Mason:Inked Reapers MC(97)

"I know," Kait insisted, "and you've thanked me countless times, Jasper. We don't need to keep reliving it."



"But it's more than that," Jasper insisted. "You were always able to see  in me my true self, even when I couldn't see it. You've made me a  better man. Every moment that I'm with you I'm so completely happy, and I  never, ever thought I'd find someone who made me feel like that. So  much of my life was spent alone, fighting to survive. But I don't want  it to always be like that. I want to share my life with you."                       
       
           



       



Kait was about to speak when Jasper knelt down in the sand on one knee. A  hand fluttered up to her chest as her heart began to patter manically  in her chest. Everything felt like it was happening in slow motion, and  she was suddenly acutely aware of all the scents and sounds of the  evening. She could taste the salt from the sea and could hear the  distant humming of a busy evening up at the hotel complex. She could  even hear the frantic beat of her own heart in her ear drums.



"I've loved you since the moment I saw you," Jasper told her as he  reached in to his jacket pocket and pulled out a small black velvet box.  "And I want to spend the rest of my life loving you. Kait, will you  marry me?" He opened the box and raised it to her. Kait gasped as she  looked down on a stunning ring boasting one large diamond which  glittered like the stars dotted in the night sky above them, flanked by  two smaller sapphires. It was the most beautiful ring Kait had ever  seen.



"Yes!" The word gushed from her like an eager fountain. "Yes, yes yes! A thousand times yes!"



Grinning, Jasper leaned forward and kissed her. His lips had never  tasted so good. And then he leaned back and removed the ring from its  velvet box and slipped it onto Kait's extended finger. It fit perfectly.



"Oh, Jasper!" She held her hand up to admire the ring in the  candlelight. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. She was now  actually engaged to Jasper Duboix, to the man who had previously saved  her in a car park. It was like a modern day fairy tale.



Jasper kissed her, and it was tender, sealing the promise they had just made to one another.



"So?" He asked as he broke the kiss. "Are you ready to become Mrs. Jasper Duboix?"



"Absolutely," Kait gushed without hesitation. "I think Kait Duboix has a real ring to it, don't you?"





Epilogue



Jasper was smiling as he walked out of the orphanage. His talk had gone  exceedingly well. He'd told them his story to help inspire them with  going after their own dreams. It was what he'd always wanted to do  –  to  help others achieve their goals. Since retiring from professional  fighting, he'd published his memoirs and become something of a  celebrity. But he could never have done it without Kait's help. He found  her over by their parked car; she was radiant. One hand smoothed over  the swell of her belly while the other gripped their adopted son, Tai,  by the hand.



"Look," Kait pointed at Jasper as he walked over, "Daddy's all finished  with his talk." She released Tai from her grip, and the little boy  hurriedly ran over to his father. Jasper scooped him up in his arms and  rested him atop his shoulders.



"So?" Kait asked with a smile as Jasper and Tai approached the car. "How did it go?"



"Really well," Jasper grinned. "I'm going to come back again, and I've already made a donation."



"Great," Kait stood up to get in the car and suddenly paused, wincing slightly.



"What is it?" Jasper asked, tense with concern.



"Nothing," Kait breathed deeply and waved a dismissive hand in her husband's direction. "It's just the baby kicking."



"Really?" Jasper relaxed and smiled warmly at her.



"Kicking?" Tai uttered from atop his Dad's shoulders. "Is the baby going to be a fighter like Daddy?"



This made both Kait and Jasper laugh.



"Maybe," Kait replied, "who knows? Both you and your little brother or sister can grow up to be whatever you want."



"I want to be a fighter like Daddy!" Tai insisted, excitedly squirming.



"Okay, well until then how about we go home and have pizza?" Jasper  suggested, pulling Tai from his shoulders and placing the little boy  inside the car.



"Yay!" Tai called merrily. "Pizza!"



Both Jasper and Kait were smiling as the family pulled out of the car park and drove off together.



The End





Free Book #2 Miles





Chapter 1



Brea took a deep breath, inhaling the scent around her. She loved how  the craft store in town smelled, loved how peaceful and tranquil it was  within its aisles. Moving slowly she admired all the different shades of  paint. They had every color of the rainbow but even more than that,  colors she'd never even thought about before. She felt like a kid in a  candy store. Brimming with excitement, she placed a few of the brighter  colors into her shopping cart along with the artist's notepad she'd  already picked up.



This was Brea's weekly release  –  a time when she could just be herself  and be soothed by the world around her. Every Tuesday morning, like  clockwork, she'd cycle into town and stop by the large craft store  beside the local Walmart. If the sun was shining, it made her trip even  better. She'd linger among the aisles for as long as she could before  eventually paying for her purchases and cycling back to the home she  shared with her brother. The home they had inherited from their parents.                       
       
           



       



Checking her paint splattered watch, Brea sighed and pushed a loose  strand of dark hair back behind her ear. She'd lingered in the store a  little too long. If she didn't leave in the next ten minutes, she risked  her brother, Sylar, getting in before she did and that was never good.



With quick, urgent steps Brea approached the checkout.



"Morning, Brea," Jane, the kind-faced plump woman in the bright red smock grinned at her.



"Morning, Jane," Brea smiled back. She wished that she had the luxury of  time to partake in their usual morning pleasantries. She'd ask about  Jane's children and they'd discuss the weather from the week before. But  time was no longer on Brea's side.



"I'm in kind of a hurry today," Brea told her apologetically as she frantically shoved her items into a paper bag.



"Oh, honey, don't you go rushing now. More haste less speed, that's what my mother always used to say."



"Hopefully I'll have some more time with you next week," Brea said as  she handed the cashier her cash. She always had to pay in cash, never on  a card. Any purchases made on a card could be monitored. But any cash  she got her hands on was her own to spend as she liked. And she loved  nothing more than buying art essentials. On sunny days, she'd just be  out in the back yard beneath the weeping willow and waste the day away  sketching in her notebook. Lately, it was the only thing which bought  her any joy.



"You're too young and pretty to let that brother of yours keep you  locked up like a prisoner," Jane clucked, handing Brea her receipt.



Every week Jane would tell Brea how she needed to get away from her  brother, how she needed to live her own life. The whole town had an  opinion on Brea and her brother, the poor little kids over on Brixton  Road, who lost their parents too young.



Brea had been twelve when they died, Sylar fifteen. He'd dropped out of  school and taken any work he could find. He'd saved her from a life in  the foster care system. And now that Brea was eighteen she felt like she  couldn't just walk out on her brother when he'd scarified so much to  keep her in school, to keep some normalcy in her life.



"I'm not a prisoner," Brea explained with a thin smile. "Sylar is just … strict."



"Hmm," Jane looked unimpressed but her anger melted into a warm smile none the less.



"Well, you have yourself a good day, Brea. And make sure you pop by next Tuesday to see me."



"I will," Brea promised as she headed for the door. Outside the sun was  burning bright as she hurried over to her bike, pleased with her new  purchases.



She pedaled hard and fast back through town, desperate to make it home  before Sylar did. He'd been out all night working. She had no idea what  he did. He went out on his motorbike at dusk and rarely returned before  dawn. She assumed he did shift work somewhere, maybe at one of the  factories just outside of town. He made good money. She was always  finding wads of cash around the house and on occasion she slipped a  twenty dollar bill from the pile to fund her art habit, Sylar didn't  even notice. It was as if he didn't even know how much money he had.