My eyes searched his face desperately. "Do you believe me?" I asked softly. "Do you believe that I feel bad about this? I know you hate me but can you ever forgive me? I'll talk to Cole and make things right. I promise you I'm going to knock some sense into him. You're right. He can't treat you like this for something you're not guilty of. You've never touched me."
Jasper closed his eyes then and what he said next made me go still with shock.
"But I wanted to."
My lips parted as I looked up at him and blinked. No. That was not true. He had just been trying to keep me on edge or something just to mess with me. Jasper did not really want me.
"Jasper-"
"Remember the day you first saw me," he interrupted, still speaking in that low voice. "I took your pictures without your consent and I hid them from Cole. He found them and accused me of secretly lusting after you."
I shook my head slowly. I had already suspected he had taken my photos that day but that did not mean he would cheat on Cole.
"But it didn't mean anything, right?" I said in a small voice.
He laughed dryly and stepped towards me, his gaze burning into me yet again. "Of course not. You caught my eye and I did something stupid but that was it."
Letting out a relieved breath, I smiled at Jasper shakily, trying not to feel overwhelmed by his closeness.
"Okay. So you've got nothing to hide. It was just a momentary lapse of judgment. Cole has to see that. He will, I promise you," I told him earnestly.
He studied my face for a few seconds. Neither of us moved away.
"Why do you care?" he asked me in a husky voice. "Why do care if he hurts me? You should work it to your advantage. It'd be good for you if things didn't work out between me and Cole."
It hurt that he thought of me that way. That I could be that vindictive. "I don't want to be responsible for destroying something good. I can see how much you love him."
His eyes became sad again. "I'm not sure if he loves me anymore," he confessed in a pained whisper.
I sucked in a breath and instinctively reached out to cup his jaw with my hand. He did not flinch at my touch or step away. His jaw felt wet, hard and prickly with a growth of stubble and his gaze remained steady, making my heart beat faster.
"Don't think like that," I told him. "Cole loves you. He's just angry and confused. He'll come around."
Jasper stepped even closer until our bodies were almost touching. I swallowed hard at his proximity, my neck straining from looking up at him for so long.
"I need to get ready for my flight," he murmured, his dark eyes hooded and unbelievably, he nuzzled my palm. A thrill ran through me at his gesture.
"I'll come with you," I offered weakly.
His eyes glittered and he smiled at me slightly. "Are you trying to make things worse between me and my boyfriend? I'm in enough trouble as it is."
Was he...teasing me? Jasper Wells was teasing me. In a totally non-bitter, indulgent tone.
"Jasper," I sighed, leaning closer to him.
He hissed at the touch of my body and his gaze grew hotter. Something was happening here. And it wasn't all me. He wanted...he wanted to kiss me. I knew it as surely as I knew my own name.
A few seconds passed while I waited for the touch of his lips on mine but he snapped out of it and his fingers wrapped around my wrist, pulling my hand away from his face. He was breathing heavily and I was startled to discover the hard press of his erection against my stomach. I gasped at the contact right before he moved away with a tortured expression.
"No, Skye," he said to me firmly, shaking his blond head. "I can't. I...want you...I can't deny that anymore and Cole is right. You are incredible. But I can't hurt him." He stepped around me to retrieve his towel. "No matter what he thinks of me, I'd die before I betrayed his trust."
I shut my eyes in pain. Which was more than what I could say given my selfish behaviour just now. I would have let him kiss me. I craved it.
"I'm really sorry," I whispered again.
He paused at the door and said something I had never expected him to say. "You're so damn sweet. I wish I'd brought you home myself the day I first saw you. But you belong to him now and you couldn't have predicted this attraction between us. Please don't blame yourself."
He left then and I leaned against the vanity and cried softly. Yeah. Like I said. What a fucking mess...
~~~
Chapter 19
Skye
I was so consumed with guilt and so damn confused by the time Cole got home that evening that I actually faked a nap. I heard him calling my name softly, felt his gaze run over my body where I rested sideways on the bed and kept absolutely quiet and still while he went about showering, making himself something to drink and then turning on the TV.
I needed more than one day to sort out my feelings. Not only was I in love with Cole, I wanted and cared for his boyfriend as well.
There, I had admitted it. What made it even more complicated was the fact that Jasper seemed to have deeper feelings for me too. More than he had let on until today. It
