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“Come with me,” I begged, hoping she would trust me enough to prove my identity.
“Jasper’s dead,” she repeated, her eyes lost in a faraway place buried deep in the past.
“Tawni.” I picked her up from the floor where she crumbled only seconds ago as the shock of the truth began to sink in. Not wasting another moment, I headed right into the bathroom, shutting the door behind me and locking it. I didn’t want anyone disturbing us.
It might have been easier to show her my driver’s license, but I think she would have continued to doubt my words. This was the only way I knew how to convince her of the truth. It was fully stocked since this was the guest bathroom, and I found shaving cream, a new razor, and sharp scissors.
Tawni didn’t move as I began trimming my hair and doing a terrible job of it, but I was determined to clean up my appearance enough that she couldn’t deny me any longer. When I was satisfied enough, I dropped the scissors and filled the sink, beginning the agonizing process of removing my beard.
Fuck. This was painful. I’d grown the damn thing for at least a decade, and I wasn’t looking forward to the reaction from my brothers. Rael and Exorcist would give me shit for weeks.
Tawni was the only reason I’d ever consider losing it. Hopefully, she wouldn’t want me to stay clean-shaven for long. I winced at the razor and then resigned myself, scraping across my jaw with determination. I kept going, ignoring the few nicks I got along the way. Once I finished, I splashed on aftershave and turned her way, offering up a small smile.
I didn’t realize that she’d been quietly watching the process from start to finish. When I faced her, she stood on shaky legs, her hands rising to her mouth as she shook her head and then began to cry. Softly at first, and then the tears increased, and her chest heaved as she began to bawl.
I didn’t know what to do. Was she upset? Disappointed? Devastated?
“Tawni?”
“Oh, Jasper,” she wailed, rushing toward me as the disbelief vanished.
My arms wrapped around her without hesitation as if they remembered what it was like to hold her close. Our bodies pressed up against one another without an inch of space between us. Her coconut-scented lotion and sweet honey shampoo filled my senses.
Home.
The thought was the only one that reached coherency.
My baby was here, and there was no way I was ever letting her go again. “Tawni, I fucking missed you so much.”
“Not more than I missed you,” she blubbered as she hiccupped.
Lowering my head, I captured her lips in the softest of kisses, pressing my mouth to hers with a restrained passion that tested all of my strength and will. A part of me wanted to carry her into that room and lay her down on the bed. I needed to make love to her, to convince her that she never left my heart. Seventeen years and I still reacted to her as I did that Halloween night. Lust and desire mixed with rage when I thought of all the time that we lost.
Using my thumbs, I swiped the tears from her cheeks and flashed a smile. “I never forgot you.”
Her fingers rose and brushed across my face. “You have the same dimple.” She sniffled and then sighed. “Zane is your son, Jasper.”
“He’s mine. I have a son,” I marveled, letting the truth finally sink in. Last night I wanted to believe it more than I knew it was true.
“He’s yours. I was so happy when I found out that I was pregnant.” Her smile brightened for a few seconds and then disappeared. “I didn’t want to raise him alone. I wanted you to be there,” she admitted, her voice breaking as the tears renewed and her shoulders shook.
The bathroom wasn’t the place to discuss something so important. I led Tawni into the bedroom. She sank onto the mattress as I knelt at her side. There were so many questions to ask about that night, but I didn’t know where to start.
Halloween used to be my favorite holiday before Sid and his gang ruined it. I would give anything to go back to that night and do it all over again . . .
“DID YOU HEAR THAT?”Tawni asked as she clutched the blanket tighter to her chest.
“Yeah. Get dressed,” I ordered, placing a quick kiss against her lips. A loud truck blaring metal music headed our way, and I didn’t want us both to be caught with our literal pants down.
Tawni shoved her feet into her jeans as she scrambled to find her bra. Both of us laughed as I handed it over and flashed a cheeky grin.
“Is it bad that I wish we were still naked?”
She slapped at my arm and shook her head, long hair swinging as she fumbled with the clasps and finally latched the silky material. Tawni hastily threw on her t-shirt as I grabbed my clothes and boots, nearly falling over as I dressed. Both of us were fully clothed and had tugged on our shoes when the truck I noticed rolled to a stop a few feet away. Bright headlights faced our direction, and we were blinded as the high beams clicked on.
“What the fuck?” I shouted, irritated that someone was messing around with us. “What do you want?”
Shielding my eyes from the glare, I didn’t understand what was happening until it was too late.
