Legally Bound 4: Allegations of Love (6 page)

Girls at college were constantly throwing themselves at Jas, but Marie was it for him. She was sweet, caring, and her heart was so open to love. Marie gave everyone the benefit of the doubt.

“Dinner will be ready in ten minutes. Why don’t you go and pick a movie for us to watch after dinner,” Jas asked planting another kiss on her lips.

“Sure, anything to get me away from the kitchen, right,” Marie pressed her lips at him with a teasing smile on her face.

“You said it,” Jas teased before turning back to his task. Marie sat for a moment marveling at how things had changed between them so much in just a year.

Jasper and Marie had eaten dinner and watched two movies together before Jas went to the kitchen to retrieve some chocolate ice cream. It was both their favorite. Jasper sat feeding them both ice cream as they sat lost in thought.

Both were day dreaming of what their future together would be like. Jasper felt more like his dreaming was impossible. His father and Uncle had pulled him aside the day before to talk to him about the options they were considering for his future assignment.

He had to figure out a way to stay with Marie without causing suspicion. Jasper’s heart sank when Greece and Italy came up as possibilities for his assignment. Marie had talked of going overseas, but neither of his options was on her list of possibilities.

Marie shook herself from her own daydreaming to watch Jasper as he spooned ice cream into his own mouth. He was so handsome. Those green eyes would capture your soul with one glance. She had to admit she feared he would find a girl at college that he would find more mature and interesting and he would choose to break things off.

The distant look in his eyes made her wonder if that had already happened. It wasn’t like Jas to be so far away. Marie reached out and cupped his face. “What is it handsome,” she asked with a slightly nervous smile.

Jasper realized he was freaking her out. He smiled at her and scooped ice cream onto the spoon lifting it to her lips. Marie opened to accept it, but the soft ice cream slid off the spoon and landed on Marie’s cleavage. The v-neck t-shirt she had on allowed the melting treat to drip down her breast and in between the valley of her cleavage. 

Jasper sucked in a breath at the sight. He licked his lips before looking up into Marie’s eyes. She gave him a nervous smile and nodded at him.

Jas needed no further prompting. He dipped his head capturing the ice cream with his tongue and lips. Marie moaned and squirmed reaching to lock her fingers in his hair and held him to her. The sensation of his warm mouth heated her to her core. Once the ice cream was gone Jas flicked his tongue against her skin one more time before lifting his head capturing her lips.

This was the most intimate they had ever been. In the past kissing and light petting was as far as they had gone. Jasper felt himself getting extremely hard and broke the kiss.

“Did I do something wrong,” Marie panted innocently.

“No,” Jas shook his head and winced as he reached to adjust himself. “I just think we should chill out a little. We agreed we wouldn’t take things that far.”

Marie bit her lip and looked at him through her lashes. She wasn’t crazy. Jasper is sexy and if she didn’t take care of his needs, then those girls in college would be more than willing to.

“And we don’t have to go that far. There are other things we can do,” Marie’s eyes dropped to the bulge in his pants, she reaching out a tentative hand.

Jas covered her hand just as her hand covered him. “Are you sure about this,” he asked huskily.

“Yes,” Marie answered with no hesitation.

Jasper nodded and stood, holding his hand out for her. If they were going to do this, he wanted to do it right. He led her to the master bedroom by the hand.

~B
~

Marie smiled to herself as the memory flooded through her. Jasper had given her, her first orgasm that night and several others to accompany it. She may not have been experienced, but she knew he had a talented mouth.

Marie had let Jas taste her to his heart’s content, but Jasper would not let her return the favor with her mouth. She had stroked him to his finish a few times before they fell asleep in each other’s arms.

Chapter 9

“Marie,” Jasper calls her back from her thoughts.

Marie blinks in his direction to see him giving her a knowing smile. She looks at his plate to see it empty as is hers. She’d been so lost in thought that she hadn’t realized she was devouring the delicious meal. Everything Jasper made was delicious.

Marie looks back up at Jasper and replies. “Yes?”

Jasper was tired of this game they were playing. For a year and a half Marie was in his grasp, yet so far away. It was time to close that gap. He knew she was hiding something. Honestly, if Jas wanted to, he was sure he could figure it out, but this is Marie.

Marie had her privacy invaded so often over the years with Rita being planted in her life as her best friend and personal bodyguard. Jasper was happy she had finally gotten over that betrayal. He didn’t want to ruin the new trust they were starting to build once again.

