27. Scarlett
TWENTY-SEVEN
SCARLETT
Iwake with a vicious pain shooting behind my left eye, and the sour taste of bile rising up the back of my throat.
I dart from my bed, my muscles protesting the movement as I rush toward my toilet and barely make it.
Oh my god, I'm going to die. At least that's the way my body is feeling right now as cold sweat drips down my back, and I clutch the porcelain bowl for dear life.
Once I have nothing left to purge, I lie on the cool, tiled floor, allowing my body to tremble, as my head spins, and my stomach continues to protest. I would say this is one of the worst hangovers I've ever had, except I'm positive I didn't drink anything to cause this.
A memory of everything that happened breaks like a wave through my mind, and I'm forced to relive the humiliation once more of Xavier kicking me out, doing the walk of shame, purseless, and realizing that Jasper broke into my house, and was waiting for me to return.
"Little Vixen, you'd better start explaining what the fuck happened to you.
Did he drug... and..." He can't finish his sentence, and I see the mixture of fear and rage in his eyes as he helps me remove my dress, and his eyes trail down my skin.
I haven't gotten a good look at myself yet, but from the little I could see peeking out of my dress, I'm guessing it's bad.
I should be horrified that I'm not well enough at this point to even help myself, and he's getting to see me in my undignified misery.
I hold back the tears that threaten to spill, refusing to make myself look even more pathetic.
God, why did he have to be here? I could have lived with this shame on my own, but now he's a witness to it.
"Rape? No, Jasper, he didn't. I stupidly allowed this to happen to me with...
my consent." I force the lump in my throat down, my voice filled with dismay as his finger gently traces a bite mark on my breast, and I flinch at the tenderness.
I wonder how many marks Xavier left on my body last night, the damn psychopath.
Jasper's warm, steady hands run down my abdomen, each touch leaving blistering heat in its wake.
He reaches behind me and loosens my bra, and when it falls down my arms, an outraged growl breaks the silence.
"I'm going to knock out all of that fucker’s teeth for mauling you.
" I glance down to see many more bites, one in particular that's red and angry around my areola that clearly has an imprint of Xavier's teeth.
Jasper's body is filled with so much tension that his veins are pronounced on his forearms and neck, and his jaw is clenched tightly.
He's breathing so raggedly that it's beginning to frighten me.
I grab onto his bare arm, with what little strength I have left, as his warmth melts into the pads of my fingers, and a headache pounds in my temples.
"No one can know. I... I made a deal with him, Jasper.
He knew things... at least he claimed to.
" I release my touch, and drag both my hands down my face with exhaustion and mortification.
How could I have been so stupid? I walked right into that scenario without a lick of sense, and now I'm going to have to explain all of it to Jasper, or he might do something that will land him in hot water.
As much as it makes my insides melt that he's so upset on my behalf, and threatening Xavier with bodily harm, I know that the reality is I have no one else to blame for what's occurred.
My eagerness to find a way to catch Ashmaker has led to this.
I meet his furious gaze and refuse to look away.
I need to own up to what I've done, even if it's only to Jasper and myself.
I allowed myself to be used, and gained nothing in return.
I'm no further ahead in catching Ashmaker than I was before I let Xavier touch me.
"What the fuck could he have known that was so important you made a deal with that slimeball, Scarlett?
For fuck sakes, the man is actively trying to get us fired from this case?
!" He meets my gaze and throws his hands up in the air in frustration, a ferocious growl ripping from his mouth that makes the hairs on my arms stand on end.
He paces back and forth, his hands clenched at his sides.
"No, fuck no, say I'm wrong, little vixen!
Ashmaker?! He used that psychopath as bait with you? "
He's panting now that he's gotten himself so worked up, his sexy chest moving up and down, and it just makes my mouth water, when I know this is no time to be admiring his physique. "I'm going to fucking tear him limb from limb! He'll be lucky to still be breathing when I'm done with him."
