Page 135 of Witch Undecided
My power.
A sob broke from my throat. “You’re okay.”
He bristled, brows snapping in an angry frown. Heck, he was furious. “You could havedied. One more second and it would’ve had you. What thefuckwere you thinking. You should have left.”
I wanted to speak but my throat was too tight with emotion.
She couldn’t leave you,Rune said.
Jasper glared at me. “Why? Why couldn’t you leave me, Cora?”
I stood slowly and walked toward him. His chin came up guardedly and he looked down his nose at me.
I placed my palms on his chest and swallowed the lump in my throat. “I care about you, Jasper.”
“I care about a lot of things, Cora, but I wouldn’t put my life in jeopardy for them.”
And yet he’d done that for me time and time again. Maybe at first it had been for selfish reasons, but it wasn’t any longer. There was no lying any longer.
I reached up and grazed his jaw with my fingertips. “I couldn’t leave you because I love you.”
His breath hitched. “What…What did you say?”
I swallowed the lump in my throat. “I love you.”
A cacophony of emotions flitted across his face, and for a brief moment there was love in his gaze—pure, unadulterated love.
His hand hugged my throat, thumb sweeping across my pulse. “I don’t know what love is. All I know is that you took the amulet off. Now you belong to me. You’remine.”
I searched his face. “Is that what you want? To own me?”
Doubt flashed across his features and it hit me that he didn’t understand this thing he was feeling. Maybe love was too alien of a concept for him to grasp. Maybe for him, wanting to own somethingwaslove. That was no way to live.
“Don’t.” He squeezed slightly. “Don’t pity me.”
I smiled up at him. “I don’t pity you, Jasper. I love you, and love doesn’t require ownership or possessiveness to work. It requires trust and loyalty. Will you let me teach you?”
His throat bobbed, his jaw tensed, and for a moment I thought he’d tell me to fuck off, but then his expression softened, and he tucked in his chin and locked gazes with me.
“You want me to share you with the shifters.”
“I need you to. I also need you to follow the rules so that the seal doesn’t break.”
His chest rumbled and he pressed his forehead to mine. “You love me?” He sounded confused, unsure.
My throat pinched. “Yeah, you evil motherfucker, I do.”
He tipped my chin up, lips brushing mine as his other hand skimmed across the hollow of my throat where the amulet had nestled. “You’re mine either way, Cora, but…I’ll allow you to teach me about this thing you call love.” He smirked. “It could prove interesting.”
I pressed my lips softly against his, then pulled back. “Deal.”
We were met by Tor,Leif, and Jessie outside. The shifters were wild-eyed as they strode toward me. The next moment I was wrapped in biceps and pressed to pecs in an epic hug.
“Fuck, Cora, fuck.”
“Long story,” Sloane said. “But not here. Let’s get the fuck outta here before anything else untoward happens.”
The guys reluctantly released me from the hug, but Tor kept his arm around my waist and Leif slipped his hand into mine.
