Page 20 of Rescued
Relief washes over me. “Okay.”
Chapter 5
Arlo
Jasper’sstillasleep.
The sun is just now coming up, but I’ve been awake for at least an hour. He’s spooning me, which is nothing new. His arm is draped over my waist, my back flush with his chest. Each of his exhales against the top of my head tickles my hair.
It’s strange.
Not waking up with Jasper. That, I’m somewhat used to. The strange part is that it’s the first morning I’ve woken up with Jasper where the proof of our sex isn’t living on my body.
Things were never supposed to end up this way, and now I’m not just sleeping with him, but I’msleepingwith him. Just sleeping. Like a normal couple. Like we’re together or something.
It’s unsettling. My heart thrums, and I try to shift away. I need to get out of here. Sex is one thing. Sleeping in Jasper’s bed after sex is fine. This? Sleeping together with no sex. Just… together? No. I can’t do that.
His arm tightens around me. “Where are you going?”
I freeze. “Nowhere.”
He hums. “That’s what I thought.”
I hate that he can see right through me. Fucking hate it. But I also love it. It’s terrifying to be seen like that. It’s even more terrifying to think that I might not be seen.
With a stomach full of anxious knots, I roll in his arms, then tilt my head back and close my eyes.
Warm lips land on mine, and a strong hand cradles the back of my head. I sigh. If only he wasn’t so damn perfect. If only his lips didn’t taste like all the things I want for my future. It’s exhausting. The Arlo I am right now only exists with him.
I love being this Arlo. I’m happy and free and wanted.
But the real me? The real me is exhausted. I’m fighting what feels like a losing battle for my siblings. I’m broke and trying to pretend I’m not, surviving on diner food and the cheapest necessities I can find so all my money can go toward getting Salem and Nora.
Breaking our kiss with a sigh, Jasper pulls back enough to stare into my eyes. “What’s wrong?”
I shake my head. “Nothing is.”
He raises an eyebrow. “You’re in your own head, baby boy. Let me help you.”
Tears spring to my eyes against my will. God, how I wish I could. “Kiss me.”
Jasper eyes me warily. “I just want to help you, Arlo…”
“You can help me by getting me out of my own head.”
For a minute, I’m sure he’s gonna tell me no. Send me away. But instead, he rolls me onto my back and climbs over me.
Jasper’s weight grounds me, and when his lips find mine again, more urgent and demanding this time, I close my eyes and force myself to relax and shut out everything but him.
Grazing his teeth along my bottom lip, he forces a whimper from my throat. “I love that little freckle,” he breathes, lips brushing mine.
Heat floods my stomach.
“And your pretty eyes,” he murmurs. “Everything about you, really.”
My eyes burn, so I squeeze them shut tighter, hoping I can hold back the tears. He doesn’t know everything about me. He knows what I allow him to know. He sees what I want him to see, andthat’swhat he loves about me.
But it’s a lie. At least in some ways.
