Vicious Rebel (82 Street Vandals #2) - Heather Long Page 0,134

painting. Oddly, the lack of words didn’t bother me. Then again, I wasn’t bringing it up either. It took a while, and he was nowhere near done when he called for us to leave, but I recognized the shape of my face and the flow of my hair.

He was painting me here. In his favorite place.

The warmth that blossomed grew brighter when he pulled my hand over to rest on his knee. We’d barely pulled back into the warehouse when Jasper appeared at my car door. A grin pulled my mouth wide. I’d missed him the last few days. The texts had been fun and funny, but it wasn’t the same as seeing him.

“Hello, beautiful girl, did you have fun?” The question held none of his surly grumpiness.

“We did,” I said. “Welcome back.”

“Miss me?”

It was midafternoon, and there were dozens of rats here offloading a truck and sorting them onto different pallets. But I ignored all of them at the singular note of hope edged by teasing in Jasper’s voice. I threaded my arms under his and then around his torso.

“Yes.”

He gave a little jerk of surprise. That made me ache a little. Things between us had been complicated. But I thought he understood some of my feelings. Then again, I wasn’t terrifically skilled at discussing them. When his arms closed around me, I smiled against his shirt.

The scent of him was crisp, clean, and freshly showered. I recognized the hint of spice from his soap. “Did you miss me?”

“Hell yes, I did, my beautiful girl.” Then he leaned back. “Go out on a date with me?”

I blinked slowly.

“No big plans, we’ll just go. Right now. You and me.”

I glanced down at my outfit. Not that I had anything really nice.

“Trust me,” he said, and an echo of what he’d said in my nightmare rushed back. Maybe you should have.

Licking my lips, I glanced over at Rome. “Do you mind?” I had been spending time with him.

He just winked, then gave Jasper a long look.

“I know how to look after her,” Jasper said, sounding aggrieved for the first time since I’d arrived, before he looked back at me. “What do you say?”

“Yes.”

His eyes lit up. Without glancing back, he palmed some keys from his pocket and threw them to Rome. “Make sure they all head out on time? And find out what Kel needs. He left me a message, then didn’t answer his phone.”

Rome nodded, a bemused expression on his face as Jasper clasped my hand and led me to his car.

“Oh,” Jasper said as he held open the passenger door. “Don’t call me. I’m taking a few hours off.”

I laughed as he made a show of turning off his phone.

Rolling his eyes, Rome just flipped him off before he began to stroll toward the trucks, spinning the keys in his hand.

Jasper slid into the driver’s seat and started the car up.

“Are you sure you can just turn everything off?” He’d been so busy lately and…

“Yes, I’m sure. I’ve been gone more than I’ve been here, and I want some time with you without the world burning down. One night won’t kill anyone.”

I chuckled. “I’d offer to turn my phone off, but I think it’s still in Rome’s car.” I’d set it in the cupholder.

“That’s perfect. It’s just you and me. Trust me?”

Maybe you should have…

“Yes,” I said slowly. “I do.”

“Then let’s go have some fun.” He turned up the music, and we peeled out in a screech of tires that made me wince and laugh at the same time. I wiggled my shoes off and put my feet up on the dash as Jasper headed away from the clubhouse.

I could have asked where we were going, but I decided to trust him.

Just like coming back had been my choice, this was going to be my choice too, and the warmth from earlier burst into a thousand butterflies in my stomach.

“Jasper?”

“Hmm.”

“Would now be a good time to tell you I’ve never been on a date?”

Chapter 28

Emersyn

We drove north for almost two hours, following the coastline. I had to admit, it was a stunning drive. The ocean views alone were worth it. Even with the sunny skies, the water looked gray and stormy. It foamed where it crashed against the rocks. We alternated between listening to music and Jasper telling me stories.

“There,” he said, pointing ahead of us to the far side of the bridge we were crossing. I sat forward and squinted. Even with the sunglasses on, the angle of