He couldn’t believe his ears. “You think we can’t have allergies but we can get venereal diseases!?” The giggle intensified. She really couldn’t look at him now. “That’s right, you could be soaked in STD and I’d still be unaffected. And I can’t be a host either.” He couldn’t believe he just said that out loud, but her giggles meant she took it lightly. Humans were shameless, and today of all days, so was he. “You’re fine, by the way. Blood test says you’re clean.” And with what rage a cushion hit his face.
“Ass!” She snapped, still unable to detach herself.
“Elbow! Go on, I could name body parts all day.” His grinned enough to light up the whole room. Then he suddenly shot forward, pinning her arms against the mattress as he rolled on top of her. “I’ll have you know I allowed that first cushion.” The way he spoke, tantalizingly warm against her lips gave her all the fuzzies. When did he actually see she’d grabbed another cushion?
He leaned in to kiss the tip of her nose so she lifted her head, daring for his lips once more. He kissed her as if screaming ‘I won’t let you go’, searing and hooked on the taste of her. It felt like an arousal of senses—blooming from the inside and extending onto her surroundings: the feel of the pearly white sheets against her bare arms, the light peering through his wavy hair tickling her chin, his lips parting hers and going in deep. So deep. And then it was all him—the center of her entire consciousness kissing her until reason seeped out. Until all rational thought fled the universe. Jasper’s scent alone had the power to obliterate everything: all the screaming thoughts about what they had or where this was going.
For now, he surrendered to the rhythm of her panting, releasing her arms and locking eyes as if she were the greatest of revelations, his Mecca in the flesh. This look alone shared the intimacy of all they’d been through. Then he touched her. He touched the hollow of her neck in slow, rhythmic, throbbing movements, almost to make sure she still felt the way he did. A sequence of waves rippled through both; pulsing warmth created an awakening even in her toes, the newness of the feeling startling them both, but not enough to break eye contact.
Until she did, slipping the t-shirt over her head and pulling his off once she was done.
“Any last words?” A devilish smile took over his face before his mouth descended to her breasts. As if there was nothing holding him back anymore. Skin on skin, his lips then slid against her stomach and knowing hands gently eased her out of her pajama bottoms. Someway, somehow his were already gone.
She hadn’t met this Jasper—so distinctly daring and in control of the game. Nor had she ever experienced the rush of sensation as his fingertips trailed on her skin on their way up.
He tugged her against his chest, committing her taste to memory until he found himself perfectly nestled between her thighs. She moaned, her hands locked onto his shoulders, her voice a gasp as she rocked her hips against his wanting to feel him more if that was even possible. It was madness. Touching her, feeling her with every nerve in her body until she started quivering in cascading movements.
Addictive. From his scent to his touch and everything in between. She held on to his shoulders as the after-shudders kicked in, taking comfort in the way he was cradling her whole. Whatever this was, he’d left her feeling like a beautiful heap of bliss with all the warm feelings to match. In a world where Jasper was alive, there had to be hope for tomorrow.
γ
Emma opened her eyes to find herself on the very edge of the bed, Sam taking over the rest, much like a spider, spreading her limbs to the far end. The clock on her wall read 7:35 a.m.
“It can’t be.” She pushed her legs over the side of the bed and heard her stomach growl before she reached the clock. “Sam, wake up!” A bear noise came from the bed and Sam moved under the blanket with the grace of a wild boar, slipping a foot out from under the cover. “Wake up! We slept like sixteen hours!”
Sam craned her neck to look for Emma, her morning face a sight to remember. “Man, I could eat the north-end of a goddamn rattlesnake right about now!” She pushed herself up in a Viking stretch, golden-brown arms locking at her back in a titan pull. She was pure fiber, reminding Emma CrossFit needed to make its way back to her list. A shower later, they ransacked the closets and pulled some sweatpants and shirts on, much to Emma’s dismay.
“C’mon, you must have worn t-shirts in your youth! Doesn’t it take you back?” Sam grinned. “Bet you’ll look long and hard for those yoga pants now.” She giggled and pushed her out the door before Emma changed her mind.
