Jasper still had that closed off expression on his face when he said, "I was trying. You're the one who shut me out of the mix."
I scoffed at him. "Oh so you're sore because I'm not afraid to show my boyfriend how much I love him?" A bitter laugh escaped me. "Somebody has to," I carelessly pointed out and Cole frowned at me with a shake of his head, this time clearly warning me off from broaching the subject.
I pointed my finger at him. "You stay out of this. This is between me and Jasper. Just because I devoted my attention to you, didn't mean he had to back off." I glared at Jasper, conveying to him all the fury banked down in me which would be unleashed if he so much as breathed the wrong way right now.
Jasper's lips twisted a little in what I could have sworn was mockery. "Maybe if you put your panties back on before you speak to me, I'd be inclined to take your words more seriously," he said to me in a lazy manner.
I fumed, almost ready to pull out my hair. This infuriating man!
"Jerk," I said to him through gritted teeth and then gaped at Cole who was starting to laugh now as he stood leaning against the kitchen counter. "Seriously? You're not even going to say anything to him?" I asked him incredulously.
Cole bit his lip, his expression still amused but at least he stopped laughing. Jasper was looking amused too. I couldn't believe these two guys were like ganging up against me when I knew I was right. Jasper needed to get over his insecurities without us babying him all the time. Getting up abruptly, I threw a pillow at his smug face because he was so damn sure that Cole would not berate him for pissing me off. Jasper calmly tossed the pillow aside and I walked away from both of them before I did any real damage.
"Hey, little girl," Jasper's voice stopped me as I reached my bedroom door.
"What, asshat?" I threw back, shooting fire at him with my eyes.
He laughed and held out my panties. "You forgot these," he said carelessly, watching me with those amused eyes.
My first instinct was to walk over to him and snatch them out of his hands but I made myself sneer and quipped, "Maybe you should keep them. See if they help out with your...little problem."
He narrowed his eyes at me, his fist clenching around my silk panties and despite my anger of him, I felt my pussy tighten as if he had gripped me right there. Before he could see he had unnerved me with that subtle reaction, I walked into my room and shut the door behind me. And locked it.
~~~
Chapter 39
Jasper
My stomach growled to remind me that food was long overdue. Leaning forward, I grabbed a slice of pizza and took a huge bite out of it. Mmm. It was pretty good. A little cold now but oh well...I wasn't really in the mood to complain.
"Want me to warm that up for you?" Cole asked me as he settled next to me with a cold beer which Skye had bought for herself a few days ago.
I shook my head and looked pointedly at the beer in his hand.
Cole shrugged and took a swig. "I figured what the hell," he murmured with a grimace. "Green tea can only relieve so much stress."
A chuckle escaped me and I took another bite of my pizza before leaning back and pressing play on the movie. About half an hour passed as we sat in silence. Not awkward silence. It was pleasant and reminded me of those good old days when we were happy and there had been no barriers between us.
"Oh that's sick," Cole muttered as a particularly disturbing scene with Joker and Batgirl played out.
I was on my fifth slice of pizza by then.
"She recovers," I replied as I watched the movie intently even though this was like the third time I had played it. "Sort of."
"What exactly does he do to her?" Cole asked in a disgusted tone.
"Takes her photos and shows them to her father," I answered absently, grabbing his beer and taking a sip.
Cole immediately snatched the bottle from me. "No drinking," he snapped at me.
I sighed. "Relax. It was just a sip. I haven't had a drink in months."
He frowned at me. "I don't care. No alcohol means no alcohol."
I smirked at his serious tone. "Sorry, Mom," I quipped and he just looked away.
My family in London had no idea about my stroke. I had forbidden Cole to tell anyone. I didn't want other people feeling sorry for me and making a huge fuss regarding what was and was not best for me. If my parents found out, they would cause a ruckus, demanding that I join them in London so they could care for me themselves.
But I didn't need any of that. All I needed was right here under this roof with me. I just had to meet them halfway. A text pinged on Cole's phone and he checked it before letting out a rough breath.
"What's up?" I asked him.
He shook his head, tapping on his phone. "Francesco can't make it tomorrow," he murmured. "Some family emergency. I'm just going to let Armaan know I'll be taking the day off."
I didn't say anything. He didn't have to stay at home for me. I was fine. I really was. But a part of me wanted him to. Not to take care of me. But
