Page 9 of Jasper (Guardians of the North #5)

JASPER

“Are you okay?” Vanessa’s voice is muffled as she shouts over the loud engine. Though we both have headsets, there weren’t enough ICS cords for both of us. Her headphones are simply to help reduce the noise of the engine. I’m the only one of the two of us who can communicate with the crew.

I nod in answer, but I have to wonder if my face is fucking green. God I hate not being in the pilot’s seat.

With that raised eyebrow, Vanessa doesn’t look convinced by my answer.

“You sure you know what you’re doing, Steele?” James Devano asks from the cockpit. His question isn’t a surprise. I’ve been braced for it for the past hour we’ve been in the air. If only he knew I’d had Vanessa’s nipple in my mouth less than twelve hours ago, he wouldn’t be so soft about it.

“Admiral wanted me to show her around,” I answer, as though this last-minute request to add both Vanessa and I to the flight roster of a routine training mission had nothing to do with trying to impress the only woman I’ve ever truly wanted.

Admiral Wheeler will probably come across the flight log, but with any luck, it won’t be until Monday.

He might approve on account of his instruction to show his daughter around.

But if he decides to chew me a new asshole instead, I hope it’s after I’ve convinced Vanessa that she belongs with me—here in North Haven.

Because after last night, I have to convince her to stay.

It wasn’t just the way we dry humped like horny teenagers who forgot a condom. It was the way she was so easily accepted into my family, as though she were already a part of it. Mom wouldn’t have taken to her so effortlessly if she didn’t like her.

Vanessa belongs here, with me.

Which is why I want her to have the best view— my favorite view—of my hometown from the air. I want her to see all this place has to offer. To experience the awe and wonder Alaska has to offer. Even if I feel like I might throw up while she takes it all in.

“I don’t think this is what he meant,” Joel pipes up from his seat. He’s dressed to deploy into the freezing cold waters if an emergency arises, but otherwise, he’s just along for the routine training ride.

“It’s better than one of those bush plane tours,” I fire back. In my defense, I tried to call in a favor with North Haven Flightseeing Tours , but with the festival, they were overbooked as it was. Not even name dropping the admiral had gotten me anywhere.

“We have to stick to the route,” James says.

“You say that as we’re on our way back to the flightline,” I say, my words heavily laced with sarcasm.

“I’m not taking any detours,” James adds.

“Not asking you too.” If I were in the cockpit, I’d happily veer off course to show Vanessa the best hidden sights.

But since I’m not the one flying, I’m ready to get back on the fucking ground.

Joel raises a quiet eyebrow at me, but he doesn’t out me in front of Vanessa.

She might not be able to hear him, but it wouldn’t surprise me if she had a talent for reading lips.

That woman has so many hidden talents I can’t keep track.

I glance over at her, and the nausea lifts.

She’s glued to the window, just like a damn tourist. Creamy white skin peeks out with the rise of her sweater, and it takes all my restraint not to reach my fingers to it.

If we were in the back of a Cessna, I could get away with touching her.

With slipping my hand onto her denim-clad thigh, teasing her.

Soon .

Vanessa glances back at me, a wicked gleam in her eyes.

As though she caught me staring at her exposed skin.

If it’s my last mission in life, I am determined to top that weekend in Cape Cod.

To make this weekend in North Haven together one she’ll never be able to forget.

If she decides to leave, I want it to haunt her as much as it’ll haunt me.

Not a moment too soon, wheels touch pavement.

I let out the breath I’d been holding as Devano went through his landing procedures and unbuckle myself from the seat. I’m desperate to get my feet on the ground.

Vanessa takes my offered hand. I help her out of the helicopter, pretending that the physical contact isn’t igniting every nerve ending in my body.

It’s as though a simple graze of her hand is as potent as a low-level electric fence.

Not painful, but definitely not unnoticed.

Probably has something to do with her riding me half naked last night.

The image of those glorious tits bouncing above me damn near makes me hard. Not the time, Jasper .

“That was so much fun !” she gushes as we arrive at the hangar.

“Yeah?”

“Yes! I’ve always wanted to ride in a Jayhawk.”

“You never have?” I ask, confused. Though her father no longer flies, he once did. He’s one of the most decorated coast guard pilots I’ve ever personally met. If he never took his daughter on a flight, that doesn’t bode well for me doing it without asking his permission. Shit.

“Mom wasn’t a fan of the idea, and Dad was always too busy anyway.” Vanessa shrugs her shoulders, the sparkle in her eyes still strong. “Speaking of, there he is.”

Double shit .

“Captain Steele?” Admiral Wheeler calls my name from halfway across the hangar.

I instantly about face and stand at attention, saluting him.

It feels like ten fucking years that I hold my hand to my forehead before he salutes back.

His expression is blank. Unreadable. I have no clue if I’m about to get my ass handed to me.

“I thought you weren’t cleared to fly,” he says, glancing down at the wrist still in a brace.

“I’m not, sir.”

His gaze lifts to the men behind us still on the flightline and understanding seems to dawn in his expression. He looks back to me, confusion there now. “You went on a flight as a passenger?”

“Yes, sir.”

“For my daughter?”

Oh thank fucking god. He’s not mad. But I’d like to know who the fuck outed me to him about my minor phobia.

“Yes, sir.”

He stares at me for several intense seconds before giving me a slight nod. I dare say it’s…approval?

“Did you have fun, Vanessa?” he asks his daughter.

“It was amazing! Alaska’s so beautiful. I knew, but I didn’t really know . It almost makes me want to move here.”

My heart fucking stops beating.

Did Vanessa Wheeler just say what I think she said?

“Don’t get too carried away now,” Admiral Wheeler says on a chuckle. “Alaska has a way of sweeping people up in the moment. How would you ever run your business from such a remote location?”

Vanessa’s sparkling expression fades, her smile dropping into a frown.

She hasn’t told him.

Well, fuck.

Any chance, however small, that Admiral Wheeler was playing matchmaker has just been completely obliterated.

I should’ve known better. He’d never approve of Vanessa giving up her very successful career to move to some tiny dot on the map.

Even if she tells him what she told me last night outside Mom’s food truck, he wouldn’t want her moving somewhere small and remote that could stifle her future.

I resist the urge to reach for her hand, desperately wanting to give it a reassuring squeeze.

“Sir, would you like to join the J-Squad for dinner at The Iceberg ?” I offer, hoping to break the tension.

“Thank you, Captain Steele. But I’m afraid I can’t tonight.”

“Dad, can we talk somewhere?—”

Before Vanessa can finish her sentence, Admiral Wheeler is summoned across the hangar. He pats her shoulder in apology, but doesn’t otherwise acknowledge her plea. Though I have a helluva lot of respect for the man, I’m fucking frustrated with him now. Can’t he see his daughter needs him?

I reach for Vanessa’s hand and squeeze. Her gaze flickers to mine, and I swear a silent conversation takes place in the few seconds I’m daring enough to hold her hand. I feel the disappointment rolling off her of her in waves, and I’m determined to fix it.

Today.

“Ready for your next North Haven adventure?” I ask.

“More than ready,” she admits, squeezing my hand back before dropping it.