by Amelia Shea
She grabbed the edge of the door to close it, but his large boot came between the door and the frame. Her sweet, reserved Jasper was now blocking her exit with a deep scowl.
“What the hell does that mean, ‘you’ll see me around’?”
She shrugged. “Exactly what I said.”
“You’re angry with me?”
She snorted, unable to control it. He drove his ex-girlfriend home, a woman who clearly was trying to get him back, and he fed into it. Of course she was angry. “No, I’m tired, so if you don’t mind moving your foot, I really want to go to bed.” Liar. She’d most likely spend the next few hours continuing to curse Abby’s name. And Jasper’s. Why in hell would he think he could drive his ex home and then come to her place? You told him it was okay. SHUT UP! She was now adding herself onto her shit list.
“Can I come in for a bit?”
No! Then she lost it.
“I just said I’m tired, so I’m really not in the mood to spread my legs. Look, even loose girls like myself don’t put out all the time, Jasper.” The words flew out of her mouth before she could even comprehend what she was saying. Her tone was snarky and on the edge of hateful.
His foot moved away, but he didn’t leave. His face transformed into a heated scowl. If she had to guess, Jasper Fords was about to lose his shit. His hand gripped the edge of the door, and he pushed in, setting her back a few steps. He slammed it so hard she thought the bolts might have come loose on impact. He spun around quickly and stomped toward her.
“Say it again.” His voice was a strangled grunt.
Oh, he was beyond pissed. She was having flashbacks to the night at the bar with John. She wasn’t concerned with Jasper becoming physical with her. He would cut off his own arm before he raised it to a woman. Still, he was livid.
She drew in a breath. “Jasper, please, just…”
“No,” he barked. “I want you to say it again. Look me in the eye and say it again.” His words were a harsh feral dare. She inched away. She had set him off. The always quiet reserved Jasper Fords was now furious in front of her.
She clamped her lips shut and stared at him through her lashes. His temple pulsed and the veins in his neck were overly pronounced.
“Don’t you ever lump me in with the group of assholes, including yourself at the moment, who take the time to spew bullshit and talk down on you. I won’t be a part of it, even coming from your own mouth. I’ve never expected you to spread your legs for me, and I certainly never thought of you as loose, or slutty, or a tramp. I thought you knew me better.”
She sighed and curled her arms around herself. It was true. Jasper had never treated her with anything but respect and kindness. She was so angry she let her tongue get the best of her by lashing out at him.
He snorted and took off his hat, smacking it on his leg. “So, that’s what you think?”
She shrugged. There was no right answer. Jasper was so riled up anything she said would come out wrong. But he didn’t let up.
“Answer me, Kellie. I give you a reason to think that?”
Be honest. “No.”
“Damn right the answer’s no. But you got no problem saying I do. You trying to make me out like all the guys you’ve been with, and I’m not.”
“I know,” she whispered.
“Do you?”
“Yes.” She let her hands drop to her sides and gazed up. He was heated, his glare rough and his eyes darkened. “But you left with her…”
He flinched and blinked, obviously stunned. “You said it was okay.” He cocked his head. Of course, she said it was okay. What was she supposed to say, no? “If you didn’t want me to, why didn’t you just say so?”
Oh, please. She straightened her back and twisted her lips. “Right. You wanted me to just say, ‘No, Jasper, I don’t want you taking her home.”’
“Yes.” He seemed just as perplexed as she felt with this conversation.
She rolled her eyes. “How would that look?”
He snorted and threw up his hands. “A whole lot better than it looks now, me fired up and us fighting. I asked you because I wanted to make sure you were fine with it. If you had a problem, why the hell didn’t you say anything?”
She pointed to his chest and shouted, “Because then I look like an insecure jerk who doesn’t trust you.”
He lifted his brows. So much for trying to hide it.
The burn to her eyes was an indication he needed to leave now. She kept her head bowed, waiting for his feet to turn heel and walk through the door. Instead, they stepped closer.
