The Madonna, The Virgin, and The Whore

Chapter Thirty-Two

ERIN

Jasper's body felt amazing beneath the water. His skin was as smooth as silk and his strong arms easily held me up against him. I didn't know how long I'd been kissing him for, but I knew if I didn't stop soon I was going to drown in him.

"You're lips taste salty," I whispered pulling back, but not too far. I could still feel his warm breath on me when he spoke.

"Yours are too." He leaned forward and slowly kissed me again. "I like it."

"Oh really," I teased, leaning my head back and pooling my hair in the water behind me as I stared up at the stars. "That's not what you said before." I brought my head back up and looked at him with a playful smile tugging at the corner of my mouth. "You said kissing me was a bad idea."

Jasper cocked his head to the side as if he were trying to recall and then shook it. "I didn't say it was bad. I just said that it wasn't supposed to happen."

"And why's that?"

I didn't know why I was pressing this. It wasn't any of my business. But something inside me was dying to know more about Jasper. It was like a compulsion that I couldn't control. Jasper pulled back a little and I could feel his body tighten underneath mine.

"Erin, I wasn't kidding around before when I said I can't get involved in anything serious--"

"And you won't tell me why," I challenged. My curiosity was getting the better of me, and with every cryptic statement Jasper made I found myself wanting to dig deeper. I heard him when he said he didn't want anything serious, and as far as I knew I didn't either, but that didn't stop me from wanting to know more about him. I didn't think that was too weird.

Jasper frowned and I suddenly felt awkward in his arms. I needed to say something. I needed to save this.

"How about you let me ask three questions? Three questions and then I promise you I won't ask anymore."

He stared down at me; the humor had returned to his eyes. "Three questions, huh?" I nodded and crossed my heart.

"Okay, three questions. But fair is fair, I get to ask you three questions then too."

The side of my mouth rose. I was learning to love how he always was raising the stakes. It made me feel alive. Without giving it much thought, I agreed, already coming up with my first question for him before fully thinking anything through.

"You say you can't get involved in anything serious." Jasper's eyes darkened as I went back down the same path with my question, but I knew better than to pry too much right out of the gate. "Is it because you're married or have a girlfriend?"

Jasper threw back his head, shaking it as he laughed. "No! I don't have a wife or a girlfriend. I told you I wasn't looking for anything serious and I haven't been for a long time now."

I wanted to ask him why but I was afraid he'd shut down and that was the last thing I wanted. So I went for an easy question instead. "What's your last name?"

Jasper raised an eyebrow at me like he didn't think I was serious, like he couldn't quite believe that I was wasting a question on something as frivolous as his last name. But I didn't know it and I really wanted to.

"Taylor," he told me, shaking his head with a smile and spraying the air with water from his hair. "It's Taylor."

Jasper Taylor. It worked. It sounded nice.

"Last question," he playfully cautioned me, pulling me closer to him so that I could feel all of his body against mine. My heart fluttered right along with the desire that suddenly pooled into my belly. I didn't stop to focus on the fact that that was a very bad thing.