Page 48 of To Crave Darkly
“It would be my pleasure,” he purred before joining me in the hallway. As we wandered further into the house, I started to worry Jasper wasn’t following but then I heard the dogged steps of a man who had just been thoroughly whipped.
Lori, one; Jasper, nil.
It really was the small things that made life worth living.
Chapter 19
LORI
The team meeting turned out to be just as awkward as I imagined it. At least Alec had put a shirt on, although I couldn’t decide if that was a good or a bad thing. Saskia thought my joining the ranks was the best thing since sliced bread. I guess being around all the dick-measuring-macho-bullshit grated on you after a while. I, for one, was glad to have her company. Alec thought it was a great way to get “hands on” with me, Fenris couldn’t really care less, and Cassian, well… Cassian just stared at me through literally the entire meeting. I think he was hoping that I’d burst into flames if he stared hard enough, or perhaps my entrails would become my extrails merely because he wished it so.
“So, to recap.”
Jasper’s voice pulled me from Cassian’s death stare, and I focused back on the man in charge. His face was all authoritative lines, and he rocked the don’t-mess-with-me-sucker look. His eyes caught mine and my heart stopped. Holy moly, he was gorgeous. The room around me faded into nothingness as I became entangled in his breath-taking gaze. It was like drowning in a sea of hunger. It robbed me of my breath and my lips craved his as if they would be my salvation. I leaned forward slightly in my chair and Jasper resolutely pulled his eyes away from me, breaking the tension between us. Shit, I had been about to jump out of my seat and claim him in front of everyone here. I took a quick glance around the room but no one seemed to have noticed. I shuffled in my seat to cover my sudden movement and then made a show of relaxing back in my chair. But I wasn’t relaxed. I was as far opposite from relaxed as I could possibly be.
“Saskia, you’re on weapons. Fenris, you will help uncover any magic Lori may possess. Cassian, you will train her in hand-to-hand combat. Alec will skill her in tracking and covert ops and with me,” he turned to face me again, a wicked grin curling his lips, “you’ll get physical endurance.”
The other four groaned. I already knew I was going out for a run with Jasper in the morning, but what was so bad about his teaching methods? I looked at them all and dread settled in my stomach. Even Cassian’s face had soured at Jasper’s words. Jaspermustbe bad if even Cassian winced.
“What’s so bad about that? Why are you all cringing?”
They all exchanged a look that spoke volumes. Jasper was clearly a hard ass. Great.
“I’ll update the rota and add Lori to it. She can spend the first week training and then she can join you on patrol. Any questions?” Jasper paused long enough to allow anyone to raise an objection. No one did. “Very well. You’re dismissed.”
Chairs scraped across the floor as the team filed out. I went to catch up with Saskia, hoping she could lend me something for tomorrow, seeing as I still didn’t have any clothes. Heaven knew how long de Santis would take to come through with that. Maybe he’d use it as a tactic to make me feel uncomfortable. He seemed to get a perverse enjoyment from making other people squirm.
“Saskia,” I called out. She turned to face me with an excited grin plastered on her face. “You think you can lend me something for my run with Jasper tomorrow?”
“Girl, I do not envy you. I remember my first training session with Jasper. I couldn’t move for a week.”
Crap. My limbs already hurt from just thinking about the torture Jasper was going to put me through tomorrow.
“But sure,” she continued, “come with me. I’m sure I will have something that will stand up to all the mud.”
Double crap.
I sighed wearily, resigning myself to my new routine. It was going to be a painful learning curve, I could tell. But maybe I could weasel some tips and tricks for surviving from Saskia. She seemed genuinely friendly and perhaps having a friend here would be a good thing. I missed being able to just pick up the phone and call Rae. She always had a way of putting things into perspective, and god knows I could do with a serious reality check right now. Maybe, spending some time with Saskia could help with that. To be honest, I was looking forward to putting some space between me and Jasper. I couldn’t think clearly around him. He had a way of getting tangled under my skin, and he became an itch I wanted to scratchreallybadly. He made my every thought –
“Lori. A word.”
I stopped in my tracks at the sound of his growled words and slowly spun to face Jasper. He leant back against the table with his arms folded across his chest. His mouth was set in a grim line, and he looked like he was trying to keep his temper in check. Boy, was I in trouble. Again.
I glanced back at Saskia. “I’ll come find you later.”
She nodded and pity flashed in her eyes as she gave me a little wave before disappearing down the corridor.
I closed the door behind me, sensing that this was a conversation he didn’t want anyone to overhear. Not that I think that would stop those with super hearing. I bet Alec had that with him being a Hell Hound but I wondered if any of the others did. I’d have to ask some other time because right now it looked like I was going to be rather preoccupied with a surly vampire.
“Lori, we need to get one thing straight. You’re here for protection. Nothing else. I can’t have my team compromised because of you.”
I folded my arms. I couldn’t take this any more. “What’s your problem with me?”
“I don’t have a problem with you.”
“Could’ve fooled me. You can’t seem to stand to be around me. You continuously berate me and all for what? To show me how much of a problem youdon’thave?”
“I don’t think anything about you, Lori.”