“Morning!” Lilou’s voice came from the other end of the hallway. “Well, if it isn’t 21 Jump Street!” She chuckled. “Come, everyone’s having breakfast in the kitchen.” Three long hallways later, they’d made it. The modern looking kitchen was big enough to easily fit fifteen people around the breakfast bar, the island gravitating in the middle of the room, just below the most intricate chandelier Sam had ever seen. And she’d never seen a home with such high ceilings. This kitchen though, was nowhere close to the Victorian charm of the rest of the mansion. Despite the pale yellow walls and vaulted ceiling, sate-of-the-art appliances elegantly spread throughout the place.
Freshly cut fruit, muffins of all shapes and sizes and three different bowls of yogurt and cereal were under pillage, hands going left, right and center in the hunt for food.
“Morning.” Emma took a seat on the bar stool next to Zoey. “We overslept, I’m so sorry.” Somebody gave her a plate and she was quick to grab a muffin while Sam was getting comfy on the seat opposite hers.
Lilou didn’t need a stool, eyeing everyone from the head of the island. Her fingers danced on the countertop before she spoke. “Right. Your bodies should be fully recovered now, so while you were out, Alex did a little digging.”
He finished Lilou’s sentence. “The intersats we have here are directly connected to the ones at the base in Pamplona and to the offices back on Opt. Bad news: as of thirty minutes ago, they’ve cut all access to our general system, so we can’t make any contact.”
“And good news?” Sam spoke with her mouth full.
“I was able to contact one of the officers in Tech. The Chancellor told them we’re on a mission, so this confirms the Alliance itself has no clue as to what the new Chancellor’s plan is. Jasper was right.” Alex got up and emptied the contents of the plate in the bin under the sink. He casually turned to the rest. “And one other thing, and I need you guys to keep a very open mind on this—Zoey, my colleague managed to retrieve your phone, so by the end of the day I’ll be able to replicate your exact sim card.” With a single move he placed the plate in the dishwasher below the island as fourteen eyes followed.
Zoey’s eyes widened. “Oh—kay… There’s nothing on my phone that you shouldn’t see, Alex.” Before taking a bite of her watermelon, she caught the way Alex bit his full bottom lip.
Lilou cleared her throat, lifting her head as she took the lead. “What Alex is trying to say, Zoey is that we’ll contact Etienne once the sim’s responsive.”
It all happened too quickly and neither of them were prepared for this turn of events. Jasper’s eyelashes lowered, shielding his eyes as he took a full breath. Emma’s hand grabbed Zoey whose mouth fell and brain refused to follow, and Rufus slammed a fist into the counter. The dishes echoed under the pressure.
With the corner of her eye, Zoey saw Rufus getting up and steadying both hands on the edge of the counter. “Are you fucking kidding me?!” Mia uselessly tried to reach his arm before he pulled away as if her fingers burned. “In what world does that make any sense?!” his red beard went along with his obviously displeased lips, moving sideways as he talked. “I get one chance at that bastard and I’ll kill him with my bare hands.”
Lilou zeroed in on him. “Okay wiseguy, let’s go with the obvious, shall we?” Her gaze practically mocked him now. “What’s the quickest way to reach the Alliance and warn them about what the Chancellor did?”
Part of Rufus felt the imminent
trap, yet he said it. “Mia can portal you guys anywhere.” His body leaned forward. “There’s no need to go through that asswipe!”
Lilou shook her head, a confident smirk taking over as if she’d already proved a point. “How do we know who we can currently trust? Because if they’re in such high positions, they’ll have the means to prevent Mia from portalling anywhere if we don’t watch our step from now on! We don’t know who’s friend or foe.”
“You can issue a press release or something! I don’t care! What sort of dimwit came up with this nonsense?” Rufus curled his fingers into fists. He squinted at Jasper, awaiting some sort of backup.
Lilou moved around the island, pacing closer to Rufus. Zoey’s breath was still caught in her throat when she felt Jasper standing up. “I did.” He said in a stern voice. “And I don’t like this any more than you do, trust me.” Although he didn’t look at her, Zoey felt the call. “They had a mission within a mission that nearly caused your deaths. We’re all strategists here and we didn’t see it coming.” Jasper’s eyes shifted from Rufus to Mia, whose face showed nothing contrary to his expectations. “Etienne was the only one who did and I need to know why. He’s obviously on to something.”
