Page 2 of Desire
Once again, I was lost for words but not emotion. Had Jasper Christmas shown up to claim me as his own? I closed my eyes, waiting to hear the wordsI love you. I want you. I can’t live without you.
“I have to leave,” he said.
My eyes popped open. Jasper had takenseveral steps away from me, and his hand was on the doorknob.
“You’re leaving?” I sounded so sad.
His glossy eyes took me in. “I don’t want anything to happen to you. I can’t be seen here.”
I pressed a hand over my heart. “Am I in danger?”
“No,” he stated strongly. “You will never be in danger.”
Arthur Valentine’s daughter’s face came to mind. “Are you stillmarrying that woman?”
“Julia?”
“Is that her name?”
He pursed his lips as he blinked at me. I’d seen that expression often enough to know that Jasper Christmas had chosen to leave my question unanswered.
“Are you still marrying her?” I insisted.
“I have to go.” He turned his back to me and took hold of the doorknob.
“Jasper?” I called.
He froze andsaid, “I want you to take better care of yourself.”
His words caught me off guard, and I brushed my cheek. “Huh?”
“You’re not eating or sleeping, and that’s not good for your health.”
I wanted to accuse him of calling the kettle black, but I was now overly conscious about how I looked to him. Was I unattractive? Had I lost too much weight? Skinny had never looked good on me.
“How about you let me worry about my health?” I snapped in a voice I didn’t even recognize.
“I would if you were doing a better job.” He only turned slightly but not all the way around to face me. “Also, keep to a steady routine. You’re being followed.”
I gasped. “By who?” But the answer suddenly fell into my head. Arthur Valentine was having me tailed.
Jasper turnedthe doorknob. “Don’t follow me.”
“Wait,” I shouted.
“Please keep your voice down,” he said, making sure to follow his own directive.
Every fiber of my being wanted to defy him. I wanted to be a brat and yell, “Screw you, Jasper Christmas! You’re not calling the shots in my life.” But in a way, he was. Plus, I was not one of those girls who had learned that pitching a tantrumgot me my way. My parents had done one or both of two things whenever I’d tried that crap—ignore the hell out of me or slap the hell out of me. Instead, I’d had to learn to be shrewd and smarter in order to sway people to see things my way. Jasper wasn’t giving me enough time to work on convincing him to let down his defenses. However, I had enough time to squeeze out one more question.
“Does Bryn’s situation have anything to do with you not marrying Julia?”
He tensed up.
“What about Dale? Do you believe they’re both dead? Only blood was found and spread in a very controlled manner. Is that your take? Or do you have a different opinion?” Jeez, that had come out of my mouth so fast that I hadn’t taken in enough air, which gave me a slight headache. But I waited withbated breath for him to say something or at least turn around to acknowledge that I had asked what could’ve been construed as a loaded question.
Without another word, he walked out.
I stood there for a moment, feeling a barrage of emotions, including more heartache, which stemmed from him yet again abandoning me without assuring me of his love. I dropped back down into my seat andslumped as I sulked. I couldn’t believe I’d let Jasper leave without getting more answers. That was not like me at all. I sprang to my feet and ran out of my office, rushing toward the elevators. He wasn’t there. I stood very still, closed my eyes, and breathed in through my nose. He had never entered that area, and I was sure of it because I couldn’t smell his delicious scent. He must’ve takenthe stairs, but there was no need to chase him. Jasper didn’t want to be caught, and I was positive he was long gone by then.
