Was that pity I felt? Whatever it was, it was an unwelcome emotion and it needed to fuck off.
I had even been tempted to taste her lips. The moment her tongue had darted across her plump bottom lip I had almost lost control. I took a deep breath which in itself was odd. I didn’t really need to breathe that often; I did it more out of habit than necessity. I was heading into some deep shit if I needed to take a deep breath to calm down.
I needed to get a handle on things. She was not the sort of woman for me; she was delicate and sweet. The kind of girl looking for romance and a happily ever after. That was not me. At all. I didn't make love, not even remotely. I was a “no strings” kind of guy and that worked perfectly for me. It wasn’t like my line of work left me the room to form meaningful connections with people anyway.
I glanced over at Lori and found she still had her head resting on the window. She looked sad and lost, like she was watching the world go by without understanding why it was moving past her. A part of me felt guilty for treating her the way I was, but I couldn't risk her running off. The people chasing her would stop at nothing to get her and use her to gain their own ends. I just wish I knew who was behind it all. I had my suspicions but nothing concrete. Some members of the Circle were more vocal about deposing de Santis but I couldn’t see any of them pulling this off. At least it wasn’t much further to the Conclave now. We needed to stop for the night, lie low for a few hours then head north to the hidden city.
I pulled the car off the main road and onto a single-track drive. Lori's head perked up.
“Jasper, are we nearly there?” she asked tentatively.
“Yes, just a few more miles,” I answered, hoping that she wouldn’t try anything stupid when we got to the house. The last thing I needed was to have to chase her through the woods. Just the thought of it was enough to make me groan.
“What is it?” Lori said, concerned.
Shit, had I groaned out loud? “Nothing,” I said quickly. Her eyes dropped to the floor before turning back to look out the window.
After a few more minutes of silence, we pulled in front of a small house, right in the middle of nowhere. Perfect for hiding out in. You wouldn’t stumble across it unless you were looking for it. I turned the engine off.
“Stay here a minute. I want to scope the place out,” I said to Lori as I exited the car. She nodded in agreement. Maybe she was going to make this easy after all.
I entered the house and just listened. I had pretty good hearing even for a vampire. I listened to the sounds of the house and made sure I was the only one here. I couldn’t hear any heartbeats or anyone breathing and there was no sign of any movement.
Then I heard something. Something that made the beast lift his ears and grin.
The sound of a twig snapping. She wouldn't? My instincts kicked in and I ran out of the house. I looked in the car and, sure enough, she'd done a runner. Stupid girl. Didn’t she know how much danger she was in?
It wasn’t going to take me long to find her. I was a trained hunter. Hunting and killing was my way of life and this little bird had no hope of escaping me. Excitement stirred my inner beast. I could feel him arching his back and stretching his legs. He craved the thrill of the chase and couldn’t wait to break free of the cage I kept him in. My mouth watered in anticipation of a fresh kill.
I relinquished the reins to the beast and my senses went into overdrive. Colours were brighter, sounds sharper and scents permeated through the air with astounding clarity.
I sniffed the air. “Got you, little bird.”
She was running fast, but I was faster. This was going to be too easy. I took off in her direction, my speed increasing until I caught a glimpse of her. She was breathing heavily, and her heart was racing. It was frantically trying to pump blood around her body. It called to me, a beautiful melody enticing me to drain her dry. I was so close to her. The anticipation of catching her was driving me forward, spurring me on despite the sting from the branches and thorns slicing my skin. They didn’t matter. All that mattered was catching her and sinking my fangs deep into…stop. Wait.
The beast was getting carried away. I needed to rein hi, back in or I was going to devour the girl. I pulled back on the leash that kept my darker side under control. He resisted but he had to follow the same orders as me, which meant the girl had to stay alive.
“Lori!”
She glanced over her shoulder. Her face was covered in panic as she realised how close I was. I launched myself at her, my body weight propelling her to the ground. She tried to squirm away from me, and her feet kicked wildly. My head snapped back as she managed to connect her heel with my jaw. She used the opportunity to crawl away from me and almost got back on her feet. I grabbed her leg and pulled her back to the ground, rolling her onto her back before pinning her beneath me.
