by Lola Kidd
“But we made love. That had to mean something to you.”
“We had sex,” she corrected him. “I’m sorry if I hurt you. I couldn’t control myself. If I had known it would affect you so much, I wouldn’t have done it.”
“Why do you want to leave, then? If it has nothing to do with me, what is it?”
“I don’t want to live here anymore. I want to get away and start a life of my own.”
“And do what?”
Leigh’s head started to throb. He’d started to sound desperate, and she couldn’t listen to much more of this. “I want to live my life.”
“But why? What are you looking for? What’s your happy ending?”
“I don’t know. Something different than this.”
Jasper sat down on the bench and took her hand. “You can have something else with me. If you give me a chance, you’ll see that.”
“I can’t.”
Leigh bit her lip. It was hard telling him no when he was touching her. He was so handsome and so nice. He was being really patient and wasn’t pushing her, which came as a surprise. She never would have believed that a dragon shifter would be able to wait for anything.
“Right now, or ever?” he asked quietly.
“I don’t know,” she said. “I just can’t keep being around shifters and living this life. I need a change.”
He sighed and stood up. “I hope you figure out what you want soon. It would be a shame if you spent your whole life running, just to get back at your parents.”
Leigh watched him walk away with slumped shoulders. He cut a sad figure, but she couldn’t give in to her urge to comfort him. She didn’t want to marry a shifter. She had plans, and she couldn’t change them because of some stupid mating app.
Twenty-One
“Are we doing this or not?” Beckett roared. Then he unleashed his bear.
He barreled toward Jasper on all fours. He was only a few feet away when, at the last moment, Jasper shifted.
Jasper’s dragon still stumbled, struck by the full force of the Kodiak bear. He hissed and spat fire near Beckett’s feet. The flames didn’t deter the bear at all. Beckett regrouped and bit Jasper’s foreleg.
The dragon roared and slammed the bear against a tree. There was a loud snap as the giant oak fell.
Jasper had been staying with Beckett for the last few months. He’d needed somewhere to decompress after the events of the wedding. Once the men who had tried to hurt Leigh were in police custody, his dragon had been less resistant to leaving the area. Connor had sent someone to keep an eye on Leigh, but there hadn’t been any trouble since the wedding.
Beckett’s estate was the best place to rest and clear his head. It was nestled up in the mountains overlooking a small town, and no one ever came up here. Besides a few loyal servants, there was no one around to bother them, and he could let his dragon fly whenever it wanted to. The people in the town already thought Beckett was some kind of fearsome beast. They weren’t going to complain about a dragon.
It was refreshing to take time off from working and trying to win over Leigh. Jasper’s father had taken over trying to help Roger with the shifter legislation, and his brothers had taken up the slack at work. All Jasper had to worry about was himself. He and Beckett spent their days drinking and fighting. It was perfect.
He would go back eventually and try to win Leigh over, but for now, this would do. Being summarily rejected, even after great sex, was crushing. For his own sanity, he had to give her space. There were times every day that he missed her so much he thought about flying back home, but he got over it.
It was hard to pine after his mate when there was a bear trying to rip off his scales.
A high-pitched whistle made Jasper and Beckett stop wrestling. Jasper looked up to see Beckett’s cook, Mrs. Potter, on the balcony.
“Are you boys about done?” she asked. She looked at the snapped trees and torn-up grass and tutted at them. “You boys are going to ruin the entire grounds. Why even buy lovely plants for this space if you’re going to ruin it, Beckett?”
Mrs. Potter was the only human Beckett had in his employ. She’d been with his family since he was just a young boy. She had taken special care of Beckett and had doted on him after his parents’ divorce.
“Can you two please transform so we can have a little chat?” Mrs. Potter asked.
The two men transformed and waited for her outside on the deck.
“I’m just wondering what you want to do for dinner this week,” she said when she made it outside. “You two have had something to say about everything I’ve made for the last week. I’m trying to get a better idea of what you’d like.”
“You never make me unhappy,” Beckett said, giving Jasper a look. “We’ll eat whatever you make without complaint this week.”
Jasper knew he was on thin ice, but he really didn’t like meatloaf or pot roasts. He didn’t think it was too rude to ask the cook to make something different.
“And may I ask how long Mr. Collins will be staying with us?”
“As long as I need to,” Jasper said, then walked over to make himself a drink at the outside bar.
He’d known this was coming. Mrs. Potter couldn’t mind her own business. He wasn’t Beckett. He had a mate; he just wasn’t with her right now. He’d leave when he was good and ready, and not a moment before.
“How are you feeling now?” she asked. “You don’t seem your normal self, Jasper. Are you talking to your family?”
“I told you, he lost his mate,” Beckett said. “He can stay as long as he likes. Don’t make him feel worse about it.”
“I didn’t lose her,” Jasper said. “I know exactly where she is. She just doesn’t want me.”
“You’re going to have to go back eventually,” Mrs. Potter said matter-of-factly. “Trouble has a way of finding you, whether you want it to or not.”
“I don’t think so,” Jasper said with a dismissive shake of his head.
“You can’t hide from your problems forever.”