“Never given you a reason not to trust me, Kellie.”
She shook her head. It was the truth. It was her own warped mind making him the bad guy. She was letting her mind sabotage what she was afraid of losing. Him. Maybe it was self-preservation.
She took a deep breath, prepared to lay it out for him.
“You and her, you make sense.” She looked up, the tears on the edge threatening to spill down her face. She bit her bottom lip. She hated saying it out loud like a confirmation. “We don’t.” A lone tear fell down her face. Why was it so hard to reel in tears? She breathed heavily through her nose, but it wasn’t helping, as another tear escaped.
“How do ya figure?”
“Come on, Jasper, you know we don’t.”
His face softened. “We don’t?” His finger slid across her cheek, wiping away the tear. “Us, riding the field together don’t make sense to you? Or making spinach omelets in the middle of the night don’t make sense? And you making me laugh more than any woman ever has, guess that don’t make sense either.” His hand cupped her face, lifting her chin. “You coming to the barn at midnight to feed the baby goats, or me letting you help just so I can be close to you, yeah, that don’t make sense, right?”
She gripped his wrist. “You’re supposed to be with Abby.”
“I am?” He nodded slowly. “You think I deserve to be with a woman like her?”
The tears spilled quickly. She couldn’t say it, but everyone knew the truth.
“So, let me make sure I’m right on this. Abby and I make sense because I deserve someone who will up and leave, disregard what we had to lie and cheat with another man behind my back. I deserve a woman who only wants to be with me because it didn’t work out with the man she left me for?”
What? No!
“No, that’s not what I mean.”
“That’s what you said. I make sense with Abby, that’s who I should be with.”
“Jas…” He was twisting her words.
He pressed his finger to her lips. “Wait, hold on, let me finish. See that doesn’t make sense to me, sweetheart. But you do. The way you smile at me and race up in a crowded bar just to kiss me, it makes sense to me. The way you hold my hand and snuggle up next to me, making me feel like there’s no man you’d rather be with. The way you tell a story and your hands fly in a million different directions. The way you let me twist your hair ’cause I like the feel, even though I’m tangling it. The way I feel when your hand skims my bare skin sending chills over my body. The way you can sit with me and not say a word, and it’s still a moment to remember. It all makes sense, even the way my heart races when you walk into a room. Been waiting on the feeling to end, but it’s still there, think it always will be. Don’t ya think I deserve a woman like that, one who makes sense to me?”
Kellie stood frozen, unable to speak. If ever there was a list of things you want your man to say, Jasper had just nailed it. All those small things, the little stuff, it meant as much to him as it did to her. His speech should have had her grinning, but it had the opposite effect. Tears streamed down her face as she was overcome with emotion. She was feeling something she hadn’t ever felt from a man. Pure love.
He angled her head upward and descended on her lips, pulling her body against his. The kiss was soft and sweet, but he deepened it, making her hands draw up to his back. He pulled away barely an inch and whispered, “Loving you makes sense to me.�
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She wrapped her hands around his neck, shoving her face into his neck. “Finally get to hear you say you love me, and I have swollen eyes and snot running out of my nose.”
Jasper hugged her deep into his body and laughed.
Chapter Fourteen
Jasper hadn’t left last night, or even when his phone started ringing at five thirty. He ignored the first two calls, cursing Tripp’s name. By the third time it rang, it was obvious his little brother wasn’t going to stop until he answered.
Jasper leaned over to her nightstand, hovering over her body. Kellie was still fast asleep. She was tuckered out, but not from anything physical. She wanted to be with him last night, but he held back. Not because he didn’t want her. Hell, he always wanted her. He resisted as proof to her about how he truly felt. The sex was amazing; there was no denying it. Wild, sassy, and unpredictable, a combination he hadn’t considered to his liking until Kellie. Everything this woman did turned him on, but there was so much more to her. Her heart and mind trumped even the best sex of his life. He pressed his lips to her temple as he grabbed the phone.
