AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Here.” The word hung in the silence as he held my dress out to me. I took it, slipped it over my head, and turned so he could zip it up. The closeness of his fingers to my skin and the feel of his breath on the back of my neck sent shivers down my spine in a way I’d never felt when we were together. If only he’d given in to his delicious darkness before everything had gone wrong.
He was still silent as he slipped my boots on, drawing the zips up as slowly and gently as he had taken them down. His movements were strange, deliberate, and slow, but final, as if he were lingering to remember the details. Maybe he was.
I found myself doing the same, my eyes travelling over every inch of his ruffled, dark blond hair and square jaw, now bearing a rather uncharacteristic five o’clock shadow that I really wanted to rub my face against. He looked up at me and caught me watching. He stood up, his tall, slim frame bathed in the golden glow of the lamps in a way that highlighted his toned body. He was a little on the skinny side, but years of playing polo and rowing still had him looking very fine, and I really wanted to see what he looked like underneath those clothes. A flush of my own shame and embarrassment filled me as I realised he was still fully dressed and hadn’t even loosened his tie.
“Tory... Lady Victoria...”
“If you are about to say sorry, Jasper, I swear to all that’s holy I will kick you in the balls so hard you’ll be singing descant for the rest of your life.”
He blinked at me, and I bit my lip, realising spending so much time with Jack and West had made me rather freer with my tongue than normal.
“I mean, you don’t need to worry about me, Jasper. I’m fine. I’m good.”
He shook his head. “You shouldn’t be good, I was... unhinged.”
“Mmm, yeah you were, and I loved it.”
He shook his head again. “It’s wrong, it’s all wrong, and I just can’t... I’m sorry.” He turned away from me and paused, only to pick up a black leather holdall from the luggage rack before he strode through the door, leaving me standing in the middle of the room alone.
“I’m getting pretty fucking sick of him walking out on me,” I complained out loud, staring at the door. I didn’t wait this time, immediately going after him.
I missed his elevator, so I had to catch the next one, with West and Jack hot on my heels. They didn’t say anything to me, and I didn’t speak to them. As we stood in the elevator together, I suddenly realised that they had been standing guard outside Jasper’s suite the whole time, which meant they probably heard everything that had gone on inside. More guilt. I realised there was a lot I didn’t know about how our arrangement worked. Was I supposed to stay faithful to them? Were there only some of them I shared my body and blood with, and was it always the same ones? Had I just essentially cheated on them? I felt sick at the thought of hurting Jack, but the idea of making West listen to what Jasper had done to me was strangely thrilling, and I had to fight to keep a smile off my face.
The doors opened, and I ran out into the hotel reception. It seemed busier than before, but I supposed it was only about ten at night and a business conference might have just finished or something, considering there were several guys in suits. Jasper was moving away from the checkout desk and heading towards the front door. I caught up with him, slightly breathless.
“Jasper, please, don’t do this again. Don’t make me come after you.”
“I don’t want you to come after me, Victoria. I want you to stay away from me, far away. I’m dangerous.”
I wasn’t sure if he truly believed that or if he was just trying to scare me off. Obviously it didn’t work. I followed him out through the big double doors into the night.
“Jasper, wait—” I started, but I never got to finish the sentence. We were suddenly surrounded by a throng of people pushing phones in our faces as they snapped pictures of us together.
“Lord Jasper, Lord Jasper! Is it true you’re taking her back?”
“Lady Victoria, did you really dump him in front of the duke?”
Flashes went off everywhere and I blinked. In reality, there were only about twenty of them, but it felt like more when I was in the middle of it.
“Can you confirm you’re getting back together?”
“Does this mean the wedding is back on?”
Jasper turned and glared at me. “Do you know anything about this?”
“No, nothing,” I replied. I grabbed the girl next to me who was trying to take a selfie with me. “How did you know we were here?”
“Someone tipped us off on social media. We’re in a fan group.” She grinned at me as though I should be pleased with the attention.
“I have a fan group?” I asked, slightly bemused.
She rolled her eyes. “Not you, him.” She turned a simpering gaze towards Jasper, who just shook his head in disbelief.
“Well, I certainly didn’t tell them we were meeting,” he told me. “Are you sure you didn’t post anything on one of your accounts?”
This time it was my turn to glare at him. “Oh yeah, right. The girl who’s supposed to be hiding out from a stalker posted her location on social media for the world to see.”
“You have a stalker?” The simpering girl stared at me for a moment, then looked down at her phone and started tapping.
