Always Him (Always #1)

Chapter Fourteen

I woke up to an empty bed. I clutched the sheets to my chest as I looked around the room, looking for Jasper. The spot on the bed next to me was still warm; he hadn't been gone long. Not having him next to me after the night we shared, it wasn't a lie to say that I was scared. Scared that he had realized that last night was a mistake, that he should never have done it, never should have seen me that way.

But he couldn't regret it. I saw the way his eyes had glazed over with lust. I saw the natural look in his eyes, how careful he was with his every movement, the way he held me close, waited on me before he did anything. I could still feel the races of him along my body, the tingles along my legs, my chest, my face. I felt him. Smelled him.

"Jas?" I tentatively asked, gingerly stepping off the bed. My legs buckled at the contact; with the sheets in one hand, I reached for the bed to steady myself with my other. A small smile, as I remembered why I couldn't walk right. I bit my lip at the memory, felt the flush of my cheeks as I envisioned every minute, wishing I was feeling it again at this exact moment. That was going to have to wait, though; I had to find Jasper first. "Jas?" I tried it again. Where was he?

Footsteps thudded against the floor before he leaned around the doorframe, his hair was still mussed, and I blushed harder as I remembered how it'd felt between my fingers; the silky curly strands were like gold, I wanted more of it. The easy-going grin adorned his face; he took in my disheveled appearance, my gripping the sheets and bed both tight. "Having troubles there?"

"What made you say that?" my voice came out husky; I'd been more vocal last night than I initially thought. This blush was never going to fade from my face, and it was going to become a permanent part of me. "I nearly fell getting out of bed trying to look for you."

Pride filled his features. "Why were you looking for me? Thought we did enough last night to keep you happy for a while." That damn cocky grin of his. Mixed with the look of pride, I wanted to jump him again even though my currently aching body would rebel against me later.

"Normally, when a girl wakes up in bed alone after an incredible night like that means only the worst, Jas. Normally the guy leaves." I looked down, the blush fading. Shame creeping into my features. "I didn't want to think that you'd left or that you might have possibly regretted last night."

Immediately Jasper was on his knees in front of me, a hand on each of my knees. Pride and cockiness were gone; concern now filled his features. He gave my knees a gentle squeeze. "I'd never leave you, Sadie, especially not after last night. It was amazing, not bad for our first go around, for both of us." The gentle smile he'd always given me twitched at his lips. "The only regret I have about last night was that it didn't last long enough. There's nothing I wouldn't give to do that with you each day and night, over and over again, never leaving this bed, only having you to myself." He lifted his hand to stroke my cheek; I leaned into the touch, savoring the feel of his warm hands on my skin. "I'd waited for a night like last night for too long. I waited for you, Sadie." He leaned forward to press a kiss to each of my closed eyelids. "I'd do it again too. Don't ever think I'd regret last night or that I'd ever leave you. Neither of those things will ever come true if I have anything to say about it. I'm here for the long run."

For years I'd told people that Jasper was too good for anyone. He was also kind and considerate, no one in the world deserved him, but he deserved the world. And yet, here he was, in front of me, consoling me, wanting to be with me. I didn't deserve him; he deserved better than me.

It was soon apparent that the world was a funny place, turning things inside out on you. Just when you thought you had something figured out, the world spun around, and you found yourself with a new point of view on life. No two days would ever be the same. One day you're sad, wishing you'd had a different life; the next day, you're smiling and happy, not believing that you were truly living the life you had. Life was strange, and it was only going to get stranger; how could it not? How could I possibly have a life with Jasper? It didn't seem real, and yet, with his fingers squeezing my knees, I felt that it was real. He was real, and he was with me.