Page 97 of Chasing The Alpha's Son
I bite my lip as Jasper’s gaze drifts from our hands to my face.
“Jasper—”
His lips meet mine with force, precision, and purpose. He steals my breath and my words, and I return his kiss.
When we break apart, puffing, and rest our foreheads against each other’s, our breath is visible, little clouds of steam mixing in the small space between us.
“I don’t want to hurt you,” Jasper says.
“You won’t.”
“There’s always a risk…if you’re with me…”
I sit back just a little, keeping him held in my arms. “There’s always a risk with anyone. But it’s my decision if I want to take that risk.”
Jasper’s head leans gently into my palm, and I run my thumb along his stupidly perfect jaw.
“If I lost you…” he says, his eyes traveling everywhere but in my direction.
I lower my head and force him to meet my gaze. “You won’t.”
Jasper is shaking, his whole body shivering like he’s freezing, even though the electric heater is working just fine. His mouth twitches and his chest rises and falls too quickly. I pull him closer and support the back of his head, squeezing him against my shoulder and holding him fast.
We sit like this for a while until Jasper has stopped quivering, then without saying anything we slide under the blankets, lying on our sides like a cozy set of cutlery. Jasper wraps a strong arm around me, rests his chin lightly on my shoulder, and presses his chest firmly against my back. Wind pummels the tent as the heater whirrs in the corner. And with Jasper wrapped around me, a protective cocoon, we drift off to sleep.
It’s the best night of sleep I’ve ever had.
MORNING IN THE VALLEY
The pain is back when I wake up.
Not quite as intense as it was before Agatha worked her medicine yesterday, but still not great. Somewhere between a really bad headache and a knife wound to the skull. I moan and curl my legs up.
“What is it?” Jasper says sleepily, his arm shifting on top of me.
“Ah!” The movement heightens the pain and I cry out.
“Max!”
Immediately Jasper is up, shuffling out of his sleeping bag and quilts and fumbling with the tent’s zipper. Through waves of nauseating agony I hear him opening the door to Agatha’s cabin and calling out for help.
In a moment the tent is pulled open and three bleary-eyed faces are staring down at me.
“Good morning, sunshine,” Agatha says.
Omar and Jasper help me up and back into the cabin. I plonk into a chair at the small, round table and Omar slides a steaming mug of tea to me.
“My herbal remedies will only keep the pain at bay for so long,” Agatha says, coming around the table nonchalantly and sliding into a chair herself. “But it will get better with time and practice.”
“Practice?” I grimace.
Jasper is standing off to the side watching me with his arms wrapped around his shoulders and worry contorting his features. I know he’s trying to keep his distance, but all I really want is for his arms to be wrapped around me.
“Yes, practice,” Agatha says, nodding once. “You’ll need to learn how to tune out the noise.”
“Or you will go insane,” Omar says from where he’s leaning on the kitchenette, a blanket wrapped around his shoulders, smirking.
“Very funny,” I say and take another sip of tea. From the corner of my eye I catch Jasper’s confused expression.
