Page 26 of Take

My chest tightened and I ground my teeth together. The tension in the room was so intense it was as if the pin on a grenade had been pulled.

“Yeah. It’s good.” Jasper strode to the door, and started to shut it, but not before I caught a glimpse of Julianna placing her hand on his arm.

I didn’t sleep the rest of the night.

Jasper strode into my room before the sun had even risen. He was properly dressed this time, hair wet and tussled, and smelling like papaya and lavender. It didn’t suit him. Jasper had a natural earthy scent—erotic.

He stopped just inside the door and briefly looked at me curled up in the rocking chair by the window. I caught the twitch of his brows lowering and the unsettled storm in his eyes. Something was off and I wondered if Julianna hadn’t satisfied him.

I’d been sitting here ever since the shower, trying to figure out my options. Jasper might not think I had options, but I did. I could’ve left last night and I was betting he would’ve been too busy fucking his French princess to realize I’d gone.

But Xamien told me to stay close to Jasper, that he’d explain everything to me, and I trusted Xamien’s judgment. I could decide what to do when I saw Xamien.

“Get dressed. We need to be on the road in five.” He walked out, leaving the door open.

A minute later, I heard the roar of the bike’s engine and then three revs. Shit. I threw on my jeans and ran to the adjoining bathroom, quickly peed and stuck a wad of toothpaste in my mouth. I slipped on my shoes, ran out the bedroom door and smacked right into sex goddess.

I should’ve politely thanked her for her hospitality and walked away. The old Max would’ve done that. But the rumble inside me from seeing Jasper walk out of my bedroom last night still simmered. My anger was directed at Jasper, but Julianna was playing me and I didn’t like it.

“Don’t think you’re special because my brother was with you last night.” I kept my voice calm and controlled.

Julianne slowly smiled, her lips pulling back to reveal her pearl white teeth. “We both know he’s not your brother.” She raised her chin and my hand curled into a fist as I imagined punching her in the nose and seeing her land on her ass, fawnlike legs in the air. “He was in my bed, not yours. And has been a number of times. That makes me special.”

I raised my brows. “Oh, didn’t you know? Specials are whatever needs to be used up before they go bad.” Her back stiffened.

“Max!” Jasper shouted.

I looked past Julianne’s shoulder and saw him standing at the other end of the hall looking all-encompassing with his stance wide, shoulders broad nearly filling the width of the hallway. I knew he’d heard me; the question was whether he heard the entire conversation. Of course he did; he was a Sounder.

“Get your ass on the bike. Now!”

Julianna snickered.

I glared at him and muttered. “Yes, sir.”

He heard me. “For fuck’s sake.” He turned on his heel and two seconds later, the front screen door slammed.

I glanced at Julianna then raised my chin and met her glare. “Thank you for your hospitality.” Then I brushed by her, followed Jasper outside, walked to his bike and climbed on. He started it up again and I put my hands on the back bar. He reached behind, grabbed both wrists and pulled them forward so my arms were around him.

Then we left Julianna’s.

It was an hour before we stopped again and it was only because I had to pee so badly. I tapped him on the shoulder when the next roadside café came into view and he pulled over and stopped. I was already off the bike and running toward the bathroom before he shut down the engine.

He caught me at the door of the diner, latching onto my wrist.

“Jesus. You have a guy after you who can Trace. Might want to remember that before you go running off? ’Cause, sunshine, no matter how good I am, I can’t fuckin’ Trace, so if he gets to you first, you’re history.”

I hesitated for a second as his words caused a tremor to shift through me. Even the word Trace reminded me of Drake.

Jasper crossed his arms, his foot holding the door open. A man and woman walked toward us, took one look at Jasper, and opted for the other door.

“I’m not scared. I want to know who is after me. It’s important I know.”

His jaw clenched. “Told you. I don’t know. He never told me. But I do know that you are scared. You’re terrified as hell of whoever put those scars on you; otherwise, you wouldn’t be having nightmares about him. Fear is eating away at you from the inside out. I can see that as clear as the fuckin’ sun.”

“Don’t think you know me, Jasper.” Because all he saw was a damaged girl with a fucked-up past and the wad of cash he’d get when the job was done. “You will never know me.”

We stood staring at one another before finally the tension in his arm holding the door relaxed. “Didn’t you have to pee?”

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