Page 6 of Jasper (Guardians of the North #5)

JASPER

After I make good on my promise to allow Vanessa to check out the festival grounds—and her assistant chases her off insisting everything on this setup-only day is running smoothly—I decide to take her to one of my favorite places in North Haven.

We have a few hours to kill before I’m due to meet a guy from the Caribou Creek Brewery to store kegs in my garage until the festival setup for vendors opens tomorrow morning.

Then later this evening, I have to pick up a couple of passengers from the airport coming in from Caribou Creek.

But before all that, I don’t want to make it too easy for Vanessa to slip away from me.

“Your sister seems fun.” Vanessa’s eyes twinkle with mischief as I slow the truck. “You’ve really never made it past a first date in four years?”

Damn Annie . I love the hell out of her, but at times, her inability to hold her tongue really irks me. Her outspoken boldness has gotten her into trouble more than a few times over the years. “Ignore her,” I say, parking the truck on a dirt pull off. “Now come on. I want to show you something.”

“I really thought you’d be married by now,” Vanessa says, catching up to me as I wait at the start of a dirt-packed trail.

“I could say the same about you. Who is David, anyway?” I shouldn’t care. I don’t want to care. They’re broken up. He’s a non-issue. At least, I hope he is.

“Jealous much?”

I step into her path, and she throws out her hand to keep herself from colliding with my chest. Except those slender, silky fingers dig into my peck. Her palm flattens against me. I don’t think I’m the only one sliding back into memory. My hand drops to her hip, my fingers digging in.

I lean in, my cheek brushing hers, and say against her ear, “I could say the same for you, sweetheart.”

“Annie’s your sister.”

“You didn’t know that at first.” Remembering the jealous flare in her eyes when my sister strangled me in a hug amuses the hell out of me.

It reminds me of Vanessa’s feistiest side.

On the outside, she’s all elegant and poised.

A business professional. But on the inside is a she-wolf, both dangerous and wild.

“At least I can get past a first date.” Ouch. She pushes off my chest and moves around me, heading down the hard-packed trail ahead of me.

I chase after her, admiring the sway of her hips and the view of her incredible ass all the way down to the rocky beach.

Waves crash against the shore, the sound amplified by the private alcove.

If we have time, I’m bringing her back here with a blanket and making love to her with the ocean view before us.

“You know, sweetheart, we never got past the first date and you didn’t seem to mind that.”

“We did too.”

I answer with a wicked smirk and let her play out the sequence of events in her head.

We started at the seaside bar and moved the night to a nearby restaurant with some pretty phenomenal clam chowder—not that it could compete with Mom’s—and ended up in a hotel room the rest of the weekend, opening the door only for room service so we didn’t have to leave.

“That doesn’t count,” she argues.

“Why?” I challenge, coming close to her again. Relishing in the way waves of heat dance between us despite the chilly ocean breeze. My cock stands at attention, begging to get the fuck out of this uniform and into her pussy. Down boy. All in good time .

“We didn’t…” She can’t seem to find the words. Probably because they don’t exist.

I comb the breeze-tangled hair from her cheek with my good hand and tuck it behind her ear.

Forgetting the reason I brought her out here.

Ignoring the scenery I know would steal her breath away if only she’d look at it.

Right now, the only thing that’s going to steal her breath is me.

“Admit it, sweetheart. It was the best first date of your life.”

“Jasper.” Her name is a plea I don’t dare deny. Maybe it’s a moment of her walls weakening. Walls she might very well fortify soon after. But I don’t worry about that as I lean in, closing the gap between us. Staring hungrily at her lips without apology.

It’s only the first brush of our lips that’s gentle. Testing. Seeking permission.

Before the second, Vanessa grabs the back of my neck and pulls me in for a kiss that threatens to unravel me to the very fucking core.

It’s hungry, raw, and filled with the passion we shared four years ago.

A fire between us that could set the world ablaze.

We cling tightly to one another as the waves crash against the shore.

I’m not much for romantics, but if I was, I would say this moment was one for the books.

When we finally come up for air, I have no concept of time.

No idea how long we spent exploring each other with our mouths and tongues.

All I know is that I’m panting like I was being chased by a damn grizzly bear and wishing I’d asked Joel if I could borrow the hot tub he’s never used before I dropped him off this morning.

I’m yearning to recreate one of my favorite Cape Cod memories stat.

“You bring me all the way out here just for a kiss?” Vanessa teases, that familiar fire of long ago dancing in her eyes. Promising that if she’s going to fully come back to her senses that it hasn’t happened yet. I still have a few moments to steal.

“I brought you out here to show you the view.”

She finally stares off toward the water. The bay surrounded by a wall of mountains, offering up one passageway. A ship passes through in the distance, heading toward the marina. “It is beautiful. Even more so than I imagined,” she admits.

“Alaska has a way of stealing hearts.”

“ Just Alaska?”

I snag another quick but hard kiss, thankful the moment isn’t shattered yet.

I know Vanessa well enough to expect her to clam up when she realizes what just happened.

But until then, I’m pretending the odds aren’t stacked against us.

“There’s a sunken treasure out there,” I say, pointing to the opening between walls of mountains.

“Like a pirate treasure?”

“Something like that.”

“How did a pirate treasure sink off the coast of Alaska? I wouldn’t expect this to be a prime location for pirates. Wouldn’t they freeze or hit icebergs?”

I slip an arm around her waist and tug her hips closer to mine. I sense the slightest hesitation, but ultimately, she leans in. “It’s a love story, really.”

“Does it have a happy ending?”

“Not exactly. The Esmerelda is cursed because of love. Or so the legend goes.”

Vanessa stares up at me, shaking her head.

“You’re really going to spoil a romantic moment with a tragic story?

” Before I can successfully speak another word, Vanessa presses her fingers to my lips.

“You’re better off just kissing me again before I return to my senses and go back to being mad at you. ”

I’m not a fool. I cup her cheek and steal another sultry kiss. One I sure as hell hope will lead to more.