AllFreeNovel
Share Us
As she dashed off, bare bottom teasing him as it disappeared around the corner, he laughed at himself. Was he really surprised by that? No. He'd been expecting it from the start, from the moment she wormed her way under his skin and burrowed into him, subtly changing him from one encounter to the next.
Would he be the same man he was now in another year? he asked himself, stripping down the bed. God, no. Another year in her company would change him yet again. Five years, ten? It might be he wouldn't recognize himself by then. He might look back at this year and wonder why he'd let himself waste his life, when she'd been waiting for him.
Jesus, he hoped so.
It took him five minutes to change the sheets and remake the bed to Braun's exacting standards. With the dirty sheets under one arm, Anarchy's bags in his other hand, he glanced around. He'd left her jeans and socks on the foot of the bed for when she got out of the shower, but otherwise there was nothing to say anyone had been in the room.
The shower was still running when he padded down the hallway to the stairs, and he found himself humming to some random, upbeat tune in his head as he set the bags by the front door. Still naked, still humming, he detoured into the kitchen and threw the sheets into the washing machine.
As it rumbled to life, he checked his phone, noting a missed call from Braun. Anxiety gripped his chest as he forgot about everything else and immediately called his friend.
"Jasper, thanks for calling me back." Braun's voice was back to normal. Strong, assertive.
"No problem, sorry I missed you. What's up?"
"The doctors monitored Bodie overnight. The drugs seem to be working. Her symptoms have decreased, her stats are stable, and the little madam has persuaded them that she'll be less stressed at home." There was a smile in his voice now, despite the disapproval of his words. "They're discharging her now, so we should be home in a couple of hours, depending on how long the paperwork takes."
Jasper grinned. "I'm thrilled for you. Have they given you orders?"
"Oh, have they. Explicit orders, and ones Boadicea will comply with unless she wants me to drag her kicking and screaming back to the maternity ward. She'll continue to take her meds. Short walks for exercise, but otherwise she's to remain sitting down with her feet up for the considerable future. No stress, no anxiety, just calm and quiet."
Well, shit. Jasper rubbed his temple. "Okay, well, we have a bit of a situation here. Anarchy will be coming to live with me; we're moving some of her stuff over to mine tonight, so you'll have the house to yourself. It's nothing for you to worry about, not now, but I think it's something that should be kept from Bodie until it's over and done with."
Silence. Braun grunted. "Might as well tell me, J."
Jasper explained everything as best he could, leaving out several big chunks of data that he deemed unnecessary for his friend to know. His father, the threats against Bodie, the added security were all thrown into the conversation. "I didn't want to drop this on you when you have bigger issues of your own to deal with, but—"
"Don't be an idiot. We're family, we're here to help. Tell Atticus to get pictures of the twins to the club. Post them at reception, and make sure there's a Dom on duty. No subs take the desk until this is done. All members should take a good look and be told to keep their eyes out for anyone on the property who matches the photos. If they're brave enough, the twins may decide to try and snatch her from the parking lot." The Braun on the line was the Dominant in charge of a BDSM club. He was already running through scenarios and finding solutions to problems. "Tell Liam to check the fire doors. We can't lock them, it's a violation of health and safety. Not to mention, if there's a fire, we'll be in shit trying to get everyone out safely."
"I'll text him."
"If you need to work, we can arrange someone from Avalon to stay with Archie. I don't know what Atticus has at his disposal as a mystery man, but if he trusts his team, they've earned it. I'm keeping Bodie home tonight, which might not be a bad thing if this situation is escalating. Shit," he muttered, "the nurse is waving at me. I've gotta go. Look, we'll keep Archie safe. I'll talk to you when we get home."
The line went dead. Jasper texted Liam first, then Atticus with an update.
With that done, and a time limit on the rest of the morning, Jasper hunted down his clothes, dressing as he went, then set about tidying up the living room. As an afterthought, he cleaned up the dead ashes in the fireplace, then restacked and lit the fire so it would be warm for Bodie to come home to. His soft spot for the little sub was what had led him to this point with Anarchy.
When the living room was restored, he heard creaks in the floorboards upstairs and knew Archie would be on her way down. It was rolling on nine a.m. and he still didn't have breakfast on the go. He frowned. Cereal, toast, more? A quick perusal of the cupboards and refrigerator didn't offer him many options.
Jasper scratched his chin. He wasn't in the habit of cooking for anyone other than himself, and he was baffled by the urge to provide for his sub. Of course, she was more than capable of feeding herself—she'd done so for years without his input—but it was imperative that he take over that role of...oh Christ, he thought.
Apparently, he was embracing their relationship fully, taking on the mantle of man of the goddamn house. Protecting, nurturing, disciplining. Ensuring she ate, showered, kept herself in excellent physical condition.
Maybe she didn't want nurturing, he argued with himself, but she wasn't protesting.
In the end, he decided on BLTs. All the ingredients were there in the refrigerator, and he found a skillet in one of the lower cupboards beside the stove. As hot oil and meat began to sizzle, he felt the atmosphere of the kitchen change, ever so slightly. "Breakfast won't be long. I'm really hoping you're not a vegetarian."
"Oh my God, is that bacon?" The horror in her voice was stark. "You're cooking a sweet, innocent little piggy? Oh, Jasper, how could you?"
Well, he'd fucked that up.
"Shit. Guess that was one of the things I should know about you, huh?" There was nothing he could do about the delicious smell of cooking piggy, but as he turned to face her, he blocked the skillet with his body. "I can make something else, kitten."
Big brown eyes were melting with the start of tears; her mouth was cast down at the corners, her bottom lip and chin quivering as she tried not to cry. His kitten was dressed again, her shoulder-length blonde hair squeaky clean and shiny, pulled back into a ponytail he wanted to tug. "It's too late. It's already dead, isn't it?"
The single tear rolling down the side of her nose unraveled him.
Jasper had her in his arms in a second, cuddling her close as he tried to see a way out of the great bacon disaster. He hated that she shook with sobs, that the tears she shed weren't because of something he'd done to her body. Those he could handle. This, he had no idea to fix. "Anarchy, I—"
