Page 5 of Nighted
Huh. I was fairly certain the front lawn of my apartment was not a dangerous place, but I had been proven wrong several times before. I heeded his warning, stepping carefully. “What’s up?” I wasn’t really sure what I was supposed to be careful of.
“Come look.” He waved me closer, not picking his head up. “What do you see?”
I knelt gently down beside him. “You know you look like a nut out here right? I wouldn’t be surprised if the neighbours put in a complaint about my crazy boyfriend.”
“Mate,” he corrected. “Now tell me what you see.”
He was pointing to what looked like a pile of dirt. But I knew he wouldn’t be out here captivated by a pile of dirt. I mimicked his position, bringing my face close to the ground. The pile he was pointing at smelled dusty, almost like… “Ash?”
Jasper nodded, a grimace marring his perfect features.
“What would ash be doing out here? It’s not the season for bonfires, and we don’t even have a pit for the building.” Not that any of that mattered. I was beginning to realize most things in my life made no sense anymore, and for good reason. I had learned to go along with the weirdness and hope for the best.
“Exactly. What the hell is ash doing out here? I found a dusting of this outside your door too. I originally thought we might have tracked it in from the woods. But then the trail led out this way, and not the way we came home earlier.”
I sighed. “So definitely supernatural then, I’m guessing. I can’t see teenage boys leaving trails of ash behind on their breaking-and-entering adventures.”
Jasper stood up, dusting off his still-muddy track pants. Only he could make a look like this work. He reached out a hand to help me up off the ground. “Unfortunately, only a few beings leave trails like this, and we don’t want to get mixed up with any of them.”
I snaked a hand under the back of his shirt, finding comfort in the easy contact with his skin. “Unfortunately, it’s my job.”
Jasper snatched my wrist out from under his shirt, instead twining my hands behind his neck so I faced him. “I know.” His voice was solemn. “And I never want to take that away from you -- your strength, your power. It’s a beautiful thing to see.”
I trailed my nails down the back of his neck, loving the way I could feel each of his muscles contract under my touch. “But?”
“But…” He sighed heavily, touching his forehead to mine. “It doesn’t mean I don’t feel protective over you. We’re mates, Ava. I have a responsibility to keep you safe. Inherently, your job is going to put you in danger.” Jasper ran his strong hands down my spine, sending electricity through my entire body.
“I have a responsibility to keep you safe too,” I whispered. “It’s not all on you. We’re in this together.” I pulled his face down to meet mine, pressing my lips firmly against his.
He groaned, deepening the kiss and crushing my body to his chest. His tongue darted in between my lips, teasing me. I slid my hands up his neck, tangling my fingers into his messy hair. I gently tugged, knowing from experience the sensation always drove him wild.
Sure enough, when he pulled back his eyes were black, riding the edge of his wolf. I eagerly anticipated what was to come. But instead he fixed his gaze onto me, slowing his breath.
“I love you, Ava. But it’s more than that. We’re two halves of a whole. If something happened to you… I wouldn’t survive it either.”
“Oh, Jasp.” I didn’t know how to reassure him, or how to tell him I felt the same way. “I can’t tell you everything is going to be okay, because no one can keep a promise like that. But I’ll do the best I can, and I know you will too.”
He nodded, still serious. “There is one thing. Something we could try.”
“To keep us safer?”
Jasper hesitated. “Yeah. We could try the marking.”
I let out a breath. “Oh.”
He mistook my exhale as displeasure and began to ramble. “I would have never brought the idea up, except you offered at Christmas. But if you changed your mind it’s okay. I know the marking is a big decision, and I wouldn’t ever want to hurt you.”
I lightly pressed a finger to his lips. “Stop. I want to. How does the marking help us stay safe though?”
Jasper’s face immediately relaxed. “The bond I was telling you about before. It’s amplified. I don’t know how the link would look for you, but for me I’d be able to know exactly where you are. More so than just sensing you. I would know. And if you’re in trouble, then I could help.”
I stood on my tiptoes to kiss his full lips. “I love you. I want nothing more than to make you mine forever.”
He closed his eyes, turning his face to the moonlight. “I can’t believe this is really happening. I guess we should decide on a day when we want to do this.”
I started to giggle, causing Jasper to turn to me, his expression one of utter confusion. “What’s funny about all this?”
I caught my breath. “Nothing. Nothing at all. Just reminds me of what Mollie said to me earlier. She told me I’d be next to get married and I was pretty insistent a wedding wasn’t going to happen. But this whole marking thing sure feels like a ceremony.”
