AN: It came to my attention that chapter 5 was a repeat of chapter 1. Don't know how it happened, but something went wrong somewhere, Anyways, I've sorted it now lol.
EPOV
In the days that passed since being recruited, if recruited is the right word, I'd kept a low profile. I'd not been in the club working any of the shifts I was meant to. I'd not done any so called 'jobs' from Jasper. The only thing I had done is stay home, locked away inside my apartment while my face healed. All contact with MI6 had now stopped; it was deemed far too risky for me to do anything like that now that I was being watched by Jasper.
I hadn't tested it yet, or bothered to see if Jasper's 24/7 watching was really in effect. I had no reason to doubt that he wouldn't be doing just that. Jasper seemed to know everything about everyone who worked for him; why should I be any different?
Since I left the club, Jasper had made no contact. In fact, no one from his world had. I knew Jasper wanted me to make a collection for him, but so far I had heard nothing. I wasn't completely sure if this unsettled me or settled me. Part of me wanted to hear from him, not just because of everything that had gone down in those twenty-four hours that completely shifted things between us, but because I wanted to get to the bottom of this and get out. The other side of me was happy not to have heard a single thing from him. It eased me to think that whatever sort of time we had wasn't going to come crashing to an end anytime soon. Jasper suddenly making contact could also mean he had changed his mind about my life.
Death wasn't something I feared. With every mission, every objective you're given, there is an underlying risk that you might not come back from it. I knew this when I agreed to take this mission, that my chances of leaving this one alive were sitting at sixty percent at best. What bothered me about that certain contact, wasn't death, it was the knowing that this would all end.
I both hated it and loved it.
My mind had crossed the path many times of what could have happened if I hadn't stopped him that night in his office. And even though he had told me he was going to back off and leave me alone, I wasn't sure if that's what I really wanted. Did I really want Jasper to stop? There was no denying I wanted him. My eyes had wandered over his form many times looking at how his tailored suits clung to his body in the all right places. I had thought about how his lips had felt on mine, and how they felt as they moved up and down my neck.
Images had played in my mind, seeing his dark blue eyes filled with lust, looking up at me as his plump lips wrap themselves around my cock. Fantasies of things that will never be had flooded my mind over and over again, leaving me in an almost tortured state.
I had to stop thinking about him, I had to push those thoughts away from my mind or this mission was doomed. If only I could switch off my wanting need for him, it would be so much different, yet I couldn't.
Why did this have to be so hard?
It was going to get even harder now that I was in his world. Could I avoid him? Was that possible? If I really wanted to, I could go back to MI6 as I had witnessed Jasper murder someone in cold blood. That alone was enough to bring him down, but could it be enough to get him on everything he had allegedly to have done? I highly doubted it. They wanted everything connected to him brought down, so that when he faced trial there was no way he could either get off or have his sentence reduced. The whole Enterprise that is in Jasper's hands was meant to come crashing down by my hands.
Maybe I should just head back with what I have, it will be enough to send him down for a long time and I won't have to deal with seeing him anymore. Just who are you kidding? Heading back now would mean I had only achieved half my mission, not the whole thing. All the months of planning would be for nothing, all because I wanted to nail Jasper Whitlock against the wall in his office.
Groaning in frustration, I placed my forearm across my face as I lay on the sofa. The warm midsummer's day sun was shining brightly through the large bay window of the apartment, warming my bare chest as I contemplated life and all its unfairness.
The loud banging on the door broke me from my internal musing of wondering what it may be like to have an easy life. Pulling myself up off the sofa, I padded barefoot across the floor towards the front door.
"Mason." Jasper smiled as I opened the door. I was a little taken aback to see both him and Emmett at my doorstep.
"Jasper, Emmett." I gave a swift nod in greeting.
"May we come in?" Jasper asked as he began to walk through the door and past me. As he passed, his eyes swept across my naked chest quickly, before a small smirk pulled on his lips.
"What do I owe this pleasure for?" Closing the door behind them, I followed them into the living room. Emmett's eyes scanned around the room before falling on to me as I stared at him.
"I have a job for you, well, two, in fact," Jasper stated as he undid the button on his dark navy suit and sat down. "You're going with Emmett here to collect a payment for me," he grinned.
"And you couldn't just send Emmett along to tell me?" I asked unsure of why he was here. Crossing my arms over my chest, I clocked the tip of Jasper's pink tongue sweep across his lips as his eyes darkened slightly. Raising an eyebrow to him, I watched as he smirked, completely unashamed that he had been caught staring.
He chuckled and shook his head. "True, I could have. But that would have only meant waiting in the car, and the view is much nicer here."
