Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

F our months. Four fucking months and Jasmine was fed up with it. Aerial's first appointment after the not-kiss outside her apartment building, Jasmine had been a nervous wreck. She wasn't sure how she should act around Jumper after he'd started to kiss her and then run away from her like she'd set him on fire. Except, he hadn't shown.

His brother Pirate had. She knew that his real name was Gus, but Pirate was very proud of the fact that he was a patched member of the Via Daemonia now and had insisted she call him Pirate. After the heartwarming story about how Scotty, Lucky's son with Downs, had given Gus the name, she hadn't been able to refuse. At least, Pirate called her ‘Jasmine'. Unlike his ridiculously handsome, Stupid McStuperson of a big brother.

Fine. Jumper hadn't shown. She'd done him a huge favor and kept her mouth shut about the mysterious situation with the unconscious woman. And he couldn't show for a fucking appointment.

Well, that just gave her six more weeks to get her anger in check before seeing him at Aerial's next appointment.

Except the bastard hadn't shown up to that one either!

She'd seen him around town. She'd had to stop Sophia from keying his truck or letting the air out of his tires. When Sophia had learned about the almost-kiss, she'd threatened to go down to the garage where Jumper worked and make a stink. Thankfully Jasmine had been able to stop that plan.

Yes, she was hurt and embarrassed. She'd taken a chance when she'd asked Jumper out. His immediate ‘no' had stung, but then he'd said it was because he didn't drink alcohol. She supposed that made sense; PTSD and alcohol didn't mix well. She could respect that. Which was why she'd suggested going for other drinks. And, yes, she was still kicking herself for making her list of non-alcoholic drinks so long. When he'd turned away at that suggestion, she'd been so confused, she'd blurted out the first thing that came to mind as to why he wouldn't go out with her.

Being pressed up against the door like that? Yeah, Jasmine had a lot of fantasies revolving around Jumper pressing her up against walls, doors, cars, buildings… Basically any object that he could press her up against. She'd loved how small he made her feel. Beyond that, there was a complete sense of security. Jasmine hadn't feared being caged in by him. His body had been so warm.

Every time she thought about it, her body heated up like a furnace—only to be doused a second later when she recalled the ice that had flooded her veins at his swift departure.

At the beginning of April, she heard the annual roar of the MC's first club run of the year. She, like many of the Mount Grove citizens, had journeyed outside as Bear, the club's Road Captain, led them down Main Street. Even with some of them wearing helmets, she could pick out who was who.

Two things surprised her with this club run. The first was that she didn't see Scar. The club's Enforcer always wore a black visored helmet. He was usually up front next to Bulldog, but she hadn't seen him in the entire procession. The second thing was the woman on the back of Bulldog's bike. Other than Lucky's daughter, Sissy, she had never before seen a woman riding with Bulldog and wondered if she was the mystery woman from that night at her clinic. If so, she'd obviously had her baby and looked a lot healthier. It was hard to see her facial details with the helmet, but Jasmine caught sight of the red braid down the woman's back and thought her assumption was right.

She didn't have much time to ponder about Bulldog's passenger as Jumper rode behind the couple. His eyes met Jasmine's. He wore a helmet with no visor. Aerial rode with her own helmet and goggles in the sidecar attached to his motorcycle. Jasmine always loved watching the two of them ride. Sometimes she saw Scotty riding on the back of Jumper's bike mimicking Aerial with his tongue hanging out of his mouth.

Just before Jumper's bike passed her though, he looked away. Cold shoulder.

Well, she'd had enough. It was now the beginning of June and Aerial was due for an appointment. Jasmine was having a really bad day. If Pirate dared to show solo again for this appointment, she was going to demand to know his brother's location, close the clinic despite the other appointments she had that day, and go find him. Jasmine was not putting up with any bullshit today.

An Amish family had found a dog's dead body on the side of the road. Though it wasn't their custom, since it had a collar on it, the family brought the dog's body in their horse buggy to Jasmine's clinic to see if she could learn who the dog belonged to. As heartbroken as she was to have a dead dog on her exam table, Jasmine was very grateful to the Amish family.

The dog was a Pitbull, and it was obvious it had had a hard life. Scars littered its body and part of its right ear was missing.

The first thing she did was remove the chain collar from around its neck. She was not a fan of collars. She preferred harnesses, but she knew many who disagreed with her. They're just animals , was the most common response she got. It broke her heart. Did people think that animals didn't have feelings too? Unfortunately, yes, most of them did—or they just didn't care that they did.