Which was a huge mistake.
I could feel every inch of her pressed against me. It didn’t help that she wriggled and bucked beneath me as she tried to escape. Her hips pushed against mine as she tried to break free from my grip. The beast growled in excitement. He was clearly enjoying this and that bled into my emotions. Fuck, that felt good. I groaned. I needed to put the monster back in his cage or this was going to get out of hand really fast. She clawed at my face, trying to scratch my eyes out. Damn, the little minx was feisty.
“Lori, stop fighting me,” I shouted at her.
“Let me go,” she shouted back, fighting me with everything she'd got.
“Not going to happen, so you might as well just surrender.” She was still trying to squirm her way out from under me, but it had gone from turning me on to just pissing me off. “Don't make me knock you out again.”
She froze with fear and just stared at me, her eyes wide as they darted around looking for escape. I hated to scare her, but I needed her to be compliant and obedient. Especially since it was taking all my self-control not to devour her on the spot. I wanted nothing more than to sink my teeth into her neck and just taste her. If I didn't get off her, I might do just that.
“I'm going to let go of your hands and stand up. Don't do anything stupid.” I waited for some response from her, but she didn’t even blink. I took that as a sign she wasn’t going to run again. As soon as I was on my feet, I reached down and hauled her up. She winced from the cuts she must have gained from running with no shoes on and, without even thinking, I hauled her up into my arms. She let out a gasp in surprise, clearly not expecting me to carry her back to the house. To be honest, I think I surprised myself. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d cradled a woman in my arms. It was…nice.
That was a worrying thought.
I could tell she wasn’t happy about being carried though. Her entire body was tense and it made carrying her fucking awkward.
“Relax. I'm not going to hurt you. Would you rather walk?” She harrumphed. “I didn't think so.”
After I had taken a few more strides, she wrapped her arms around my neck and relaxed into my arms. Her head fell onto my chest and she tucked it underneath my chin. I caught a waft of her scent as she got comfortable. She smelt of lavender and sunshine.
It was seriously distracting. It made me want to keep hold of her and throw her to the ground all at once.
“Your heart beats.” Her words distracted me from my thoughts.
“Of course it does, I'm not dead.” She flinched at my harsh words and tucked her head back under my chin. I suddenly wanted to apologise but maybe it was for the best. She needed to be wary of me. I wasn’t a saviour. I was a fucking warrior and a killing machine. I couldn’t afford to be distracted by her. I had a fucking job to do and then I could finally be at peace. The day I got Miss Monroe to the Conclave I would finally be free, and nothing would get in my way. Especially not the five-foot three bundle of soft curves currently curled up in my arms.
Chapter 6
LORI
I listened to the slow beat of Jasper’s heart. I had thought vampires were dead, but the more I
thought about what I knew about vampires, the more Jasper seemed to contradict it. He walked in the sun, his heart did beat in his chest and he did breathe, albeit rarely. It was weird how slow his heartbeat was. It was much slower than a human heart, only about ten beats a minute but despite this he was still really warm. Probably warmer than me. His chest was firm and solid under my cheek and I was oddly comforted by that; his arms around me made me feel safe. Maybe he wasn't going to hurt me after all. He did say he was here to protect me, though from what I still had no clue.
Could I trust him? Or rather should I trust him? He had scared the shit out of me back there. He had pinned me to the ground and then looked like he had some sort of internal war going on about what he was going to do with me. I was glad he stood when he did, part of me had enjoyed it a little too much. Thinking about how he held me with my arms above my head brought a flush to my face. And now his hands gripped my thigh and the side of my chest, and it was like the fabric of my pyjamas wasn't even there.
I needed to get some space between us before I did something I'd regret. I had this urge to touch him, to feel his chest beneath my hands. Since when did I let a man turn my brain to mush? Yes, he was attractive, but he had also pretty much kidnapped me. I wanted to hate the guy but the way he was tenderly holding me, protecting me and killing bad guys for me kind of had my heart melting for him just a little.
