POV Seraphina

Jasper gently pushed me down so he could now be completely over me.
I just couldn't get enough of him and tugged his hair slightly to deepen our kiss, which he seemed to enjoy a lot.
"Don't worry Darlin, you'll get what you want, but you should get some rest first", Jasper breathed at me, his black eyes slowly turning dark gold again.

An apologetic look quickly crept onto his face and he slowly let go of me, which frustrated me a little and doubts began to spread through me.
Didn't he want to?

"No it's not that Darlin, there's nothing I'd love to do more, but once I start I can't stop. You're just so alluring. Your health is paramount and you should rest after today", he confessed shyly and my eyes widened a little.

I had a few scratches from today's fight and I had to admit that all of today's events pushed me to the limit.
After all, it wasn't every day you found out you were hanging out with vampires and you had a soulmate.

Jasper was and always will be a gentleman.

I nodded intelligibly and he pulled me back to him, "don't ever think again that I wouldn't want you, we've waited for you for so long."
A bit confused, I leaned away from him and looked at him questioningly, "we? What do you mean by that?"
He seemed to be debating whether or not to tell me what he meant by that, but finally he swallowed hard and then said, "I'll tell you everything Phina, but I don't know if you still want to be near me after that."

His eyes radiated sadness and he looked down in embarrassment, which briefly evoked a high of fear in me.
Did he mean his past?

Still, I quickly pulled myself together and pulled Jasper into a hug, "Jas nothing will change my opinion of you and I would never run from you."
Immediately a wave of love and security rolled over me, which definitely came from Jasper and left me speechless.
"I just can't control my gift around you Darlin, you just trigger so much in me", he admitted with a loving smile as he looked back at me, looking a lot more relaxed now.

It almost made me proud that I was as much of an influence on him as he was on me. So far I hadn't noticed anything about it because I had avoided him and he could only watch me.
I probably couldn't even imagine how difficult that must have been for him since vampires felt the whole thing much more strongly.

What an idiotic idea!
How could I ever think it would be better to stay away from Jasper?

Esme was kind enough to conjure up something really tasty for me and after I had eaten I found myself back in Jasper's room.
Since he came back from hunting, he never left my side again.
His eyes followed my every move and he was prepared to protect me if the situation called for it.

Could I ever make him see that I could take care of myself?

"Darlin, why is the door locked? Are you alright?", came Jasper's voice from the other side of the door as he tried to open it.
He was distracted for a brief moment by Alice, who probably needed his help, and I took advantage of the moment to freshen up in his bathroom.
It was really nicely furnished and I especially liked the large shower.

"I'm just freshening up a little", I almost laughed and could guess what kind of facial expression he was making.
Eyebrows furrowed slightly to think how exactly he could get into the bathroom and lips pressed together in a straight line as the whole situation just didn't sit well with him.

I heard him exhale slightly and assumed he must have given up and walked away from the door again.
I finished drying myself off as I padded out of the shower and casually glanced in the mirror.
My appearance hadn't really changed over the last few days or even weeks, but even if outsiders couldn't see any change, I felt better than ever.

I brushed a blond strand out of my face that was stuck there by the water and looked into my blue eyes.
They seemed much livelier than before and a smile crept onto my face immediately.

I quickly slipped into my pajamas and was about to leave the bathroom when I realized I had made a devastating mistake.
My gaze darted to my left arm, now unbandaged, hanging down my side, though my sleeve covered most of it.
Of course I had taken off the old bandage to take a shower and I had completely forgotten to take a new one with me.
I also had to apply the paste again so that the wound heal better.

"Phina? What's wrong? Open the door!", came Jasper's voice as he knocked on the door and tried to open it.
Jasper must have sensed my emotions clearly and concluded that something was wrong.
I sighed heavily.
At some point I had to show my wound to Jasper anyway, as it would take a while for it to go away.

