Page 15 of Unbound
I snorted as I looked him up and down, enjoying the view. “I hate to break it to you, but the last thing you are is forgettable.”
His lips curled into a slow smile. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“I meant it as one.”
“Now sit down. I need you alive for what I have planned for tonight.”
Heat curled through me, a sinuous twist of flame. I looked at his hand on the wheel, the one that had so recently been up my shorts, and thought I might just crawl out of my skin.
“How did you get into bodyguarding?” I needed something to keep my mind off the delicious promise of what would happen later tonight. “That doesn’t seem like something a kid dreams of being when they’re older.”
“It’s not.” His lips twisted a bit. “I wanted to be a soldier, and that’s what I was. Served ten years in the United States Marines.”
“I bet you were good at that.” To serve and protect—I could just see it. “Why’d you stop?”
“Do enough tours, and the things you see start to weigh on you more and more.” His voice was flat. “It’s harder to stay positive, harder to think you’re making a difference when you’ve been fighting for things for so long. I’d had enough, so I was done.”
“And you became a bodyguard.” Some men might look for a job with less stress after what he’d just described, but it didn’t surprise me that Jasper hadn’t. “So you could keep protecting people.”
“It’s what I’m good at.” To my surprise, he grinned. “Just like you’re good at making people think that dusty sticks are interesting.”
“They are!” I knew he was baiting me, but I didn’t care. “Every little thing found on an ancient site holds importance. Who used it? What did they use it for? Did they dig with it, hunt with it, cook with it, use it as a weapon? One dusty stick helps explain why we’re here today.”
“I’ll believe you.” He grinned as he took an exit that would lead us to the city. “Others wouldn’t, but I do.”
“Right. You’re only interested if the dusty sticks are dragon-killer swords.” I studied him for a moment, the easy confidence in his movements. I wanted to shock him. “So, that’s where your predilection for danger comes in. What about the freaky sex stuff? Not enough stimulation in the anal stage of your development?”
“The what?” Incredulous, he actually took his eyes off the road for a moment to blink at me.
“Never heard of Freud’s psychosexual stages of development?” I grinned up at him. “Well, we can save that for another day. But, seriously, what’s with the kink?”
He was quiet for a long moment, and when he spoke again, his voice was serious. “Different people need different things.”
I waited; I knew there was more.
“You need to be working toward a goal. Margot needs to organize things. Some people need to be around others constantly, and some need to be alone.” He navigated the Hummer past the city limits. “I don’t see this as any different. I need things to be dirty in the bedroom.”
“You need them to be?” I asked curiously. “Like, if you were…say you were married. You would need to watch your wife have sex with other men?
“My cock wouldn’t shrivel up and fall off,” he answered, his voice dry, “but I wouldn’t be very happy without it. And as I’ve explained, that’s why I rarely have girlfriends. There are lots of women who enjoy exploring their kinky side. But when push comes to shove, they can’t handle it for the long-term. Humans have a very deeply ingrained concept of monogamy.”
“What’s your concept of it?” I was genuinely curious.
“I think that having this kind of sexual relationship doesn’t in any way detract from the bond two people can have together.” He turned on the signal light, pulling into the parking lot of a large hotel. “As long as they do it together.”
“Hmm.” I took a deep breath, trying my best to calm the excitement coursing through me.
I didn’t see a problem with what he’d described, which surprised me. I frowned, examining my thoughts. No, I truly didn’t.
As long as the couple did their exploring together—and for pleasure, not to fill a hole in the relationship—was it really so bad?
I kept my thoughts to myself as Jasper parked, then helped me out. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting, exactly—maybe drinks and dinner—but I was surprised when he pulled my bag from the backseat and slung it over his shoulder.
“Are we staying here?” I had to trot to keep up with him, taking two steps for his every one.
“Yes.” Once we were inside the doors, he stopped so abruptly I almost crashed into him.
My pulse picked up the pace again when he unexpectedly turned and slid his hand into mine. Tangling our fingers together, he lifted my hand to his lips and pressed a single soft kiss to the top.
