Runaway (A New Adventure Begins - Star Elite 4)

“I haven’t told anybody, except her.” Oscar jerked his head at Molly, who sighed and rolled her eyes.

“Well, she won’t tell anybody.” Jasper threw Molly a rueful grin but suspected it was lost in the darkness of the bed chamber. “I need you to help us Oscar. I want you to keep watch tonight and tell whoever is on watch the second you see Marilyn leave the house. We have a way of signalling each other that she won’t be able to avoid. The night watch outside will catch not just her but Denzel as well.”

“You are not going to bring him here, are you? I warn you now that if you are, I am leaving,” Molly protested firmly.

“Me too,” Oliver nodded.

“No. Denzel will be taken to prison to be interrogated on suspicion of abduction and murder. In the meantime, try not to behave any differently around Marilyn. Keep your bed chamber doors locked when you are not in them, so she cannot plant anything else in there. The keys should be in the locks on the inside of the doors now. Niall said he was going to put them back. Keep the keys on you at all times and try to stay together as much as possible. If anything does happen, scream, as loudly and for as long as you can. Don’t go anywhere with that woman,” Jasper warned.

Jasper turned to face them both but was conscious of the uncomfortable distance that now lay between him and Molly. What concerned him more than anything was just how much he hated it.

“Oscar, why don’t you go downstairs and get something to eat? Sir Hugo sent me up to tell you dinner is ready. Molly, might I have a word with you?” Jasper’s face remained stern while they waited for Oscar to sidle out of the door. It was clear that the young lad wanted to stay but the delicious scent of cooked beef filtered up to them and cajoled him to do as he was told.

When they were alone, Jasper closed the door and studied Molly across the width of the room. She looked so incredibly fragile that he wanted to sweep her into his arms for a hug. He knew that if he had any chance of settling his mind, he had to ease matters between them. Unfortunately, he couldn’t think of a way to achieve it without kissing her again.

“I will go and get something to eat as well, I think,” Molly murmured as she eyed the door over his shoulder.

A deep sense of loss settled over her. Its weight was so heavy that she wanted to cry from its burden. She hated to think that she had made such a fool of herself, but now that she was able to look back on what they had shared, in the cold light of day it was ridiculous to contemplate that someone like Jasper would ever look at a woman like her. She was, if nothing else, not all that pretty, a little younger than he was, and hated the city he called home. There were so many differences between them

that she couldn’t conceive of a way to overcome them. At least he had the wisdom to keep his mind on his job. She, meanwhile, wasn’t that lucky. All she could think about was him; how he made her feel; and what she wanted for the future.

“You overheard my conversation with Sir Hugo earlier, didn’t you?” It wasn’t a question.

“There seems to be a lot of listening at doors going on,” Molly replied. “But like you have said, you have a job to do.”

“Molly,” he whispered, his gaze pleading.

When she refused to look at him, Jasper gently captured her chin and forced her head around until she had to look at him.

Molly’s gaze slid away from the temptation of his broad chest until it collided with his steady stare. A wealth of emotion suddenly slammed into her that brought tears to her lashes and made her chin quiver. She was helpless to deny him when he slid his arms around her and held her tightly.

“It will be all right,” he soothed, mostly because he couldn’t think of anything else to say.

“How can you say that?” Molly whispered. She didn’t see how it could be all right. He didn’t know how she truly felt. Even she didn’t know how she felt. She hesitated to call it love, but she was starting to wonder if it was. This emotion, which came straight from her heart, certainly hurt enough to be considered love, even adoration.

“Because I know there are choices,” Jasper replied. “We have choices.”

“Do we?”

Jasper leaned back to look at her. “Yes, we do. We have a choice to walk away from this, to pretend there is nothing between us and try to get on with our lives. We could hope that we won’t both end up thoroughly miserable for the rest of our lives or be left feeling as though we have missed out on something precious that we will never get back. Or, we can take the bull by the horns, so to speak, and see where this takes us.”

“But I am just a part of your job,” Molly replied. “You said so.”

“But you are,” Jasper whispered. “It is my job to keep you safe, and I will. I would, however, point out that if we married it would still be my job to keep you safe. It is what husbands do.”

“Husbands?” she asked weakly. Molly’s heart fluttered wildly with a mixture of excitement, hope and nerves. She daren’t ask him if he meant he was considering marriage for fear of being disappointed.

“There is a lot to resolve first. We have to deal with Denzel and then spend some time together when we are not surrounded in danger. You know, to make sure that this thing, whatever it is between us, is real and not just founded on our mortality given the danger we are in. To me, marriage should be for a lifetime.”

Molly nodded. “I agree.”

“That marriage should be for a lifetime?” he asked with a rueful smile.

Molly smiled. “That we need to spend some time together when we are not surrounded in danger.”

“I want you to want to be with me because you are interested in me, the man. I don’t want you with me because you need just my protection or a place to live.” Jasper was a little appalled that he was admitting such a thing to her. Inside, he was a dithering mass of contradictions that contrasted with his usually ordered persona.

“I don’t want that either,” Molly admitted. “I don’t want you to feel responsible for us or that you have to be with me because we need someone to protect us. I want y-someone to want me as a person in my own right.”