Thankfully, we made it back to the safe house without me jumping the guy’s bones. It was a quaint little cottage in the middle of the woods standing proud among the trees like something out of a fairy tale. A bright red door graced the front of the building and the luscious green ivy clinging to the walls added to the charming picture. It would have made a lovely painting.
Jasper carried me across the threshold and dropped me into an armchair.
“Can I trust you to wait here?” Jasper crossed his arms over his chest, his biceps flexing and drawing my eyes to the muscles there. He still looked pissed, but I knew I wasn't going anywhere. I was tired, my feet were probably shredded to ribbons and I had absolutely no clue where we were.
“I won't go anywhere, I promise.” I looked into his eyes when I said it. I wanted to make sure he believed me. He didn't say anything in response, just nodded once and left the room.
It was so quiet. I was so used to the nightlife of a busy city that the cottage sounded eerily quiet. There was such an absence of sound it was deafening.
I just wanted to go home; this was all too much, and I still wasn’t entirely convinced this was all real. I needed to get more information out of Jasper. He was the only person who could tell me anything, but judging by his past behaviour, I’d have more luck getting information out of a corpse. My shoulders sagged in defeat. I’d never felt this helpless.
I was in the middle of nowhere with only Mr. Grumpy Pants for company. I had no idea where he was taking me or why. He’d mentioned something called the Conclave but I didn’t know what that was. I’d never heard of a place called that, so I was still none the wiser to my final destination. And to top it off, my pyjamas were ruined and my feet stung like a bitch.
I looked down at my feet and winced. They were covered in tiny scratches and they were filthy. What a mess. I needed to clean them, but I had no idea where the bathroom was, and I'd promised Jasper I wouldn't move.
I sensed something stir in the room. I lifted my eyes and found myself looking at Jasper. My heart jolted in my chest.
“Don't do that,” I scolded, trying to regain control of my now rapidly beating heart.
“Sorry, it's a habit,” he replied stiffly. He did give off the impression that he did do a lot of sneaking around with his inconspicuous black clothes. I wondered what he really did? Or perhaps I was safer not knowing. He was intimidating enough as it was. He bent down and scooped me back up into his arms.
“If you keep doing this, Jasper, I might just get used to it.”
He snorted but he still carried me up the narrow staircase and into a bathroom with an old-fashioned slipper bath right in the middle of the room. The slipper bath was currently steaming and a floral scent drifted through the air. Sweet lord, there was a God.
Jasper placed me down by the bath and made sure I was steady on my feet before letting go of me. I didn't understand him. He was a walking contradiction. One minute he was threatening to knock me out and the next he was running me a bubble bath.
“I've put your things in the room opposite,” he said walking back to the bathroom door.
“Thank you.”
He turned to face me, his face in a deep scowl. “Don’t thank me, I’m just following orders. Once you have finished with the bath, go to your room and don’t come out until I come and get you.”
“Why?”
“Because I say so, that’s why.”
My jaw dropped. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me. If you want to run away again then fine, but there are much worse creatures out there than me and they will kill you or even worse. I don’t know who is hunting you, but you have a better chance of survival with me than without me. But by all means, feel free to take the chance out there on your own.”
Molten anger burned in my chest. “Who do you think you are?”
“I’m the one charged with protecting you and keeping you alive, but you are making that damned difficult,” he spat.
“Well, I’m sorry that I’m not content with being kidnapped.” I wasn’t backing down quietly.
“It was never my intention to kidnap you. You were the one who wouldn’t come quietly.”
“Oh, so it’s my fault I got kidnapped. Unbelievable.”
Jasper raked his hand through his hair in frustration. “Do you want to stay alive?” he yelled.
“I’m not an idiot. Of course I want to stay alive.”