"Stupid human superiority," she muttered to herself. Checking the dog's gender, she discovered the dog was female and she'd recently had a litter of pups. Very recently. "Poor mama," she pet the dog's still head. "Where are your pups?"

Further examination put the cause of death to be vehicular. Unlike when someone hit a human with their car, a pet is considered personal property and not considered a crime. What was a crime is if you left the scene where you hit someone's pet and not report it.

Jasmine searched for a chip, but she didn't have one. The collar had been a single chain, no tags. Jasmine stood back against the countertop and stared at the poor dog. She'd notify the town that she had a Pitbull turned in to her to see if anyone claimed her. She wasn't one of Jasmine's patients, she already knew that much.

Something irked her about the dog's body though. The number of scars on her indicated that she wasn't well taken care of. It was difficult to tell with the injuries caused by the car that had hit her, but some of those marks looked like dog bites. If the dog was owned by a person, hopefully her puppies were being taken care of. If she was a street dog, those puppies were likely dead or going to be soon.

She wished she'd found out more information from the Amish family who had dropped the dog's body off to her. If she knew where the dog had been found, she could go out and look for the puppies.

Amanda, Jasmine's assistant and desk clerk, poked her head into the room. Her eyes were puffy from crying. "Jumper's here."

Jasmine's head whipped around. "Jumper or Pirate?" she felt the need to clarify.

"Jumper," Amanda repeated. "Go, I'll cover up this poor baby."

Jasmine took off her exam gloves and quickly washed her hands. Then she walked out and into the second exam room.

Fuck, he was such a coward. He couldn't do this. Jumper was pacing the exam room. Aerial whined as she watched him.

"It's not my fault I'm anxious," he snapped at her. Aerial's ears laid back as she whined for a different reason that time. Jumper raised his chin to the ceiling and slowly counting down from ten to get his breathing under control. Fuck. Then he reached over and pet Aerial's ears. "I'm sorry, girl. I'm not in a good mood today."

"Join the club," came from behind him as the object of his obsession walked into the room.

Christ, she was beautiful all fired up.

Jumper tilted his head as he studied her. The erection he'd felt starting to grow instantly deflated. The receptionist, Amanda, had been wiping tears when he'd come in. Jasmine's eyes were red too. She'd also been crying.

Jumper walked right up to her. "What happened?" Had someone upset the women? Hurt one or both of them? His fists clenched at his sides. No one touched his gir— He forced himself not to finish that thought or word. Jumper hadn't claimed her.

Jumper wouldn't claim her.

She wasn't his to be claimed.

Jasmine's face hardened as she put a hand on his chest and pushed him back. She was stronger than she looked, but Jumper still had to allow himself to be pushed back. "Personal space," she snapped. "Learn the definition of it." She walked over to the sink where her exam gloves and supplies were. Her tech Devin had already put out the medication and a capped syringe on a tray for her.

"Why were you crying?" Jumper pushed.

Jasmine ignored him. "How's Aerial doing today?"

Jumper let out a low groan that resembled a growl. "Dr. Sharpe?—"

Her back straightened. "If you call me ‘Dr. Sharpe' right now, I will kick you out of this exam room, Jumper. I swear to God. I am not in the mood today."

Jumper sighed. He put his hands behind his neck, mostly to keep himself from touching her. He understood why she was pissed at him. He was pissed at himself for how he'd handled that February night. Slowly, he lowered his arms. "I'm sorry, Jasmine," he said softly. "For everything."

She turned towards him. While the anger radiating off her was less, she was still angry. Jumper also saw the hurt she was trying to hide with her anger. "Just tell me why," she implored. "I'll never bring it up again, I swear. I just want to know why. I thought…" She turned her face away from him. Her cute little button nose was blotchy. "I guess it doesn't matter what I thought. I just want to know, after I helped you that night, why you would leave like that?"

"It wasn't you. We really appreciated your help. I hope you saw the donation we made to the clinic."

"I did, but that was from the club. Not you. And it doesn't excuse you from leaving as abruptly as you did that night."

Jumper nodded in agreement. "I know. I'm not…" He sighed. "I'm not good at this." He waved a hand between them. "I used to be, but not anymore. I wanted to kiss you that night. Fuck, you have no idea how much I still want to kiss you," he stupidly admitted. Her face perked up, and he realized his mistake. Jumper took a small step backwards. "But I don't think it's a good idea, Jasmine."

