Punt: A British Bad Boy Football Romance (27 page)

T
hey ran
into each other at a large Shifter event, a yearly gathering for the Southeast packs. Maddie had been about seventeen, and it was her first year attending the event. It was a weekend gathering in a small Mississippi beach town, disguised as an extremely private neurologists’ convention.

She’d known that Jasper would be there. Somewhere, out in the crowd, was the male that she was both dying and dreading to lay eyes on. Maddie spent the first two days jumping at the slightest provocation, expecting to see Jasper’s face in the crowd somewhere. They’d run into each other a couple of times since he’d moved away, but awkward young Maddie had been too shy to approach the nearly-grown and increasingly handsome Jasper.

On Sunday night, the event’s final evening, she’d ditched Jace at the beachfront hotel and headed out to the water line for some quiet time. Walking past the celebratory crowds and the line of tiki torches marking the boundaries of the party, Maddie ended up a quarter mile down the beach, staring out at the ocean. Thinking about her parents, wondering what her life would be like if they were alive. How different her life would be now.

“Lost, Maddie?” came the smooth voice, jarring her from her thoughts. She turned to find Jasper, jeans rolled up to the knee, white dress shirt scrunched up to the elbows, barefoot. He’d grown again since she’d last seen him, and added more muscle too.

“Never,” she replied. She tilted her chin up, her violet gaze meeting his sky-blue eyes. There was anger there, hurt.

Maddie had no idea what his feelings were, nor could she guess why he was here. Some long-past connection? If she were honest, she couldn’t even really say she knew him anymore. The years since childhood had changed them both so much. It had been too long now, and no chitchat was going to fix that.

She’d been wise not to seek him out, it seemed.

His lips curled in a partial smile and he shook his head as he sauntered closer. When he was only a couple of feet away, Maddie was overwhelmed by his scent. He smelled like he’d been doused in whisky and cigars, the odors cloyingly laid over his natural, clean scent.

“Gee, what have you been up to tonight?” she asked, raising a brow. There was a pink smudge on the inside of his collar that could have been lipstick. He wasn’t lacking for female company, then. He closed in on her, close enough to touch now.

“Oh, you know. Little bit of this, little bit of that,” he said, reaching out and snagging her hand. Maddie tried to pull away, but he tugged her out closer to the water and sat down in the sand. Looking down at him, she frowned.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“Talking to my oldest friend, of course.”

He produced a slim silver flask, undoubtedly more whiskey. He pulled at Maddie’s hand until she reluctantly sat down, making sure she wasn’t too close to him. Gods only knew what he got up to out here on the dunes, but not with her. She wasn’t some stupid little girl anymore, nursing her first broken heart.

“I don’t really know that we’re friends anymore, Jasper. You didn’t exactly wait around for me, so I didn’t wait for you either. I have plenty of friends now,” she said, emphasizing the word friends to make her meaning plain. She’d been with someone, a couple someones actually. It had been brief and joyless each time, leaving her wondering why any female would bother with sex.

Jasper’s face hardened, and he let go of her arm. He offered her the flask but she declined, so he opened it and took a long pull.

“I heard about your friends,” he said.

“You did?” she asked, surprised. Had he been checking up on her?

“We live in a small community. Everyone knows everyone else’s business here. So yeah, I know all about your boyfriends.”

His tone was bitter, making Maddie confused. There must be something else going on with him, because a few overblown stories of her dating life shouldn’t set him off like this. They were virtual strangers.

“There’s lipstick on your collar,” she said with a smirk, reaching over to tap a finger against his neck where the pink smudge lay. He chuckled, pushing her hand away.

“You gonna take one of your boyfriends as a mate?” he asked, taking another sip from his whiskey.

Maddie snorted, taken aback.

“I sure as hell hope not. I’m not ready for something like that. Besides,” she said, giving him a pointed look, “guys suck.”

“If you’re lucky,” he quipped. Maddie felt her face heat as she narrowed her eyes at him.

