Page 3 of Unbound
“Cari.” Jasper closed the rest of the space between us. Tracing a finger over my cheek, he cupped my chin in his hand when I tried to turn my head away.
I stayed silent, but he nudged my face up until I was looking into his eyes.
“I’m sorry that this wasn’t what you wanted, but I’m here for a reason. I’m here to keep you safe.” He huffed out a breath of frustration when he saw that I wasn’t softening. “Do you really think I’d leave you here alone if you were really in danger?”
“I don’t know!” I shouted suddenly, jerking my face away from his grasp. “That’s the thing, isn’t it? I’ve only known you for a day. I don’t know you at all!”
“Cari—”
“For all I knew, you were never coming back!”
“Cari—”
“I didn’t know, don’t you see? And that was what scared me!”
“Cari!” Dipping his head, he stopped when his face was just a whisper away. My breath caught in my throat when I smelled sweat and a hint of the musk from sex.
I was angrier than I’d ever been, but my body had already memorized the scent of him—it knew I was safe.
“I’m sorry I had to leave you when you were scared,” he said, running a hand though his hair.
“That sounds like a sorry-not-sorry to me.” I glared. “You’re sorry you left me when I was scared, but you’d do it again?”
“Absolutely.” His calmness was infuriating. “That’s my job.”
“Well, your job is done.” My tone was laced with bitterness. “Now let me go.”
“It’s a very stupid man who releases a woman ready to kill him.” Amusement warmed his tone. “I think I’ll just wait until you’ve cooled down some.”
“You can’t be serious.” I wriggled against the belt that was holding me to the pole. “You’d better hope you’re far, far away when you do let me free. Remember Lorena Bobbitt? I don’t mind being called a copycat.”
This time the amusement pushed all the way through, and he laughed—he actually laughed. I was tied to a pole, I was still wearing my stupid high heels, and I was so mad that castrating him was a sweet option compared to some of the things I had I mind…and he was laughing.
I was done. I was done with this day, done with the vandalism and the fear and needing a bodyguard.
“Please let me go.” My voice was soft. “I want to go to bed.”
He said nothing, but I again saw that hint of something softer. Moving to the side of the pole, he reached for the buckle, pausing when his fingers brushed the metal. “You do know me.”
“What? I know almost nothing about you.” Craning my head to look at him, I narrowed my eyes. “I know you’re bossy. I know you fold your T-shirts like you work at the Gap, and I know you probably play with your lightsaber in your spare time.”
“Most men play with their lightsabers in their spare time,” he said solemnly as I hissed. His fingers trailed from the belt, across the leather, and to my shoulder. Despite my anger, the feather-light sensation made me shiver. “But those things…those are more than most people know.”
This took the wind from my sails. “That’s sad.”
One side of those wicked lips lifted in a half smile, and he shrugged. “That’s just how it is. In this line of work, it’s best not to have…those kinds of attachments. It’s hard for the other person to watch me walk away, knowing I’ll be in a dangerous situation. So it’s just…better.”
“It’s still sad,” I informed him, but my anger was mostly gone. I understood why he’d told me this.
He could keep me safe, but when dealing with my emotional fallout, he would be clumsy.
Not sure what to say, I dipped my head and brushed a kiss over the fingers that were resting on my collarbone. The pressure on my skin increased for a moment as he pressed down, and then he lifted them to my lips.
I kissed them again, letting my head fall back as I enjoyed the sensation of his rough fingertips brushing over the soft, swollen skin of my mouth. He circled to again stand in front of me, and my entire body tensed when I saw the clench in his jaw, the tightness in that ridiculously long frame.
He’d shared a part of himself with me, and he wasn’t sure how to feel about that.
I only knew one way to thank him.