"Why?"

Jumper closed his eyes. He couldn't look at her right then. Looking at her was only weakening his resolve not to kiss her right here, right now. He wanted to spread open that white lab coat, rip her cute little dress down the middle, throw her up against the door, and fuck her until they both passed out from the ensuing orgasms.

He took another step backward, his back touching the customer door into the exam room. "I can't."

"Why?"

He knocked his head back against the door, loudly. It hurt, but not as much as his heart was in that moment. He wanted her so much. Like Eros and Psyche, he wanted what he could not have. Only in Jumper's reality, he was the one who couldn't be loved.

But he cared about her too much to make her believe she was the problem. He'd started this that night in February. If he'd only kept his distance, she wouldn't be questioning him so. He needed to end this as cleanly and honestly as possible.

Jumper opened his eyes. He stared at her from across the room. She hadn't moved towards him, still by the counter, but her anger was gone. Her blonde hair was up in a messy bun and, fuck, if he didn't want to mess it up some more. Jumper wasn't sure if what he felt for Dr. Jasmine Sharpe was love. He felt almost obsessed with her, entranced. Like she was a witch who'd cast a spell on him.

Love or not, he respected her too much to leave her hanging or to give her any doubt that his pulling away was about her.

"Because if I started, I don't think I'd ever stop," he finally admitted. Aerial sat like the obedient dog she was, her eyes bouncing back and forth between them like she was watching a tennis match.

Jasmine's breath hitched, just as it had the night against her apartment building's door.

"I'm not good for you," he continued. His mouth felt dry, but he forced the words out of his mouth. "I'm… damaged," he finally settled on. Dr. Rutenberg would be reading him the riot act if he knew Jumper had ever said that word to describe himself. To her confused look, Jumper tapped the side of his head. "I get flashbacks and have anxiety attacks. Sometimes I lose time and don't know where I am or how I got there. Loud noises cause me to panic. Aerial helps, but it's not always enough. I have violent nightmares. Do you know what that means?" She shook her head slightly. "It means I can lash out in my sleep and hurt anyone sleeping next to me. And, as if all of that isn't enough, I'm a recovering alcoholic and drug addict." At her gasp, Jumper hurried to assure her, "I've been sober over eight years, but it got bad before I did. If Pirate hadn't found my stash, I'm not sure what would have happened. I never did the hard stuff. Prescriptions were what I had on hand and that was what I used."

Jumper took a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair. "I hope you understand now why I can't…" He shook his head. "I want to, but I can't."

Jasmine was silent for many minutes before she finally took a step forward. "I don't understand," she said. "Jumper, all that you told me is tragic, and I'm so sorry for everything you've suffered through. But I didn't hear a single reason why we can't just get a drink together. It's just a drink," she pressed. "It's not a marriage contract."

Jumper winced, reminded of his last marriage contract. In sickness and in health was not honored by one of them. "I just told you why. I'm too?—"

"If you say ‘damaged' again, I swear I will come over there and kick your ass," Jasmine snapped. "I might need Aerial's help to hold you down, but I'll do it."

He couldn't help the smile that touched his lips at her adorable threat. "I am," he insisted without repeating the word. "A year ago, some kids set off firecrackers in the park while I was walking Aerial. I reacted…badly. Aerial kept me safe until Bulldog could get to me, but for nearly two hours I didn't know where I was or who I was with. I could have seriously hurt someone."

"But you didn't," she told him. "And that was nearly a year ago. Have you had any bad reactions since then?"

No, but that was mostly because he'd been secluding himself more. "Jasmine, I don't want to argue about this. I've made up my mind."

"Well, I don't accept that. You may have made up your mind, but I haven't. You don't get to make decisions for me, Jumper. I feel like I have wanted you since the moment we met over two years ago. And I'm not going to let your measly excuses be the reason why we don't see where this can go between us."

"The fact that you just called them ‘measly excuses' means you haven't grasped what it is I am going through," he snapped, harsher than he meant.

"Then give me a chance to learn," Jasmine implored. "You just said Bulldog was able to help you. Give me a chance to learn how to help you too."

His resolve was wavering, but then he straightened his spine and said, "No, I am not safe to be around."

