Page 44 of Knot Your Business

JASPER

Her lips curling around my nickname breaks me. I pull her tighter to me and cup her cheek, tilting her head as I bring us together, trying to savor her feel and taste. She’s just as soft as before, just as trusting, melting into me the moment our lips touch. For a moment, the years between us disappear, and it’s just her and me against her mom, the Council, the world.

Honeysuckle explodes around us, and I groan, tightening my grip on her hip, letting a single finger trace under the waistband of her leggings. She whines low in her throat. It's my only warning before she's scrabbling at me, pushing my shirt up my chest even as she keeps her lips pressed against mine. My dick twitches, aching where it presses against the zipper of my jeans.

Reality slams back into me, the years of heartache and the very real problems sitting in front of us.

"Violet, listen to me," I whisper, covering her hands. Her nails bite into my skin. "Hold on."

I put enough bite into my words that she actually draws back, her eyes wide and her cheeks flushed.

Her chest heaves with her panting. All at once, I see her walls fly up as she mentally shakes off her embarrassment. She moves until her feet touch the ground, keeping her eyes off of me.

"You said you had flowers?" Her voice is clipped and distant.

"Don't do that,” I growl. I shake my head and wrap my arm around her waist, forcing her to stay in my lap. “Don't completely disengage when I just needed you to pause for a minute.”

She glances back at me, a moment of confusion flashing through her eyes. I wait until she nods to continue.

"I didn't come here to convince you to sleep with me," I say. It hadn’t even crossed my mind that she might want to, if I’m being honest. She stills in my arms, and I tighten my hold on her. "First of all, I don't even have condoms with me. Second, there's more to fixing this distance than just fucking and hoping for the best."

She sucks in a deep breath, her eyes searching my face. I force myself to stay relaxed, though my hand tightens on her hip. It's not like I'm not into the idea of sleeping with her. My dick is hard and aching, pressing into her thigh even through my jeans. But I have one chance to fix this with her, to lay a foundation that can't be broken, no matter what might happen with Sienna. Or Dominic.

Hell, that's going to be a nightmare on its own. Both of them? No wonder I haven't been able to sleep since we got the news last week despite Rylan trying his absolute best.

"All right," she says, relaxing against me. "Can you show me the flowers now?"

I pull her closer into me for a heartbeat, breathing in her scent.

"Whatever shampoo you use blends beautifully with your scent," I admit as I exhale and let my arms fall away from her.

She giggles. I haven't heard her laugh in ages, and to hear thisone? The one she hides from the public and only lets those closest to her hear? The one that shows her vulnerability instead of her sass?

Suddenly the distance doesn't feel as bad, those years lost between us not seeming as all-consuming.

She slides off my lap and holds out her hand. I lace our fingers together before leading her across the small space. It's even smaller than my shoebox of a place before I moved in with Rylan. Her stuttered gasp makes my stomach clench. I force tension into my limbs, willing my hand not to shake as I reach for the flowers and impromptu vase and then hold them out to Violet.

“Faedra gave me the vase. I didn’t think to ask Bianca for one.”

Her hands shake, the small tremors making the petals rustle as she carefully takes the gift from me. Her eyes are glassy again as she looks up, her lips trembling even as they curve into an intimate smile.

"You remembered," she whispers.

Not quite a question, though the curiosity is burning just under the surface.

Of course I fucking remembered. Everything about her is burned into me, a permanent mark on my soul. Sunflowers, honeysuckle, Lana Del Rey. Even fucking rain storms.

"Couldn't look at them for months," I admit, running a hand through my hair. I blow out a breath. "Still makes my stomach clench sometimes when I see them."

"Sorry."

The single word is filled with so much angry bitterness, it breaks my heart. I tilt her chin, forcing her gaze back to me. A soft response is on the tip of my tongue, ready to calm her, convince her that Sienna hasn’t completely fucked this up between us, but I can't quite manage to get the words out. My gaze catches on where she licks her lips, the fast swipe of her tongue making my skin heat. I tighten my grip on her jaw and pull her into me, slanting my mouth over hers.

There's a soft clink of glass against the counter, and then her arms wrap around my neck, her body molding to mine, all her soft curves against my hard lines, and I groan. She hums, her scent overwhelming the space so quickly, it's almost like it was always there, enveloping us in a cocoon of safety. My focus narrows to this moment, the sensations bleeding into one another until I can't hope to tell them all apart. The prick of her nails digging into my skin, the silken sensation of her hair where I twist my hand into it, the taste of her on my tongue.

I groan again, deep in my throat, and drop my hands to her thighs, picking her up before she can protest.

"I still don't have any condoms," I mutter against her lips.

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