The shift from the adrenaline of the dunes to the oppressive quiet of the camp did nothing to ease the tension. It merely changed its shape from a physical assault to a suffocating, possessive weight.
"You're different," Daniela finally said, breaking the heavy silence of the campsite.
They had finished sparring for the day, though "sparring" felt like a generous term for the systematic dismantling she had just endured. It had been exhilarating, in a dark, bone-deep way, but as she sat in the dark sand, her body still humming, she realized it hadn't been about training at all. Jasper had been quiet—not his usual stoic silence, but a brooding, heavy stillness that felt like the eye of a hurricane. He seemed lost in a whirlpool of thoughts he couldn't quite organize, his gaze fixed on the horizon of the Onyx dunes.
"Is something wrong?" she pressed.
Jasper didn't look away from the distance. He wasn't trying to hide his internal state, but he hadn't gone out of his way to articulate the chaos in his mind. He knew his control was fraying; his restraint was a thin glass wall, and she was the only thing capable of shattering it. He felt it was only proper to give her a warning—if she did anything unexpected, he wasn't sure he could manage the fallout.
"My hunger... it's gone," he said, his voice a low rasp.
Daniela let out a short, incredulous laugh, shifting her weight as her muscles protested. "Are you sure? Because I can barely walk."
The idea that his appetite had vanished was absurd. Her body was sore, bruised, and thoroughly well-used. If anything, the way he had just claimed her in the dunes suggested a man who was absolutely famished.
"I'm not lusting after anybody anymore," Jasper clarified, his voice dropping an octave as his eyes finally locked onto hers. The honesty in his stare was piercing. "But the only thing I want... is you."
Daniela paused, the dried meat she was reaching for forgotten. "That just sounds like you're starving and I'm the only meal for miles," she countered, not quite grasping the weight of a demon's obsession. There were no distractions here—no castle maids, no bar wenches, no court. "It's a matter of proximity, Jasper."
"No. Something must be wrong with me." Jasper's brow furrowed, a genuine flicker of distress crossing his sharp features. "I have never just wanted one person. It is a flaw of nature. And now, the only thing I want, the only thing I can think about... is you."
"Should I be flattered?" Daniela chided, though her pulse quickened. She shoveled a bite of meat into her mouth, trying to ground herself. "Why does this matter?"
She knew his communication skills were stunted at best, so she pushed toward whatever was most pertinent. Jasper leaned forward, his shadow stretching long and jagged over her in the violet moonlight.
"Don't leave my sight. Ever," he began, the words tumbling out as a list of ironclad non-negotiables. "Don't touch anyone. Don't let anyone touch you. Don't speak to anyone."
He could feel the potential for a catastrophe lurking just beneath his skin. The thought of her even looking at another man triggered a protective, violent instinct he couldn't suppress.
"You and I both know that is not possible," Daniela sighed. She crawled closer, disregarding his impossible rules with a weary shrug, and rested her head on his lap. She looked up at him, her green eyes reflecting the ghostly glow of the seven moons. "I'll do my best not to piss you off, Jasper. But I intend to be Queen. I'll have to speak to someone."
Jasper's dark eyes connected with her green ones. His hand shot out, his fingers trailing down the valley of her breasts with a slow, possessive heat. The moment his skin met hers, their magic erupted—a violent, beautiful reaction. Green sparks and black smoke curled around their bodies, dancing in a swirling vortex of power that hummed with the frequency of their bond.
He reached down, his thumb and forefinger pinching her nipple through the thin fabric of her shirt, feeling the hardened peak beneath his touch.
"I'm tired," she complained, her voice muffled as she turned her body inward, burying her face against the hard, warm muscle of his chest.
Jasper chuckled, a low, dark sound that vibrated through her entire frame. He began to pat her head, his long fingers brushing through her tangled hair with a strange, burgeoning tenderness.