"Well, that's a load of horseshit," Jasmine snapped back at him. She was nearly within arm's reach now. "I've never felt safer than when you had your arms surrounding me." She gave him a little flirty smile. "I can't imagine how safe I'd feel if you were actually touching me."

Fuck. His heart felt like it was about to explode in his chest. She was so fucking close… One more step and he'd be able to reach out and touch her.

Jumper didn't know any more if he hoped she stayed or took that step.

Jasmine stepped and his resolve broke.

Like his hands were magnets, they lifted up and snagged her hips. He dragged her flush against his body. There was no way she could miss his body's reaction to having her so close. She stared up at him with innocent, wide eyes, and Jumper felt like he could drown in them. He'd always loved the ocean.

He lifted one hand and moved a lock of her hair behind her ear. Jasmine's head turned into his touch. He wanted her so much in that moment.

"What time do you get off work today?"

She wet her lips. "Around seven."

"I'll be here at seven to pick you up then. But be warned: we'll have a chaperone." At her confused look, he nodded behind her.

Jasmine turned her neck enough to see Aerial, who looked utterly bored watching the two humans. The smile on her face when she turned back was brightening. "I think I can behave in front of our chaperone."

Jumper tsk 'ed. "I can't," and then he kissed her.

Holy fucking shit! She had a date tonight. She , Jasmine Sharpe, had a date. With a sexy, hot biker. As soon as Aerial and her owner walked out her clinic's door, Jasmine started doing a happy dance right there in her lobby.

Amanda, still visibly upset about the dead dog, looked at her like she'd grown a second head. "What has you so happy?"

Jasmine grinned widely. "I have a date tonight."

Her assistant's jaw dropped. "With Jumper ? No way!"

Jasmine couldn't wipe the smile off her face. She pulled her phone out of her lab coat's pocket to text Sophia. She needed her best friend to bring her a change of clothes.

Jazz: Date emergency! I need an outfit brought to the clinic that can be worn on a motorcycle. [motorcycle emoji]

Sophia: WTF!? Shut the front door! I want DETAILS! I'm on my way to your apartment now. I'll be there soon.

Sophia: Do you need sexy undies too?

Jasmine snorted. She didn't own sexy undies. She had in her early twenties when something like that had mattered to her. The closer she neared to thirty, the less it mattered. She was on her feet all day, sweating and working with various animals. She did not need underwear that flossed between her butt cheeks as she worked. Comfort was her only goal.

It was why she didn't wear heels—or at least that was what she told her ego so it didn't bruise. The real reason she didn't wear heels was because they hurt like a motherfucker, and she was not risking her neck for a couple extra inches.

Sophia: Never mind! I know your size. I'll be there soon.

If Sophia was going shopping for her, there was no telling what outfit she'd be wearing tonight. Jasmine locked her phone and got back to work.

Sophia hadn't just bought her an outfit and lingerie. She'd bought her biker boots, a leather jacket, and a helmet too. When Jasmine saw the Harley-Davidson logo on the outside of a paper bag, all she could do was mock scowl at her bestie.

"Any excuse to go into that store, am I right?" Sophia grinned wickedly.

Last summer, the Via Daemonia MC had purchased a Harley-Davidson dealership just outside of town. Jasmine had been planning on attending their grand opening celebration, but she'd had a last-minute surgery and had missed the party. Sophia had gone though. She'd described the party as "redonculous", which is not a word Jasmine believed she'd ever used personally.

Amanda and Devin told Jasmine that they would finish cleaning and prepping for the next day. It was usually something the three of them did together so they could get out of work faster. Jasmine tried to protest but, when Sophia joined in on the ganging up, she stood no chance.

Sophia helped Jasmine with her hair and makeup. Then, of course, the two took a million pictures of Jasmine posing with her new leather jacket and helmet. Neither were items that Jasmine would have bought on her own, but that was just another reason she loved having Sophia in her life.

Sophia was what one would call ‘small-town royalty'. Her family, the Grovetons, were one of the original Dutch families to settle in Mount Grove. There was lore that they were the ones who named Mount Grove while others claimed Mount Grove came from a former Susquehannock name and the Grovetons changed their last name to match the name of the mountain. While Jasmine had no real worry about which of the two claims were right, when asked, she did side with Sophia's family.

She had to support her girl, after all.

The Grovetons came from old money. Sophia had never held a job in her life, never would have to, and would still be richer than most stockbrokers on Wall Street could ever dream to be. Unlike most of Sophia's family and extended family, though, she didn't flaunt it. Sure, she bought things willy-nilly and she had expensive tastes, but she wasn't a snob.

