Page 45 of Witch Unexpected
He was fully corporeal now, arms crossed over his chest, looking composed and collected, his lithe, muscular form highlighted in the silver rays of the moon. I hated how his presence quickened my pulse.
“I saved your life,” he said softly.
“You savedyourfucking life. You’re nothing without me, and you know it. I’m your anchor, and without me, you…” I tilted my head to the side. “Youwhat? What happens to you, Jasper, hmmm?” I pushed the covers off and strode toward him, not caring about the fact I was half-naked. In fact, there was power in being half-naked and not giving a fucking shit. “Where would you go if I died, hmmm?”
A shadow crossed his face—doubt… Fear? But it was fleeting. “What would have happened to you if that creature had devoured your soul?” he countered. “If I hadn’t been there to save you…again.” He dropped his arms to his side and stepped close, so mere inches separated us. “You think you’re this badass fighter, but sit down and count the number of times I’ve swooped in to save your ass, to save your friends and be your fucking knight in shining armor, then tell me the price you’ve paid is too high.”
His words were shards of doubt, piercing my armor of righteousness.
“I asked for sex,” he said. “One thing. Your body to service mine. I made it good for you.”
The pulse at my throat throbbed sluggishly. No, he was messing with my head. “You used me.”
He snorted. “No, Cora. You tell yourself that because it makes you feel better about enjoying what we have. You lie to yourself because admitting you want me causes you conflict.” He dipped his head, so his mouth was a hairsbreadth from mine. “I’m a bad, bad man, Cora, but you fucking love it.”
I lifted my chin involuntarily, lips aching for the brush of his, and there it was—the smug smile I despised.
“See what I mean?” He pressed a finger to my lips, and I jerked my head away.
When I looked back, he was gone.
My shoulders sagged in relief. I could never think straight when Jasper was around. I couldn’t breathe.
Fuck him and his mind games. What we had was sick and twisted and totally involuntary. It had to stop.
I padded back to the bed then froze as a shadow darted across the balcony.
Someone was out there.
Someone was outside my room.
Chapter Eleven
Igrabbed a poker from the hearth and swung the balcony doors open to find a distorted shadow lurching about by the balcony railing. My brain struggled to figure out what I was seeing. The moon chose that moment to slip out from behind cloud cover to reveal a red-faced Bramble gripping a guy in a headlock.
“What the fuck?” I hoisted the poker higher. “Intruder?”
“Yes!” they both said simultaneously.
Huh? “What?”
The guy looked up at me from the odd angle of being clasped to Bramble’s torso, her arms locked around his neck.
“She isn’t meant to be here,” he said.
“Me?” Bramble tightened her grip, and the guy made anoofsound. “What the fuck areyoudoing skulking about the new anchor’s quarters.”
The guy went still. “The new anchor?”
I got a good look at his face then. Pale gray eyes, silver brows, and close-clipped silver hair against dark skin. His face was all angles, but his full mouth softened his features.
“You’re the surviving potential?” He attempted to eye me up.
I didn’t care; it wasn’t like I had my hooha out. People wore skimpier bikinis.
“Notpotential,” Bramble said. “She passed the test.”
“Congrats.” He grinned up at me, flashing even, white teeth and elongated canines.