“Actually,” Jasper said after taking a sip of his drink, “as a shifter, I can hide from them forever. Especially since the person I’m avoiding is a human. I guess I’ll just have to wait here until she dies.”
Mrs. Potter gasped. “Don’t talk like that. You have to go back and get your mate. Don’t talk about her dying and not being with her.”
“She’ll come around,” Beckett said, putting his arm around her shoulders. “Until she does, Jasper is going to stay here with us. And he won’t be making any more comments about the food ever again. Go ahead and make whatever you’d like for lunch.”
Jasper nodded. “Perfect, brother. I need food. Thanks for the concern, Mrs. Potter, but I’m fine.”
He wasn’t fine. He knew he was going to have to give this up eventually, but he couldn’t go back home now. Two months, and Leigh hadn’t even tried to talk to him or find him. Two months without a word except from her security guards. For all he knew, she was looking for someone else. Probably a human man, since she was already marked.
The thought made Jasper’s stomach lurch. He didn’t know how long he was going to have to stay put, but he couldn’t go home yet.
Maybe never. He could run from his problems forever, he told himself. If Leigh never came around, he was prepared to spend the rest of his life up here on the mountain. There was more than enough room up here for two lonely shifters.
Twenty-two
“Wake up, sleepyhead,” Fabia said, throwing open the curtains of Leigh’s room.
“Close the curtains, please. I’m trying to sleep,” Leigh said grumpily. She rolled over and pulled her pillow over her head.
“Listen, I know you’re heartbroken about that dragon and all, but it’s been months.” Fabia put her hands on her hips in front of the window. “You like him. You don’t like him. Whatever. You can’t spend your whole life sitting around moping.”
“I’m not moping,” Leigh said through the pillow.
&n
bsp; She really wasn’t moping. She knew it looked like she was depressed, but she wasn’t. She just couldn’t seem to ever get enough rest. During the months since the wedding, she hadn’t done anything she’d planned on. She was supposed to have spent the last few weeks looking for an apartment somewhere far away from the Wasteland. Instead, she’d spent them lying in bed and sleeping.
It had nothing to do with Jasper and his mate mark. This time it was his stupid words that had done her in. When he’d asked her what her happily-ever-after was, it had made her think. It had made her question herself—and she’d realized that she didn’t know what she wanted.
Infuriatingly, he was right. She had no idea why she’d been so hell-bent on leaving Ganjis. Now that Roger was making headway on the legislation to give the Wasteland towns official status, life was going to improve drastically for everyone.
While she was growing up, she’d wanted to leave because there was no one like her around. She had been so lonely. Now, that was going to change. If the Wasteland was officially accepted, it was only going to be a matter of time before humans started coming to town. Her father had even talked with her about his plans to entice humans into the area.
They wanted to remodel the homes in town and help people open new businesses. It was going to be a lot of work, and there was plenty for her to help with. This was something she’d probably even be good at.
It wasn’t like she had a job in another city, or something else to move to. It didn’t make any sense for her to go now. She couldn’t just leave her home and her family and everything she knew for nothing.
It would help if she had at least a clear vision of what she wanted to do out in the human world. She was sure that she wanted a family of her own. She was also sure that she wanted a forever man of her own. But that was it. She wasn’t even sure what kind of job she’d be qualified for in the human world. She was one of maybe six human kids who had grown up in Ganjis. She had been homeschooled, but she didn’t know if her diploma even counted.
That had all been weighing heavily on her mind since the big wedding. That, combined with the fact that she was always tired, made it hard to do much. She couldn’t stay awake long enough to think of a solution to her problems.
She wasn’t moping over Jasper, but she knew it was easy for her family to get that impression, and she didn’t want anyone to think she was pining over that stupid, gorgeous dragon. She was going to have to get out of bed, no matter how tired she felt.
She mustered up the energy to throw her feet over the side of the bed and get up to go to the bathroom. Fabia sat behind her on the edge of the bathtub as she brushed her teeth.
“Man, your boobs look great. You’re so lucky,” Fabia said enviously. “I swear you’ve even gone up a cup size. How is that even possible? Are you taking something? I’ve seen these ads online for pills to make your boobs and butt bigger, but I thought they were a gimmick. If they work, you gotta let me know.”
Leigh looked down at her chest. Now that Fabia mentioned it, her boobs did look like they’d gotten bigger. There was no reason for it that she could think of.
She spat and shrugged. “Nope. No pills. They just got bigger on their own. Weird, huh? I thought your boobs stopped growing once you were finished with puberty.”
“You’re really tired and your boobs are bigger—maybe you’re pregnant,” Fabia said, laughing.
Leigh dropped her toothbrush into the sink.
She couldn’t remember the last time she’d had her period. She hadn’t thought anything of it, since she was irregular sometimes. But that wouldn’t explain why her chest was growing.
Fabia’s face turned pale. “You’re not pregnant, are you? You can’t be. You don’t even have a boyfriend. There’s no way you could be pregnant.”
Leigh rinsed her mouth and started counting the days. The last time she’d had her period had been before she’d had sex with Jasper.
“I don’t know,” she said slowly. “I haven’t had my period in a while, and I did sleep with someone.”