“Bullshit!” Rufus thrust a hand from his forehead to his hair, letting out a displeased grunt. “What makes you think he won’t kill us all?”
Zoey zoned out, her whole life flashing before her eyes again, and this time she wasn’t freefalling. An instant chill took over her bones as she stood up, unaware of how broken her voice sounded. “He won’t as long as he has me.”
“Whoa!” Lilou jumped in. “No one’s gonna be the martyr here, Zoey and no one’s expecting to trade you for Etienne’s insights.” Emma pulled Zoey down, and somehow, she succumbed to the stool in a zombie state, like she was in some sort of trance she couldn’t snap out of. “Look, we’re just going to have a phone conversation and see where we go from there,” Lilou assured. “If you all want to go back to your lives at some point, we have to find ways to move forward and being stuck here for as long as we have won’t help.”
Alex folded his arms across his chest as he neared Rufus, watching him jerk away as he broke eye contact. Beside him, Mia’s hand grabbed his wrist as she spoke. “We can’t undo the past, Rufus. We can’t erase what they’ve done to us, but if there’s ever a chance at normal life, I want it—with you in it.” Her voice was enough to silence Rufus’s demons and steer him into the present conversation. “Lilou’s right, if I ever learned anything, it’s that aliens are not predictable; we can’t expect them to think and act like we do because their motivations are different.”
Alex lay a hand on her shoulder in support. “I promise, and I think I speak for all of us here, we’ll do everything to keep you safe.” Coming from Alex, this was quite the statement in Sam’s view.
“It’s not that I don’t believe you, Alex,” Sam started “it’s just that we don’t know who we’re up against. There are too many variables and this may not sound fun for you, but from now on, I think we all deserve to know and decide where to go from here.” She caught a glimpse of Zoey on the other side of the island.
She finally got her voice back, strained but good enough to make a point. “I get that you guys are eons beyond us and all, but Sam’s right.” Jasper’s eyes caught hers for the briefest of moments. “James made choices for me, the Alliance made choices for me, everyone seems to make choices for us all.” Her eyes now landed on Lilou. “And I get that you thought James would get a kick from sending Sam and Emma to Pamplona, but I didn’t—and no one cared.” Her fingers fluttered through the air as she spoke. “And now that we’re all here and we’re all in this together, we should all be heard.” Emma’s eyes lit up with what Zoey read as pride. She was proud of her.
Rufus’s brows shot up, a pleased expression taking over his features. He too grew tired of being a liability. “A democratic vote then!” He eagerly took the stool and bounced his fingers onto the counter like playing a drum.
There was a pause as the optans eyed each other. Alex shrugged, as if saying it was out of his hands. And it was, leaving Jasper shifting his weight from one foot to the other. “Alright.” He sighed and nodded at Lilou.
Zoey’s eyes landed on his face. Even with that speck of worry clouding his amber eyes, his beauty was somewhere between otherworldly and biblical, the proportion and symmetry of his features striking to the point where she nearly lost focus. Especially after last night. This was the worst time to be stuck on him instead of celebrating a small victory.
“I guess it’s done.” Lilou’s voice made Zoey piece herself together.
A hopeful flicker had Rufus’s eyes glowing. It was part democratic vote part Mia, whose arm extended over his wide back. The softest smile pulled at her lips and he leaned in to kiss her shoulder as if they were the only two people in the universe, exchanging glances as if they were in on the same secret. Sam hadn’t seen this side of Mia and it only revealed another layer. There was nothing but tenderness in the way she gravitated around Rufus and it became clear that great sex and memorable holidays aside, Carlos had never looked at her like that. They had the great physical minus the storming butterflies and deep emotional connection. She sighed, locking fingers under her chin. The worse side of life had happened to these two, yet they still found hope in each other.
Lilou slid in the stool next to Sam. “Is that drool?” She patted a napkin on Sam’s lips.
“Oh, fuck off!” Sam grinned leaning into Lilou. “Pass me one of them muffins before Emma finishes them off.” Said and done, Lilou grabbed the biggest chocolate muffin on display and landed it on Sam’s plate.
