Strong Enough(13)

I’ve met guarded men before, but none quite so extreme as Jasper. He doesn’t even want to share in conversation about other things, mundane things. It’s like he doesn’t want to participate in life, get even politely close to anybody. Or at least that’s the impression I’m getting so far.

Anxious to be able to stand and move, I practically leap out of the car when Jasper parks outside the hotel he chose for the night. We’re on the outskirts of El Paso, a town I’ve never had the pleasure of visiting. It could be a fun and interesting night, a nice diversion from my worries and inner turmoil, but since I’m with a stick in the mud, my expectation now is to crash in my room and be back on the road at an obscene hour.

“You’re a terrible road tripper, by the way,” I tell Jasper bluntly as I wait for him to come around the front of the car so we can register at the hotel.

“And why is that?”

“You’re about as stimulating as a goat. We didn’t even play stupid road trip games or anything!”

I wasn’t expecting a deep philosophical discussion on the way, but a fun game of “punch buggy” or “ninety-nine bottles of beer on the wall” might’ve helped ease my mind a little.

He doesn’t even glance at me when he responds, just starts off toward the hotel lobby. “A goat? I’m crushed.”

I strike out after him, still fussing. “As well you should be. The least you could do is make some small talk occasionally. I mean, God!”

He startles a yelp out of me when he stops suddenly and turns toward me. “I didn’t realize you needed stimulation. Maybe you should’ve made your expectations clear from the outset.” I crash into his chest and stumble backward. He reaches out to grab my upper arms, hauling me up against him to keep me from falling.

I gasp at the electricity in his touch, in the feel of his body pressed so firmly to mine. My front, from my nipples to my navel, is hot and tingly and . . . aware. Too aware.

His eyes burn down into mine. He’s so close I can see the black of his pupils explode to eclipse the amber of his irises. Whatever I’m feeling, it’s affecting him, too.

I struggle to keep my wits about me. It’s a struggle I lose. His nearness is too much. His emotion, something he has showed so little of, is too overwhelming.

“I . . . I . . .” I don’t know what to say. His reaction is so surprising that I’m struck temporarily speechless. I hold his gaze, let it wash over me until I see the golden orbs flicker to my mouth. I lick my suddenly dry lips and when his eyes return to mine, they’re full of fire of a different kind.

“While I’ve got you here,” he snarls, “might as well get this out of the way.”

With no other warning, Jasper lowers his head and crushes my mouth with his own. He’s so forceful, so . . . angry, that I remain stiff in his arms. Until the moment that I begin to taste the real Jasper, the Jasper that he hides beneath his gruff exterior.

I taste softening in the way his fingers loosen their grip. They caress rather than restrain, coerce rather than demand.

I taste dominance in the way his lips move over mine. He is in control, but he is sure to make certain I enjoy every second of it.

I taste acquiescence in the way he groans into my mouth. He didn’t want this, but like me, he can no longer resist it. There’s something between us, something that has a life of its own.

And, finally, I taste desire in the way his tongue slips inside to tangle with mine. He is heat, he is gravity. He is the center of all my senses. He is consuming.

Just like those few seconds when he first walked into my life yesterday morning, life ceases to exist outside his presence. He took my breath away then and he’s taking my breath away now. There are no fears, no reservations, no other people. There is only Jasper and this insane attraction I feel for him. He is wild and raw, dangerous and tempting. He’s a sleek, powerful animal, seeking to thrill and to destroy. He overcomes, he devours, he possesses. He refuses to share his kill with anything else. For a heartbeat, I’m his. His prey. Not necessarily willing, just helpless to fight against him.

And then, God help me, I respond. My body takes over and I lose myself in this kiss, in this moment. In this man. I arch my back, pressing my aching breasts into his chest. With every muscle, every nerve, every fiber, I strain toward him, drinking him in with my body, my soul, my mouth. Unwittingly, I unleash the animal I thought I’d already seen.

With a fierceness echoed in the growl that trembles into my open mouth, Jasper spins, plastering my back to one of the large, concrete columns that support the overhang. He tilts his head and deepens the kiss to a level I’ve never been before, to a height, to a depth, to an intensity I’ve never known. He punishes me with the pressure of his body, but he soothes me with the soft lick of his tongue. I feel him everywhere. Within, without, penetrating, radiating.