Page 7 of Jasper (Guardians of the North #5)

VANESSA

My lips are properly swollen from making out on the North Haven coast. I can’t stop running my fingers over them, fascinated by the way they still buzz.

Is it a mistake to get involved with Jasper Steele a second time?

Probably .

Do I want to stop before things get too out of hand?

Not really .

Should I.

Absolutely .

I lean my head against the passenger window as we drive through downtown, heading away from the hotel and the small crew from the airport Jasper was scheduled to pick up this evening.

I was so caught up in a lustful haze that I missed my opportunity to cut the night short and barricade myself in my hotel room.

I steal a side glance at him, and my entire body quivers with want.

With raw, hungry desire. I forgot how thoroughly that man could kiss.

After our time sucking face like horny teenagers on the beach that definitely got a little handsy, though not quite handsy enough if you ask my aching nipples, Jasper spent the afternoon showing me around the most charming town I’ve ever visited.

It's like something out of a Hallmark movie, just the way he described it four years ago.

I’m sure it’s the nostalgia going to my head, but I keep hearing whispers in the back of my mind that promise I would love settling down here. Making a home. With Jasper .

There’s a solid possibility after a good night’s sleep, a strong cup of coffee, and busy festival day tomorrow that I’ll regret kissing him. Giving in. Because no matter how wet that man makes my panties, I can’t fall for him. Not all the way past the point of no return.

But could I enjoy my weekend in North Haven a little more?

The memory of us tangled in the softest sheets in the world begs me to say yes.

To give in to one last passionate weekend before I return to Houston and focus on officially closing my business and settling into my new normal.

Settling down and closing on my new house with the writing office of my dreams. My life is there.

But tonight…I just can’t seem to be so troubled by all of it.

“I notice you still wear that necklace,” Jasper says as he rolls forward from a stop sign and reaches for my hand.

Ah, there’s the reminder I needed. Mom’s insistence that I don’t get involved with a military man echoes loudly in my mind now that she’s been brought into the conversation. “It was my mother’s.”

“You must miss her.”

“Every day.” I do my best to refortify my walls, one by one.

My mother made me promise I wouldn’t fall for a military man for a reason.

The older I get, the more I yearn for stability.

To settle down and start a family. As much as I admire Jasper, my dad, and all the other servicemen and women for their bravery, I don’t want to live the way my mother did.

Constantly stressed and worried when Dad was gone.

Struggling to juggle everything without him around. Moving every three to four years.

“You don’t mind a pitstop, do you?” Jasper asks, nodding ahead.

It’s only now I notice that we’re at the festival grounds. Though most of the vendors are not allowed to set up until tomorrow morning, the town council insisted we make a few exceptions for some of the local vendors. “I should probably get back to the hotel. Find Erin?—”

“C’mon,” Jasper says, pushing his door open and hopping. “There’s someone I want you to meet.”

My heart races in my chest, wondering what trap I’m walking into.

It’s one thing to spend this long weekend with Jasper.

To experience a little taste of the fantasy we had that long ago weekend.

It’s another to slip too far into his real life.

“I really—” But my objections are spoken to a closed door.

Jasper waits at the front of the truck, running a hand through his hair. It’s just long enough to skirt the military regulation line. It makes me wonder if he’ll grow it out when he retires. I long to comb my fingers through it, the simple desire enough to get me out of the truck.

“Where—”

He reaches for my hand, threading his fingers through mine.

He doesn’t scan the grounds like I do. He doesn’t seem the least bit worried who might see us acting so intimately.

It’s not likely Dad is here this late at night, but it’s still not something I’m ready to explain to him should someone tell him what they saw.

Especially when I have so many other confessions I’ve yet to make about my life.

“Note for next year?” Jasper says, leaning close enough for his breath to tickle my neck. It takes all my focus to follow his pointed finger to a bright yellow taco truck. “You might want someone to vet your vendors.”

“ Rocco’s Tacos has over two hundred five-star reviews online?—”

“They’ve also been closed down and reopened more than once. Ask my buddy Jordan about his two-day toilet-hugging experience.”

“I’ll let the committee know.” I nearly choke on the last word because he starts to stroke the side of my hand with his callused thumb. The simple sensation ignites all my nerve endings in a gentle wave. “I won’t be planning it next year.”

“No?”

“This is my last event.” I don’t know if it’s wise to share this with Jasper or not. Erin is the only other soul in town who knows I’m closing down my business. I want to trust him. I do trust him. I just hope that I’m not wrong in doing so.

“What are you going to do instead?”

A pang of disappointment hits me. He doesn’t remember . Before I can get a word out, a loud bang, like a symbol being struck, echoes from a nearby food truck. It’s so loud I jump.

“Annie’s in the truck,” he says in explanation. “She’s a great resort hostess, but a hazard in the kitchen.”

Slowly the pieces fall together. Annie. The food truck. A delicious aroma I can’t quite pin, though hints of seafood wafts in the air. “Your parents don’t own a restaurant, but your mom has a food truck?”

Jasper turns his heated gaze to me, and my insides quiver at that panty-melting smile. “Best clam chowder you’ll ever eat.” He squeezes my hand. “C’mon. I want you to meet my mom.”