Page 83 of Wicked Attraction

It was so unlikely to come true outside the magic of Hollywood.

To live in a big castle filled with servants, so you never had to lift a finger to do any basic chores. I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not. Did those people wipe their own asses?

I’d love to go for days at the spa, lunch with the girls—if I had any girls to lunch with.

Then again, I didn’t need the bullshit. I’d be happy with my life that came with more money than I could ever possibly spend, thanks to Jasper Ashby and the child in my belly.

Fuck the princesses.

But when I closed my eyes, I had it. All of it.

The man. The baby. The money. And even a few girlfriends over for lunch.

Loud pounding on my door startled me for a hot minute and I wondered who would be here now.

I let the pounding continue until I heard a gruff sound that could have been my name, followed by more pounding.

Jasper.

I shot up off the sofa, smoothed my floor-length black nightgown over my hips, and reached for the matching robe as I made my way to the front door. I had no clue what Jasper wanted other than sex, so I inhaled deeply for seven seconds, held it for eight, and exhaled for ten seconds before opening the door.

Holy shit.I expected Jasper to look drunk and disheveled, but he was stone-cold sober and hot as shit in a deep green button-up that highlighted the different shades of green in his eyes and a pair of jeans that were fitted and worn in all the right places.

Everything about the outfit, as casual as it was, screamed expensive. Designer brand. Rich as fuck and twice as hot.Being sober doesn’t mean he’s not here for a quick fuck, the cynical bitch who lived in my head reminded me.

I wanted to tell her to shut up. To mind her business.

But the bitch was right.

I blinked to clear my mind of how delicious Jasper looked standing in front of me, that trademark scowl on his handsome face.

“Jasper. What brings you by?”

I did my best to sound casual, to act like I didn’t care one way or the other why he was at my door.

“I came to see you.” His words came out on a throaty growl that sent wonderfully erotic shivers down my spine; his tone said he thought the reason for his visit was obvious.

“Okaaaay. What is it that you need?” There were just two reasons Jasper sought me out, sex or work, and I wouldn’t let my stupid, starved heart think or believe otherwise.

In an instant, his scowl disappeared and was slowly replaced by a lopsided grin. “Not happy to see me, Mo?”

I shrugged. “I’m not happy or unhappy, just confused about why you’re here.”

Jasper was mercurial as hell, and the question triggered something dark within him. He got in my personal space, intimidating but not threatening.

“You’re having my baby, Mo. What in the hell do youthinkI’m doing here?”

I took a step back and folded my arms, suddenly feeling uncomfortable with the possessive way he looked at me. It made me feel things that were impossible, things that just weren’t true. Instead of absorbing his words, I shook my head as if that act alone could ward off their effect on me.

“No, I’m not. I’m havingmybaby.”

“Are we back to that now?”

“I heard you and the boys talking. Mo is such a slut; she fucks everyone; are you sure the baby is yours?”

I clenched my teeth against the ache those words caused deep in my chest. “And you know what else I heard? The deafening silence that came from you.”

“I don’t like eavesdropping, Maureen.” His tone was stern and commanding, and dammit, I liked it.

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