“What about you? Who’s the lucky Juliet who you kissed and then left somewhere to come talk to your oldest friend?” she asked, sarcasm heavy in her tone.

Jasper waved a dismissive hand, grunting.

“Fuck ‘em. There’s only one female I’ve ever wanted, and it wasn’t meant to be. It was wrong then, it’s wrong now, so fuck it all,” he lectured, lying back in the sand.

Maddie studied him for a moment, admired the perfection of his blond hair and tanned skin against the white sand. He caught her appraising look, a grin blossoming on his face. He had the most perfect teeth, movie star quality really.

“Unless you’ve decided you need some companionship,” he said, only partially teasing. Maddie frowned, shaking her head.

“Yeah, like I want sloppy seconds from you,” she said, offended. “Thanks, but no thanks.”

“Suit yourself,” he shrugged, closing his eyes. Maddie followed his example and laid back against the cool sand, closing her eyes. The roar of the outgoing tide rolled over her senses, calming. They laid like that for a few minutes, not talking.

“Adults are fucked up, you know?” Jasper said, breaking the silence. Maddie opened her eyes and peeked at him, but he remained still.

“Yeah. They think they know everything,” she agreed.

“They’re terrible to each other. I watch the adults in my pack and how they rip each other to shreds, it makes me sick,” he said, his voice quiet. “Especially the mated ones. They’re supposed to be soul mates. But it’s all bullshit, you know?”

“Yeah, totally.” Maddie had no idea what he was talking about, but she wanted to seem wise. “Mating is stupid.”

“It’s like, if I can’t live the life I want, if I’ll never be good enough to have what I want most, then… I don’t know. Screw it, I’m gonna have another drink and go start a band,” he explained, waving the flask around.

“You’re in a band?” she asked, curiosity piqued.

“No, but I could be,” he said, defensive.

“Oh,” she said, unsure how to respond.

They were quiet again, but the silence was more comfortable this time. Jasper was the first to speak after what felt like eons.

“Remember that plan we had to run away?” he asked.

“Sure. We were going to go live in the woods together,” Maddie said with a laugh. “No food, no shelter, no money. We wouldn’t have lasted two days.”

Jasper nodded, turning his head to look at her.

“You’re probably right. But it was a nice idea, wasn’t it? Just you and me and the wilderness,” he said, his voice heavy and sad.

“Yeah, it was.” Maddie cleared her throat, uncomfortable. Jasper had just gone to a dark place, and it had happened too fast for her to comprehend the reason. Whatever his deal was, she obviously wasn’t helping.

“I’m going to head in. You coming?” she asked, trying to sound upbeat even though she was mostly nervous.

“Assuming that’s not an invitation to your room, no. I’m going to stay out here for a while, think about life, the universe, and everything,” he quipped. A reference to his favorite book, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. She still had the battered copy he’d given her somewhere, probably packed away.

“Don’t forget your towel,” she replied, standing and heading back toward the party. His startled laugh followed her for a moment, and she glanced over her shoulder. From here she couldn’t even see him, just a big sand dune and miles of open water.

For a second, she almost went back. Something about him still called to her, made her wish they were still two kids running around the Den and playing pranks on Jace.

But that wasn’t the case, and the new Jasper was anything but innocent. Maddie kept going past the tiki torches, searching the crowd.

“Jace! Wait up!” she’d shouted when she spotted her brother, hurrying to follow him. At least Jace would never change, she thought.

B
eside her in the bed
, Jasper made a growling sound and rolled over. His body was so close that they were almost touching now, and for a moment Maddie thought he was awake. But he just sighed and settled again, breathing heavily in his sleep.

She looked down at him again, thinking about his question.

Remember when we were going to run away?

She’d spent six months after he’d left the Louisiana pack looking out the window, expecting him to show at any moment. For over a year, she’d kept an overnight bag packed and stowed at the foot her bed. Jace assumed it was in case there was an attack and they had to flee in the night, but Maddie couldn’t have cared less about that. She kept it in case Jasper finally showed up, asking her to run away with him.

