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CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

FALIN

The next day, we spend the afternoon prepping. Who knew tracking down shovels in Manhattan would be such an ordeal? With Leon still stuck with his father, it’ll be the four of us trekking back to the Bronx on a mission to find a dead guy.

“The looks I got lugging these shovels from the store,” Jasper says. “Like everyone assumed I was about to bury someone.”

I smirk while finishing with my boots. “I mean, they’re not wrong.”

“I’m unburying a body. There’s a difference.” When I stand from the couch, his eyes rake over me. “You sure you’ll be warm enough in that?”

That being my black buckle skirt, tights, and leg warmers. “I’ll be fine, Dad.”

Shit. The word slipped out before I could catch it.

“Dad?” He raises a brow, closing the space between us. “Or… Daddy?”

I hate when he uses his sexy voice. It always turns me on and I swear he knows it.

“Definitely Dad.” I rise on my tiptoes until I’m barely an inch from his lips, trailing my finger from his temple to his jaw. “Daddy needs to be earned.” He pulls me against him with his free hand, and I fight back a gasp.

“Keep being a brat and I’ll show you what happens,” he says, voice thick.

“Am I interrupting something?” Damon snickers from the doorway.

I try to step back but Jasper’s grip stays firm on my waist, his eyes locked on mine with an intensity that catches me off guard. Like he’s done playing games and knows exactly what he wants.

Blake follows Damon in, focused on her phone. “Hope I dressed warm enough. Glad you found those HotHands things though.” She stops short. “Oh.”

I dart my tongue out to moisten my lip, noticing how Jasper tracks the movement. It’s hot… so fucking hot. “We need to go,” I finally manage. He releases me slowly, and when he steps away, the absence of his body against mine leaves an ache.

“Fal, you’re gonna freeze in that. Where’s your pants?” Blake asks, always being a caretaker.

I shrug, purposely looking at Jasper and adding innuendo to my voice. “Dirty.” I swear his eyes darken.

Blake grabs a shovel, shaking her head. “Wish Lee was here. Feels wrong without him.”

“His fucking father,” Damon says. “I knew he’d be gone awhile. Always happens.”

“He texted earlier,” Blake says. “Said he’s okay, and has something to tell us when he gets back.”

“He texted you, but not me?” Jasper says. “Rude.”

Blake grins, knowing full well she has us all wrapped around her finger. “He wished us luck. Said to message him if we find anything.”

“Metal detector in the car?” I ask Jasper.

He nods. “All set. Let’s go find our Russian popsicle.”

I swear to God.

* * *

The sun paints the sky in shades of gold by the time we park near the hill. I had no idea about the fire Jasper and Damon set the other night. If I knew, I may have thought better of coming back here. This whole thing is a huge gamble anyway. I don’t trust Mischa for a second. I could see her drinking champagne on some first class flight to Paris, laughing away at how she sent us on a wild goose chase. Or more aptly, a dead goose chase.

But on the off chance she’s telling the truth, it’s worth a night of numb fingertips and cold feet.

The damage to the house is worse than I imagined. What little structure it was holding onto is gone, replaced by the charred bones of a home. Good riddance. I hope the memory of what happened in there burned along with it.

“I’ll go with Blake to search,” I offer. “We can use the metal detector.”

Damon and Jasper laugh in unison like a pair of cartoon villains. It’s honestly weird as hell. Damon turns to look at us in the backseat. “Abso-fucking-lutely not.”

Blake squeezes my hand. “I have to agree with him, Fal. Not that I wouldn’t love some girl time, but we kinda need the guys to do the digging.”

I scoff. “We’re strong. We can dig ourselves.”

“Yeah, have fun with that,” she says, sliding out of the backseat. The same backseat where Jasper had me bent like a pretzel. My cheeks heat despite the chill that blows into the car from the open door.

Jasper flips the seat so I can climb out from the passenger side, smirking as I stand up. “I’ll just enjoy the moonlight and fresh air while you do all the manual labor. Better stretch first.”

“Thanks for the reminder. I’ll make sure to dig you a grave with a nice view,” I say.

He cages me between his chest and the car door, lowering his head so only I hear him. “Careful, Trouble, the last time you threatened to put me six feet under, I had you coming apart on my tongue.”

I stand tall, working my fingers from his cheeks down the slope of his neck. His breath hitches and pupils grow like the shadows stretching around us. Once I reach his throat, my hand forms a collar, squeezing lightly. “Funny, I remember you being the desperate one.” His pulse jumps against my palm as I give his body a firm shove.

Jasper’s stare scorches my skin as I grab a shovel and flashlight from the trunk. I love having the last word and he knows it.

Once we reach the top of the hill, I’m even less optimistic that we’ll find something. The area spans the entire block—over a thousand feet for sure. There’s rocks, trees, and dead branches scattered everywhere. It looks as if the only living thing to come through here are deer or squirrels. The ground is going to be frozen solid.

Damon and Blake don’t seem too put out. “We’ll take this side,” Damon says pointing to the right. “Do you want the metal detector first?”

Blake’s holding onto it like a kid with a new toy. There’s no way I’m taking it from her. “No, it’s fine. We’ll just look for places where someone’s been digging.”

“Okay, call us if you find anything.” He reaches for Blake’s hand and they start heading in the opposite direction.

Jasper stretches his arms above his head, groaning suggestively. “Lead the way. I’ll hang back a step and enjoy the view.” I rest my free hand on my hip and glare at him. “I meant the stars… my God, woman, who’s the cocky one now?”

“Keep your eyes on the ground, not my ass,” I say as I almost immediately trip over a rock.

Jasper’s hand shoots out, catching me around the waist. “You should take your own advice.”