"Waiting in the car?" I asked slightly confused. Why would Jasper be waiting in the car? I could hardly see him tagging along for this.
"Yes, you know that thing with four wheels, made out of metal and glass and has doors on it?" he smirked out. "I'm coming with you. There is something I need to take care of and this is on the way. Go get dressed, Mase, and we'll see you downstairs." With that Jasper rose from the sofa and with another glance my way walked towards the front door.
Walking back into the bedroom feeling utterly pissed off that my so called plan of staying out of Jasper's way had disappeared before it even begun, I quickly got dressed. Throwing on a white shirt and a pair of black trousers, I ran my hands through my hair and headed towards the front door. Picking up my keys and phone on my way out, I tried to shift the slightly uneasy feeling that was creeping its way through me. I wasn't too sure how this was meant to play out; in fact, I wasn't sure what I was picking up a payment for.
Locking my apartment door, I jogged down the flight of stairs and out of the apartment building to see Jasper's black Mercedes ML-63 with blacked out windows. Slowly approaching the car, the driver's window came down revealing Peter sitting there.
Flashing a smile he said, "Nice to see you again, Mase. Hop round and get in the back." Nodding, I walked to the back of the car and climbed in, noticing Jasper sitting next to me with a copy of The Sun on his lap.
"Dude, page 3... shit, I wouldn't mind getting my face in the middle of them," Emmett declared as the car pulled off from the curb.
"Emmett, I don't think there is a pair of tits you wouldn't mind getting your face in the middle of," Peter smirked out, causing Emmett to laugh.
"It's not my fault you have trouble getting pussy. I have told you, I can get you pussy!"
"Em, no one wants the pussy you go after," Jasper snickered out while flicking the page over. "You should consider looking at a higher class of girls instead of the whores you go for."
"What's wrong with the girls I nail? I'm the only one in this car that is getting any bedroom action on a regular basis." Emmett looked unbelievably smug at his admission.
"Not everyone is hell bent on spending time at the clinic, Em," Peter shot back at Emmett. Jasper chuckled and closed the paper, letting them continue their banter.
Turning to face me, Jasper smiled and offered the paper. "No, thanks. The Sun was never one of my favorite papers even back home."
"It's full of crap mainly, no prizes for guessing who orders the paper every morning," Jasper smiled while looking in Emmett's direction.
"I'm not surprised," I mumbled out, looking out of the window.
Jasper never said another word to me on the way to our destination. Maybe he wasn't sure what to say, though I found it hard to believe that was the case. Jasper had never before seemed to be short of words, and the atmosphere didn't seem tense inside the car. Driving through the streets of Lyon, I tried to relax myself a little more by taking in the beautiful surroundings. There was no doubt that Lyon was a beautiful place, and part of me wished I could relax enough to take in the actual beauty, though that was going to be hard. No matter how much Jasper and the mob gag didn't faze me, I couldn't rule out that right now I was sitting in the car with three very dangerous men.
Coming to stop outside a large house, Peter cut the engine. Jasper tilted his head to look at me, with his elbow resting against the window seam and his fingers touching the top.
"Emmett will go in with you. The payment should be 7K, in a brown envelope. No need to count it, I trust the payment will be in full," Jasper said. I nodded slightly as Emmett opened the door and jumped out. Getting hold of the door handle, I went to open it but Jasper grabbed my arm. "Mase, I want you to handle this. Emmett is there as a precaution and nothing more. Tell him I sent you, his name's Alec."
"Sure," I said opening the door, I jumped out and walked with Emmett up the path.
It was easy to see why Emmett was used as a precaution. He was a big guy, standing at over six feet tall and easily the size of a body builder, the man was not someone to take likely. Stopping at the front door, I rang the doorbell as Emmett folded his arms over chest, making himself look bigger and more intimidating.
The door opened showing a short, skinny man with light brown hair that was shaped and edged around his face. "Emmett, it's so unlike you to come with another. Is there a problem?"
" asked that I come and collect the payment, Alec." His eyes cast to Emmett, then to the Mercedes parked at the end of his path.
"Sure, wait here." Closing the door for a second, I relaxed slightly as Emmett grinned at me.
"Very good, Mase," Emmett said keeping his arms across his chest.
After a few minutes, Alec returned holding in his hand a brown envelope. "It's all there, tell I said hi." Taking the envelope off him, Emmett finally relaxed his arms.
"We will," Emmett muttered before turning on his heel and walking back down the path.