Jas just needed to know where it all went wrong. “I know it was selfish for me to ask of you what I did before I left the States. I asked it of you and never promised the same,” Jasper pauses feeling the guilt well up inside. Jasper sighs as he wars with his feelings.

Knowing he was selfish and in being so he could have ruined the one thing he wanted most, forever. Jas used to try to justify it as him being young and stupid, but it had been something else. It had been Jasper’s conscious decision to learn what Olivia wanted to teach him.

A part of it was because some day he wanted to share all of that knowledge with Marie. His twenty-one-year-old mind told him it would help him to please her when the time was right when they could be together. Marie had after all given him permission to sleep with other people. What she asked for in return was much different from his request.

~B
~

“I want to ask you to promise me something,” Jasper said into the darkness of his dorm room.

It was all set. He was leaving for Greece in just a few months. Marie’s decision to stay Stateside after high school had set things in motion. Jasper would never tell her that. He knew she wasn’t sure about what she wanted to do. He wouldn’t pressure her into changing her life because of him.

This was his fate after all and even if Marie changed her mind he could be pulled from her detail at any time. Rita was her main bodyguard; all the others on the detail were interchangeable. Jasper could be with Marie for a year, a month, or a few days and then gone the next on a mission his father and uncles felt suited his training better. No, he would never let Marie know her decision caused this.

Marie shifted in his arms to look up at him. She knew something had changed. Jas had been distant all day since she arrived.

“Okay,” she answered simply. She trusted Jasper with everything she was.

Jas sighed and shifted to lean on his elbow looking down into her eyes. “I have been assigned to go to Greece. There is nothing I can do. They intend to train me to be Nate’s right hand someday. That means I could be there a few years. I am so in love with you Marie,” Jas paused to search her eyes before he continued.

“I want to make you my wife someday. We can make it through this. All I ask is that you promise me if it becomes too much. If you can’t wait for me, you will come to me first. You will talk to me so we can see if there is another way,” Jas reached to cup her face. “Promise me you won’t give yourself to another.”

“I promise,” Marie answered without hesitation.

Jasper shook his head. “You didn’t even think about what I am asking,” he frowned.

“I did and I know what I want. I want you, Jasper. There will never be another for me. I will not give myself to another because I belong to you. Now can I ask you to promise me something?” she asked coyly.

“Anything,” Jasper replied and dropped a kiss to her lips.

“I want you to promise me that if you decide waiting for me is too much you will satisfy your needs, but you will never fall in love. You won’t enter into a relationship that could take you away from me. You’ll get what you need and keep your heart safe for me,” Marie’s voice shook as tears filled her eyes. Jasper knew this was going to be as hard for her as it would be for him.

They never lied to themselves that this wouldn’t be a possibility. Jasper being a Briggs always loomed over them like a shadow waiting to overshadow their hope. Now it was here and there was nothing they could do but make each other promises.

“Marie, I don’t want anyone but you,” Jasper said shaking his head.

Marie interrupted him. “No Jas, I see how dedicated Nate is to Bobby. I have watched how he has followed my brother and not gone to do the things he has wanted to do. If you are leaving on assignment, you could be gone for so long. I won’t be selfish and ask you to wait for me, to hold your needs back because of me.

“I know it is different for a man. When I give myself to you, I’ll be giving you my soul, that is why I will wait as long as I have to, but you will need to release a bit of stress every now and then. If you can do that without your heart, I want you to,” Marie reassured him.

Jasper sat watching her for a moment. He knew he loved her and didn’t want anyone else. Making this promise wouldn’t matter he would always be hers and she would always have his heart.

“I promise,” he said with so much conviction Marie’s heart swelled.

~B
~

“I never asked you to promise the same,” Marie’s voice brought him back from the past.

“I know you didn’t, but I should have given you the same promise. I was so angry with you and I had no right to be,” Jasper shakes his head to clear it.

“Yes, you did,” Marie interrupts him.

“No, I didn’t,” Jas demands and runs a hand down his face.

“No, Jas you did. I never came to you like I promised. I made a foolish mistake,” Marie tries to explain.

“Marie, I slept with someone else while we were apart. Before I found out about that asshole you were dating,” Jasper murmurs out with a pained look on his face.

Marie sighs and shrugs. “And I told you to. You have nothing to feel guilty about. You only did what I asked you to.”

