Taming Wells
Book 3.5 of the FORBIDDEN series
A Jasper Wells novella
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
Taming Wells © 2020 by Zee Shine Storm
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
December 2020 Edition.
Contents
Copyright
Blurb
Playlist
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Bonus Scenes
(Book 4 of the FORBIDDEN series Official Teaser)
FORBIDDEN series books!
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Blurb
*Join Jasper on his journey during the first few years post moving to Pavia.
Playlist
*Imagine Dragons: Whatever It Takes
*Nelly : Just A Dream
*Linkin Park : Numb
*Maroon 5 : Payphone
*Jojo : Say Love
*Mabel : Boyfriend
*Chvrches : Miracle
****
Full playlist can be found on my YouTube channel:
Zee Shine Storm
Dedication
To every Jasper Wells fan
Chapter 1
Jasper
"I think I'm going to enjoy living here," I declared loudly as I stood in the middle of the living room of our new home in Pavia. The place was huge. I'm talking five bedrooms, a pool and a game room kind of huge with two home offices. Perfect for our family.
"I'll bet," Skye's muttered voice came from behind me.
I frowned a little at her tone. Please God no. Not the Jasmine thing again. That had been her main concern when we had been deciding which place to buy around here but Armaan had been able to persuade her and Cole to move in next door. The architect in Cole had seen the beauty in the design and structure of this place and the artist in Skye, after falling in love with the scenic views, hadn't been able to resist in the end.
I turned to find her rocking her son to sleep as she paced around the living room. Cole was upstairs taking a shower or something. I was overdue for one as well. Tonight was my night with him. My lips curved as I thought about it but then I blinked at Skye, seeing that she was having a little trouble with the baby who began crying continuously.
Benjamin. They'd named him Benjamin Aimeric Sawyer. My son had a brother now.
"Give him to me," I said to her, striding over to take the boy. "You're exhausted. Let me look after him for a while."
She gave me a grateful look and handed Ben over to me. Jacob was already in bed since it was almost nine.
"Do you need Cole to stay with you, tonight?" I asked her gently. She looked tired and so tense. The baby had been giving her a hard time since this afternoon.
Skye shook her head at me. "That's okay," she replied softly. "I'll just take a nice, long bath and read or something. Today was so hectic." Her expression was regretful as she smoothed a hand over Ben's head. "It just gets exhausting. I don't know why-"
"It's fine, Madison," I said and jerked my chin upstairs. "Go get some downtime."
Ben was quiet now which caused her to appear really confused. Cole had told me she'd faced the same problem with Jacob. Post-natal depression or something. She'd cheered up when he'd proposed to her though.
A laugh escaped me and it made Skye pause on her way upstairs to regard me suspiciously. "What's so funny?" she asked.
I gave a shrug. "Nothing. I was just wondering if a proposal would cheer you up again."
Her blue eyes narrowed at me. "You'd be the last man on earth I'd marry," she declared confidently.
I cocked my head at her. "I wasn't talking about myself," I murmured. "I meant maybe from Cole. You guys could renew your wedding vows. Have a bigger, happier function this time around."
Skye let out a sigh. "Jasper," she said in a low voice. "You don't have to do that." She paused, her hands resting on the banister. "You don't have to keep making me feel like I belong. I'm happy you and Cole are together. It really doesn't bother me. I know he'll always love me."
I studied her for a while and nodded. "As long as you're happy," I replied with a smile.
I always worried about her. It had been a year but that didn't mean we started to take things for granted. Skye deserved so much love and happiness. She belonged right here with us. I knew Cole would never hurt her but...it still didn't stop me from reassuring her every now and then that my relationship with Cole didn't in any way undermine what she had with him.
"Good night, Jasper," she said and retreated upstairs.
I looked down at the baby, sleeping soundly now in my arms. I didn't understand why kids loved me so much when I had no experience with them and wasn't exactly sentimental or adoring. Walking over to the nursery, I gently lowered Ben in his cot. Family. I had a family now. It overwhelmed me so much sometimes, to know that after all the wrong things I did, I ended up finding my happy place anyway.
My sister, Catherine, came inside the nursery just as I straightened and gave me a bright smile. "Hey, bro. I'm going to go next door for a bit, okay. Sophia invited me to look at some of her designs."
I frowned at her. She'd only met Armaan's brother's girlfriend this morning. I knew she was twenty three and an adult now but I still felt protective of her.
"It's almost nine," I pointed out.
Catherine gave me a shrug. "Well, Armaan's having a late night party. Apparently, he does that a lot. You guys are super boring right now. Let me live a little."
I didn't like it. I wasn't sure why but I just didn't like it. Her getting along with Armaan and his friends after having only met them. She was my sister. I know I wasn't supposed to notice such things about her but I did. The way she had been looking at Armaan...