Following Emmett towards the car, with the money in my hand, I climbed in and placed it in Jasper's waiting hand. Taking it from me, he opened the envelope and quickly counted the money, before smiling and placing it in his suit jacket pocket. Giving a nod to Peter, the car began to move once again, to where I can only assume was back towards the club.
"Did you enjoy that, Mase?" Jasper asked as he pulled his tie off and rolled it up before placing it in his pocket and popping the top two buttons on his light blue shirt.
"It went well," I replied. I could hardly say I enjoyed it as there was nothing to actually enjoy.
"I heard that, Mase. What I asked was did you enjoy it?" Shrugging my shoulders a little, Jasper chuckled. "Hmm, I wonder what I would have to do to get you to enjoy something?"
"Emmett was wearing a mic?" I asked Jasper, bypassing his last question.
"Of course, I wanted to hear firsthand how you conducted yourself," he answered and then moved closer to me, bringing his lips so close to my ear so that his warm breath fanned the side of my face. "It will pay for you to not ask anymore questions like that, Mase. I told you I will know every move you make, every one you speak to when you are outside of your apartment." Unable to stop the shiver that ran through me, Jasper hummed low in my ear before moving back to his side.
"If you wanted firsthand, then why didn't you get out of the car and come along yourself?" I challenged. Jasper shot me a look of complete disapproval.
"And collect my own payment? That's what I employ you for, Mase. Are you purposely trying to get on my bad side?" I snorted at his reply. "Peter, stop the car, NOW!" Jasper suddenly demanded. The car came to a sudden stop on the side of the road, Jasper's eyes burned with fury as he stared at me. "Emmett, Peter, out of the car and wait outside." Quickly, both Peter and Emmett got out, slamming both doors shut.
"Just what is your problem, Mase? I have been nothing but nice to you since I saw you this morning and you have been nothing but cold and full of attitude. If you are not happy with this setup then please say so and I will personally put you out of your misery," Jasper all but screamed at me.
"You're threatening me?" I asked, unable to take my eyes off him at the realization of how hot he looked angry and how badly it made me want him.
"Pulling a gun out and placing it against your temple would be a threat. This is more of a question, now answer it!" he growled out at me. His chest was heaving with his anger. Thoughts of attacking him and pinning him against the car door as my lips crashed hard to his filled my mind.
Not answering, Jasper sighed and ran his long fingers through his golden curls. He took a few deep breaths before turning his body more towards me. "Mason, I am trying here."
"By continually staring at me?" I asked.
"I like what I see. I won't deny that I'm not attracted to you, like you do with me, and I told you I respect your choice. But that doesn't mean I can't look," Jasper answered.
"It makes me uncomfortable."
"Why, because I desire you? Or is it because of who I am that makes you uncomfortable?" No, it's because of who I am, and therefore I can't have you.
"It's the only reason I'm alive, isn't it? Because you want me." Jasper relaxed back and closed his eyes for second.
"Yes, is that so bad? I allowed you to keep your life because I like you? To me, that doesn't sound like a bad thing, though, I guess we think differently," Jasper replied while his head rested back but slightly turned towards me.
"I guess so."
"You don't want me, and that's fine. I ask for your friendship and for you to drop your attitude towards me. Mase, I won't stand for it. I don't mind banter, but I will not stand for your attitude. So, can we at least try to start again and maybe we can actually get along as friends?" Jasper asked. His voice was suddenly calm and collected again as he spoke to me.
"Okay, we can start over." Jasper grinned at me, showing a set of perfectly straight white teeth and dimples in his cheeks.
"Good." He hit the button on the side of the door and rolled the window down. "Emmett, stop trying to pick up that girl and get in the car, I have things to do."
As Emmett climbed back inside the car along with Peter, he asked, "Have you two kissed and made up now?" Jasper's anger flared in his eyes again as he kicked the back of Emmett's chair.
"Learn to watch your mouth, boy," Jasper growled out. Emmett snickered and turned to look at Peter.
"I have twenty on them fucking by the end of the week!" Peter shook his head just as Jasper slapped the back of Emmett's head, hard.
"I'm warning you, Emmett. Shut your fucking mouth," Jasper warned.
"Dude, chill, I'm -"
"I don't give a shit; shut your fucking mouth before I shut it for you, again!" Emmett held his hands up in surrender at Jasper. Turning his head towards me he mouthed a 'sorry', and looked back out of the window.
The rest of the drive back was filled with silence. It seemed like Emmett was actually sulking over what had happened. Deep down, Emmett meant no harm, but sometimes he just didn't know when to shut up. It made me wonder just how many times he had taken a beating because of his mouth. There was no doubt in my mind that Jasper would happily hand out a grade A ass kicking when needed, which made me realize how close Jasper was to him and Peter. If it had been anyone else, I assumed they would have had a bullet in their head after the first warning, but Emmett seemed to have had many.
