Page 52 of Jasper
“Being here. I know that being safe is the priority. But whatever this is flying back and forth between us is so new, I worry it might disappear in the blink of an eye.”
“I can’t imagine that happening. I like you far too much for that.”
Her gaze drops to her stomach. Her hand comes to rest just beneath her navel, almost reflexively.
I mirror the motion without thinking. I reach out, slow and deliberate, and place my hand gently over hers. There’s no bump to feel yet. Just the promise of something sweet and perfect on the way.
“She’s in there,” Tessa says, almost a whisper. “I don’t know why I keep thinking of the baby as a girl.”
I smile a little. “I do too. Don’t get me wrong, I’d be happy with either too, but my gut instinct is saying it’s a girl.”
Tessa looks up at me, surprised. “Do you ever wonder what our kid will be like?”
“She’s going to be stubborn, like her old man. A real honey badger.” I continue confidently, “fierce and smart. She’ll challenge everything I thought I knew.”
Tessa lets out a quiet laugh. “Sounds like you want her to take after her dad.”
“And her mom,” I add. “You might look soft on the surface, but you are fearless.”
I shift closer, enough that our arms touch. I keep my hand over hers, both of us holding that one quiet place where our baby is growing. This baby represents a future we didn’t plan for but now can’t imagine a future without her.
“I don’t have a damn clue what I’m doing,” I admit. “But I’m gonna learn every damn thing I can before he or she gets here.”
“Maybe we can do that together. Take a childbirth or parenting class,” she says hopefully.
“I’d be up for something like that,” I tell her, meaning every word of it.
Her eyes meet mine again, and something flares to life in them. It feels like she finally sees me as husband material.
She slides a little closer, her head resting against my shoulder. I wrap my arm around her without needing permission.
“We’re not going to have sex tonight,” she says gently.
“I know,” I say, mildly surprised she thought I’d expect that after everything she’s been through.
“But I want you here. I want… this.”
She doesn’t have to explain. I already know exactly what she means. She feels the same quiet need to be close to someone and know they’ll still be there in the morning that I do.
“I get it,” I say quietly. “I’m not going anywhere.”
She lets out a slow breath and closes her eyes. The room goes still except for the rhythm of her breathing and the distant hum of the clubhouse downstairs.
I stay awake a while longer, my hand resting lightly over her stomach. A new world blooms in my mind, and I start daydreaming of all the things I only vaguely thought of before. Things like settling down with the one woman who sees me as more than my cut. And having a child—the beginnings of my own legacy. I know deep down inside that everything in my life is about to change. All I have to do is rise to the challenge and protect what’s mine.
Chapter 20
Tessa
Waking up drowsy, the first thing I feel is the warmth of a big, strong body snuggled up behind me. Jasper’s arm is wrapped around my waist, his big hand resting just below my ribs. His breathing is slow and even.
I don’t move because I enjoy the feel of his warmth, the weight of his arm slung over me, and the softness of his bed. Whoever thought one man could mean so much to me in such a short period of time? I never did.
The sheets are tangled at our feet, and my legs are still pressed against his. A memory floats through my mind of him climbing into bed wearing his boxer briefs. I can feel his nearly naked, muscular body rubbing roughly against mine. It should be too intimate, too soon, but it isn’t.
After having to pull a runner to get away from my last boyfriend, I’ve been prepared to spend the rest of my life alone. And then Jasper comes storming into my life and everything changed. He’s nothing like what I thought I wanted in a man but is proving to be everything I need.
Moving back slightly, I press my body into his, letting myself feel the rise and fall of his chest against my back. It’s the first time in days I’ve woken up feeling this warm and safe. His arm tightens around me, dragging me closer still.
