My Four Miraculous Treasures

"Must I carry you inside?" Jasper's eyes, dark as a starless night, flicked over to regard her.

Willow hesitated a moment longer, and then clambered aboard. She knew a death threat when she heard one. When she was halfway inside, Jasper seized her by the hips and hauled her over onto his lap.

This caught her by surprise. She felt powerfully muscled legs beneath her, as well as a searing heat that his tailored slacks did little to contain.

His overwhelming masculine sex appeal instantly left her paralyzed and overheating.

"Sir, please don't..." Willow stammered, in fright and embarrassment. She noticed Tyson Ward sitting right there in the driver's seat, ahead. The thought of Jasper manhandling her like this, in Tyson's presence, was so mortifying that she flushed red from head to toe.

With a whirring sound, a partition board rose up, hiding the back seat from the view of the front, and transforming it into a much more enclosed and claustrophobic space.

It also formed a soundproof barrier.

Clutching her jaw with one big hand, he hoisted her up to face him, his eyes glinting with cold light.

Willow's face was warmed by a genuine blush, the satin-smooth skin upon her forehead speckled with fine beads of sweat. Damp hair cascaded off one shoulder. Her lips were the color of temptation. Flushed and moist as she was, one could certainly believe she'd just come out of the bath.

Jasper grit his teeth, his handsome features cold and fearsome. "Fresh from the bath, are you?"

"Yes, I just stepped out from home-"

"You'd better start telling the truth!" Jasper snarled in warning.

Willow stopped talking, staring into those frigid, baleful eyes. Her heart began to pound. Something was wrong.

Strangled by panic and unable to breathe, she began babbling frantically, "I just came over from my friend's place! I'd decided to stay over with her tonight!"

Jasper's eyes narrowed dangerously.

Willow desperately struggled to weave a new story: "It's true! Her kid just won a contest in, er... well, some sort of eating contest! She invited me over to celebrate with them, and

we

had so much fun that I lost track of time! Seeing how late it was already, I decided to stay the night! If you don't believe me, I'll give her a call so that she can tell you!"

Willow was a whole bundle of tightly strung nerves. Her ruse should have been impeccable! She'd made it here in half an hour, just like she'd said! She'd snuck in from the rear

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entrance to come out through the front gate!

This same trick had worked on Xavier without a hitch; how was it that Jasper was immediately able to detect something amiss?!

Jasper let go of her face, but his cold, sharp eyes continued to skewer her in place. His features were breath-takingly handsome and fearsome in equal measure. With his low, suave voice, he barked, "Call her!"

Willow made to dismount from his lap-it was much too precarious a position for her tastes.

However, she was restrained by Jasper's arms around her slender waist. "You'll do it right here!" he commanded resolutely.

Willow froze in terror, abandoning

her attempt to get off of him.

However, perched upon his lap like this meant being engulfed by his overwhelmingly powerful masculine aura. She could distinctly feet his mighty thighs pressed up against her buttocks, lighting her heart afire...

It was a perilous situation. Both her heartbeat and her breathing were swiftly escaping her control.

But it was plain to see that Jasper was in an especially bad mood at the moment, simmering with barely contained rage. Willow dared not disobey.

She fished out her phone from her handbag, and put a call through to Rachel Stone.

"Put it on speaker!" Jasper barked, fangs gnashing.

Willow complied obediently, and they listened in tense silence as the call tone sounded a few times, until it was picked up by the other side. Rachel's sleepy drawl filled the back seat of the car: "What's up, Willow?"

Willow's heart was in her throat. Now, more than ever, she needed her best friend

to be able to sense her current predicament, and play along with her.

Jasper was a high intellect. The slightest slip-up would give the whole game away... and then Willow would be dead meat.noveldrama