“It changed me,” Jasper tries to find a way to explain. “I never gave Olivia my heart, but I gave her something else. A different part of me and it changed who I am. I feel like I need to explain our relationship so that you understand who I have become.”

Marie already knew who Jasper had become. It was in his walk, the way he talked to her at times, the possessive way he handled her. Everything about Jasper screamed his true nature. He may have thought she was naïve, but she wasn’t the same girl anymore either. She saw him for who he really was.

This is it,
is Marie’s thought as she gulps down a breath and rubs her sweaty palms down the front of her robe. She reaches for the wine Jasper had poured with their dinner and takes a deep swallow all as Jasper watches her reaction.

“Jas,” she starts her voice coming out in a whisper she herself didn’t recognize. Closing her eyes, she tries to reclaim her nerves.

“I’m so sorry Marie,” Jas says, mistaking her reaction for hurt.

Marie shakes her head. “What if I told you that I know all about Olivia and that the one who has wronged us in this relationship is me?” Marie finally spits out.

Jasper frowns and sits back. His eyes roam over Marie as he tries to make sense of her words. Jasper’s eyes harden, his jaw sets and he clenches his fists into balls at his sides.

“How could you know about Olivia,” Jasper asks in a deceptive calm.

“I..I,” Marie pauses as she watches the anger on Jas’s face. She knew he would be upset, but she hadn’t expected him to get upset this fast. “I know Olivia.”

Jasper lifts to his feet and towers over Marie. He runs a hand through his hair as if to regain control. He narrows his eyes at Marie. Jas knew he had to be hearing things.
How the hell could she know Olivia? Why would Olivia send him a gift for him and Marie without telling him she knows Marie?

~B
~

Jasper opened the gift that sat on his dining room table. He had let it sit there for a day after seeing who it was from. He wasn’t sure he wanted to open it. It had been what…three years or more since she walked out on him.

Marie was in his life now. He didn’t need the complications of his past showing up now. Marie was still holding back, but he knew it wouldn’t be long before things came to a head. He could see Marie still loves him.

Jasper tightened his fists and decided to go for it. Pulling a blade from his boot he tore into the box. He removed the tissue paper that smelled of Olivia’s perfume and gave a small smile at the memory of his friend. The smile faded when the contents of the box came into view.

“What the hell,” Jasper whispered to no one.

Curiously he reached into the box and pulled the small velvet box out. Popping the box open his breathing stopped.
Had Olivia lost her mind,
Jasper’s fingers bit into the box. He couldn’t understand why she was sending him any of this. Looking into the box, he noticed the letter resting on the other items.

He opened the letter and started to read, hoping it would shed some light on what was going on in the woman’s mind. His body started to relax as he scanned the words and once again a smile came to his face.

Relax Lover,

I am not going back on my word. I have no plans to break into your life or to strap you to my bed. Although I think of you often, I only want your happiness. This is my final gift to you. I remember the look on your face when you saw this ring. I knew then the girl you were in love with was very special to you and that this ring was the one.

I sent you off as I doubled back that same day to purchase it. At the time, I didn’t know when I planned to give it to you. There was a time I thought I never would. I have put my own demons to rest and I think it is time you do the same. Please take this gift. I won’t hear any of that macho beating of your chest. Think of this ring as the gift I should have given you first.

Who am I kidding? The receipt is in the envelope if you must, you can wire me the funds. I just knew then and now that this is the one. Everything else is just my way of giving you the best of both worlds.

Remember that the evidence of our love is in our actions. Someone willing to learn to be what you desire and want is someone that has unconditional love that should be cherished. Be well my love and be you.

Love Always,

Liv

Jasper smiled at the letter thinking of returning the ring. However, as he looked down into the box, it felt like it did the day he first saw it. It felt like it belonged to his Marie.

There was a lot in Olivia’s letter that left Jasper wondering what she meant and if she was truly okay. Again he thought she was wrong about him having the best of both worlds. Jasper knew one thing. He did love Marie unconditionally and he would learn to be what she wanted and desired. No matter his own preferences.

~B
~

Jasper’s jaw works as things start to click into place. Only it could not be what was running through his mind. His sweet Marie was too innocent for what would make sense right now.

“Start talking,” Jasper bites out when his thoughts start to drive him mad.

“Will you sit down at least,” Marie huffs.

“No,” Jas replies sharply.

“Fine,” Marie sighs.