I don't dispute his words, I can't. He's right; it was bait. "I could get fired, Jasper. I used sexual favors in exchange for information." I let the words hang between us, like a bomb ready to explode. "If he comes forward..."
"He won't. I'll put a fucking bullet in his head before I allow him to tarnish you, little vixen. No one gets to hurt what's mine." He cradles the side of my face, forcing my head to angle up toward him. "That goes for you hurting yourself, Scarlett. No more, do you hear me?"
No one gets to hurt what's mine. His words circle round and round in my mind, and where I once would have rejected them instantly, because I belong to no one but myself, right now I don't hate the way they're making me feel wanted and cherished.
Can I really trust him to protect me, though, or am I leaving myself vulnerable to yet another man?
He releases his hold, a blush rising up his neck as my glance moves over his chiseled chest, past his clenched abs, and down to the outrageously pronounced 'V' he has at his hips, all encased in golden flesh.
Holy fuck, Jasper looks like he's carved from stone.
I had no idea that he looked like this beneath his clothing, or that he has his last name and a number intricately tattooed on his bicep.
I wonder what the significance of that is.
"Little vixen, you need to stop looking at me like that, or I won't be able to control myself from reclaiming you, and right now you don't look like you'd survive that."
My panties instantly flood with wetness, and I swallow a moan, which has him taking another step away from me, even though I can see him warring with himself.
He's probably right, despite how sexy the thought of him doing what he's proposing is.
I could use a hot shower and a bucket of pain relievers, and to hide away for the next ten years.
Another searing pain hits my head, and I grit my teeth as I clutch it.
What is up with these headaches? It feels like my skull is trying to actively split itself in half.
"That's it, you need a shower, something to eat, and bed, Scarlett, and save it.
I won't be argued with." Good, ‘cause I had zero intentions of doing so.
Everything he's describing is exactly what my body needs at this moment.
I decide to keep my mouth shut, and allow him to think it's all his idea.
"The case?" I question as I rise unsteadily to my feet, and Jasper grabs onto my elbow and walks me to my ensuite bathroom.
The fact that he knows where it is, and even opens the linen closet to grab towels, should worry me, but I'm too weary to get into it now.
At some point we need to have a discussion about him breaking into my house.
"Nothing new, and I don't want you to worry about it. I'll tell Shaw you have food poisoning, and fuck him, you haven't had a day off in months. You need rest, little vixen, and if I have to strap you to that bed, you'll get some."
His words instantly pull up the memory of being chained at Xavier's house, while he did unspeakable erotic things to my body.
Things that made me come harder than I ever have before, and I feel my heart rate speeding up in my chest. Jasper leaves me leaning against the counter, as he reaches into my shower and starts the water, before kneeling before me and slowly peeling my panties off, while I try not to squirm in excitement.
God, what is the matter with me? He's just trying to help me.
"Oh fuck, little vixen. Don't do this to me.
My restraint is barely hanging on by a thread," he groans when he gets a peek at the wetness glistening on my panties, and along my slit.
My nerve endings are sizzling with electricity from our proximity, and the expression of undisguised lust on his face.
Right now, he resembles a hungry wolf ready to devour me.
He leans forward, his tongue lapping at my wetness and ripping a gasp from me. I reach forward to stop him, knowing that I'm probably still coated in Xavier's semen. "Fuck, baby, this sweet pussy will be the death of me," he mutters as he nuzzles my flesh, and places a sweet kiss on my clit.
"Jasper... I should wash..." my voice squeaks out of me as he sucks on my clit, and uses his hands to spread my legs further, so he can consume more of me.
He pulls back and nips my pussy lip, his facial hair tickling my overstimulated flesh and making a burst of lust flow through my veins like hot lava.
"I can smell and taste him on you, little vixen.
I would love nothing more than to wipe him from your body and mind, until he's nothing but a bad memory. This will have to do for now."