Journey 'The Chosen One Trilogy: Book Two' (38 page)

With company coming and going from both
sides of my family, Jasper was bombarded with questions of his
past, his family and his plans for the future.

I felt like bursting with love, pride,
and happiness as I watched him mingle with everyone. We had gone
over a few answers he could give everyone to keep their curiosity
to a minimum. He had been born in Scotland but had moved here at an
early age, this explained the accent, his family was in the
military, but they had been killed in a car accident when he’d been
fourteen. He had been in the military but was now a rancher in
training.

I chuckled to myself. At the moment he
was telling a story of some sort to my thirteen and fifteen year
old cousins, Amanda and Natasha, who were gazing adoringly at him
with their big brown eyes. Had it not been for the age difference,
the sisters could have been twins.

Both of them groaned as my Aunt Lynne
called to them that it was time to go home.

By the time everyone had left, it was
one thirty in the morning. I yawned and leaned back against Jasper,
who was leaning against the kitchen counter. My mom and dad poked
their heads into the kitchen and gave us each a hug.

“We’re heading to bed.” My dad gave me
a peck on the cheek. “Are you spending the night?”

“No, we should be heading home. Merry
Christmas, Dad. Merry Christmas, Mom.”

Once we were back at the little house
we were renting I put some soft Christmas music on the television.
I turned and pressed myself against Jasper. “You’re amazing, by the
way.” I buried my face in the light blue long sleeved button up
shirt he had on.

He chuckled. “I’m glad you think so.”
He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close. “I’ll admit, I
was pretty nervous about meeting everybody. I was scared I was
going to say something that made absolutely no sense to
them.”

I took a deep breath and took in his
smell. “You were great.” I took his hand and pulled him toward the
stairs. “Come. I want to give you your present now.”

He grinned and I laughed. “Not that!” I
caught my breath at the look in his eyes. “Well, maybe that. But I
got you something else.”

We made it to the bedroom and he pulled
his shirt off. I took a wrapped package off the dresser and handed
it to him.

“I actually had no idea what to get
you. I hope you like it.”

He carefully took the wrapping paper
off of the box and smiled. “It’s beautiful. Thank you.” I had
painted him roping a calf at the ranch. Doc was in a full run,
Jasper leaning over his neck, the rope already sailing through the
air toward the calf. You could tell by the painting he had made the
catch.

He put the painting on the dresser and
pulled me to him so I was on my knees on the bed, straddling him. I
shivered as he played his fingers gently over my bare arms. He ran
his tongue over my collar bone and up my neck so he could take my
earlobe in his teeth.

His hands moved down my back, over my
thighs and up my dress. “Now, that just won’t do,” he mumbled
against my jaw. He stood me up, pulled my panties off, and stepped
out of his black jeans before sitting back down. He had me kneeling
over him again, this time upright. He ran his teeth along the
material over my nipples. I groaned as they hardened.

Jasper looked at me, suddenly. “I have
a present for you too. But it won’t be here until
tomorrow.”

I started to laugh. “That’s
ok.”

He gave me a half grin and slipped his
hands back under my dress. His fingers slid into me and I
moaned.

I started to pull my dress off. He
stopped suckling me through the material long enough to shake his
head. “Keep it on.” His voice was gruff.

His fingers stroked me knowingly and my
legs threatened to give out. He stopped what he was doing, leaving
me quivering with need. He held me against him for a few moments
before placing his hands on my waist and lowering me slowly onto
him. His hands held me down and kept me from moving.

He lay back on the bed. “You looked
amazing tonight,” he whispered hoarsely. He held me in place and
pushed up into me. I groaned.

He let me up a fraction of an inch
before pulling me down and thrusting up again.

I dropped my guard a bit and it was his
turn to groan. His thrusts weren’t quite as controlled but he
refused to let go of my hips.

I leaned forward until my breasts were
rubbing against his chest. I ran my teeth along his jaw. He
shuddered under me then pushed me up again. “I want to watch you.”
He smiled at my blush.

He raised me and brought me down, his
strokes long and hard. He touched deep inside of me and I arched my
back, urging him deeper still. His hand moved slightly on my hip so
he could reach my clitoris with his thumb. He pushed and rubbed it
lightly.

I’m not sure if there’s a word for the
sound I made. My whole body trembled with pleasure. The tremor
started deep inside of me and carried through my entire body, every
muscle I had tensed before releasing and turning into
jelly.

I collapsed on Jasper’s chest, trying
to catch my breath.

He gave one last thrust and groaned as
he spilled himself inside of me. I pushed myself as far down onto
him as I could, my flesh still quivering with
aftershocks.

Jasper reached up, undid the back of my
dress and pulled it over my head. We moved lazily to the head of
the bed and slipped under the covers. He pulled me to his chest,
his lips leaving soft kisses on the back of my neck and
shoulders.

“A shlova yan,” he whispered between
kisses.

“A shlova yan jer.”

“Yan ist moin lafe.”

You are my world. I wanted to smile at
the words, but the way he said them made me turn to look at him.
“What’s wrong?”

He kissed my forehead.
“Nothing.”

I hooked a leg over his hip and pulled
him close. “Are you sure?”

He nodded.

I kissed him softly. “You’re my world
too, you know. That’s why it doesn’t matter what we’re doing or
where we’re doing it. So long as I can feel your arms around me,
taste your lips with mine, I know everything will be ok. There is
nothing I want more in this world or the other than to be with you.
I need you to believe that.” I looked into his eyes, hoping he
could see I was telling the truth.

He took a deep breath and pulled me
close.

