Page 26 of Jasper

And I’m left clutching my blanket, staring at the doorway, wondering what just happened… and why I feel hopeful for the first time in a long time.

11

JASPER

“Can’t sleep?”

I glance up from my computer and shrug as Theo walks in, wearing only a pair of pajama pants. I’m going to have to talk to my brothers about wearing clothes in the house while Ariana is here. Fuckers don’t need to be showing themselves off to her like a bunch of prized pigs. Bringing her to the main house was a bad idea. I should have taken her to my place, where she wouldn’t see anyone else but me. Maybe I’ll move her there in the morning because having all these other men around her is making me itch to kill.

“What’s the point in even trying anymore?” I take a sip of my whiskey and click the mouse to go to the file I just downloaded. “What are you doing up? I didn’t hear Rowie crying.”

Theo shakes his head and sits down across from my desk. “She’s sleeping soundly. I just checked on her and then went to the kitchen to grab a snack when I saw you in here. You working?”

I glance at the screen and shrug. “Not really. Looking into Ariana now that I have her full name.”

“What have you found out so far?” he asks, leaning forward to try to get a glimpse of my screen.

“She was dropped off at the age of five at a firehouse by her mother, who then disappeared, so Ariana was put into foster care. She was shuffled between families for a few weeks before she was put into permanent placement, where she lived until she was eighteen. On the day of her birthday, she purchased a car and that fucking camper and seems to have been on the move ever since.”

Theo’s eyebrows furrow as he frowns. “Her mother just dropped her off and left? Any information about her foster parents?”

Most of us have been in foster care at one point or another during our lives, so we know how it is. It can be good or it can be really bad.

“No complaints on their file, and it looks like they always do long-term foster,” I tell him as I scan the information I pulled on them.

“Doesn’t mean they’re good, but hopefully it means they aren’t horrible,” Theo mutters.

Yeah. I sure as hell hope that’s the case. Ariana doesn’t seem scared of people. She’s the opposite, actually. She’s too fucking friendly. Too damn brave for her own good.

“She got between a grown-ass man and a woman tonight outside the bar in Bend. The guy was assaulting the woman, and Ariana pushed him off her.” I rake my fingers through my hair, still pissed as hell about it. What the fuck was she thinking? And the guy? I’m going to find out who the fuck it was one way or another and make sure he pays dearly not only for hurting that woman but also for causing my girl to fall.

Fuuuuuck.

I did not just think that. She’s not mine. Not even close.

“Sounds to me like she needs Daddy Jasper to keep her safe and give her some rules.”

My gaze snaps to Theo, and I clench my jaw. “I’m not her Daddy.”

It’s not an option. I would ruin her. Drain her of everything bright and colorful. I’m too dark for her. Too fucked up and way too possessive. She is too much of a free spirit. Something I would crush over time. I won’t do that to her. No matter how badly I want her. Ariana deserves better. And I don’t deserve someone as special as her.

My brother leans back in his chair, studying me in a way that makes me feel naked. Sometimes being this close with family isn’t a good thing. They see too much. Know me better than I know myself.

“Maybe not, but that doesn’t mean she couldn’t use some guidance. If you’re not willing to provide it, there are thirteen other Daddies here who probably would.”

I shoot up from my chair and round the desk, seeing nothing but red as I approach Theo. Before I cock my arm back and hit him, he laughs and holds up his hands to pacify me. The asshole goaded me on purpose.

“I think I got my message across,” he quips as he rises and backs away from where I’m practically heaving with rage.

“You’re an asshole.”

Theo chuckles again. “Yeah. I really am. Now, since some of us do enjoy sleep, I’m going back to bed.”

“Fuck off,” I growl. “And start wearing fucking shirts around here!”

His only response is holding his hand above his head to flip me off before he walks out of the room.

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