by M. S. Parker
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 so
me 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.
It was strange, how quickly I’d forgotten what it was like to be alone here late at night. It wasn’t the same, of course, as it had been after Allen died, but it was still too quiet, too empty. I wanted to text Jasper and ask him to come home so I didn’t have to eat dinner alone, so that I didn’t spend my time wondering when he would be here. So I could fall asleep in his arms instead of waking up when he crawled into bed behind me.
I didn’t though. The clinic was important and I didn’t want to become one of those women who couldn’t stand on her own two feet. Granted, it wasn’t like I didn’t have a good reason to need someone to lean on lately, but I still didn’t want to be that kind of needy person.
I was fine for the next couple hours and fine as I went into the kitchen to get myself something to eat. I’d made a casserole yesterday and there was plenty left so I spooned out a plate and stuck it in the microwave. As I went to the refrigerator, the house phone rang. I considered not getting it on the off chance that it was the Lockwoods, but they hadn’t called during the past week which led me to believe that they hadn’t discovered what Jasper and I had done, which meant they’d have no reason to call me.
I picked it up. “Hello?”
“Mrs. Lockwood?”
“Mr. Henley.” My stomach clenched and, suddenly, the smell of the casserole, which had been so appetizing, now made me want to throw up. I sat down on one of the chairs. I wasn’t sure my legs could hold me, no matter what my lawyer had to say.
“I apologize for calling so late, but I got the test results and didn’t think you’d want me to wait until tomorrow.”
“No,” I said quickly. “I’m glad you didn’t.”
“The DNA isn’t a match.”
I closed my eyes and felt the tears make hot trails down my cheeks. It was all I could do not to actually cry with relief.
“Allen isn’t Jenny Vargas’s father.”
I hadn’t really needed the explanation, but I appreciated hearing it out loud just the same. I put my hand over my mouth and took a shaky breath.
She wasn’t Allen’s. He hadn’t had a child with another woman.
I wiped my cheeks. “Thank you.” The words came out as weak as I felt.
“I’m sure this is a big relief for you,” he said.
I almost laughed. No shit.
“But it’s not completely solving the problem.”
I opened my eyes and frowned. “What do you mean?”
Henley sighed. “I know this is giving you peace of mind because you know that was Allen’s DNA, but Miss Vargas is contesting where the sample of Allen’s DNA came from. She has an attorney who’s filing papers to force me to disclose the source, as well as who gave it to me.”
“I thought that was covered under attorney-client privilege?” I asked.
“It is,” he replied. “But as soon as I say that, they’ll know it came from you.”
“And they’ll just assume that I had something of Allen’s and handed it over.”
“That would’ve worked,” he said. “If the Lockwoods didn’t already know that you didn’t have anything.”
Shit. “They’re involved?”
“Not exactly,” Henley said. “But they did contact Miss Vargas at the end of last week and told her that they wanted to meet Jenny.”
Double shit.
I never should have told them about her. I should’ve just skipped over trying to do things the legal way and gone straight to the breaking and entering.
“They told her that they believed that Jenny was Allen’s daughter and that
they’d help her prove it.”
The sick feeling in my stomach was back. “They’re behind it,” I said. “They’re the ones telling her to question where the DNA came from.”
“Most likely,” he agreed.
“So what do we do now?” I closed my eyes again and rubbed at my temples. “I mean, can they compel me to say where I got the...teeth?”
“Maybe,” Henley said. “Like I told you before, criminal law isn’t my area of expertise.”
“Do you want me to get another lawyer?” I really hoped not. I trusted Savill Henley, and there weren’t many people at the moment I could say that about.
“Not if you don’t want one,” he said, his tone firm. “I’ll talk with some friends of mine, get their opinion on things. I’m going to do whatever needs to be done to make sure this goes away.”
I nodded and thanked him automatically. There wasn’t really anything else to say. Maybe good luck? Hope things go well? My emotions were a chaotic mess. I was lucky I could even think well enough for gratitude. I hung up the phone after he promised to call me as soon as he knew anything new, but I didn’t move from where I was sitting.
Jenny wasn’t Allen’s.
He hadn’t lied to me about that. He hadn’t abandoned his daughter.
I should’ve been relieved.
I was relieved.
I pressed my fingers together to try to keep my hands from shaking. I needed to talk to Jasper. Tell him about the call. More than that, I needed to hear his voice.
I called his cell from the house phone, thankful that his number had already been programmed in. He didn’t answer though. It went to voicemail and I left a brief message, asking him to call me back. I frowned at the phone as I hung up. He hadn’t answered. That was strange.
I could’ve called the main clinic line. Jasper had given me the number yesterday, but I knew that Georgia would be the one who answered. I preferred to wait for Jasper to come home.
No, that was a lie. I didn’t prefer to wait for Jasper. I wanted him here. Now.