Fabia shook her head. “No way. This can’t be true.”
“Do we still have that pregnancy test?”
Leigh went to her room and started searching frantically. She knew there was a pregnancy test left over from when Fabia had had her last scare. Her cousin was paranoid and took them frequently. There had to be one in her room somewhere.
“Do you feel any different?” Fabia asked her.
“I don’t, but we’re about to find out if I am,” Leigh said, triumphantly pulling a pregnancy test from her desk.
She went to the bathroom alone and read the directions. All she had to do was pee on the stick and then wait for a plus or minus sign to show up. She would know if she was pregnant in a few minutes.
She did her business and left the test stick sitting on the counter in the bathroom.
“Set your timer for five minutes,” she told Fabia.
Fabia lay back on Leigh’s bed, staring at the ceiling. “I can’t believe this is happening. Who was it?”
“You know who it was.”
The only person she’d slept with in the last two years had been Jasper. She’d been going through a very long dry spell. She hadn’t been asked out on a date in who knew how long. That was one of the reasons Fabia had signed her up for MateMe!
“Can you imagine how rich you’d be?” Fabia said dreamily. “And if you are with child, you should share some of those baby mama dollars with me.”
“Does that mean I can blame this all on you? Because I’m pretty sure this is all your fault.”
Fabia sat up halfway, leaning back on her elbows. “It’ll be such a cute baby. If you’re going to mix genes with anyone, Jasper’s a great choice. I seriously can’t wait to get my hands on that little chubby baby.”
“I can. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Leigh reminded her. “It’s easy to be excited about a cute little baby when you don’t have to be the one carrying it around for nine months. And it’s not your life that’s going to be ruined.”
Leigh wasn’t freaking out yet. There was still a good chance she wasn’t pregnant. After all, she and Jasper had only had sex once. She knew women in Ganjis who had tried for years and still didn’t have a baby.
“Five minutes is up,” Fabia said. “Before you look, you should think about whether you want to be with him or not.”
“Not.”
“Are you sure?” Fabia asked. “I’m not saying you have to be with a person just because you’re pregnant. I mean, if you love him, you should go find him.”
“I don’t know. I don’t…I mean…” Did she want to be with him? Leigh leaned down and put her hands on her knees. This was it. She had to choose. Did she love him or not? She barely knew him. She couldn’t love him. Could she?
Had she been moping over Jasper this entire time? It hit her like a slap to the face. Yes. Yes, she had been sad about losing him. Even if she wasn’t pregnant, she would want to see him again. The question was, would she be going to find him alone or with a plus-one?
“I’m going to check it. Keep your fingers and toes crossed for me.”
Leigh went to the bathroom door and stood there looking at the test. This was it. Either her life was about to change forever, or she was going to have a funny story to share with Fabia about that crazy time she’d thought she was pregnant.
She went in and grabbed the stick off the counter.
There was a pink plus sign on it, clear as day.
She came out and held up the test stick for Fabia to see. “I’m pregnant.”
Twenty-three
“This is it.” The cab driver stopped the car, then pointed to the meter.
Leigh dug out her wallet and paid him. It had been a wild trip, but she was finally at the home of Beckett Redding.
It had been surprisingly easy to figure out where Jasper was staying. She had gone to his house to find him, but she’d been turned away. Then, by chance, she’d run into his mom as she was dr
iving away. Mrs. Collins had taken one look at her and had offered to let Leigh borrow their private jet. Leigh was sure Mrs. Collins could smell the pregnancy on her, just like her aunts could.
It had been difficult to get her anxious aunts, cousin, and parents to let her go on this journey. No one wanted her to travel alone, but Mrs. Collins had thrown in private security with the jet, and that had sealed the deal for her family.
Leigh had been so nervous the whole way there. She’d had to write out what she wanted to say to Jasper. She was sure she would forget everything she wanted to say the minute she saw him. Her talking points were neatly written on a notecard that she could hold while talking to him.
She would beg him to forgive her and her stubborn ways. She was sorry that she had made such a big deal about him saving her life and about the fact that he was a shifter. None of that mattered to her anymore. She had spent so much time focused on what she didn’t want her future husband to be, she had forgotten what was actually important, all the good traits he should possess. And Jasper had all of those.
Yes, he could be irritatingly sure of himself, and yes, he came on strong when he knew he wanted something. But he was kind and brave, and he did everything he could to make sure the people around him were happy.
She had to tell him all of that and then wait for his reaction. If he forgave her for breaking his heart, then she’d tell him she was pregnant and ask him to marry her. If he didn’t, she had a second speech to use. She would reiterate that she was sorry and tell him she was pregnant, but that he didn’t have to have anything to do with her anymore. He could still see his child, but she wouldn’t try to be a part of his life romantically again.
She was glad that she’d been on an empty private jet when she wrote that one. She had sobbed so hard her chest had ached.
In the car on the way from the airport to the Redding mansion, she had hastily written out a third speech. Just in case he changed his mind after she said she was pregnant, she wanted to tell him that he didn’t have to do that. She didn’t want him to be with her because she was pregnant. But in the moment, she knew it would be too difficult to say that.