"Don't stay out too late," I told her gruffly. "Keys are on the kitchen counter."
She gave me a thumbs-up and left. My parents were asleep too after the exhausting day so I decided to turn in since there wasn't much else to do. It kind of bugged me a little. Super boring? Was that what we were? I had never heard myself being described that way before. It didn’t sit well with me.
When I entered my room, I found Cole standing by the bed, flipping through a book, dressed in his sleep shorts and looking smoking hot. I so wanted to hit that right now but...
"I think you should spend the night with Skye."
He gave me a look over his shoulder. "Why? What happened?" he asked, putting the book down and walking over to me slowly.
I shrugged. "She seems...a bit down. Just go be with her."
He frowned at me a little before leaning in to give me a kiss. "Are you sure?" he whispered.
I nodded. "Yeah." We kissed again and then he pulled back to give me a concerned look.
"Are you okay?" he asked me.
I had been until the conversation downstairs.
"You don't think I'm boring now, do you?" I asked him abruptly.
Cole raised his eyebrows at me. "Whoa. Where's this coming from?" He laughed shortly.
>
I shrugged before brushing past him to head over to the ensuite bathroom. "I don't know. Jasmine called me tame. Catherine called me super boring. I mean, do you think that about me too?"
I heard him sigh. "Wells," he began in his serious voice. "I really don't think that. At all. But...just so you know, boring is not a bad thing." He paused and then added, "However, if you're getting restless, just let me know what's on your mind. We'll work something out."
Turning, I gave him a puzzled look. "Huh?"
Cole smirked at me. "I mean, if you want to be...a little adventurous, maybe?"
What the hell was he going on about? Adventurous how?
He didn't elaborate though; just gave me a wink and mouthed 'good night' before leaving.
After I had showered and lay down in my bed with a movie playing on my phone, I thought about his words, his meaning dawning upon me slowly.
No. There was no way he was serious. He couldn't be serious.
Right?
****
Chapter 2
"I didn't think you were serious," I said to my boyfriend as we sat in one corner of a bar nearby our place in Pavia.
Cole and I hadn't been to a bar in years so when he had brought me here for a date tonight a week after we had moved here, I'd been mildly surprised. My parents had returned to London but Catherine had stayed back, deciding to extend her vacation for another two weeks. She was at home with Skye and the kids tonight. Cole insisted we needed a boys' night-out but an hour after arriving, he was chatting up a girl.
For me.
She had just excused herself to go to the bathroom.
"I think you need it," he said to me, fixing his green gaze on me, light reflecting off his glasses. "When you tell yourself you don't, you end up doing way more damage so just relax."
I felt uneasy. He was trying to fix me up with a woman because he thought I needed it. That if he didn't let me do it, I'd just go behind his back and cheat again.
"You really don't trust me, do you?" I muttered, looking down at my glass of chilled water.
"It's not about that," he replied, reaching out to place a hand on my arm. "I know it wouldn't mean anything to you. You love me."
God, I was a sick bastard. And Cole Sawyer, the man who knew me better than anyone, could probably tell. No matter how hard I tried to rein in my wildness, as soon as I got over my grumpy moods, I felt the need to just go and do something reckless. It had started after I recovered from my first stroke. Periods of inactivity and depression followed by acts of indulgence that a man like me who was in a committed relationship had no business indulging in.
"Let's go home, Sawyer," I sighed, making an attempt to dissuade him from what he thought I needed. Something I didn't really want to dwell upon.
I'd made my peace with life. I'd come home and was glad to be with my family. The family I had almost lost for good if it hadn't been for my best friend's interference. I should be content with that.
"So, where were we?" The girl, whose name escaped me, slid into the booth next to me and gave me a wink.
I regarded Cole with a blank expression. My absolutely patient and completely understanding partner just grinned at me, stood up, patted my back and then left me the car keys before announcing he was going to take a walk.
He'll take a walk, all right. All the way home.
I dropped my face in my hands after he left me with the chick. I felt her hand pressing into my arm a minute later.
"God, I love your muscles," she breathed out in an awed voice, her thigh rubbing against mine underneath the table.
I was going to hell.
~~~
I woke up the next morning to find the girl in bed next to me. I almost blacked out from shock. Nothing. I had no memory of last night whatsoever after Cole had left me with her.
What the fuck?
"Hey." I prodded her shoulder, even more confused to find myself naked. Had we had sex? Why didn't I remember anything? All I'd had to drink was water. "Hey, you need to get out of here," I said a bit loudly and shook her a little. She barely stirred.
Cole. I needed to find Cole. I was starting to panic here.
