RANDA
I left my phone off during those two weeks.
Jasper did too.
We let ourselves be consumed by heat, and it was glorious.
But of course, the end of it eventually arrived.
I collapsed on my back on the mattress, panting as my pleasure faded. The fire in my veins was disappearing with it, finally.
Jasper’s fingers were still tangled in my hair, one of his hands gripping my thigh loosely.
He rarely let go of me for more than the amount of time it took to use the facilities. Or make pancakes.
Even with the pancakes, we usually made them together.
Neither of us had brought up anything serious since that day in the bathtub. There was so much to say… but we hadn’t said any of it.
Slowly, my body relaxed and cooled as heat came to an end.
Fear started to clench in my middle anyway.
Jasper had made it clear that he wasn’t himself while the magic consumed us, and I had no idea what that meant for me.
“Your scent changed.” He didn’t sound worried about it, just curious.
“Heat ended.”
“That doesn’t change the way you smell. What are you feeling?”
“Tired.” I closed my eyes.
It wasn’t a lie.
I was tired. It had been a long two weeks.
“You don’t smell tired, Miranda.” Suspicion was creeping into his voice.
Crap.
“I’m feeling unsure,” I finally admitted. “I don’t know what we do from here. There’s no plan. And I’m not really a plan person, but with something as important as where and how I’m going to live, a plan would be ideal.”
“You’re living here, with me.” His voice lowered. I didn’t know if he’d realized I was even considering leaving.
But it was an option.
I could make him take me back to Scale Ridge.
I could make his life hell.
I wasn’t going to, but it wasn’t something entirely out of the realm of possibilities.
“That didn’t sound like a request, Jasper.”
“It wasn’t a request.” He rolled onto his side, so he was facing me. His eyes were narrow, his body tense. “You’re my mate. You stay with me. I can’t fly without you anymore.”
“Now you’re sounding like a caveman.”