Page 83 of To Crave Madly
Together we collapsed onto the cushions and Jasper wrapped me in his arms. I felt glorious and completely sated and I knew I was smiling like an idiot. But I didn’t care; I was happy, and I felt amazing.
I also felt content. The buzzing intensity that had been between me and Jasper had now been replaced with a satisfying sense of fulfilment. We had finally given into each other and my soul felt a little more complete.
“Thank you,” Jasper said quietly.
I turned to face him and saw the same smile mirrored in his own features. “What for?”
“For finding me.” He leaned down and gave me a tender kiss. It was slow and deep and loving.
A sting burned in my chest and I winced at the sudden sharp pain. I pulled away from Jasper as heat seared across Lucifer’s mark. Was he jealous?
Jasper grunted in pain and he pressed his hand to his chest. Oh, shit. What had I done now?
“Jasper, what’s happening?”
“It’s okay, I think it’s just a soul mark.”
That did nothing to ease the sudden panic I felt. My chest still throbbed beneath my hand but just like before, the pain faded into nothingness just as quickly as it had started. Jasper pulled his hand away and sitting proud on his skin was a blood red mark. It was a circle overlapping what looked like a large ‘T’. How odd. I wonder what it meant.
I looked down at my mark and there, slap bang in the middle, was the same blood red mark intertwining with the other symbols etched into my skin.
I looked back up into Jasper’s face and found him staring at me with the biggest grin imaginable.
What the hell? “Who are you and what have you done with Jasper?”
He laughed at me. Like, actually laughed. “Do you know what this means?”
I shook my head. I still couldn’t get over the fact that Jasper was laughing.
“This is the symbol of a true Vampire Bond. The ‘T’ symbolises two individuals uniting as one, two souls becoming entwined, and the circle is their never-ending journey of love and devotion.”
That was actually quite beautiful. But I still didn’t know why it had merged with Lucifer’s mark. I guess that was just more shit to figure out.
However, I wasn’t going to let it ruin this moment between Jasper and me. We were fated to be together and I was going to enjoy every second with Jasper. I might not know what this meant for the relationships between the other men that seemed to be forming in my life, but I did know that what Jasper and I had was beautiful and I was thoroughly open to exploring that.
We were going to explore it all night long, I thought, as I pulled Jasper back down into the cushions with me.
He was mine and I intended to explore every delicious inch of him.
Chapter 28
LORI
Jasper was like a completely different vampire. I had woken up in his bed this morning and found him smiling down at me. I had never seen him smile so much, but I had to admit, it looked good on him. He had nailed the dark, handsome, brooding look, but this new, carefree, glowing smile… I couldn’t resist it. I wanted to constantly kiss that smile, which I did this morning. Andthatturned into something a lot more fun. Just thinking about it had a blush heating my cheeks. The man was insatiable.
This morning he had cooked me breakfast, and I swear I had heard him whistling down the corridor after this morning's team meeting. I was surprised the team hadn’t said anything, but maybe they were just enjoying the benefits of his newfound cheery disposition. Hell, I didn’t care. I was happy, Jasper was happy, and the team was happy. Apart from Cassian, but that wasn’t a surprise. I don’t think he knew what happiness was.
I was worried about Cassian. He seemed to spend so much time locked away in his basement, more so than ever before, and I knew it was all in the efforts of avoiding me. I still didn’t understand why, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to know. Half of me was desperate to find out the reasons for his hatred, but the other half was screaming stay away on pain of death. I wanted to know why he had kissed me like he had, and why he had hated that he’d enjoyed it. I knew he had a tragic past; I had tasted all that grief and rage and the more I thought about leaving him to his solace in the basement, the more I felt that no one should suffer alone.
Perhaps I could speak to Jasper about him. He seemed to know something of what was going on with Cassian. What had he said? That Cassian feared what I was to him? I hope that wasn’t part of another prophecy or something. Being part of one was bad enough. I already had too much shit to deal with to handle another prophecy. But right now wasn’t the time for that conversation. Jasper and I had only just altered the state of our relationship and we were navigating new waters. Throwing in my concerns over another man probably wasn’t the right thing to do. I would just have to keep my eye on Cassian and hope he didn’t do anything stupid.
My biggest concern right now, other than the Yule Gathering, was Lucifer. I still hadn’t heard anything from him since my near-death magic-fuelled explosion and I was worried. So worried that I was going to defy him and demand Torsten take me to Hell. I needed to know if he was alright, even though part of me feared what he thought of my bond with Jasper. From what I could tell, Lucifer had seemed to like Jasper, but I had to keep telling myself that while I had come to terms with being in a relationship with more than one man, the men might not be willing to share me. A heart-breaking thought if there ever was one. I would never be able to choose between Lucifer and Jasper. I just prayed that it was a choice I would never have to make.
“Torsten,” I called into the empty room. I knew he was there. Now that my demon had settled, and I had got a hold of my shadow magic, I seemed to be able to pinpoint his location even if I couldn’t see him. He materialised behind me, no doubt trying to get the drop on me, but I spun and lashed out my hand in an attempt to catch him off guard. His hand caught my wrist, and he used the momentum from my attack to spin me back around and pin my back to his chest.
“Dammit,” I cursed. “I thought I had you then.”
His chest reverberated against my back as he chuckled. “Not yet, little demon. But keep trying.”
