3. Aspen

Jasper wasn't wrong when he said he worked relentlessly when he was out on the rig. It's been a few days since I've been back home in Valentine, Texas. The change in weather from Virginia to here is unbelievably amazing. Where it's already frigid this fall where I grew up, down here it's beautiful at a balmy seventy degrees.

I returned from my parents on a Tuesday; it makes for a short week. Stella loves working on Saturdays, and Ruthie decided to listen to me and took yesterday and today off. All I have to do is stop by the shop, grab the money, and make a drop at the bank. That's probably why I'm sitting on the couch, curled up with a blanket on my lap, a cup of coffee in one hand and the remote in the other. I may as well binge-watch a new show until I need to go into Vintage Threads today. Heck, Stella could probably do the deposit, but I hate to ask her when she's still a teenager. I'd feel horrible if something happened.

I'm just settling in to watch a new Halloween movie when there's a knock at my door.

"That's weird." I climb out of my cozy spot on the couch and put my coffee down, which sucks because if it gets cold, I'll have to nuke it in the microwave. I'm that weird person who hates cold coffee, unless I order it iced. I'm not sure what the difference is. It's just how I like it.

I'm making my way to the door when I hear another knock. "Hold your horses, I'm coming." I finally make it to the door, look through the peephole, and my breath leaves me.

There's no freaking way I'm seeing what is in front of my eyes. I don't even care that I'm still in my pajama shorts, which are not cute at all. They're last year's Christmas set, with ‘Ho, Ho, Ho' written all over the bottoms. A joke from Peyton. Bridger almost blew a fuse when he saw us girls wearing them. It was the best. My spaghetti strap top isn't much better. I mean, there is no support for my girls, but that doesn't stop me from turning the locks and throwing the door open.

"You aren't yet, but you will be," Jasper states matter-of-factly. He's standing before me, a baseball hat on his head, curls sneaking out under the edge, eyes bright, but I can see he's still dragging ass and hasn't slept. The white cotton shirt is hugging his body, and the dark-wash jeans that have seen better days cling to his lower body. All of that should be the thing that has me jumping into his arms. It's not though. Oh no, what has me leaping into his arms, wrapping my legs around his waist, is the way he looks at me. Jasper shows me everything he's thinking with his facial expression.

"Oh my God, what are you doing here?" I question while peppering his face with kisses. His feet are planted firmly on the ground as his big hands sneak under my shorts. I can feel every callus on his work-roughened fingers as he squeezes, almost pulling the globes of my ass apart before bringing them back together. It takes me a second, but once I realize he's standing and rubbing his length against my pussy, I am all freaking in.

"Had a break in a line, equipment is down, and we're waiting for a part. I probably only have two or three days, max." His voice is deep and husky. All it does is make me need him even more. The calls, the texts, the sex we've had over the phone, it's not enough.

"That sucks, not that I'm complaining. This is the best surprise ever. Care to take me to bed, Mr. Knight?" I wiggle my eyebrows to let him know just what I want. Everything else forgotten. The fact I'm wearing the worst clothes ever, my hair is a mess of craziness, hell, my teeth aren't even brushed.

"Of fucking course. You have anything you need to do today before I sink inside you?"

"Shit, fuck, damn. I need to be at the shop in two hours to make the deposit. I gave your mom the weekend off." I'm not at all upset about that. It's more the fact that I'll have to take time out of the few days we have together.

"Already taken care of. Called Mom the minute I got off work to see if she'd be around this weekend to help out." This man, there's no way he's real. Jasper is so much more than anything I could ever hope for. Even when Peyton, Rowen, Berkley, and I were little girls, making notes of what we wanted out of a man, all of us sitting around playing with our Barbies and Ken dolls, talking about who we'd marry and how they'd be personality wise. I have to say, Jasper checks off way more than my eight-year-old self could have ever seen coming.

"You're perfect," I mumble, partly because he's striding inside my apartment, me clinging to him like an octopus, the other because I finally have Jasper's mouth on mine. He's dominating my body with every purpose of his being. He's not gentle, and for that I'm thankful. There's no way this can be slow and sweet, not this time at least.

The door slams shut, then I'm pushed up against it as Jasper's body frames mine.

"Not perfect, wildflower, just yours. I'm selfish at that. All I could think about was getting to you and having you right here and now." He rocks his hips. I'm silently cursing the clothes that are stopping him from being deep inside me.

"You're perfect for me, though," I respond in between his kisses. There's no way to find the words to describe what Jasper is doing with his mouth. He nips at my upper lip before diving in again. It's enough to make me gasp, and this time it's me who grinds my hips into his.

"Jasper," I moan.

"I'm right here, Aspen, tell me what you want." His voice giving way to the desire that's seeping through his tone.

"You," I whimper. This time I'm the daring one. My legs are still firmly locked around his hips. I move my hands down to the edge of my shirt and pull it over my head. He stops kissing me, leans back, and watches until my breasts bounce free.

"Fucking hell, Aspen."

"I told you, Jasper. I need you." His hands engulf my breasts, holding them up like an offering to him and only him. My head arches back when I feel his tongue lick everywhere but my nipple, where I want to feel him most. He's torturing me and he knows it. My hands delve into his hair. I have no idea how he has the strength to hold me up. When he finally pulls my nipple into his mouth, I'm in heaven. I don't care if we have to overcome more hurdles than most people could fathom. Jasper is my everything.