Did Jasper trust these two men with his life? How long had he known them? Peter, who had previously been working for Aro, seemed to have no former connection to Jasper, or should that be Jasper had no connection to Peter before. And Emmett? Emmett seemed to have done odd jobs for certain bosses over the years, more security work then anything else, and looking at the size at him it was easy to see why anyone would want to hire him. Before he joined up with Jasper Whitlock, his record was pretty clean. Other than the odd bust for possession of weed, he had been clean, until he teamed with Jasper. How did these three know each other? Better yet, how did they all become so close?
The car slowed down as we reached the front of the club before coming to a stop. Peter cut the engine and climbed out, followed by Emmett. Climbing out of the car, I stood on the pavement as Jasper walked around and took the keys off Peter. Turning, I went to follow Emmett into the club when Jasper called me back.
"Not you, Mase. You're coming with me," Jasper said as he flashed a cheeky grin and walked around the car to driver's side. Climbing in, Jasper started the engine and rolled down the passenger window. "Mase? Are you getting in?"
"Yeah, um, sorry," I mumbled as I opened the door. Jasper smiled as he pulled off the curb. "Where are we going?"
"Well," the grin on Jasper's face widened as he began to speak, "I have a shipment arriving this morning, and I want to be there when it comes in."
"An important shipment?" I asked feeling as though something wasn't adding up. If Jasper had a shipment coming in, then why was he going to see it? Surely, it made more sense to send one of other lads? And why bring me along? Jasper didn't exactly trust me, and for us to be going to get whatever shipment this was, alone together, just didn't add up.
"Very. I wanted to look over this one coming in," Jasper mused at me.
"So, why bring me along?" Jasper shrugged a little and tilted his head to the side, almost thinking of the best way to answer.
"Well, I could have brought Emmett with me, or Peter. But no, I wanted you to come with me," he answered with a smirk, yet not giving anything away.
Settling back into the seat, Jasper drove through the streets of Lyon, slowly making his way out of the city. The houses and shops soon disappeared, leaving behind the hustle and bustle city for the beautiful countryside. The radio was on low, playing a bunch of French songs that I had no idea what they were saying. Jasper, on the other hand, seemed to know what they were saying as he sung along in a low voice. His thumb drummed the steering wheel as he sang, completely lost in his own world.
I couldn't help but stare at him as his voice captivated me. It was so rich and smooth, and utterly sinful. Part of me wondered if Jasper was doing this on purpose. He knew I was attracted to him, and he also knew I didn't want anything between us. Though, as Jasper had stated to me before, he always gets what he wants, so was he doing this to wear me down? Again, the thought of leaving this mission was pushed to the forefront of my mind; heading back to HQ and giving them all I knew in the hope that it would take down everything they wanted. I knew that wouldn't be the case, yet I hoped it would be. They could always reassign an agent back here to finish off the mission. Though, it would be a lot of time, money and planning down the drain.
You're not fourteen; you can control yourself and not jump into his bed. Mentally, I slapped myself.
"I didn't know you spoke French," I mumbled out.
"Well, I live in France; it would be rude not to speak it. You don't, I take it?"
"Nope, I took it at school, but never fully got the language." That was true. Though, I didn't bother telling him the handful of other languages I could speak and speak with ease. There was always something about speaking or learning to speak French that I found so hard. It just never gelled with me for some unknown reason.
"Are you seeing him again?" Jasper asked, changing the course of our conversation.
"Who?" Looking at him, I saw his eyes harden and narrow a fraction, before looking back on to the road.
"You know who. The guy you fucked, the guy I threw out of my club the other week. Are you seeing him again?" Jasper's icy tone cut through me. He hadn't forgotten Demetri then, and was clearly still pissed over the events that had taken place with him.
"Demetri?" Jasper nodded once, avoiding looking at me. "No, Demetri was a one off, though I am not sure just what it has to do with you anyway. Didn't you say who I fucked on my time was my business?"
"I did, and that's true, it is. But, I was only wondering, that was all, Mase. No need to get all defensive with me." He smiled, though I could see the clogs turning inside his head. Jasper was more than just asking.
"I thought you knew my whereabouts at all times?" I shot back making him snicker.
"That I do, though I was being polite. Anyway, we're here now," Jasper said as he cut the engine.
Looking around, I was a little unsure why we were here, deep in the countryside that held some stables. Looking at Jasper, who grinned at me like a kid on Christmas morning, I asked, "What are we doing here?"