I don’t have a comeback for that one.

We walk, and walk, and walk some more. Shining my flashlight on the ground, I pay extra attention to anything that looks out of place, but really, I only manage to scare the shit out of a raccoon.

“Should we call them and see if they’ve picked up on anything with the metal detector?” I ask. I’m getting frustrated and cold and Jasper’s gone irritatingly quiet. He’s not even humming anymore.

“I’m sure they’ll call us if they find something.” He pokes a pile of sticks with the end of the shovel, sighing when there’s nothing but frost-covered earth beneath them.

“What are you thinking about over there?” I stop and lean against a tree, dropping my shovel to rub my cold hands together.

He smooths a mound of dirty snow haphazardly. “Stuff, nothing important.”

Of course he’s going to make me dig for more. Who knew I’d be metaphorically digging as well as physically digging tonight. “How have your cravings been?”

He lets out a dry laugh. “Loads of fun.”

“I bet.” I soften my voice. “I’m proud of you.”

His eyes drift up to meet mine, blue irises sparkling in the moonlight. “I have you to thank, Trouble. I’ve traded one addiction for another.”

I’m caught off guard and my pulse speeds up. “What do you mean?” His feet crunch against dried branches and dead leaves as he closes the distance between us. Once again, I’m trapped against his hard body, his delicious warmth soaking into my skin.

Gently, like I’m made of glass, he trails his knuckles down my cheek, cupping my jaw. “Your rose scent. That smart mouth. The kindness you try to hide. Your fierceness.” His voice wavers and he wraps his palms around my waist. “And God, your body. I won’t pretend I don’t love the way you look. You’re beautiful, every damn inch. I can’t get enough. You’re even in my dreams, and it terrifies me.” His eyes find mine again, wide with vulnerability. “So yeah, Trouble, I’m addicted to you—even though I know I’ll probably mess this up like everything else.”

“Jasper.” His name catches in my throat. I want to understand every thought in his mind, to fight against his self-doubt and show him he’s more than what people give him credit for. But right now, words aren’t enough. I hold his face and rise on my tiptoes, slowly pressing my lips to his.

When our lips meet, it’s like the first crack of lightning in a storm—electric and blazing. Our hands can’t get enough, mine fisted in his hair, his cradling my face. His taste is intoxicating. Wintergreen and spice. When I press my tongue to the seam of his lips, he lets out a desperate curse, opening for me. Our tongues brush, gently at first, until I hum into his mouth and he deepens the kiss. He lifts me, and I wrap my legs around him as his body pins me against the tree. His hard cock is pressed so deliciously into my core. Everything in me wants to reach down and pull it out so he can fuck me shamelessly against this tree.

I yank on his hair, eliciting the hottest whimper. “Fuck, baby, you taste so goddamn good.”

He squeezes my ass while I kiss his jaw and say, “So do you.”

“Been waiting so long for this,” he manages between breaths.

I capture his lips again, and this time our kiss is slower, deeper. Memorizing every part of each other. His hands spread me wider, fingers roaming closer to my core. I nibble his bottom lip, loving the way he moans my name.

“Christ,” he breathes against my mouth, his forehead resting against mine. “You’re going to be the death of me, Trouble.”

“I’ll dig the grave.” I let out a breathy laugh, resting my head against the tree. He leans in again, peppering kisses along the slope of my neck, pressing his hard length into me.

“I’d die a happy man.” I wrap my fingers in his hair and his eyes meet mine. They’re dark but softer than before, like he means every word he’s said.

The way he looks right now has me questioning everything. But before I can pull him back to me, a branch cracks in the darkness. We freeze, reality crashing in. Fuck.

The woods. The shovels. The dead guy.

My body screams but I motion for him to put me back on my feet. “We should…” I gesture to the shovels.

He releases a long exhale, running a hand through his hair. “Yeah, you’re right.”

I watch as he not so subtly adjusts his boner, clenching my thighs together.

Ah, fuck it.

“Hey.” He turns and I reach for his face, kissing him softly. “Let’s find this body, then maybe we can finish what we started.”

His answering smile is pure joy. “Sweetheart, I’ll dig faster than I’ve ever dug in my life.”

After a few hours of nothing, Blake calls, telling us she’s done for the night. Jasper and I exchange looks, silently asking if either of us wants to keep up the search. I won’t be the one to admit I’m also frozen and dying of hunger, but I’m not too proud to beg with my eyes.

“Tell her we’ll meet them by the car,” he says.

I know he wanted to find something. We all did. Trying to cheer him up, I force optimism into my voice. “I’ll come back with you tomorrow. This area is huge, it’ll take a few days to search it.”

“You will?”

Why does he sound so surprised? A flutter of nerves hits me out of nowhere, but I fight through the cursed feeling. I reach for his hand, entwining my fingers in his. “Of course, and maybe we can get dinner beforehand?”

Holy shit, did I just ask Jasper Shea out on a date? An actual date, date?

He squeezes my hand, and answers, his voice so smooth it makes my freezing legs weak. “Dinner then digging up a body. How romantic.”

As we head back home, it hits me. I’ve never asked a guy out before. Hook-ups, yeah. I’ve initiated plenty of those. But this feels different, and I can’t figure out why.

We’ve already crossed so many lines together. Made each other come. Killed a man. We’ve even fallen asleep in each other’s arms, for fuck’s sake. So why does the thought of sitting across from him at a restaurant make my stomach go all berserk? Like somehow dinner is what makes this thing between us real.

I’ll have to talk to Blake and let her diagnose me with the help of her psych textbooks. But right now, with Jasper’s hungry eyes meeting mine in the car’s visor mirror, I can’t think of anything I want more than him.