He Hates Me Not (Hate & Love Duet 2)

13JasperI open my eyes to find my little Petal hovering over me like an angel.

Ah, fuck that.

What’s with this sappiness lately?

I’m being mellowed down because I haven’t killed for so long. But then again, I keep my usual asshole personality with Enzo, Angelo and the others. Petal is the only one who brings out this side of me — a softness I didn’t know I had.

“Teach me how to shoot.”

There goes the angel image.

I pull myself up on my elbows and stare at her. She’s standing beside the bed, already wearing jeans and a tank top, her expression full of determination.

“What for?” I rub my eyes to get a better view of her ass in those jeans.

“To defend myself.”

“From who?”

“Anyone.”

“I’ll do the defending, Pet.” I reach out for her. “I have a better idea for our morning.”

She squeals when I grip her by the hip, but quickly wiggles free, pushing my hand away.

“No, Jas. Come on; I want to do something.”

“Fine. You can ride me today.” I smirk and her cheeks turn red. My little Petal loves it when I give her the reins sometimes.

It’s a false sense of control and she always ends up beneath me anyway, but there’s nothing wrong in having her believe she can have her way. If it makes her more aroused and compliant, I’m all for it.

“Shooting.” She grips her hip.

I raise a menacing eyebrow. “Are you ordering me around, Pet?”

She quickly backpedals, dropping her hand from her hip. Good girl.

“Don’t you want to make sure I’m safe whenever you’re not here?” She softens her tone.

Smart little Petal. She’s using the way I treat her to get what she wants.

“I’ll make sure you’re always protected.”

“Just in case…” her voice lowers. “Please.”

Ah, fuck. I can’t resist it when she pleads with me that way. Enzo is right after all. I am dick-whipped.

Besides, she’s right. We never know what will happen from now on. As long as Lucio roams the earth, neither of us are safe, and until I take care of him, she’s still in danger.

“Fine.”

“Yes!” She does a slight jump then kisses me quickly on the cheek before heading out. “I’ll be waiting outside, hurry.”

I keep staring behind her even after she disappears. I’m so fucking whipped for that girl.

Fifteen minutes later, we’re at the back of the house. I point at the cans I lined on target trees. “You have to keep your hand steady, tremble and it’s over.”

“Okay, steady, I can do that. I participated in surgeries, you know.” She purses her lips, trying to keep her arm taut.

I smile under my breath at her over the top concentrated expression. “Pretty sure this doesn’t go with the medical code.”

Her face falls for a while and I curse the direction I went with that. She’s a nurse after all, and those in her field save lives — they don’t finish them.

For a few minutes, I hold up her hand and train her to target well. She’s right; her arm is steady, it’s her aim that needs more work.

“Why do you really want to learn to shoot?” I ask after a while.

“I told you, to protect myself.”

I’m standing behind her and I slowly grip her bending elbow the slightest bit. She bites her lower lip as I say, “You know many nurses who like to take up shooting as a hobby?”

“Nope, but other nurses aren’t kidnapped to another country and forced to quit their jobs.” There’s no usual venom in her voice, but her displeasure reaches me loud and clear.

She doesn’t like this arrangement, and while she might lose herself in the fucking, in the late-night dinners and the walks, she’ll always — fucking always — think like she’s a captive.

Well, she is, but she shouldn’t be thinking about it as such now.

“Maybe you should protect yourself from me, too,” I speak in a neutral voice, but my blood is boiling.

“Maybe I should.” She lifts her chin, her eyes sparkling in a sadistic gleam. “What if I shoot you right now and run?”

The question is like a fucking stab. It’s like someone twisting a knife into a fresh wound.

No, not someone. Her. Fucking Georgina.

I grab her arm with the gun and she gasps when I point it at my chest.

“J-Jas...what are you doing?” Her voice is haunted. Her eyes are as wide as saucers as she stares at me as if I’ve lost my mind.

“You said you’d shoot me.” My tone is neutral, calm, hiding all the fucking chaos I want to wreak. “Do it.”

“W-what?”

“Shoot me, Pet.”

“Jas…”

I push the gun into my chest and her hand trembles as she tries to release the trigger, but I keep her hand in place.

“It’s the only way you’ll ever get rid of me, so do it, Petal.”

“Jasper, stop.”

“Do it. Fucking shoot me.”

A sob tears from her throat. “N-no…”