Devin #2
“You don’t have to.” Jasper walked out and retrieved his bag, setting it on the counter, he started rifling through it and came out with two brand new toothbrushes and a tube of toothpaste.
He opened one and handed it to her, then the other. Uncapping the paste, he added some to each.
She just stared at him, dumbfounded. Not understanding what toothbrushes had to do with her underwear.
He cheersed her brush with his and proceeded to brush his teeth. Like it was perfectly routine for them to brush their teeth together. When she didn’t move, he looked at her for a moment before recognition dawned in his brown eyes.
“Oh,” he said around a mouthful of foam before spitting. “There’s new underwear in there too. Also, some sweats and a tee you can wear. Socks, even some flip-flops. Overnight essentials.”
He continued to brush and Devin was puzzled. Why would… how would…
Setting the toothbrush down on the counter, she went around him and looked in the bag. Sure enough, he had a few sweats and old band tees. Jeans and a Henley, obviously his.
And packages of underwear in a few sizes. More condoms. A flogger, a blindfold…
“Oh my god, Jasper, you have a sex bag. What the hell? How many women do you bring to roadside motels that you keep a sex bag in your motorcycle?”
She knew he was a player, but this was a touch too much. It made her feel cheap.
He hurriedly rinsed his mouth and turned to her.
“It’s not a sex bag—”
“Clothes for multiple women, condoms and sex toys, yeah buddy it’s a sex bag.”
“No, sweetness.” He leaned his ass against the counter, crossing his arms over his chest, staring at her with that, I’m about to win, look that drove her insane.
“It’s a bug-out bag. I admit, a few of my favorite toys go with me because, well…
you never know what trailer park truth or dare can lead to, but it is not a sex bag. ”
She held up four or five packages of women’s underwear. “These say different.”
“Dig deeper.”
“Why? Will I find butt plugs and lube?”
“No. What you will find is also boxers in a variety of sizes. Unisex clothes. Protein bars and a few bottles of water. The one in my other saddlebag has a silver blanket, first aid kit, sat phone, tampons, pads, etcetera. I carry these.” He picked up the underwear and put them back in the bag except a pair he handed to her.
“For sisters, ol’ ladies, or any woman who is with us who has needs.
With our life, you never know what you’ll run into or when a few of us might have to lay low. This way, I’m always ready.”
He pushed off the counter and kissed her on the forehead. “I will say, I love it when you’re jealous. It’s hot as fuck and feels like you want me all for yourself.” The glint in his eye was swoon-worthy, but the touch of longing and apprehension gave her pause.
Was she giving him mixed signals? That certainly wasn’t her intention, but she did feel mixed about it, so maybe she was.
“However.” He took the underwear from her.
“I’d prefer it if you slept naked.” He scooped her up and carried her back to bed and tucked her in, settling beside her.
“Get some rest. I’m nowhere near through with you, sweetness.
I don’t have anything to do except you until a meeting tomorrow I can’t miss. ”
He chuckled after the last as if it were an inside joke, but not one she was privy to.
Rolling over, she rested her head and hand on his hairy chest like she’d wanted to since he took his shirt off and drifted off to a restful sleep.
A muffled conversation stirred her awake. She woke in the exact position she had fallen asleep in, on Jasper’s chest. The only difference was his hand rested over hers holding her there. As if he was afraid she’d slip away.
He had good instincts; she’d give him that.
If she let him ride her back to the club to pick up her car, there would be questions she wasn’t ready for either of them to have to answer to.
Besides, she had to get on the road before she was missed.
As soon as they realized she wasn’t at work or hanging at the clubhouse, Hook would figure it out and tell her brother.
Then they’d all go riding out of town like knights on chrome horses to save the day. Of course, not before calling in the Bastards from Omaha to head her off at the pass.
No, she had to do this right.
If she left now, by the time she got on the road, she’d arrive after dinner. She could hole up in a hotel until Thom went to work.
She’d get Thom’s mother, Ida settled, wait for Thom to come home, then next stop would be her mom. After that, she’d be free.
When she returned to Utah, she planned on telling her brother everything. He could decide how much to tell the club. After all that, if Jasper was still interested in her, she’d beg Lucas to drop the no-touch rule.
She kissed his chest and carefully extracted herself from Jasper’s sleeping form to tiptoe to the bathroom, snagging her bra and phone along the way.
Closing the door softly, the first thing she did was order a rideshare, they would take forever on the outskirts.
Then she made quick work of using the facilities and brushing her teeth.
Donning the underwear Jasper had given her, she chose black sweatpants and a well-loved Iron Reagan tee. She couldn’t help but smile. She listened to vastly different music than Jasper, but she actually knew this band, that’s why she chose it. Plus, it was so him.
Stuffing all her other clothes in his duffel, she cracked the bathroom door open to see him still sleeping, but he’d rolled over to his side. She almost laughed aloud at how the big hairy sex god looked almost childlike curled up as he was.
Opening the desk drawer, she found what she sought.
“Now what do I write?” she mumbled to herself.
It needed to be distant but not cold. If it were too much so, there would be no repairing anything once she was ready. If it was too… familiar, he might try to see her later today and that wouldn’t give her the head start she wanted. However, she needed to leave the door open.
Besides, the thought of hurting him made her nauseated. He was a good man, and she wouldn’t mind dating a good man for once.
Devin may act foolish most of the time lately, but she wasn’t a full-blown idiot, debatably less than half at least. As soon as any of the brothers caught the faintest whiff that she wasn’t in Provo, the gig would be up. That’s why her schedule had to be rigid. Limited time.
Finally settling on what to write, she hurried up and did so.
Wait, that was too familiar and playful, not distant at all. Fuck. She needed to redo it.
Looking at the alert on her phone, her ride was a minute out.
No time to change it. She crumpled it up and tossed it in the garbage but quickly snatched it back and smoothed it out. She couldn’t leave with nothing.
Uggggh, she let out a frustrated growl only to stifle it when Jasper shifted.
That letter was the definition of mixed signals.
With her hand on the knob, she turned back, to drink in his sleeping form. Without thought, she returned to the bed, kissing his lips ever so softly.
“Jasper Stanton, you’re a dangerous man. I could so see myself falling for you. Hell, I’m probably already too far gone. I just hope you’ll understand that I need to do this.” She kissed him again. “You’re the worthiest man I know and if my heart were whole, I’d choose you in an instant.”
With that she turned to leave and spied his discarded shirt on the ground, snatching it up, she brought it to her nose. With a deep inhale a sense of confidence washed over her.
She could do this.
Would do this.
Then she would return, walk right up to Jasper in the middle of the clubhouse, kiss him like their ship was going down, and ask him out on a date.
Squatch may be reserved and tough with everyone, keeping them at a distance, but she’d met the man underneath it all.
Had gotten a taste of Jasper, and with the door open and her ride waiting, she decided, right then and there.
There would be a them after, damn it. Maybe Sasquatch the Royal Bastards enforcer didn’t do dating, but Jasper seemed like the type who might.
With a nod to herself and a last look back at who she was starting to think of as her boyfriend, she closed the door softly behind her.