11. Chapter Eleven

Icould tell I’d pissed Mordecai off by demanding that he took me to see Jasper and return me home. His body was tense, like he was one snarl away from snapping.

He’d thrust me through the door to Jasper’s room and told me I had ten minutes, which I’d said was ridiculous and I demanded an hour. Surprisingly, he agreed.

As soon as the door closed, I rushed over to Jasper and flung myself into his arms. I stayed there for a few minutes, just enjoying the feel of him stroking my hair and rubbing soothing circles over my back. How was I supposed to walk away and leave him here?

He won’t come to any harm, Mordecai said so.

“I know. I just… need him with me.”

Well then, we need to work out a plan to save him. To defeat Mordecai and then find a place to torture that witch.The demon’s words were laced with venom.

“Wow, you really don’t like these guys.”

No. They spend their time fighting between themselves and they are nothing more than selfish creatures. Assholes the lot of them.

“Even Iver?”

She grunted but didn’t comment. I’d take that as a sign that she didn’t hate him quite as much.

“What are you doing?” Jasper asked, his voice low and rough.

“Huh?”

“You’re shaking your head and humming.”

I pulled back and looked deep into his electric blue eyes. “Oh, I’m talking to the demon.”

“She’s back?” he replied with a raised brow.

“Yes, but it’s different this time. It’s just the demon, no Iveri.”

Jasper frowned and I realised he’d missed out on a lot of what happened. I took a few moments to bring him up to speed by recounting all the events.

“Alec got his heart back?” he asked with some amusement in his tone. “Bet he’s loving that.”

I frowned. I wasn’t sure how he was doing because I was here, and I hadn’t seen Alec in days. Or Cassian and Torsten, or Fenris and Lucifer. My heart clenched in pain as I thought about them. About how much I missed them. As if sensing the downward turn in my thoughts, Jasper pulled me into his warmth and surrounded me with his arms. I could feel the slow, steady beat of his heart as I rested my head against his chest.

“I’m glad you’re okay,” I said.

“I’m sorry about what I did. I’d been so close to death that I—”

I squeezed him. “It’s okay, I know you didn’t mean it. You were just trying to save yourself.”

“Yes, but I should have had more control.”

I looked him dead in the eyes. “Jasper Farrow. I will always be here to save you. You are mine, just as I am yours. You didn’t kill me and we are still here, together, so don’t you dare blame yourself.”

A small smile curled his lips and my heart fluttered. God, the man was beautiful. The dark hair, bright blue eyes, the five o’clock shadow that graced his sharp jaw line. I just wanted to eat him up.

“Are you okay? You’re growling at me?” Jasper asked, mirth dancing in his eyes.

“Yes, just feeling a… um… tad possessive.”

Jasper threw his head back and laughed. “Oh, Lori. Never change.”

I smiled up at him. “Wasn’t planning on it.”

Silence descended between us, and I felt the tension in the air shift. We needed to talk about what was going to happen next, but I wasn’t ready to face it.

“Mordecai is sending me back.”

“I figured,” Jasper said with a sigh. “Why?”

The memory of the pain from trying to tell someone about the original vampire’s plan flooded my mind. “I can’t tell you.”

“Lori,” he warned.

“No. I really can’t tell you. Selene made it so that if I try and tell someone, it feels like I’m being sliced open.”

The blue in his eyes darkened, a tell-tale sign that his vampire side was surfacing. “I’ll kill them all.”

“I made him promise that you wouldn’t come to any harm while I’m not here.” I straddled his lap and cupped his jaw. “Please, don’t make him break that promise. Stay alive for me. Please.”

The muscles in his jaw clenched beneath my hands. I could see the internal debate he was having written all over his face.

“Please,” I begged.

He let out a long sigh. “Fine. But when you come back to me, I can’t promise that I won’t try to kill every last person down here.”

I grinned. “Perfect. I think I’d like to help with that.”

Something dark settled across his features and I didn’t want the last moment we spent together for some time to be dark. I wanted it to be so bright that it burned. I trailed my thumb across his bottom lip and watched the black bleed fully into his eyes.

