Page 3 of Jasper

And then there was this asshole. Granted, hehadtried to help her twice, but did he seriously just say that to her? It was probably meant to be a joke, but coming out of a bad relationship with a man who honestly thought he truly was God’s gift to women, that comment sparked her anger more than anything else.

“Do you want me to watch your stuff while you change?”

“No. I don’t have any extra clothes in this bag. It’s full of camera equipment.” One more thing to be furious over. She’d have to sit through the whole flight soaking wet.

He took her luggage, gripped her elbow, and steered them over to a quiet corner where a backpack sat in one of the chairs. He opened it and pulled out a faded gray t-shirt. “Here, put this on. It’s the least I can do since I ruined your blouse.”

Sloane frowned. She really didn’t want to take the shirt, but the prospect of sitting through the whole flight in this mess wasn’t one she relished. Grudgingly, she took the shirt. It was softer than anything she owned.

“Thank you.”

“Go on. I’ll watch your stuff.”

She glanced at her carry-on which housed her entire way of living. She didn’t know this guy from Adam. What if he ran off with her equipment, which was worth thousands of dollars?

“I’m not a thief, I promise.” His dark brown eyes twinkled with laughter.

“I don’t know you.”

“No, you don’t, but I was a Marine, and they taught us respect and honor. Your things are safe with me.”

“Thank you for your service,” she replied automatically. She had military men and women in her family, including her father, and would never disrespect another who served by not telling them how much she appreciated what they did to keep this country safe. Her own cousin had deployed again and offered her his house to lay low. He did say there would be another houseguest there, but they should get along fine, and he might be able to help her.

God, she hoped so. Her nerves were frayed, and she just wanted her life to go back to normal. Whatever normal was.

The guy standing in front of her distracted her from her thoughts by giving her a lopsided grin and pushing her gently in the direction of the restrooms. “I got this. Go get out of those wet clothes.”

She cast one last look at her things then speed-walked down the hall to the ladies’ room. She made quick work of taking her coffee-soaked blouse off and pulling on the shirt. Her bra was damp, but she sure as hell wasn’t taking it off. The girls only got to roam free in the privacy of her own room. Not in an airport full of people.

Puling a scrunchie out of her jeans pocket, she piled her hair up in a messy bun and washed her hands. The shirt was way too big, but at least it was clean and dry. The guy might be an ass, but he wasn’t a complete asshole. Maybe it was the fact he told her he was former military. She had a soft spot for them. Or maybe it was just that he’d been kind to her despite his arrogance when she needed a little kindness from someone.

Either way, her camera and all her other equipment were with him, and she still didn’t know him enough to trust him. She pulled her jacket back on and almost ran back to where she’d left him with her things.

A breath of relief escaped when she spotted him sitting in a chair, his feet out in front of him with the baseball cap pulled low over his face. It didn’t hide the beard he was sporting. It wasn’t one of those bushy beards. It was shaved down close, almost like he took a black marker to his face and the perfect beard that enhanced his lips instead of hiding them. His hair was a shade darker than the beard, an inky black even under the fluorescence of the lights above him. He was tall, but so was she at five-eight. It took a big man to make her feel dwarfed, but this guy did.

Jasper. That was what he said his name was. Every time she heard the name, her mind always morphed to Jasper fromTwilight. Him and his sparkly self. This Jasper was so un-Twilight-like, it wasn’t even funny. He didn’t sparkle. Instead, the confidence he oozed was far more appealing than the fictional vampire.

Sloane hurried over to him, and he cracked an eye. “Better?” he asked.

“Much, thank you.”

She attempted to reach for her things, and he shook his head. “Sit. You look ready to drop from exhaustion.”

And that was the God’s truth. Shewasexhausted. It felt like ages since she’d been able to just sit and relax. It was why she was headed to the middle of nowhere. She needed to rest and pick up the pieces of her life.

“So, cameras. You a photographer or something?”

“Or something.”

“Don’t want to talk about it?”

“Not particularly.”

“Cool.” He sat up and turned his baseball hat backward. “Okay, what do you want to talk about?”

“Nothing.”

“The strong and silent type.” He nodded, folding his arms across his chest and stretching out again. “Broody too.”

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