She stirred but didn’t wake fully. She rolled into his chest. He clicked the phone and lowered his voice. “Yeah.”
“Where in the hell are you?” Tripp shouted. Jasper could almost picture his little brother stomping his foot.
“I’m at Kellie’s. I’ll be home in an hour.” He rolled onto his back, taking Kellie with him.
“An hour? Christ, Jasper, I ain’t running this place all on my own!”
Irony. The idea of Tripp running the ranch was humorous, and Jasper couldn’t help himself, he snickered at his little brother. He and Grey had devoted their adult lives to the ranch, never taking time for themselves. The polar opposite of Tripp. Now he’d finally got a wakeup call and started actively working, and he had the nerve to call Jasper out on being late.
“It’s time you took a turn. A little taste of your own medicine.”
“What the fuck are you talking about, Jas?”
Jasper shook his head and stretched out his arm. “I’m talking about you doing now…what Grey and I have been doing for years. This is ranch life, picking up the slack, and trust me, you owe me more than a few days, ya hear me?”
“This some kind of payback?”
“Call it what you want, but your time has come to step up.”
“Hell, I’m here, ain’t I?”
“Yeah, you are. I’ll see you in an hour.” Jasper clicked the phone off and tossed it on the bed. Ranching was hard work, but he loved it, same as Grey. They were born for the work, pride in the success of the Triple R, and the luxuries that came with it. Tripp had fallen short on everything but the luxury, until now.
Soft hands pressed against his chest, and then her lips grazed over his neck.
“Mornin’.”
He felt her lips spread over his flesh. “Yes, it is.” Her hand trailed down to his stomach and farther until she gently wrapped her fingers around his length. “You have time to play before you leave me?”
Jasper cuddled her into his chest with a throaty groan. “I’ll make time.”
She lifted her head, and he immediately took her mouth. Even in the morning, she tasted sweet. She tightened her grip on his cock and rocked himself against her silky palm. His tongue swiped between her lips and pulled her waist until she lay over his body. He need to be inside her.
Kellie pulled away and reached for the nightstand drawer. His phone pinged.
“Now he’s texting?”
Jasper dropped his head against the pillow and cursed. Her breasts brushed against his chest as she reached for the phone. He caught a quick smile and then she glanced down to his phone. Oh shit. From the look on her face, he got the feeling it wasn’t Tripp.
“Do I wanna know why she’s apologizing?” Kellie lifted her gaze from the phone. Her expression was hard to read. Her jaw was tight, which usually meant anger, but she didn’t seem angry. If anything, her tone sounded solemn.
Jasper took the phone and read the message.
Abby: Sorry for last night, I was out of line.
Jasper sighed and peered up at Kellie. Her lips curved into a forced smile. It was almost a brave front. He could do one of two things, play it off as though it was no big deal or go for complete honesty.
“She invited me in last night when I dropped her off.” He paused. “And she tried to kiss me.”
Kellie bolted up on his lap. “Are you serious?”
Kellie’s distance was not a good sign. He sat up, hooking his arms around her waist and pulling her closer to his chest. “Yeah, and I declined both offers, told her I wasn’t interested. It’s the truth, Kell. You, you’re the only one I want.”
She didn’t meet his stare.
“Hey.” Jasper lifted her chin with his finger, drawing her eyes back to him. “Meant everything I said to you last night. Me and you, we make sense to me.”
He couldn’t blame her for being upset. If the roles had been reversed and another man had tried to kiss her, he’d be furious.
Kellie sighed, giving him a glimpse of a tiny smile. “Does it make me immature to say I hate her and wished she’d just go away?” Kellie rolled her eyes. “Don’t answer that.”
I wish she’d go away too.
“Darlin’, she can do whatever, or say what she wants, but it’s not gonna change what we have.”
Kellie snorted. “Oh, if her whatever includes trying to kiss you again, then she’s gonna have a problem, Jasper.”
