Page 18 of Jasper

Jasper Black. That’s quite ominous. Wasn’t Jasper a character in Twilight? Maybe he really is a vampire.

“I’m waiting,” he says impatiently.

“Ariana Jade Riley.”

“Why are you living in a fucking camper? Are you running from someone?”

Just as I open my mouth to snap at him, a house comes into view. Not just one. Many. An entire neighborhood, almost. But somehow, they all look like they are connected by sidewalks that lead to one enormous home. I’d imagine the big one is considered a mansion, but it’s not pretentious like the ones I’ve seen in movies. It almost looks like a lodge, with wood siding, huge posts with decorative rock cemented to the lower half, dark shutters, and tons of windows. And inside those windows, it’s all lit up by various lamps throughout. It’s breathtaking. All of it.

“Whatisthis?” I ask.

We are in the middle of nowhere. Miles from where he left my car. But somehow this feels like we’re right in town. There’s even what looks like a park, though it’s hard to tell much in the dark.

“This is home. I live here with my family. We all have our own houses, and then there’s the family house.”

My eyes go round, and my head snaps to look at him. “Oh, God. Is this some sort of cult? How many wives do you have?”

Jasper stares at me for a long moment, and I think he might be stunned. Then he slowly shakes his head and runs a hand over his face. “Ariana Jade Riley, you’re going to make me regret kidnapping you, aren’t you?”

“I told you it was kidnapping. Seriously, though, Jasper. I’m kind of panicking right now. Tell me this isn’t a cult.”

Almost in slow motion, he reaches over and tugs on one of my low pigtails. “Relax, rainbow. It’s not a cult. I live here with my brothers and my sister and myonesister-in-law.”

My shoulders drop, and I rest my head against the seat. “Oh, good. I was starting to worry you were living some sort of secret life or something.”

Jasper huffs out a breath and climbs out of the truck. “Never said I wasn’t. Just said it wasn’t a cult.”

Then he slams the door shut and leaves me staring at him through the windshield as he rounds the hood to my side.

Wait.

Did I really just hear what I think I did?

When he pulls the door open, I stick my hands out to stop him from reaching for me. “Jasper?—”

“Ariana, relax. Come meet my sisters and you’ll feel better. You’re safe here. Just be a good girl.”

Be a good girl.

A bone-chilling shiver runs down my spine, straight to my core, and the sparkle in his eye tells me he noticed my reaction.

Crap.

My vagina is going to need to chill out.

Just because he said those words doesn’t mean we like him.

“How old are your sisters?”

Change of subject.

That’s smart.

“Around your age. Come on, before you freeze out here.”

Great, he’s back to being bossy.

I follow his long strides, taking one last glance at my camper before we step through a huge set of oak doors. As soon as we do, I’m met with two unfamiliar things. Warmth and loud, boisterous conversation.

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