Page 64 of Jasper

“You can,” he said after a heartbeat, “but if it’s painful to talk about, you don’t have to.”

“I don’t want to talk about the details. Not yet. Maybe one day if you’re still around after all this mess.”

“I’m going to be around for a long time, pretty girl.” He leaned down and kissed the tip of her nose.

She smiled, feeling warm and fuzzy despite the trickle of fear lodged firmly in her spine.

“All I’m trying to say is I pick people who are wrong for me. Brad was the only bad apple. Then there is this stranger who steamrolls into me and spills coffee all over my shirt who went out of his way to make it right. I knew then you were going to be trouble for me, and I wasn’t wrong.”

“I’m trouble? I wasn’t the one running over old people at the airport.”

“That was an accident, and you know it!”

He smiled, his eyes mischievous.

“You’re awful. I’m trying to be serious, and you’re teasing.”

“That’s just me, baby girl. I’m a flirt and tease. It’s all part of the Watkins charm.”

“I know. But back to why I was afraid of you. I knew you weren’t the wrong kind of man. Deep down in my bones, I knew it, and that terrified me. You were someone I could fall for and not have to worry about. Until you left. That’s what scared me.”

“Honestly, I swore to keep my hands to myself because I’m not the settling down kind of man.”

Her lungs had a stroke. She knew it. She shouldn’t have opened her mouth. She should have just bitten her tongue, but she got comfortable and warm and safe and…

“Hey, now, don’t do that. You’re freaking out internally, aren’t you?”

She ducked her head, but he was having none of that. He put a finger under her chin and tilted it up, forcing her to look at him.

“Don’t freak out on me. I listened to you, now you listen to me. I’ve never met anyone I couldn’t walk away from until you. You’ve gotten under my skin, and I don’t want to get you out. You make me happy, Sloane. You give me peace, and I haven’t had either of those things since my brother died. You’re not getting rid of me anytime soon. That’s a promise I have no trouble keeping.”

“Really?”

“Really, pretty girl, and I’d show you just how serious I am if I wasn’t so tired it’s all I can do to keep my eyes open right now.”

The heat in his eyes belied how tired he said he was, but he’d been up for almost two days. She could see the weariness like a blanket surrounding him.

“Tell you what. You sleep, and I’ll keep the kittens from getting us thrown out. Then when we’re somewhere safe, we’ll continue this conversation about how serious you are.”

“Sounds like a plan, pretty girl.”

Sloane reluctantly left his lap and cleaned the bed of the food. Jasper lay back down, turning to face her as she settled in the chair beside the bed and finished her food.

His eyes closed, and then his breathing evened out.

Sloane picked up the kittens and turned the TV to the Hallmark Channel to watch Christmas movies while the best Christmas present she’d ever been given slept quietly.

It was almost midnight by the time Jasper hit the city. They’d left as soon as he’d slept a couple of hours. He didn’t trust that someone wouldn’t figure out who he was despite what he’d told Sloane. These people were organized and lethal. He’d spent several hours poring over the information Cole had forwarded to him via email and just as long talking to him aboutLos Angeles De La Muerte. Or in English, The Angels of Death. He wanted to get her to KSI headquarters as fast as he could.

She was sound asleep at the moment, her head leaning against the window. Her hair was spilling around her in waves, her hand tucked beneath her chin. She was beautiful.

And stronger than he’d suspected.

He’d been afraid she’d fall apart again, but she hadn’t. Her fear was there, but that original meltdown seemed to have gotten it out of her system. Thank fuck for that. He’d have taken her to the hospital.

Her confession only strengthened his need to protect her, and it made his own confession that much easier to make as well. He was planning on being in this woman’s life for a long time to come. She was the real deal. It took him a bit to get out of his own way, but once he’d spoken to Conner, all his demons lessened. Not gone, but less, and it allowed him to look at Sloane and see a future.

His brother’s death had haunted him more than he’d realized. It kept him from establishing any kind of meaningful relationship. Hell, KSI was the only relationship he had, and he’d even run from that. Talking with Sloane made him think, and he felt like there was a road forward now. One he could navigate.

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