When the bank wouldn't loan Jasmine the startup money to open her clinic, Sophia had offered. While Jasmine had felt weird about accepting money from a friend, she agreed under the condition that the loan was through Sophia's father, not her, and that they had a written contract with interest and payment plan. Just like a bank loan.

Sophia supported a lot of charities too. There were a few down on their luck families in Mount Grove, and Sophia always visited them with groceries and school supplies around the start of each semester. Sophia could be very scatterbrained. She was loyal to a fault with a huge heart. And Jasmine loved her for it.

The two of them were soul-sisters. They rarely fought, always had each other's backs, and didn't do anything without the other.

Well, most things. There were some limits.

When Jumper pulled up on his motorcycle with its sidecar, Jasmine felt like her heart was about to burst. Her hand went to her lips, recalling his kiss earlier. It had been possessive and claiming and hinted at so much potential. She hadn't wanted it to end, but Amanda had knocked on the door to ask if everything was okay. It reminded her of where they were and that she had other appointments lined up for the day.

Before leaving, he'd kissed her softly once more with a gruff, "I'll see you tonight."

Jumper was in his same outfit. Black jeans, biker boots, black t-shirt, and his cut. She didn't know why his biker vest was so hot, but it was. Damn. She'd seen Harper Hannigan—now McCoy—wearing hers on the back of Lucky's bike. The Property of patch should annoy the feminist in Jasmine, but her inner goddess just swooned at the idea of one day wearing a vest that said Property of Jumper .

Her new panties just got very damp. Oops.

Unlike Jasmine, Sophia had the type of body that models dreamed about and could still eat a cheeseburger. Whenever Jasmine went on a diet or complained about her weight, Sophia was the first to defend her body shape. She'd never made Jasmine feel less for being heavier. Although, she preened like a damn peacock every time Jasmine called her a ‘skinny bitch'.

As Jumper stepped inside the clinic with Aerial, Sophia stepped between him and Jasmine with her arms crossed over her chest. She put on her most scowl-ly face and stared Jumper down.

For Jumper's part, he didn't seem to really notice. His eyes bore into Jasmine's behind Sophia. She wanted to swoon. When Jumper made to step around Sophia, her bestie put her hand out. Aware of Jumper's PTSD, Sophia was careful not to touch him. The hand was there just to block his way.

"Hold on, there, buddy boy. You and I need to have a chat."

Jumper looked down at Sophia. She stood taller than Jasmine with her long legs and heels, but Jumper still towered over her. With his broad chest and thick arm muscles, Sophia looked like a twig. "Sophia," he said in acknowledgement.

"You are about to take my bestie on a date. Do you understand what that means?"

Jumper's eyes flicked from Sophia to Jasmine, who was slapping her forehead with the palm of her hand, and back to Sophia. Jasmine had told Sophia not to do this. "Why don't you tell me what it means to you?" he offered to her in return.

"It means that if my bestie isn't returned to me in the same or better condition than when I last saw her, you will have to answer to me." Sophia's voice turned menacing, but Jasmine had heard this speech too many times to find it as terrifying as she had the first time she'd heard it. "It means that if you hurt her, I will find you and I will kill you."—Yes, part of her speech was stolen from Liam Neeson's monologue from the first Taken movie.—"And just so you don't think I'm not crazy enough to do it, here's my plan: first, I will inject a high dosage of insulin while you are sleeping. You will die of high blood pressure. I will then take your body all the way up to the top of the mountain and I will start digging. Rather than six feet, I will dig twelve feet. After adding your body, I will cover the hole by six feet and add a dead animal carcass. Then I will fill the hole the rest of the way. That way, if your grave site ever is discovered, the cops will dig until they find the animal skeleton, think they've been tricked, and leave." She took a single step towards him and added, "You will never be found."

Jasmine's eyes were a little wide. Sophia had edited her speech some. Usually it was just "take your body up to the mountain and let the animals feast on your corpse". Her new version was definitely a more detailed plot.

Jumper watched Sophia for a moment. Jasmine was worried he'd be offended that Sophia would think he'd hurt her or tell Sophia that what happened between Jasmine and him wasn't any of her business… Instead, Jumper leaned closer and said conspiratorially, "Decent plan. The only thing I'd add is putting endangered plants on top of the gravesite. That way, the cops can't dig in the first place to try to find my body."