He pulled her in for a hug, resting his face in her neck. Her arms wrapped around him, caressing his shoulders. “She’s only a problem if we let her be one, sweetheart.” He had no intentions of allowing Abby to come between him and his happiness, not again. He’d do whatever it took to keep Kellie.
His phone rang again, and he slowly separated from their embrace. Jasper gazed down at the phone and released a breath he’d been holding. For the first time in his life, he was thankful to see Tripp’s name on the screen.
Kellie laughed. “He’s quite the cockblocker this morning.” She cupped his jaw and kissed him. Her smooth, soft lips lingered over his. “Go take a shower; I’ll start the coffee.”
She gave him another quick kiss and climbed off his lap.
»»•««
With only a sheet covering her breasts, she sat up leaning against the headboard, smiling. This was better than anything she saw on TV. Jasper walked from the bedroom out of the hall, bare-assed naked, and what an ass it was. His body was perfection. It wasn’t the product of hours at the gym. It was hard, strenuous labor, a man’s body from a hard day’s work.
He came back into the room, searching the floor. Her lips curved in a pout when he reached down, picking up his underwear and putting them on. Show’s over, he’s leaving.
“What’s that look for?”
She glanced up. “I like watching you walk around naked.”
Jasper chuckled and shook his head. “Same here.” He sat on the bed after pulling up his jeans with his back to her. She shuffled to the end of the bed, letting the sheet fall from her body. She crawled toward his back as he glanced over his shoulder.
“Woman, stay back. You’re gonna be the death of me, I swear.”
She gripped her hands on his shoulder and pressed her breasts against his back, whispering in his ear, “Death by sex? I could think of worse ways to go.”
Jasper narrowed his eyes and burst out laughing. She kissed his neck up to his ear, prepared to tease him a bit more before he left, but he had other plans. His torso twisted and his arm hooked around her waist. He tossed her back onto the bed and came down on top of her.
He stared at her, swiping the hair that had fallen in her eyes. He kissed her, taking his time. His lips spread over her lips, his teeth grazing over her bottom lip, sending shivers over her body. She could feel his kiss everywhere.
“Stay with me,” she whispered. It wasn’t fair, he had to go, and she shouldn’t be encoura
ging him to bail on Tripp, but she wanted him with her all day in bed.
Jasper groaned against her lips, the rumbling in his chest vibrating against her. He didn’t let up on the kiss. She drove her hands into his hair. It was so damn soft.
He pulled back slightly, his nose brushing against hers, and smiled. “You’re a bad influence, Kellie Mitchell.”
“It’s just because I love you.”
His smile faltered, sending her deeper into the pillows under her head. It may have been the first time she said it, but he had to know. His gaze traveled from her eyes to her lips. He leaned in with a tender kiss and pulled away.
“I love you, too. I mean it, Kellie.”
“So do I,” she whispered. The vibe had taken a serious turn, and she wasn’t quite sure why.
“And I trust you.”
It wasn’t so much what he said, but how he said it. It was a vow and a promise. There was nothing phony or fake about his pledge. It was a declaration, and one he was looking to be returned. Looking deeper into his words, she realized how truly important trust was to Jasper. He had been burned by the only other woman he loved. Trusting her must have been a hard thing to do.
She caressed his neck, dropping her hand over his heart. “Your heart, Jasper? It’s safe with me, I promise.”
He dropped a kiss to her lips, taking her in a passionate kiss. She hugged him closer, but he resisted. His lips trailed over her neck, soft playful bites as his teeth grazed her skin. She curled her body, shielding the shivers rolling over her skin. His lips kept a steady path to her breasts, and she gasped as his mouth covered her nipple, his tongue gliding over the taut peek, making her squirm.
He teased her and then moved across her valley, flicking and sucking her nipple between his lips. She moaned, pressing her breast deep into his mouth.
“Jasper.”
His teeth grazed over her nipple, and she gasped, the heated bite and his tongue soothing over her nipple. She felt it down to her core, the moisture pooling between her legs. Her nails dug into his flesh. She needed him.