It took her two years to realize that Jasper wasn’t ever coming back for her.

Maddie remembered all too well the intensity of her childhood anguish. It was a broken heart, all right. Little girls grew up and left behind those kinds of wounds, but it didn’t work that way for adults. In her heart of hearts, Maddie knew that if he’d been able to leave her once, he could damned well leave her again. If duty and honor called for it, he’d leave without so much as a glance back.

That was what Maddie needed to remember every time he gave her a heated look or said something that made her blush. She needed to keep that in mind even now, as his sheer proximity flooded her brain with his sharp, clean scent, filled her mind with racy thoughts. She knew she wouldn’t be able to resist her hormones forever, but she could at least protect herself. Build a wall of steel and ice, and keep him firmly on the other side. She’d stay for a couple of weeks, help with the pack, and then after Jace’s wedding she’d make her move.

Where the hell that would be, she had no idea.

Maddie closed her eyes and tried to sleep, pushing aside her worries about the future. She couldn’t control it, but she could focus on doing her best in the here and now. She looked at Jasper’s sleeping form and longed for his warmth and comfort. If it meant nothing, why couldn’t she just give herself that?

She slid closer to him, hesitantly pressing her body against the hard lines of his sleeping form. She slid an arm across his torso, feeling risque. Forcing herself to relax, she closed her eyes with a sigh. Just this once, she could take comfort from him. Just this once.

S
omewhere outside the cabin
, Maddie screamed. Jasper climbed out of his twin-sized bed and went to the open door, glancing left and right, searching the dense tree line to find her. She was somewhere beyond the clearing, somewhere out in the woods. The smell of smoke wafted in, giving him chills. He heard gunfire, shouts.

“Jasper!” The voice was different this time. Not Maddie’s young voice. Older, filled with pain.

It was his mother’s cry. Suddenly she was there with him, behind him. He could smell her lilac perfume. He could feel her weak hands grasp the back of his shirt.

Turning around, he saw that his mother was hurt, cut and bruised all over, bleeding from so many wounds. She opened her mouth to speak, and blood poured out.

Desperate, she reached for him. Before he could respond, Jasper heard a gunshot. His mother crumpled to the ground, motionless. Looking around, he saw no gunman.

Crouching, he gently rolled his mother’s frail body over to check her pulse. Only it wasn’t his mother, it was his mate.

“Maddie, wake up! Wake up!”

Maddie’s glassy eyes stared up past him, no spark of life remaining. He shook her once, angry because she’d given up so easily. She couldn’t leave him here alone, not like this!

Her body turned hot suddenly, hotter than fire, and he snatched his hands back. Her body disintegrated, leaving behind nothing but a bit of bone-white ash. She was really gone, never coming back.

J
asper’s eyes snapped open
, releasing him from the dream. His heart pounded, his mouth gone dry. He looked up at the ceiling, trying to figure out where the hell he was. Turning his head to the side, he came face to face with his slumbrous mate. Maddie blinked a couple of times and yawned, stretching like a cat before settling back down against him.

Her silky skin against his own felt so incredible that he was hard in an instant, though he wasn’t awake enough to process what was happening.

Somehow in their sleep they’d gravitated towards each other, Maddie burrowing close to him as if she did that every night. Jasper looked at his mate, her hair mussed and her delicious scent pervading the room. She smelled like a ripe nectarine, sun-cherished and ready to be devoured. It made his mouth water.

Jasper could feel her lush nakedness against his body, softness caressing steel. Suddenly every neuron in his brain flipped on and started firing at top speed, every cell in his body reacting to her closeness. His cock ached for her, his wolf giving him flashes of memory, showing him how amazing she’d been when he’d been deep inside her.

The only thing that kept him from rolling on top of her and taking her right then was their still-fragile truce. If her touched her, kissed and held her, it would nudge them another step closer. If they got closer, Jasper would be hard-put to keep up his painstakingly constructed facade of non-commitment. He knew Maddie; if she knew how he really felt, she’d be gone the second he turned his back.