Jasmine's jaw dropped.

Sophia's eyebrows raised in contemplation. "I like it," she approved. "Where would I find endangered plants though?"

"They're all around. A quick Google search from a frenemy's phone will also point the cops in another direction if they do look at your search history."

Sophia nodded. "Good, good. I might need to tweak the plan, but keep thinking."

Jumper held out his hand to her. Sophia took it. "I swear to you, Sophia, the last thing I want to do is hurt her. And, if I do, my brothers will help you drag my body up that mountain."

Sophia studied him for a long moment before shaking their clasped hands. "Thank you, Jumper. I appreciate you saying that."

Jumper nodded solemnly.

Sophia turned and gave Jasmine a big hug. "Have fun, boo."

Jasmine kissed Sophia's cheek. "Thank you for my new gear. Love you."

Sophia tightened her arms. "You too." As she walked past Jumper, she put two fingers up to her eyeballs and turned her hand back and forth between them several times to indicate she was watching him.

"Sophia?" he called when she was at the door. Sophia turned back around. "I meant what I said, but I can't promise I'll never hurt her. I have too many demons in my head to swear that to you."

Sophia's hard gaze softened. "She told me what you said this afternoon. We don't keep any secrets," she said as a way of warning. "I can respect why you've kept your distance, but I also think she has a point about trusting her and letting her in. Just take it easy and relax tonight." She winked at them before adding, "And use protection!"

Jumper turned towards Jasmine as Sophia left the clinic. "She's interesting."

Jasmine let out a loud laugh before she covered her mouth with her hand. "She's Sophia. That generally is all the explanation that's needed. Thank you for playing along with her fake threat."

"Oh, I don't think she was faking anything. That girl's just crazy enough to follow through." Jumper put his hands in his pockets. They were itching to hold her again. "I also meant what I said. I told my brothers about our date tonight. I set up specific check-ins with them to make sure you're still okay. At any point, if you want to go, my brother Pirate is waiting for a call to come and pick you up."

Jumper thought Jasmine would be relieved he'd set up extra protection for her, but she looked confused and annoyed.

"Why would you do that? I thought Aerial was our ‘chaperone'."

"Jasmine, the fact that you just used air-quotes around ‘chaperone' means that you're not comprehending what could happen if I get triggered." He held out his hand, "I also need your phone so I can put my brothers' numbers in it."

Only Jasmine didn't move. "Do you not want to go out with me?"

Jumper lowered his hand. "Of course I do. Why do you think I'm doing all of this? I need to know that you're safe if something happens."

"If something happens?" she repeated, almost sarcastically. "Jumper, it's a date. What could happen?"

"Anything," he warned her. "Something as simple as a waiter dropping a glass could trigger me. If that happens, you need to step away and call Pirate and Bulldog. Okay?"

He saw her eyes look past him. Jumper was about to turn to see what she was looking at when she asked, "What about your motorcycle? If you're that easily triggered, should you even be driving?"

Jumper supposed he should have seen that question coming. "Surprisingly, I've never been triggered when driving my sled. I don't drive cages often because I feel more claustrophobic in them and can be triggered. But driving my sled is different. It's freeing. Even with the roar of the pipes surrounding me, I've never been triggered."

Jasmine gave a small shrug. "Then why don't we just ride tonight? Forget about the drinks and dinner. We can just ride."

Jumper's heart leapt at the suggestion. "You sure? What about dinner?"

"When we get hungry, we stop at a fast-food joint or get some takeout." She stepped forward. "I don't need wining and dining, Jumper. I just need you ."

"Fuck, you're amazing." He grinned. "I love that idea."

"Good." She reached behind the check-in counter and picked up a helmet. "Then I'm ready to go."

His eyes roamed down her outfit for the first time. She looked…different. In dark jeans, boots, a loose-fitting shirt under a leather jacket. Fuck, she looked hot. He had a borrowed brain bucket in his saddlebag for her but was glad to see she'd brought her own. She was never riding on his sled without a helmet, no matter what the law said.

"Ready?"

She grinned widely. "Ready."

Jasmine couldn't stop smiling.

Each night for the past week, Jumper would pick her up and they would go for a ride on his motorcycle. She'd accidently called it a hog , thinking that was a generic term for all bikes, and was quickly educated that a hog was a Harley-Davidson and Jumper's sled was an Indian . Jasmine just grinned and nodded like she understood.

