AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Calming down a little, he gave the bathroom one last look around before switching off the lights and closing the door. One down, one to go, and a precious kitten to check in on as he went downstairs. A peek into her room proved she was exhausted; she hadn't moved an inch, still tucked up under the duvet, and her face set in the perfectly relaxed lines of a sub well-tended.
Did she realize how much power she held over him? Jasper chuckled as he made his way downstairs. He doubted it. She would be dangerous if she ever gained a proper understanding of how she could twist him around her little finger.
If he set his stupidity aside, he should have realized how perfect she was for him. Fear had blinded him, made him cast her away and walk away from her in an effort to protect her. Perhaps he hadknown, and that was what had scared him more than anything. Not just that she was everything he'd wished for in his life, but that she was dedicated to him so fiercely, she'd spent nine months of her life sitting at his feet, just waiting for him to get the balls to takeher.
And look what he'd been willing to throw away.
Good, hard, fucking amazing sex. A beautiful, willing, closeted masochist.
A life with an honest woman who, for some strange reason, appeared to love him.
Jasper doubted there was a bigger idiot than him in the goddamn universe.
The kitchen was quiet and brightly lit when he passed through the doorway. Braun was going to kick his ass for leaving all the damn lights on. Shrugging that off, Jasper set to work returning the space to pristine condition. It was rolling on midnight—not quite as late as he'd thought, but late enough that the last of the Sunday night stragglers were dragging themselves from Avalon.
Sundays were hard to gauge in terms of club attendance. For a long time, Braun hadn't bothered opening—too much overhead to make up with only a few members coming to play. People were readying themselves for work the next day, having early nights with their spouses, or simply making the most of their last free day until the next weekend rolled around.
As the membership grew, so did the calls for the club to open on Sundays, and Braun had listened, debated it with the Masters, and the decision was made to give the members what they wanted. Sometimes the club was heaving until closing time—one a.m.—and sometimes, on nights like tonight, the place was quiet with the doors locked by midnight.
Jasper yanked his phone from his pocket and fired off a quick text to Braun, asking how Boadicea was holding up and whether there was any news yet. He added on that he was staying here for the night with Anarchy, just in case Bodie decided to break out of the hospital. Not that Braun would let her get far, but that raven-haired sub was incredibly resourceful.
Somehow, another hour passed as he mercilessly scrubbed the counters and the floor, cleaned the stools, emptied the trash, and made the kitchen presentable. What was most surprising, however, was catching himself humming under his breath as he worked. More than that, he discovered, the sense of peace was beautiful.
Foreign.
Satisfied he'd removed every trace of his and Anarchy's shenanigans, Jasper threw the cloths he'd used in the washer and committed the sensation to memory. Body and mind were relaxed, one through simple menial tasks and the other preoccupied with Anarchy. The two were enough to settle him in a way only sadism usually could.
Was this what she wanted? The big house with a yard. A man who cared and provided for her, not just in the bedroom but in the real world. Landscaping was his primary source of income and brought in enough money to give her a good life, but even if that avenue dried up, he had enough money squirrelled away to keep them more than comfortable for life.
His own home was as big as this, but not as homely, he supposed. There wasn't much in the way of furniture or knick-knacks. He didn't need them. At a guess, the color scheme was on the cold side—whites and blues, with more tiles than carpet. It was in dire need of a woman's touch to turn it from his place to sleep and eat into a home.
Like him, it needed someone to bring out his full potential.
Maybe Anarchy would be up to the task.
His phone began to ring; Braun's ID flashed on the screen. Jasper answered with hesitation. "Braun."
"J." His friend sounded weary, much like it had been for the months when Bodie was struggling through the loss of her career and fighting through physical therapy. It was hard to listen to, knowing how happy he'd been since she came home, damaged but alive. "Everything okay there?"
"Think I should be asking you that."
Braun sighed heavily. "Things are complicated here. Boadicea's convinced herself she's going to be here for weeks, so she's being uncooperative. That's putting it mildly. They've given her a touch of sedative to calm her down, but she's freaked out. The last time she was in here, she had a fucking rough ride and she's not forgotten a moment of it."
"That's understandable, Braun. Christ, she had her leg in that contraption, and they'd opened her up from sternum to navel. Not to mention the rest." Jasper moved to a stool, sat. "What are her symptoms now? I know she hasn't been feeling well for a couple weeks."
"Weeks? Try months." Braun's voice carried an edge of steel that didn't bode well for his submissive. "Two, to be exact. My little one has been a bad girl, keeping secrets to herself. As soon as she's feeling better, she's going to rue that poor decision." A soft, sad laugh filtered down through the connection. "Boadicea's pregnant, Jasp."
It was a good thing he was sitting down. The words Boadiceaand pregnant weren't ones he'd expected to hear quite so soon. But something in Braun's tone wasn't right. "Congratulations, man. That's fantastic news."
"Thanks, I appreciate it. Jasper, the doctors haven't said anything to Bodie yet, but the pregnancy might not be viable. Their words. They did some tests earlier, and we're waiting for more scans. I don't understand a lot of the terms they're throwing at me, but they think the damage Bodie's parents did to her that night might extend into her reproductive system." The catch in his friend's voice was heartbreaking. "We won't know more until tomorrow. I'm not going to say anything until then; I'm not ready to destroy her a second time in a fucking year."
Well, fuck. Jasper blew out a long breath. "Christ, I'm sorry, Braun. I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy. Does she want kids?"
"Her opinion wavers. We can talk about starting a family one day and she won't even entertain the idea. Doesn't want to keep the genetics of her family line going, doesn't believe she has what it takes to be a mother. I know she talks to Connie about it all, which helps, but Connie's really strict on not telling me anything if Bodie doesn't give her permission." Braun grunted in exasperation. "Then if I broach the subject on a different day, she wants us to build a family. The thought excites her rather than terrifies her. I didn't want us to bring a baby into the world when Bodie's struggling to figure out if being a mother is what shewants or what Iwant."
"You want that big family? Irish roots must be screaming for you to carry on the line."
"Roots be damned. My cousins will take the name and the blood to the next generation. I'm more afraid of the choices we have to make now. There may be nothing the doctors can do to save this baby or Bodie's ability to get pregnant and carry to term in the future; I don't know. But I don't know how she's going to react to this, Jasper."