“Good. Then you have two choices. You can either make it easy and come quietly or you can act like a hellion and make it difficult.” His voice dropped to a hiss. “But trust me when I say you won't like me if you choose difficult.” He just stared at me, those piercing blue eyes daring me to challenge him. I wasn’t an idiot. I knew I couldn’t take him on but I sure as hell was not prepared to be bullied into submission.
I marched towards him, ignoring the pain in my feet.
“Look pal, you have no right to talk to me like that. Just because you're bigger than me and stronger than me and, well, just better at everything than me, does not give you the right to bully me into fearing you.” I stood right in front of him, barely an inch away from his body.
“Lori, step away from me,” he growled at me warningly.
“No, I won't step away! Stop telling me what to do!” I yelled at him, jabbing my finger into his chest to hammer home my point, but he grabbed my wrist.
“Don't. Do. That,” he said through gritted teeth. He closed his eyes and his nostrils flared as he breathed deeply. What I saw when he opened them was blackness. Gone were the beautiful blue eyes and in their place were empty pits of pure black. They made me think of a night with no stars, and I realised this side of Jasper was what he was warning me about.
I was frozen to the spot. I couldn't move. The thing staring at me was no man. It was a monster and he looked like he was going to eat me alive.
He traced his finger across my cheek and down the side of my neck. “So beautiful,” he whispered, licking his lips. “So tempting.”
A malicious grin spread across his face. He was deliberately showing me his fangs, making me aware of how much danger I was in. They looked wickedly sharp and for a split second I wondered what it would feel like to be bitten. He grabbed my neck and pulled me to him, bringing his mouth to the soft shell of my ear.
“I can smell you.”
I shivered, and it wasn’t entirely out of fear. He traced his nose up the side of my neck, breathing deeply, breathing in my scent.
He looked into my eyes again and I swallowed. I was terrified but I couldn't stop myself from staring into those eyes. I was captivated b
y them. They were so non-human that I couldn’t help but stare. The anger I had felt earlier turned to a simmering heat and the adrenaline rushing through my system made me aware of the feel of his body pressed against mine. I could feel my breasts brush against his firm chest and my nipples tightened at the friction.
He was so close to me. He smelt like cloves and earth and thunder.
Giddiness pushed sanity from my thoughts.
He brushed his thumb across my bottom lip, tantalisingly slowly. The pulse between my thighs began to thud hungrily. My breath grew shallow. I pressed my tongue against the tip of his thumb. I heard his sharp intake of breath and his gaze dropped to my mouth. I licked my lips in anticipation. He leaned towards me and brushed his lips against mine. I closed my eyes ready to sink into the kiss but felt... nothing. I opened my eyes and found myself staring at an empty hallway. The touch of his lips against mine was so brief that, if it wasn't for the scorching heat that I still felt there, I might have imagined the whole thing.
He had left me there, standing in the doorway and frustrated in more ways than one. I slammed the bathroom door shut, expecting that to make me feel better but all it did was make me want to bang my fists against it and scream in vexation. I looked at the bath. It would be a shame to let it go to waste. I let out a big sigh and walked over to it, taking off my pyjamas as I went. I climbed into the tub and relaxed into the heat of the water. After the last couple of days, this bath was sheer heaven.
I closed my eyes and my mind drifted to Jasper. I wish he would just explain everything to me. I didn’t understand any of this. What made me special? I was sure I was just ordinary. Surely if I was important I would feel something? But I just felt like me.
My lips still tingled from that brief moment of contact. I wondered what it would be like to really kiss him. What would he taste like? I really shouldn't be thinking about it; I was already hot and bothered and thinking about Jasper like this was not going to help things. I dunked my head under the water, hoping that it would just wash everything away. I stayed under the water for as long as I could, until the blood was pounding in my veins, my heart banging against my ribs, until every instinct was begging for me to take a breath. I broke the surface of the water and gulped down precious oxygen, revelling in the feeling of being alive. In that moment, I knew I didn't want to die. Not one little bit. Whatever I had fallen into, whatever was chasing me, I was not going to give in, and I was not giving up.
To Crave Darkly: Trials Of A Morta: Book One Page 4