Jasper tried to keep his body relaxed, not wanting to scare her off. He closed his eyes and tried to think about unsexy things, like rodeo clowns and rubber chickens. It didn’t work, not even the slightest bit. Shit! What else did he generally find to be a turnoff with other women?

The idea of getting a female pregnant usually killed all desire for him, he thought idly. He imagined Maddie as she was now, but several months gone with a child. His mind took a quick turn, changing the scenario by making the baby his own; for some reason he liked the idea of it. The lusty side of his mind took control again, imagining the process of being inside his mate, of spilling his seed into her and giving her his child.

His whole body stiffened as he struggled to bring his fantasy under control, disgusted that the image of her would affect him so. His foster father had been obsessed with having children, and it had taken him down a terrible path. Jasper would die before he repeated Ennis’s mistakes, hurt people he loved like that.

He pushed the bitter thought back down in himself, somewhere deep where it couldn’t taint this moment, this getting to hold Maddie close without her shields getting in the way.

She slid her hot little palm across the flatness of his stomach, making him clench reflexively. He broke into a light sweat, beginning to lose the battle with his lust.

She tipped her face up, giving him a half-smile. It was that sleepy expression that did him in, breaking his last bit of resistance.

Jasper pulled Maddie flush against his body, floored at the way her smooth skin pressed against his without barriers. She made a muffled sound of protest as his mouth came down over hers, harsh and demanding. Her fist pounded against his chest, impotent. Just as Jasper was about to pull away with a curse, she relaxed under his attentions.

Encouraged, he nibbled at her soft lips, making her release a little sigh. Whether it was pleasure or surprise remained to be seen, but he’d take what he could get.

Sliding his tongue along the seam of her mouth, he nipped and licked until she opened for him like an oyster guarding a pearl. He flicked his tongue inside her mouth, taking the smallest taste. He was going to devour her, but he wanted to make it last as long as possible. Sliding a hand up her arm, he brushed his calloused fingertips up the curve of her shoulder and neck to sink them into her hair. He slipped his fingers deep in her luscious chestnut locks, bringing her under his control.

The feeling of possession that came over him was so strong that he shuddered, gritting his teeth. He wanted to cover her body with his heavy one, hold her down and mark her with his teeth. He wanted her to beg for his hands and mouth and cock, to beg him for release. Jasper growled deep in his throat and pinned her under his heavy gaze, demanding perfect submission with a glance.

Maddie made a little noise at his show of dominance, but didn’t resist. He took that as encouragement, kicking away the blankets so that he could marvel at her body.

The long, smooth lines of her body, her pert breasts, the thatch of silky hair between her legs.

“Gods, look at you,” he growled, taking both her wrists in one hand so that the other would be free to explore. He caught her gaze again and held it as he touched her, his wolf sliding forward in his mind and whispering thoughts of possession and lust.

He slid a heavy hand up over her hip, pressing firmly as he moved up to outline each of her ribs. He leaned down and took her lips again, quickly opening her mouth to the silken thrust of his tongue. She writhed under his touch, especially when his free hand cupped her breast boldly. He felt the perfect weight of it, just the right amount to fit his hand. He thumbed her sensitive nipple, breaking the kiss just as he gave her a hard pinch that made her cry out in a seductive blend of pleasure and surprise.

Pressing his face to her neck, he breathed her in. Her natural peachy scent thickened in the air, her arousal making him insane. He turned his lips and teeth to her exposed neck and shoulder, each motion making her cry out, making his cock throb and his balls tense.

He swept his hand down from her breast over her belly, tracing the lines at the juncture of her thighs.

“Yes,” she breathed, her eyes closed and hips bucking.

“Yes, what?” he asked, wanting to hear her need spoken aloud. His physical power over her was a turn-on, but making her ask for his touch was something altogether more exciting.