Beside her, Rufus patted her back. “Eat up, soldier,” he then flipped his eyes over to Alex. “I suppose training’s still in the books for today.” All eyes suddenly fixed on Alex, whose hand landed at the nape of his neck.
“Should be an interesting one, seeing you’re all kalenium free.” Alex pursed his lips together, anticipating the incoming fiasco. Mia of course, had been the only fully successful hybrid—no apparent side effects clouding her portalling skills. Even so, she’d always counted on kalenium to boost and guide her enhancement, even in captivity. The small kalenium chip Etienne had implanted in her shoulder blade made all the difference. Rufus too had one implanted in his shoulder blade when he manipulated one of Beck’s guards to call him a cab and escape. Alex cast Rufus a sidelong glance before he spoke again. “It’s going to be a lot harder for all of you.”
“I’m down if you are.” Rufus was quick to answer. “Sam here can be my guinea pig.” He shot a smile at her.
Sam’s face turned into a Picasso in an instant. “How about that democratic vote?” She instantly cocked a brow, watching him stand up.
“All in favor of Sam helping me out today, raise a hand!” His teeth brazenly grazed his lips as he scanned the participants, watching them one by one raise their hands except for Sam herself, Emma and Zoey. “Would you look at that, five against three.”
Sam threw her napkin onto the countertop. “Fine, licky-lips!” She grunted once the democratic vote turned back to bite her in the ass.
Jasper got up, sneaking a peek at Zoey. “We can’t monitor you without the kalenium, and since this base doesn’t have a proper training facility, we’ll have to find ways to avoid burning the place down.” The reason behind that peek became clear to Zoey. “Since Alex will have his hands full downstairs, that leaves Lilou and I with five of you.”
“I can help Alex if you’d like.” Emma paused. “And if he agrees.” She never had any trouble being around Alex and he seemed to have given in as well.
Jasper nodded. “I’ll cover Rufus and Sam while Lilou works with Zoey and Mia, then.” the way he looked at Zoey this time around sent a flutter through her. It was strange how he repressed everything going on in her mind and replaced those thoughts with the longing to throw herself at him again. “Can I have a word with you, Zoey?” Her heart stopped right there,
in the midst of the most unorthodox thoughts.
Color infused her cheeks. She looked up, meeting his eyes as she nodded. He walked closer to the door and she followed suit, unable to control her butterflies. Ashamed at the infatuation taking over, she cleared her throat. “Where are we going?” She quickened the pace to catch up. He turned left, then right and left again, until she recognized a familiar hallway.
“Come,” he said, “we can talk in my room.” She had to fight her nerves before they swallowed her whole. Taking a long breath, she slid through the door and watched his frame align with hers at an arm’s length.
The way his eyes caught hers was nearly startling, sizing the situation as if his brain was busy creating its own charts. She caught a glimpse of his fingers twitching nervously until his voice broke. “I think it’s time we spoke.” He moved swiftly, narrowing the distance between them until his forehead met hers. Zoey’s heart almost went into cardiac arrest. “I don’t want to hide anymore, Zoey. If you do, I’ll respect it, but I need you to know how I feel.” She felt his fingers sliding along the length of her arms and sucked in a sharp breath as he took her hand in his. Between the feels flooding her ribcage and the goosebumps covering her already freckled arms, she had it all. Unexpectedly, his chest was panting in the very same rhythm under that waistcoat when they came eye to eye.
Up until this very moment, she never allowed her thoughts to tangle around the what ifs and the possibility of stretching outside the present they had. Not until he’d said the words. This Jasper suddenly felt so flesh and bone, it was almost scary.
Swallowing her thoughts, Zoey pulled back a little. “I’m falling for you, Jasper,” her chest moved under shallow breaths, “and I’m scared we won’t live enough to see where this goes.” Although her voice was barely a whisper, he pondered those very words a million times before he even thought of mentioning anything. Something inside her called to him, moved him and tore through his principles like a hot knife through butter. Something that silenced his reason and shifted his foundation in a matter of days. Her.
Found in Amber Page 11
