Is this destiny?

After Jeff and JoAnna left, most of the people went to their rooms. The wedding party was over.

Some guests still lingered in the event hall. The resort staff was available to serve them.

Jasper and Ellie stayed in the garden, unwilling to end the night and part ways.

Jasper knows that Ellie will not spend the night with him even if he promises to keep his hands (and the rest of the body) to himself. So, this is the best he can do to stay close to her.

Part of him fears that tomorrow she will act like nothing happened, and he needs to start wooing her again. So far everything about getting close to Ellie was more difficult than usually, but for some reason with every small progress made, he felt a big sense of accomplishment.

"For tomorrow… when and where should I pick you up?", Jasper asked Ellie.

"Anytime after two o\'clock is fine. As for where… how about you tell me where to meet you?" Ellie doesn\'t want Jasper to find out that she has a villa in the Bel-Air neighborhood, or to come to her office space downtown LA. In both cases he might discover her little \'boss-secret\', and she wants to keep this as a secret at least a bit longer. She is having too much fun with that.

"I will not be a gentleman if I don\'t pick up my girlfriend for a date."

Ellie didn\'t miss Jasper\'s emphasis on tha word \'girlfriend\', but she pretended that she didn\'t hear it. Based on his smile, he likes saying that word.

"I am a strong, independent woman. I have no problems meeting you halfway… or meeting you wherever you say. And I promise that even with that, you can still be a gentleman."

Jasper has a lot of fun talking with Ellie. Her answers are… unconventional. He got an idea…"OK. How about… you come to my place?"

Ellie was intrigued by his playful tone of voice. What was with that pause? "Where is your place?"

"In Chicago." Jasper saw her complex expression and chuckled. "You said: wherever."

She can tell that he enjoys that he led her up to that point of conversation, and she will let him have it. She didn\'t know that he is from Chicago. For some reason she assumed that he is local to Los Angeles area. Chicago… that means that he will leave. "How long will you stay here?"

"I was planning to go back tomorrow morning, but something came up so I will stay longer." Jasper gave her a meaningful look.

Ellie smiled at the thought that SOMETHING that keeps him longer in Los Angeles is her. She realized that she does not know much about him. She needs to find out more. Little at a time. "You can\'t work from here?"

"Not really. I\'m tied up to my office. You?"

"My company is based in Seattle, but we have office space in Los Angeles, New York and Chicago."

"Chicago?" Jasper\'s eyes lit up. "Can I count on you to come there?"

"I will be there first half of the October, for the fashion events…" Ellie explained that she moves while following fashion events. September she spends mostly in New York, first half of October in Chicago while second half in Los Angeles. During summer she goes between London, Paris and Milan which are bustling with various fashion shows.

Jasper enjoys how Ellie\'s face lights up when she talks about her work. He can tell that she loves it. She mentioned Tom and Brian and many others who are accompanying her to fashion shows.

They spoke for a long time, until Ellie yawned and hid her embarrassed expression while suggesting that it\'s time to call it a night.

Jasper and Ellie were walking down the hallway, approaching her room, when Jasper summarized her schedule, or the part he is interested in: "If I didn\'t miss anything, after October you have few months break."

Ellie confirmed, and added more information: "There are no major events to attend, but that does not mean that I\'m on a break. I have custom orders to take care of, as well as designs for next season."

"You sound like you do everything. Why don\'t you get that boss of yours to work more?"

"Oh…", Ellie forgot that she has an imaginary boss.

She cleared her throat while getting her cardkey from the purse to unlock the door.

Ellie paused while thinking, isn\'t this the goodnight part of the evening? Are they going to kiss? Her heart started beating wildly while her eyes didn\'t leave that door handle in front of her. But the whole evening other than few random pecks which he placed anywhere other than close to her face, he kept his lips to himself… so she assumed there will be no kissing. But she can\'t leave it just like that, after all, they are not kids.

Ellie turned toward Jasper, held onto his arm while getting on her toes… and kissed him lightly on the cheek.

"Good night, Jasper."

Ellie smiled shyly, and her eyes met Jasper\'s and she forgot how to breathe.

His icy-blue eyes stirred with something wild and bewitching.

Jasper can see that Ellie is lost in a daze… and he has no intention of letting her go just like that.

Jasper bent down, and his lips touched her cheek, close to her ear.

"Ellie…", his murmur caused shivers that made her whole body tremble.

Slowly, very slowly, his lips brushed against her skin while creating an invisible trail toward her lips.

\'I hope that Jasper can\'t hear my thundering heart!\', Ellie thought while her mind focused on his cold and soft lips which effortlessly glided towards hers. She was unable to move, and she knew what is coming... or she thought she knew.

Ellie could smell his aftershave and it was the most delicious smell ever.

She wondered why he stopped at the edge of her lips.

His bottom lip moved, and she never felt anything so smooth and inviting.

Ellie was not aware at what point her lips parted, and she is not sure who kissed whom first, but they were definitely kissing. Right there, in the hallway.

Jasper\'s palm warmed her neck while his thumb rubbed softly along her jaw. And that slow rhythmic movement was something she could not ignore, but she didn\'t know what it means… until few seconds later Jasper deepened the kiss and she realized that the thumb is following the pace of his tongue, or maybe it is the other way around.

The kiss was slow, and sensual, and it made her lose herself in the moment. Her whole body went weak and she needed to hold onto something.

Jasper felt Ellie\'s hands wrap around his neck, holding him tightly and when she moaned softly, he lost it. He moved closer, pinning her against the door and his kiss became demanding, robbing her of any willpower she might have to resist him.

Ellie was sure that one of them is a metal while the other one is a super-magnet, because every part of her body that touched his, refused to retreat. It was impossible to separate from him.

That kiss changed her definition of a kiss, and what it means to be kissed, and she never wanted it to stop.

Ellie watched Jasper bend and pick up the cardkey of her room from the floor. It seems that she dropped it at some point. He unlocked the door and observed her flushed face for few seconds before caressing her cheek with his hot palm and giving her another light kiss on the lips, and another, and another... 

"Good night, Ellie.", Jasper\'s husky voice followed by a light chuckle pulled her out of her daze.

When Ellie got in her room, she closed the door and leaned on it. She was still breathing heavily, while slowly accepting how strongly Jasper affects her.

Mental image of his smug smile irritated her.

"Yes, yes… you are an amazing kisser… do you need to rub it in?", Ellie grumbled while walking toward the bedroom. Even though she was complaining, Ellie was unable to stop smiling.

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