“Kiss me, Jasper,” I said breathlessly. “Kiss me until the feel of you is burned onto my lips.”

He barely let me finish speaking before his mouth descended on mine, igniting the blood in my veins, and branding the taste of him on my tongue. He put all of himself in that kiss and I reciprocated. I wanted him to still feel me days after this moment.

His tongue speared my mouth, his fangs biting at my lips and licking my blood off them. He rolled me backwards, pinning me to the bed with his weight. I was going to feel this kiss everywhere, feel this man over every inch of my skin so that I could keep him with me while we were parted.

Jasper slowed the kiss and pulled back. He stared down at me and I could feel all the love he had pulsing through our bond. Tears began to fill my eyes and I took a deep breath to try to hold them at bay.

“When all this is over,” I said as I traced my thumbs over his cheeks, “we are going to have some time, just the two of us.”

“Good.” He placed a swift kiss against my lips. “Now go kick some ass, do what you need to do, and come back to me. I don’t want to stay in this shit hole forever.”

I chuckled. “Okay, I’m going. But seriously, don’t do anything to piss Mordecai off.”

“Well, I can’t promise that.”

I huffed and pushed him off me playfully. “Just stay alive. That’s all I’m asking.”

He lay his hand over the mark on my chest, the one that showed our True Vampire Bond. “I will stay alive.” His bright blue eyes darkened. “But when you return, I’m going to kill that bastard for what he’s done to you. I swear it.”

I shivered at his deadly words. Jasper was first and foremost an assassin. If anyone could kill Mordecai, I would bet my money on him.

A harsh knock on the door broke into our quite moment.

“Fuck off,” Jasper growled.

“Time’s up,” the guard shouted.

I placed one last kiss on Jasper’s lips. “I love you.”

“Love you, too.” He rested his forehead against mine and took a deep breath. “Stay safe. Come back to me.”

“I will.”

Then I stepped backwards and left the room, leaving behind part of my heart. The moment the door shut a weight settled on my shoulders, heavy and painful. I couldn’t bare the thought of leaving Jasper behind, but I knew he would be safe here. For now, at least. Well, that was if I could trust Mordecai’s word. I didn’t know what that was worth yet.

“Said all your goodbyes, little one?” Mordecai asked with a smug tone. God, I wanted to wipe that smile off his face. I was going to be so glad when I was finally far away from this asshole.

“Mordecai,” Iver called. In all the events that had been going on, I’d forgotten he was still here. He strode towards us, looking like a total bad boy with his dark looks, tattoos and all that leather. “Is it time?”

“Yes. Don’t cross me, Iver. I’m not above killing you to make sure I get what I want.”

Iver held his hands up placatingly. “I know, old friend.”

Mordecai’s lips curled in a sneer. “If anything happens to her while she’s out of my sight, I will hold you personally responsible.”

“Understood.” Iver nodded and grabbed my arm. He dragged me towards the glowing portal thingy. Urgh, I fucking hated these. They always made my stomach churn and left me feeling like I’d been ripped apart and put back together haphazardly.

“Wait. What do I do if I’m… if I need to…” Dammit. Why couldn’t I say the words. Drinking blood was supposed to be my new normal but I couldn’t make myself say the words. The whole vampire thing still felt weird, like it wasn’t quite part of me yet. But what worried me was if I was separated from Mordecai, would I go feral?

“I’ll know when you need to feed, little one,” Mordecai said as he tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “I’ll feel it through our Sirebond. Just make sure you’ve stolen the stone before you need to feed again, and you’ll be fine. Although, I wouldn’t mind if you went a little bloodlust crazy and killed all your friends. It would certainly save me a job later.”

I slapped his hand away from me. Just as I was beginning to relax around the guy, he’d go and say something like that. At least he was reminding me that he was merely using me to get at Lucifer. I had to remember that and not think of him as anything resembling human. He was a monster.

I turned to Iver. “Let’s go.”

He grabbed my arm and walked me towards the portal.

“Remember what I need, Lori. Don’t forget, or I will come for you and all the people you love.” Mordecai’s threat was the last thing I heard before I stepped through the glowing mist and plummeted into the ether.