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He’d handled heavy loads, he had. He’d fought by his twin’s side, he’d saved his pack, he’d killed his own father.
He’d endured beatings, he’d almost fucked up his best friend’s mating.
He’d come out the other side with his humor and arrogance intact.
This though? This wasn’t only about him.
This was the girl he loved. Thegirl he’d claimed as his own.
And their baby boy.
It wasn’t his present that wasin danger, it was his future.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Callahan
Callahanhad showered, locking the bathroom door to make sure Jasper stayed out. She had no clue what happened back at the clinic. One minute some kid was spouting the oddest stuff and the next, she thought Jasper was going to kill him. She was beyond confused. Last night Jasper had been passionate, caring, he’d been everything.Thisevening when he’d shown up on campus, he’d been easygoing and happy. He’d turned on a dime.
Her whole life had seemed to turn on a dime the moment she met him.
She’d never been this girl. Thegirl who lusted and wanted things she shouldn’t have. She was lying to her parents, she was makingmistakes,and complicating her life. She wasn’t sure which way was up anymore. She shut off the water, drying her body with one of Jace and Axie’s supple oversize towels before letting it drop to the tile floor.
She pivoted to the side, studying her body in the floor-to-ceiling mirror. She put her hand on the tiny swell of her stomach, smiling despite all the questions swimming around her skull. Their baby was growingandhealthy. She couldn’t help but love it.
She headed back into her room after pulling on a big t-shirt Maddi had gifted her. It was a St. Leasing baseball shirt and it had Jasper’s number on the back. Maddi thought it would be a cute keepsake to have for the baby one day. It’d been so soft she hadn’t been able to resist wearing it. She clicked off the bathroom light, stopping short at the sight of Jasper perched on the edge of her bed. His head was in his hands, his elbows resting on his knees.
“I know you probably don’t want to see me.” He glanced up, meeting her eyes and breaking her resolve a bit. He looked exhausted. “But we need to talk.” He held his hands out, silently begging her to come to him.
She hesitated, like she had out in the parking lot. Her body wanted to obey, her heart too. It was her brain that made her pause. In the end, again, her brain lost. She let him guide her between his thighs, his palms rubbing along the back of her bare legs. “That was Maddiwhocalled. Yourdad is in town.”
She crumpled, glad that he was there to catch her. He picked her up, settling her on his lap. “Madditold him you were camping with Blake and you two would be back in the morning. I’m supposed to bring you to Linc and Maddi’s after breakfast.”
Callahanrested her head in the space between his neck and shoulder, inhaling his scent with every attempt to hold back her sobs.
The dam broke, and a flood of tears were the result.
It was too much. Lastnight. Thealtercation with the boy. Herdad being in town. She was nineteen, she was pregnant, she was scared.
She was in the arms of a man she couldn’t seem to stay away from. Nothing made sense.
She let it all go, pouring her confusion and anxiety into Jasper’s arms. He held her, smoothing his hand up and down her back, whispering kind words of encouragement into her ear.
He told her he’d take care of her and the baby.
He told her that everything was going to be okay,andthat he’d never let anyone hurt them.
He promised her the moon, and all the stars.
Eventually, her tears exhausted her and she fell asleep in his arms.
***
Callahanwoke in the middle of the night, the room pitch black, Jasper wrapped around her. He was still holding her the way he’d been when she drifted off. He hadn’t left, he hadn’t moved her. He was watching over her, even when she no longer needed it. She turned in his arms, careful not to disturb him. She traced his eyebrows, his cheekbones, his lips. Lips that provided the sweetest kiss and the dirtiest talk. Jasper was the whole package, and one day he would make someone incredibly happy. She’d have to watch as he finally fell in love, as he met his match.
But tonight, tonight he was hers.
Tomorrow she’d see her father, and it would go terribly, she had no doubt. She’d be hurt and he’d be angry. He’d demand she leave with him. He’ddemand control of her pregnancy and the rest of her life. She choked back a fresh round of tears that threatened to fall. She would fight him, with Jasper by her side.
