Total pages in book: 32
Estimated words: 29962 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 150(@200wpm)___ 120(@250wpm)___ 100(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 29962 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 150(@200wpm)___ 120(@250wpm)___ 100(@300wpm)
I smile when I find a pink ribbon. “How did you say you have all this again?”
“There’s something I create called mixed media art,” he explains. “If something catches my eye—maybe I like the pattern or the color or the texture—I add it to my collection. Sometimes, Ma gives me odds and ends too. Probably where the ribbon came from.”
I drape the tree in the ribbon then stand back and admire the evergreen that’s now wrapped in pink ribbon and paper hearts. Jasper even found a strand of old twinkle lights and twined them around the tree.
He starts a playlist of jazz from the speakers as we settle in front of the newly decorated tree to enjoy truffles.
The tree is in a big planter, and when our celebration is over, he promised to take it back to the forest. He’ll plant it, so I can have the same tree every year if I want. I can’t deny that it made my stomach swoop to hear him talk about the future so casually.
“Best holiday ever,” I sigh softly, taking his hand in mine. I want a lifetime of quiet holiday moments spent with him. With the way he’s been talking, part of me wants to believe we could be a real couple.
Another part of me remembers that my dad walked out on me before I was even born. Jasper could still change his mind. He could leave me and my baby without a backward glance.
“Something is making you sad,” he says softly, interrupting my thoughts.
“How can you tell?” I reach for a coconut covered truffle and bite into it. The sweet flavor of the chocolate ganache is a perfect complement to the toasted coconut flakes. Jasper could open a sweet shop, and he’d have customers lining the block.
“You get this little crinkle right there.” He taps the space between my eyebrows. “What’s upsetting my girl?”
I take a deep breath, trying to decide if I should tell him this story. Part of me wants to hold back. But maybe if he knows, he’ll understand why I’m so hesitant to accept that we’re soulmates. “I was thinking about my dad. I was a backseat baby and well, he didn’t stick around when he found out.”
He swears under his breath. “Since the moment you told me, all I can think about is that I’m going to be a dad. It’s the coolest thing that’s ever happened to me.”
“I thought maybe he didn’t want to be around me because I was a baby. Not everyone likes babies, right? So, when I was eighteen and moved out of my mom’s house, I looked him up.” I stop there, gathering my thoughts.
Jasper wraps an arm around my shoulder. “I’m here.”
“I can still remember the late night and the fine misting rain. I sat on his porch underneath a blinking bulb for hours, waiting for him to come home. I had this whole scrapbook prepared. All of these moments of my life growing up. But he showed up drunk. Told me I was no daughter of his. He said it was a stupid scrapbook, and I didn’t matter…” My voice breaks. “That I’d never matter to anyone.”
He pulls me into his lap then, and I go willingly, desperate for his comfort. “My brave girl. It must have terrified you to come all the way here.”
“I’ve never known what it’s like to be wanted, but when you look at me…the expression on your face, it takes my breath away,” I admit to him. He makes me think that I could be someone who is wanted. That after so long spent searching, maybe I do belong somewhere.
He presses a gentle kiss to my forehead. “You’re easy to love.”
With those four words, he soothes and bandages my heart. Open wounds that I didn’t even realize were still bleeding begin to close. All because this gruff mountain man is holding me and making me feel seen.
I lean into his touch. “Make love to me tonight.”
Chapter 11
Thea
Jasper is a soft, slow kisser. The kind that takes his time, savoring the feel of our lips together. His hand cups my face, his thumb stroking along my jaw at the same time he traces the seam of my lips with his tongue.
I open my mouth, letting out a little whimper as I do. I’ve been kissed before but not like this. Not like I’m special and treasured. Someone to be cherished and protected.
He finally pulls away, his breathing ragged. He presses his forehead toward mine. “I need to taste your honey.”
I’m still dazed by his kisses as he nudges me to lie back in the pile of blankets. The fire light is dancing across his skin, making him glow. He looks like Apollo, the muscled Greek god of sun.
He presses his lips to the seam of my white panties. “I’ve been dreaming about this for weeks now. Getting my mouth on your precious pussy again and holding you down while you squirm and plead for mercy.”