Page 54 of Enemies with Benefits

Now that we were in the air, it was as if I were sitting on a soft, swaying cushion. And below us, the majesty of the mountains and trails gave a true bird’s eye view. ‘This is...incredible,’ I murmured, delight replacing terror.

‘Told you,’ Jasper said smugly.

I glanced up, saw his smile and the easy confidence with which he operated the glider and ventured a smile of my own.

‘Want to go higher?’

At my nod, he sent us soaring higher, then, before I could catch my breath, his lips pressed close to my ears. ‘Look to your left.’

I looked and gasped out loud. ‘Oh, my God.’

A flock of grey-winged geese on their migration path flew in perfect V-formation about fifty metres away. Caught on a warm thermal, their wings barely moved, the only movement the graceful undulation of their necks. Totally entranced, I stared until my eyes watered, until my smile threatened to split my face.

When Jasper alerted me that he was changing direction, I felt a moment’s sadness, then intense joy that I’d experienced this once-in-a-lifetime moment. My heart slamming against my chest, I wondered if that was a harbinger of my relationship with Jasper. Was he destined to blaze through my life like a comet, then fade away once this trip was over? Because really, once the last few teething issues in our contract were ironed out, there would be no need for further day-to-day contact.

And as we glided towards our designated landing spot, the ground rushing up at us, my breath was snatched from my lungs. Because I knew the seventy-minute flight would’ve been right up there with the most intensely exhilarating thing I’d ever done had I not felt another thunderbolt of emotion the moment we stepped back ontoterra firma.

Despite suspecting this was coming, I stood shell-shocked and completely willing for Jasper to believe, as he laughingly loosened my harness and pulled it off, that it was the flight that held me tongue-tied. While all the time, the sonic boom of revelation ripped my life apart.

I was in love with Jasper Mortimer.

I struggled to hold myself together as he trailed a finger down my cheek, his eyes caressing my face. ‘You should feel this free every day, Wren. Let the baggage go. It suits you.’

I must have given a satisfactory response, because his teeth flashed in another devastating smile before he took my hand and walked me back to our SUV.

In the car, I grabbed my laptop and attempted to make notes about the experience, even though my focus was shot to pieces. Thankfully, it kept Jasper from engaging me in conversation, gave me the reprieve to contain the uncontainable.

My heart had handed itself over to my family’s worst enemy and I knew deep in my bones that it was irretrievable. Did I even want it back? In a different world, had there been a chance with Jasper, would I have taken it? While my soul wanted to screamyes, my head forced me to face reality.

We’d gone from regular sex sessions for the sake of peaceful contract negotiations to a week in a desert paradise already counting down to its conclusion.

None of it reeked of permanence or commitment. And even if it did, did either of us have the tools to sustain it in the long term?

Shaken by the glimpse of the desolate future that awaited me, I was relieved when, on arriving at the resort, Jasper was handed a note that made him frown.

‘I need to make a call to London.’

The tightness in his voice temporarily prised me from my inner turmoil. ‘Is everything all right?’

His lips firmed. ‘It’s Gemma. She’s been trying to reach me. So has my aunt.’ He anticipated my next question with a shake of his head. ‘I can’t tell you why because I have no idea.’ When he raised his gaze from the note, I caught a glimpse of apprehension.

‘Go deal with it. I’ll be fine.’

He gave a brisk nod and strode away, tension vibrating off him.

As quickly as my relief arrived, it evaporated. I was in love with Jasper. And whatever permutation I came up with showed our liaison as heart-wrenchingly temporary. My mother’s stark condemnation and Perry’s possible reaction aside, Jasper had initiated this thing between us out of frustration over my reluctance to sign on to his deal. Would we even be together otherwise?

If you want to know, ask him.

For the first time in my life, I shied away from my rational inner voice. Every inch of my soul recoiled against receiving another rejection. And yet, when the voice retreated under the relentless force of the shower I took when I returned to the suite, I mourned its silence.

My senses were still in turmoil when Jasper stalked into theriadhalf an hour later. His hair stood in haphazard spikes, as if he’d repeatedly run his fingers through it.

‘Is everything okay?’

‘No,’ he growled. ‘I need to head back to London.’

My heart lurched. Was this over already?

---