Some evenings, they just rode through the sunset and into the night. Other times, they stopped at a scenic picnic area off of the mountain route and ate jerky, trail mix, or whatever else Jumper had packed in his saddlebags.

They didn't talk much on their rides. Jasmine sat with her arms wrapped around his middle and her helmet against his back, and they just rode . She understood how a motorcycle could be freeing while a car felt like a cage . Her new leather jacket was too hot to wear unless they were riding. The one time she'd thought she'd leave it behind, Jumper had ordered her to go back into her office to get it. He was very protective.

Most of their talking was done while they were stopped to snack or have dinner. She was surprised to learn that Jumper hadn't just been in the Navy but had been a SEAL. Her awe of him went up a notch. While she didn't know the details behind Jumper's trauma, she could deduce that it was the cause of how four of his teammates had died. She'd asked him if he was still in contact with his old team and Jumper had gone really quiet. She'd been surprised, since they were having a nice conversation.

All Jumper would say was that there was only one member of his old team left, and they only talked on occasion.

Not knowing what else to say, Jasmine just hugged him close.

At first, Jasmine had been nervous about touching him. She wasn't sure if touch was one of his triggers. He assured her that he needed to see it coming. Startling him, whether it was sound or touch, was not a good idea. So Jasmine had started to make a show of it, making her arms big and wide before hugging him. The little twitch in the corner of his mouth told her he found her antics amusing.

Making out on a motorcycle hadn't been on her bucket list, but damn was she grateful she'd added it.

One night when Jumper had pulled out a bag of M&M's for them to share while watching the sunset, Jasmine made a comment that she obviously loved candy and indicated to her larger than average belly.

Jumper had just stared at her. She'd worried she had chocolate smeared across her face, and quickly tried to wipe it away but found nothing.

"What?" she'd asked.

"Don't talk like that, it pisses me off."

"Like what?"

"Like you aren't perfect exactly as you are. I don't ever want to hear you say something negative about your body."

On a rainy day, Jumper brought her takeout from her favorite diner and they had dinner in her office with the lights off while watching the rain fall through her large glass window.

She was happy dating Jumper. It felt easy and natural in a way none of her other relationships ever had. But there were a couple of things that were odd. Jumper hadn't been to her apartment, and she hadn't been to his. She wasn't sure why. The two times she'd invited him inside, he'd politely declined but gave no explanation. He'd invited her to the club run after party at the clubhouse, and even encouraged her to bring Sophia, but she hadn't been invited on the club run itself. Jumper still had her text Sophia every time he picked her up and dropped her off and he still made scheduled check-in texts to his club brothers while out with her.

It was like they were alone, but also not alone.

They never went anywhere without Aerial, which was fine by Jasmine. She loved that dog, but sometimes it felt like Jumper used Aerial as a barrier between them. They would be in the middle of kissing and just when she was about to reach for his shirt or hers, he would stop and say he needed to take Aerial outside or it was time to take her home to feed her. He did it so casually that it should be natural, but, topped with the other weird things, it wasn't.

Almost two weeks after they'd started dating, another dead Pitbull was found. This one was male, a couple of years old, and his cause of death was a gunshot to the head. No one had come forward to claim the female Pit, and Jasmine had to wonder if he was the father of the pups the female had given birth to before her death. Like the female, the male was littered with scars and had a single chain around its neck.

As soon as she'd seen the bullet wound, she'd pulled out her phone to call Carlos. He came to take her report and retrieve the bullet Jasmine had removed from the male's skull, but there wasn't much he could do beyond that. If the bullet came back with a ballistics record, then he could further the investigation. Jasmine thought it was unfair how millions of dollars were spent to find out who murdered humans, but no effort would be made to discover who murdered two Pitbulls.

Well, she wasn't going to be dropping it. Unlike with the female, she had a location as to where the male Pit had been found. She planned to go there after work.

Not wanting to go alone, she texted Sophia.

Jazz: SOS. Need my partner in crime.

Sophia: YES!!! What law or laws are we breaking and do I need to prep bail money?

Jazz: Nothing like that. We're going to be detectives.

Sophia: Classic. Who's Sherlock and who's Watson?

Sophia: Nevermind! I'm so in. I'll grab my ninja gear and be there in 30 minutes!

Jazz: Why do we need ninja gear?

Jazz: Why do you have ninja gear?

Sophia: So we can be ninja detectives! Duh!