"This, Mase, is where my shipment is arriving, or should have arrived by now. Come on." With that, Jasper opened the car door and got out.
Slowly sliding out of the car, I followed Jasper down the courtyard, passing barns and stables. As we turned the corner, revealing a whole host of stables, I spotted a large, jet black horse. Jasper's grin grew even more upon seeing the horse that was walking, along with a handler, towards us.
"Beautiful, isn't he?" Jasper whispered in awe.
"Err, yeah, I guess so," I answered completely dumbfounded that this was the shipment Jasper had been talking about.
Coming face to face with the horse, I watched as Jasper got closer and closer until his face was inches way from the horse. Stroking the horse, Jasper whispered things in its ear as his eyes shone with love. Turning his head to look at me, he arched a perfect blonde eyebrow my way.
"You look a little surprised, Mase. You didn't think my shipment was something else, did you?" he smirked in his usual cocky tone he had when he knew he was right about something.
Forced to admit that he was right, I watched as Jasper chuckled and moved away from the horse towards me. Coming close to my ear, Jasper hummed low in my ear and said, "Mase, I don't trust you enough to handle anything of that importance, but dragging you out here was worth it to see the look on your pretty face." Unable to stop the shiver that rippled its way throughout my body as Jasper's warm breath fanned my neck, I prayed that I could get control over my body.
"Want to ride me, Mase?" Jasper mused with his eyes darkening.
"Excuse me?" It was more breathless than anything else and I cursed myself for allowing him to take control of me once again.
"I said, do you want to ride with me?" his tone was amused, no doubt enjoying my internal battle.
"That's not what you said," I retorted.
With a shrug of the shoulders and a cocky grin, Jasper replied, "Yes or no, Mase."
As tempting as it was to go riding with Jasper, I had to turn him down. Though he had said he would back off, his sudden comment about riding him had made it all too clear that he had no intention of backing off at all.
"No thanks." Jasper smiled at my reply.
"Why? Surely you're not scared of a horse?" Jasper asked, smirking at me. "No, I don't think it's that, is it, Mase?" Jasper moved closer to me and walked around to my back. Pressing himself flushed against my back, I felt his warm breath on my neck. "You're scared of being alone with me, aren't you? But you're not scared of me hurting you, no; you're scared I may end up fucking you."
"Not at all," I said, struggling to hold my voice straight.
"We both know you're lying, Mase. Sooner or later you'll cave and admit you want me," he purred in my ear.
"I doubt that, as I don't bottom," I stated as Jasper pressed his hard cock against my ass.
"We'll see about that, babe," he said and with a parting kiss on my cheek, Jasper moved from behind me, "Get to know Ace a little more, Mase, while I change."
"Ace? You named the horse Ace?"
"Yes, he raced as The Ace of Spades before I pulled him off the track." Jasper smiled. "Have fun."
I watched on as Jasper strutted his way across the courtyard and out of sight. Leaning against the wall of one of the stables, I watched the stable boy place the saddle on the horse and ready it for Jasper. Having never been around horses, I had no idea what he was doing, or better yet what most of the equipment was called. Soon, I began to wonder just what I was meant to do when Jasper took off to ride his horse. I doubted that anything here would lead to anything. From the looks of things it seemed clean cut and all aboveboard.
During my inner musing, I spotted Jasper walking back towards me. The fine tailored suit, that fit him perfectly, was replaced with a pair of old, faded jeans that sat low on his hips and a tight T-shirt. His hair was pulled back off face and tied up in a pony tail. Finishing off his new attire was a pair of black, old and battered cowboy boots. This certainly didn't seem like the same Jasper Whitlock that I had seen moments ago. He looked so much more relaxed and carefree out of the expensive tailored suits. Seeing him like this made me wonder what Jasper was hiding in his closet.
"You're staring," Jasper smirked out as he got closer to me.
"You look different," I replied trying to keep my eyes from roaming his form.
"I don't live in suits, Mase," Jasper said as he turned around in a circle. If I thought Jasper's ass looked good in the suits, I was not prepared for how good it looked in his low hip sitting jeans. "Something caught your fancy, Mase?" Jasper spoke as his eyes traveled down my body.
"I don't want you, Jasper," I stated matter of fact at him, which made Jasper snort.
"Oh, really? So, you're not hard for me right now?" Jasper climbed up on his horse and looked down at me. "I'm not blind." Smirking at me, he took the riding crop from where it was hanging on the saddle horn. Raising it slightly, he winked at me and tapped the horse on the rump, riding off and leaving me standing next to the stables.