Chapter Eight
I woke up with warm sunlight spilling over my face. It made a nice change. Edward was picking through some CDs on the other side of the room as I stretched and snuggled back into the downy bed. Before last night I hadn't known they made beds this comfortable.
Edward woke me up a little more with one of his sweet, soft kisses that always left me wanting more.
I showered and dressed in jeans and a T-shirt I'd stolen from Edward as I'd run out of clean shirts and I refused to let Esme do my laundry.
I found a hold all under the bed and filled it with enough of Jaspers clothes to last him a week, I didn't know how long it would be before he could go back into his room. I tried to pick things that looked a little old, instead of any of the new stuff that I thought Alice had likely bought.
I threw in a pair of bruised cow boy boots that I couldn't remember ever seeing him wear. There was a shelf at the top of the closet that I couldn't reach, so I dragged a chair over and climbed up carefully. The shelf was full of hats, belts and the odd scarf, but right at the back I spotted a true prize. A dusty black Stetson that looked like it had seen better days.
I bashed the dust off it and put it on. Glancing in the mirror, ready to be amused I discovered I kind of liked it. I pulled the brim down low over my eyes and grinned. It was a pity his boots were too big for me, I'd have liked them too.
Once I'd dragged the loaded hold-all across to the study and re-adjusted my new hat, I made my way down stairs. I brewed myself a cup of tea in the empty kitchen and listened for the sounds of the rest of the family.
I already knew that Edward was in the study with Carlisle, but I couldn't hear any noise coming from anywhere in the house.
I took my tea outside and wandered across the grass, feeling the dew soak into the bottom of my jeans. I couldn't stop the gasp that escaped my lips as I came in sight of Jasper.
Where Edward had sparkled, Jasper positively shone in the early morning sun. He was lying out by the roses, one arm behind his head, the other twirling the little flower I'd given him yesterday. I'd never seen anything so beautiful.
The others reflected the light in rainbows of colour that made them hard to look at, but Jasper seemed to be lit up from the inside, his skin glowing. I realised I'd stopped moving and was just gawking at him.
I closed my mouth just in time, as he turned his head to face me and a slow smile spread over his face.
I tripped across the ground towards him, more quickly than was wise for me. "Howdy partner." His voice rang with a perfect southern twang, much more pronounced than usual.
I blushed, remembering I still wore the hat I'd liberated from its dusty prison. He raised one eyebrow at me, but didn't move from his position on the ground. I found myself momentarily distracted by the way his dark eyes looked against his glowing face.
I put my free hand on my hip and deliberately looked away from him for a second. "You're not getting this back by the way. I just thought you should know."
"Looks better on you anyway." He said shrugging, the smile still on his face. "Sit down?"
The grass was too damp, so I sat down on his thighs, and grinned at him.
"I wasn't aware I'd turned into a chair." He drawled. Sarcastic Jasper was a big improvement on yesterday.
"Don't want to get wet. You're a big boy, I'm sure you can take it."
He sighed and propped himself up on his elbows. I found my eyes drawn to all the little crescents on his neck and his exposed arms. I'd never noticed them before, but Alice had mentioned them, so I knew vaguely how he had come by them. The strange thing was, they didn't make him any less beautiful. They looked like they belonged there, it was more of a pattern etched onto his skin, than a blemish.