Wrapping the sheet around my hips, I walked over to the door and opened it to find my boyfriend already approaching my room. My mouth was so dry and brain foggy as fuck. I knew I hadn't had any alcohol so why did it feel like I was hungover?
"Cole, I have to talk to you."
He looked so smart and attractive in his suit, the clean smell of him reaching me right before he did. Before I could explain, he frowned over my shoulder and said, "Jesus, Wells. You didn't have to bring her home."
I started to shake my head at him.
"Listen, I'm getting late for work so see you tonight?" He leaned in to kiss my mouth, seemed to think better of it and just smiled at me. "Please take a shower," he told me smoothly. "And get rid of her."
He frowned at his watch then and walked away as though seeing a woman in my bed was something that happened every day. I just stared at his back as he hurried downstairs before shaking my head to clear it and going back into the bedroom to wake the girl up again. This was a very, very strange situation...even for me. How did she even know where I lived?
I needed something other than water to drink. Maybe some fruit juice to get my brain functioning again. After taking a quick shower and pulling on some pants, I growled at the girl to get up because I was starting to lose my patience. When I opened the door to go downstairs, I came face to face with Skye.
"Skye," I said a little too loudly and quickly while pulling the door close behind me.
She was holding a basket of my laundry which I took from her immediately. "You didn't have to bring it up. I would've gotten it myself."
She gave me a small smile and opened her mouth to reply.
"Hey, do you have any coffee around here?"
The expression on Skye Madison's face probably mirrored mine at that moment.
Absolute horror.
She made as if to open my door but I blocked her. Skye shot me a murderous look before pushing me aside and walking inside my room. Her mouth fell open in shock when she saw the girl in my bed, who was now conveniently awake and blinking up at us.
"Skye, it's not what you think-"
She whirled around and pinned me with a glare. "I don't believe this," she hissed at me. "What is wrong with you, Jasper?"
"Look, I don't know how-"
She scoffed at me. "I should've known it wouldn't last," she muttered, walking out while shaking her head. "The I'm-a-changed-man act. How could you do this? There are children living here. Oh my God. How would Cole feel?!" she shrieked at me suddenly and I winced.
"Skye, listen to me. Last night-"
"You." She stopped me with a finger pointed at me. "You...are the most disgusting man on this earth."
I shut my mouth then. I just stood there and took it. Nothing I said would get through to her, anyway.
"God." She threw up her hands and paced a little. "This mess. You keep creating this mess in our family just when everything starts to go well." Her blue eyes spat fire at me. "You and your dick need some serious therapy!" she finally yelled before stalking off.
****
Chapter 3
"Oh my god...she actually raped you."
Jasmine was holding her stomach and laughing after I told her what happened this morning. The girl had a very strange personality. One minute, she'd be cold and uncaring with her remarks and the next, you'd find her giggling like a schoolgirl at the weirdest things.
"It's not funny," I muttered, kicking around the soccer ball I'd found lying in the field behind their house.
Apparently, her lover sponsored some local soccer team and they practised here regularly. Sometimes, Jasmine even joined in.
"It's a little funny," she giggled as she looked at me with watery eyes. "I can't believe a big, tough guy like you fell for that trick. Also, I've lived in Pavia longer than you, Jasper." She took the bal
l from me and rolled it back and forth between her hands. "The girls here are very interested in the hot new piece of ass in town. They don't see a ring on your finger so they've probably been fighting over who gets first dibs."
That was news to me.
She was quiet for a while as she looked at my disturbed expression before starting to snicker again.
"You have such a twisted mind," I told her.
Jasmine held up her hands. "Dude. When have I ever denied that?"
I just shook my head at her before frowning into the distance. "Should I press charges or something? I'm feeling kind of violated."
She clamped her lips together but her eyes glinted with repressed glee.
"Never mind," I grumbled and then turned my attention to Jacob who had finally returned with the ball I had kicked to the far corner of the field a minute ago.
He placed it on the ground before attempting to kick it himself and when he managed to get it right, a huge grin formed on his face.
"I think he's going to grow up to be a soccer player," Jasmine said in a matter-of-fact tone. "Armaan was telling me he could sense these things in kids. If they have that soccer drive in them or something. Like they're naturals with the ball."
I let out a grunt. He could be a soccer player if he wanted. I had no problems with that. I only wanted Jacob to be safe and happy no matter where he was and what he did in life.
"Why does he keep doing that?" she asked me suddenly and I followed her gaze to find my son staring at her. Again.
I smirked a little. "Maybe he thinks you're twisted too."
She rolled her eyes at me. "I have to go write now. I'm almost done with my latest book."
I gave her a nod and was about to say goodbye when I heard my sister up in the balcony of their double-storey mansion, laughing at something Armaan said. His brother Alex and the girlfriend were there too but Catherine only had eyes for Armaan.
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