Too Many Secrets To Hide | ✔| #Wattys2017

Chapter Fifteen

 Word Count: 3736

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  "I'm not sure if I can walk, Jasper," I said shakily. He busted out laughing, I only offered a nervous chuckle. "Here," he extended a hand to me to help me off the bed. I kept looking at his mouth, the way the words just rolled off his tongue. I couldn't keep my mind off of what else it could do.
  
   I stood and whimpered inwardly, holding on tight to his still bare chest. I looked down at the ground to see where I had placed my feet, but after about a half a second, my attention got caught on something else. No, his underwear did not leave anything to the imagination.
  
   "Okay," he said, bending down to hold my jeans for me to step into. I had already gotten on the rest of my clothes sitting on the bed. I thought it was odd how he had not gotten his clothes as well when he retrieved mine from the floor. My right leg shook violently as I tried to get it into my jeans. I leaned perhaps a bit too heavy on him with my hands on his shoulders. Suddenly, I felt him reel back, he was trying to keep his balance, but we still ended up collapsing in a heap on the floor. I was partially sure he had intentionally done that, but who was I to complain? I giggled into his chest before pushing myself up.
  
   "We have to hurry if we're going to make lunch," Jasper chuckled. I was now seated on the floor and he was taking it entirely upon himself to finish dressing me. He stuffed my feet through the leg holes and then on past the hem of the legs. He grabbed me under the arms and hoisted me up into the air with enough ease to prove I was right about him purposefully allowing us to fall down together. Then, not forgetting to run his hands over my ribs on the way down, he started pulling my jeans up my legs. He did it with only his thumbs through the belt loops and the rest of his hands stretched out to brush my skin on the way up. It gave me those kind of goosebumps everyone loves.
  
   Finally reaching my waist, Jasper tried to pull the zipper up. He seemed to be having quite a bit of trouble with it, intentionally I'm sure, but I didn't do anything about it because I wasn't enjoying this any less than he was. But if I thought he had trouble with the zipper, the boy was particularly incompetent with buttons. Only when getting them back together, of course as he had no trouble whatsoever undoing them.
  
   Feeling a little less shaky, I told Jasper that it was my turn to dress him. He grinned widely at the idea. He sat down and I mimicked the process he had used for me. He was probably a little more helpful that I had been, though.
  
  BStanding up, I took my turn with the zipper and the button just as he had done while he stroked my hair whispering sweet nothing's. "You're so beautiful when you're so close to me," I heard him murmur, his words fully saturated in passion. "And when you're anywhere, but especially when you're this close." He kissed my hair as if to keep me standing within his body heat forever. I would have gladly participated, but the alpha calling us for lunch broke us apart. Before, it had just been Fiona, calling, but now that it was her husband, it seemed more urgent. We didn't take our time getting to the kitchen now.
  
   When we got there, both his parents and both our siblings were already standing or seated, but all devouring meals. All four sets of eyes gave us suspicious glances, to which I blushed and Jasper smirked. Even while we made our plates, Jasper was still whispering to me where no one else could hear. "Mm," he moaned, breathing me in. He pretended to be looking over me at something, but it was really just a fake excuse to get so close to me. "I could stand hear breathing you in forever and never get tired of the smell." I smiled, trying to hold it back so as not to attract attention. "I wonder how long you would have to stay in my bed for the whole thing to smell like you?" he mused. I smacked his chest, something Fiona noticed before she turned back to her food.
  
   Jasper and I stood next to each other by the counter as we ate, saying things to each other that only we could hear. "So where have you two been since breakfast?" Fiona asked, cutting off our hushed conversation. "We took a nap in my room," Jasper answered his mother coolly, barely sparing her a glance before his eyes reverted back to mine. She didn't say anything else, but the look on her face suggested she knew it was more than a nap.
  
   "And I could just-" but a loud knock on the door drowned out the rest of the sensual whisper. The alpha hurried to answer it as if he knew who was there. Moments later, Mark came into the room, not asking or even hesitating to start making himself a plate. I noticed Jasper look at me uncomfortably, as did his father. "Cadence, would you mind sharing with Mark what you found out about Derek?" the alpha finally asked. Mark's head snapped up in my direction, freezing from everything else he was doing. I felt all eyes fall on me, even Bel's who, again, would not be speaking for me.
  
   "Derek is our father," I said perhaps a little more lightly than I should have. I was growing used to it by now, I suppose. Mark dropped his jaw nearly to the floor and after a full twenty seconds, I considered reaching out and closing it for him just in case he couldn't do it himself. "Your father?" he burst out. "How did- When did you- father?" he spluttered. "When I went to rescue Bel, I saw him and he is, in fact, my dad." I explained.
  
   Mark considered for a moment. "That would make you part werewolf," he commented. I was slightly excited, he was the first person to find out about my lineage and realize that I was part wolf before I had to tell him. "She is," Jasper cut in with a seductive smirk aimed at me alone.
  
   Mark set his plate down and walked towards me. He tilted my chin this way and that, looking me over and giving me a good sniff. "Does she smell like Derek at all?" the alpha questioned as if he couldn't believe he hadn't thought of smelling me. "No," Mark responded. "All I smell on her is Jasper." I took a step back, blushing furiously and I didn't even look up to see Jasper's reaction to the comment.
  
   "Well," Mark went on, looking me straight in the eyes with quite a sense of unease. "I hope it wouldn't offend or upset you that we are just finishing the preparations to attack Der- er... Your father." I stood up straighter and locked my eyes on him so that he could not look away. "That bastard killed my mother, I'd like to see to the preparations myself." I retorted with every ounce of the blood chilling persona I had seen on my father. It bothered me that it was something I had been so proud of for so long, but realizing I got it from him disgusted me. Oh well, maybe heartlessness was hereditary, but was it a blessing or a curse? Both perhaps, and I was about to beat the master of it his own game.
  
   "I would be happy to show you," Mark offered, approval stained on his lips. "I was just coming to get Christopher to do that very thing." It occurred to me then that I had never learned Jasper's father's name. I assumed he was the 'Christopher' Mark referred to. I nodded, because whoever Christopher was, I still wanted to see to those preparations. "I'll go too," Jasper added.
  
   Mark finished his lunch while I ran upstairs to get ready. My clothes were fine, but my hair was a mess, so I ran it through with my brush in the guest room. By the time I had gotten all the knots out, Mark had finished inhaling his food and everyone was ready to leave. Jasper, Christopher, Mark and I all piled into a black Chevy suburban, the two oldest men in the front with me and Jasper in the back.