Page 15 of Jasper

It’s not long before I hear the crunch of footsteps on frozen dirt. Ariana’s shape emerges from the shadows, bundled in a worn coat two sizes too big with a hood trimmed in crappy faux fur.

She stops in her tracks when she sees me. “Jesus Christ!” she gasps, stumbling back a step, her hand resting on her heart. She’s out of breath, and I want to know why. “You scared me. What are you doing here?”

I stand slowly, trying to contain the wildfire of fury threatening to explode out of me. “What the fuck are you doing living in the woods when it’s the freezing cold?”

She blinks at me, still caught in shock. “Excuse me?”

It takes every ounce of my self-control not to pick her up and toss her in my truck. I clench my jaw, reminding myself that I need to calm down. The last thing I want is to scare her or for her to take off running in the dark in a wooded area. I’d catch her before she even made it five steps, but still.

“Why are you sitting on my steps like some serial killer?” she demands when I don’t say anything.

“It’s freezing out here. Get inside.”

Her gaze narrows. “You can’t just?—”

“Inside. Now.” I bite out.

She hesitates but eventually moves past me and opens the camper door. I follow her in, shutting it behind us.

“Pack up whatever shit you need. You’re not staying here another night.”

She spins around, her eyes wide. “What? This is where I live. And you never said why you’re here. I don’t even know your name. How did you find me?”

“Jasper. Now, pack your stuff, you don’t live here anymore.”

She lifts her chin. “Okay,Jasper. But I’m not packing anything.”

“You can’t live here,” I growl. “It’s below freezing. There are bears out there. One could eat you in your sleep.”

She snorts. “Bears don’t eat humans. They prefer berries and fish. Look it up.”

I stare at her, incredulous. “Are you seriously arguing with me about bear diets? Because they literally eat humans all the time.”

She lifts her chin. “Not the bears I know.

“You know a lot of bears, huh?”

“Winnie the Pooh. Care Bears. Paddington. Yogi Bear. Gummy bears. None of them eat humans.”

Jesus. Her being cute right now is pissing me off. Especially because I’m having to fight a damn smile from showing on my face over her stupid list of cartoon bears.

“You better pack your stuff, Ariana. Or else.”

She raises an eyebrow. “Or else what?”

Since when did Little girls think they could defy me? I know what I look like. Ember and Rowie will only push me so far. But this brat, she’s seeing my buttons and pressing them on purpose. A spanking is what she needs. A red butt and a warm bed.

She smirks when I don’t answer and turns her back to me, clearly dismissing the conversation.

Fine. Fuck it. She wants to mess with me; she’s going to learn a hard lesson.

I storm outside, biting off a string of curses, and start my truck. She appears in the doorway, frowning.

“What are you doing?”

I ignore her and pull my truck forward a few feet, lining it up with the camper’s hitch.

“Jasper!” she shouts. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

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