I shivered and pulled the blankets up
then tightened my arms around him. “Who would keep me warm if you
weren’t around?”

I was rewarded with a
chuckle.

“It’s a miracle you didn’t freeze to
death before you met me.”

I looked up and was glad to see his
smile reach his eyes. “So, give me a hint about my
present.”

He grinned and shook his head. “No
hints. You’ll see tomorrow.”

I kissed him softly. “I love you,
Jasper.”

“I know, Shlova.” He hugged me tightly.
“I love you, too.”

We shared one last kiss before I turned
and settled myself against him for the night. His hand found mine
and he pulled me close.

“Merry Christmas, Hayden.”

I smiled. “Merry Christmas,
hun.”

*****

“So, are you ready for your present,
Shlova?” Jasper was driving my truck down the road toward
Shay’s.

I laughed. I wasn’t sure who was more
excited about my present, me or him. “Is it here?”

He nodded. “Shawn picked it up for me
this morning. Since we were coming here for supper anyway, he said
he would wrap it for me.”

“Is it something I’ve asked
for?”

He raised an eyebrow at me. “Hayden, I
don’t think I’ve ever heard you ask for anything.”

I shrugged. “There’s not really
anything that I absolutely need, I guess.”

“You’ll just have to wait until we get
there.”

Thankfully, I didn’t have long to wait.
We turned up the driveway and parked beside Shawn’s truck. We each
grabbed a bagful of presents and headed into the house.

“Merry Christmas, guys!” I set the bag
down and pulled off my winter boots.

“Merry Christmas!” Shay came to give us
a hug. “How did supper go last night?”

“It was great. Jasper worked his charm
and had them all eating out of his hand. He could have shifted
right in front of them and I don’t think they would have
noticed.”

Jasper smiled. “I don’t think it went
quite how Hayden is describing it, but it definitely went well.
Where is Shawn hiding at?”

Shay grinned. “He’s in our bedroom. He
said for you to go straight there when you got here.”

He disappeared and Shay helped me bring
the presents to the living room. “Tara and Ben should be here in a
bit.”

“Are you ready, Hayden?” Jasper’s voice
floated down the hallway.

“If I knew what I was supposed to be
ready for, I might be able to answer you.”

“For your present, of course.” He
walked into the living room, his smile lighting up his face. His
hands were empty.

I laughed. “Are you my
present?”

“No.” He chuckled. He gave a quick
glance back down the hallway and his smile widened. “He
is.”

I stared at the hallway waiting for
whoever ‘he’ was to show up. I had to adjust the height of my gaze.
“Oh, my god!” I knelt and picked up the little blue merle ball of
hair that was the size of a big cat. One white eye and one brown
eye peered at me. The green bow around his neck was almost as big
as he was. “He’s adorable!”

Jasper came to kneel beside me and pet
the little head. “He’s a full brother to Cooper.”

Cooper raised his head at the sound of
his name before deciding that sleeping was more important than
getting his ears scratched.

“He’s four months old. I have his
papers right here.” Shawn handed me the documents. “His shots are
up to date. He’ll need his booster and his rabies in a couple of
months.”

The puppy struggled in my arms and I
set him down.

Jasper put his arm around me. “What are
you going to name him?”

I kissed him tenderly before looking at
the puppy who had decided that his older brother had better wake up
and play with him. “Kip.”

Kip looked at me and tilted his head
before giving a bark and attacking Cooper.

I looked up at Jasper. “Do you think
he’ll be able to cross over?”

“I wouldn’t have got him had I thought
you’d have to leave him behind.”

I smiled and kissed him
again.

There was a knock on the door and
Cooper barked before running out of the room to meet whoever was at
the door. Kip chased after him.

“Oh, my god!” Tara’s delighted squeal
filled the house. She came into the room carrying my new pup. Ben
followed behind her carrying an armload of gifts. He set them down
and went back for a couple more.

Shay came in carrying a tray of
glasses, rum, and eggnog. “Merry Christmas, everybody.”

We all poured a drink and raised our
glasses. “Merry Christmas.”

Kip barked his approval.

*****

Before we knew it, Valentine’s Day was
upon us.

“Did you pick the restaurant you wanted
to go to, Shlova?” Jasper grabbed an armful of grocery bags and
waited while I did the same.

“I was thinking Chez
Nicole’s.”

We made our way into the house and
started to put the food away. Kip came trotting down the stairs to
say hello.

“Hey, pal. Do you have to pee?” I let
him out into the yard and went back to the kitchen. I stood in the
doorway and watched Jasper put the canned vegetables in the
cupboard. “Why the frown? Did you want to go elsewhere?”

He started and dropped the can he was
holding. He bent to pick it up and gave me a grin. “No. That sounds
fine. I haven’t tried that one yet.”

I took a deep breath. “Alright, Jasper.
Cut the crap, now. What’s wrong?”

He shook his head.
“Nothing.”

“Don’t tell me there’s nothing. This is
the first time in the almost four years that I’ve known you that I
have managed to sneak up on you and surprise you. And I wasn’t even
trying. I want to know what’s been bothering you.”

He was quiet for a moment. “There’s
something I’ve been thinking about. I just wanted to be sure I knew
exactly where I stood on the subject before I brought it
up.”

“And do you know now?”

He nodded.

“So, what is it?”

He looked deeply into my eyes and his
gaze pulled me to him. I took a few steps forward and stopped when
I could take his hands.

“How would you feel about coming back
here?”

My heart jumped. “When?”

“When we’re done saving the world.” He
smiled.