Page 57 of Owned (Office Intrigue Duet 8)
“Jasper.”
I stopped at the door, peered over my shoulder.
“I did,” he said. “Miss you.”
I hated that my heart lurched at his admission.
Oh, who the hell was I kidding? I would never get over Ransom Bishop.
Not ever.
Which meant things were about to get really, really awkward.
*
RANSOM
While every muscle in my body ached from the collision with the tree, I did feel immensely better. The headache was now manageable, my shoulder, too. That didn’t stop me from laying it on thick in an effort to get Jasper to stick around after he dutifully showed me to the villa he said Talon had assigned to me.
“Am I getting special treatment?” I asked when he led me into the two-story, stand-alone structure that blended into the surrounding foliage as though it had been here since the island formed.
“Talon said you were to be treated as a member of the staff.”
Oh, really? “And staff members get their own place?”
Jasper didn’t look at me when he nodded. “They do, yes.”
“I assume you have one of these, too,” I said, motioning around the open and airy space that was far bigger than it appeared from the outside. Hell, from out there, it looked modest. That changed drastically on the inside. I doubted anything had been spared when building this spacious villa with what appeared to be a second-floor loft and no walls on the main floor.
“I do, yes.” Jasper didn’t look at me when he spoke. “Next to yours, actually.”
“So we’re neighbors?”
“I guess.”
I walked through the living space, across the white ash hardwood flooring, toward the retractable wall of windows that lined the back of the house.
“There’s a pool out there,” Jasper stated. “It’s shared by these six villas, which Talon’s reserved for those who work here.”
“Who stays in them?”
“Cody and I are the only permanent residents at the moment. Tiegan’s got one, Zion another, but they’re rarely in theirs because they travel so often.”
“Guests don’t stay in them?”
Jasper did glance my way briefly. “No. The guests stay in the Owners’ Retreat.”
I continued to stare at him, waiting for him to make eye contact.
He didn’t.
“Do I make you nervous?” I asked, taking a step toward him.
His Adam’s apple bobbed slowly as he swallowed, those celadon-green eyes finally shifting to my face. “No.”
A smile pulled at my lips and I let him see it. “Why does that sound like a lie?”
Jasper swallowed again, but I had to give him props because he remained rooted to the floor even as I invaded his personal space.
“How did you end up here?” I asked. “With Talon. How’d he find you?”
“At a club.”
“Not Dichotomy. I would’ve seen you there.”
Jasper shook his head. “No. A different one.”
“Fetish club?”
His nod was barely discernible.
“In Chicago?”
His eyes flared slightly. “Yes.”
“So you came back?”
There was something in Jasper’s eyes, something I couldn’t quite make out.
“But you never came back to me?”
I knew he wouldn’t answer the question. And if he did, I doubted I would like the reason, because if I had known Jasper Tate had been back in Chicago, there was no doubt in my mind I would’ve tracked him down. As it was, it’d taken tremendous restraint over the years for me not to search for him, to see what he was doing. The only thing that kept me from it was the fact Jasper had left me, not the other way around, and I was respecting his wishes.
I stepped forward, bringing our chests together.
“Where’s your sling?” he asked, huffing. “You have to—”
I cut him off by gripping his jaw firmly. “You can’t run from me this time, Jasper.”
He inhaled sharply, his eyes searching mine before he finally whispered, “I’m not running.”
But he wanted to. It was written across his too-handsome face. Jasper had never been good at masking his emotions.
I lowered my voice. “Tell me something, Doc. When’s the last time someone tied you up and used you for their own personal pleasure?”
Just as I expected, his eyes dilated, his breaths became choppy.
His answer was a simple shrug.
I instilled dominance in my tone when I said, “Answer me.”
“Not since you,” he rasped, his eyes bouncing over my face.
That admission both shocked and pleased me. But I wasn’t sure I believed him.
“You’re telling me you haven’t played with anyone else since we were together?”
“No. That’s not what I’m saying.” He inhaled sharply. “I just don’t let anyone else tie me up.”
I studied him momentarily, ignoring the aches and pains that were beginning to plague me now that I was vertical. I knew I needed to rest, to sit down, maybe even lie down. But something told me I couldn’t let this moment pass me by.
“Will you let me tie you up, Jasper?”
“Now?”
That wasn’t a no, I noticed.
Unable to help myself, I dragged my finger over his bottom lip, holding his gaze. “Not now. Soon, though.”
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”
