if she walked in on us. Part of me almost wanted her to hear me, to come back and see the two of us. I wanted her to know that Jasper was mine because it didn’t take a genius to know that she was jealous. I doubted Jasper had even noticed, but I had.
Then Jasper was using his teeth to worry my hardened nipple and I forgot about everything and everyone else. He reached between us, his hand pressing against the crotch of my jeans and I moaned, raising my hips to move against him.
“Could I make you come like this?” he asked, kissing his way back up my neck until his mouth was against my ear. His fingers pushed harder against my jeans and I swallowed a cry. “I’ll bet I could. Make you come in your jeans just from my hand.”
I rocked against him as I wrapped my arms around his neck. His hand began to move back and forth, using my jeans and underwear to create the most delicious friction. Shivers of pleasure washed over me and I squeezed my eyes closed. I was so close. I hadn’t even realized I’d been wound this tight until he touched me.
“Come for me, baby. I want to watch you come like this.”
My head fell back as he pressed hard against me. I bit down on my bottom lip, holding in the cries of pleasure that wanted to escape as he pushed me towards my release. He wrapped his arms around me, holding me as I came.
I slid my hand between us and he stiffened as I cupped his cock through his jeans. He started to pull away, but I tightened my grasp until he stilled. When I began to rub him, he sucked in a breath.
“Shae.”
“Hush,” I said, my own voice breathless. “Turnabout’s fair play.”
I scraped my teeth over his nipple and he moaned. When I took the flat nub between my lips and began to suck, he swore, his hips bucking against my hand. He dug his fingers into my hair, twisting and pulling as if he wasn’t sure he wanted me to stop or to keep going. A rush of pride went through me. I loved how I could make his body respond to me.
“I’m close.” His voice was rough. “Please, Shae, I need you. Your mouth. Inside you.”
“No,” I said firmly. I lightly bit down on his nipple and he jerked. “I want you to come like this.”
He groaned as I squeezed him and I felt a shudder run through his entire body. He wasn’t kidding, he was close.
“Don’t fight it.” I pulled some skin into my mouth, sucking and biting until I left a mark. “Come for me, Jas. I want to see you come.”
At my words, he swore, his body tensing. I felt his cock pulse under my hand and then the warmth of cum beneath my fingers. He grabbed my face between his hands and kissed me, fiercely and thorough, until my lungs were burning for air.
After a few minutes, I stood up, fixing my bra as I looked for my t-shirt.
“Where are you going?” he asked.
“To the bathroom,” I said. I glared at him, but there was no anger behind it. “Since I don’t have an extra set of panties here, I’m going to have to take mine off.”
His eyes darkened and a stab of desire went through me.
“You should probably do the same,” I said. “And maybe try to dry that spot on your jeans.” I gave him a wicked smile. “Wouldn’t want Georgia to know what happened.”
“I have another change of clothes,” he countered, pushing himself up straight.
“Nope.” I shook my head. “If I have to go commando, then so do you.”
He made a half-strangled sound.
“Maybe you’ll work a bit faster so we can leave early tonight.”
He reached out and wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me back against him. “Or,” he said. “I could send Georgia home, lock the doors and we could take our time painting, with plenty of breaks.”
I smiled and leaned back against his bare chest. “I like that idea better.”
Chapter 19
Despite Jasper’s insistence on regular breaks throughout the weekend, we managed to get quite a bit accomplished. So much so that, Sunday night we were able to leave at a reasonable time and spent most of the evening relaxing at home. There were only a few things left to do, Jasper said, before he’d be ready to open the clinic. I didn’t understand most of how this was going to work, with some patients able to pay and having insurance, and then those who couldn’t, but I trusted that he’d done his research and knew what he was doing.
It was fun watching him get excited about this. His entire face lit up when he talked about it. I remembered feeling that way about teaching, how excited I’d been as a student teacher, and then even more so when I’d gotten hired. I was still enjoying it, but much of that initial excitement was gone. Some of it, I knew, was normal for settling into a job. More of it,
though, I knew was from everything else that had been going on.
I could still get excited about something or happy about something, but sustaining it for long periods of time was still difficult. Sooner or later, I started thinking about all of the chaos in my life and, that quickly, all of the positive would just fade away. If I hadn’t had Jasper, there were some days I wasn’t sure I would’ve gotten out of bed.
That was one of the reasons I’d enjoyed helping him with the clinic. It kept my mind off other things and focused on either the clinic itself and all the good it was going to do, or on Jasper and how amazing he was. With him, I was able to get a glimpse of what my life would be like when all of this was finally over. There were still times when I thought we were moving too fast, but when we were working together, talking with each other as easily as we always had, I could see how right it was. How we’d gone from being friends to being more. He was my rock, my strength. More importantly, we were good for each other, good together, and that’s all that mattered.
He was also the only person who could keep me sane while we played the waiting game for the paternity test results.
Fortunately, we didn’t have to wait as long as I’d thought.
Since pretty much all that was left to do at the clinic was organizing the medical supplies, there wasn’t much I could do there. I’d enjoyed spending time with Jasper at the clinic – I flushed as I thought of all of the things Jasper and I had done there – but I’d also gotten behind in my schoolwork. I had a stack of tests to grade and lesson plans to make, so I came straight home from school yesterday and worked until nearly midnight when Jasper had finally gotten home. Today, I’d done the same thing and was currently sitting on the couch, feet tucked under me, working through penmanship papers.
My phone buzzed and I sighed, already suspecting who it was. Sure enough, it was a short message from Jasper.
Delivery just came in. Working late again. Miss you.
I sent back a quick response telling him that I missed him too and to make sure he got something to eat, then I went back to my papers.