"Relax everything is fine Jas", I said casually as I opened the door again and Jasper's eyes darted across my face immediately. He narrowed his eyes at me, "liar!"
I would probably never get used to the fact that he could now feel my emotions and probably already knew what I was thinking before I did.
"You're worried... why?", he asked me immediately and I thought about how I could teach him the whole thing gently.

Since he already reacted so extremely to situations in which there was only talk of a possible injury, I was sure that he would not simply accept it calmly.
"Okay, promise to keep calm, will you?", I made my way towards him, trying the 'teach your parents bad news' kind of thing.
He looked at me skeptically and already seemed stiff as a board, but I couldn't help it.

I aimed for his bed and Jasper immediately followed. I sat down and he stopped in front of me.
His golden eyes radiated uncertainty and he already seemed to have to hold himself back.
I slowly pulled up the sleeve of my pajamas and revealed my burn wound in the form of a handprint.

A solid crust had already formed and, of course, thanks to my knowledge of the healing arts, everything went much faster.
At first he drew his eyebrows together a little, but not a second later his eyes widened and he suddenly knelt on the floor in front of me.
His cold hands took my arm in his and he began to inspect it.

Jasper's hair fell in his face and I couldn't see him clearly, so I had no way of guessing what he was thinking.
He knelt in front of me, frozen, and I pulled my arm back to me, unsure.
I slowly lowered myself to the floor so that I was now on eye level with Jasper, but when I saw his dark gaze I almost froze.

His otherwise golden eyes had darkened a lot again and he clenched his jaw tightly. His hand had clenched into a fist, which I noticed only now and I had to swallow hard.
He seemed to be in his own world and probably hadn't noticed that I was now kneeling on the floor as well.

With my right hand I pushed his hair behind his ear and this touch seemed to free him from his rigidity.
He looked into my eyes and I could see pain and shame in them.
Pain for caring for me and knowing I had suffered tremendously and shame for not protecting me.
I put both my hands on his cheeks, "It's not your fault. It was an accident."

"I should have protected you!", he whispered almost brokenly as he lowered his eyes again and if vampires could cry then I was convinced that tears would run down his cheeks by now.
"Jasper look at me", I began and slowly he looked up at me again with glossy eyes that were full of venom, "It was my fault and there's nothing you can do about it now anyway."

I pulled him to me and hugged him while running my fingers through his messy curls.
A short time later his arms wrapped around me as well and I was relieved about that.
"How did it happen?", he asked softly into the crook of my neck and began to gently draw patterns on my back.
"I was careless and a shadow got too close to me", I began to tell and almost had to smile when I thought about why I was distracted, "he grabbed me and that's how I got this injury."

Of course, I would never in my life admit that I was distracted by thinking about Jasper. Firstly because he would then blame himself and because it would hurt my honor as a Shadowhunter very much.
Aaron would probably roll his eyes and shake his head wordlessly when he knew the full truth.

"Darlin, please promise me to be more careful in the future", Jasper said in defeat, looking at me almost pleadingly.

POV Jasper

She immediately radiated an enormous wave of affection that would have knocked my socks off if I stood.
A gentle smile crept onto her perfect lips and I immediately felt the urge to kiss her and hold her in my arms again.

I just couldn't tear myself away from the sight of her soft lips and a short laugh escaped her, "you do know my eyes are up here right?"
I took her sarcastic comment marginally with me but all I could think about was kissing her.
I quickly closed the distance between us and placed my ice-cold lips on her warm ones, which elicited a surprised sound from her.

I had to grin smugly into the kiss because she probably hadn't expected my sudden action.
Her hands immediately found themselves in my hair, tugging at it lightly, making me growl darkly.
The Major had been present since her injury was admitted and was dangerously close to gaining the upper hand.

Almost abruptly I broke away from her and kept my eyes closed for another moment to regain full control.
"Sorry, it's hard to keep control", I confessed, almost panting, as I looked back into her blue eyes, radiating confusion.

"Do you mean your hunger?", she asked thoughtfully and I looked down slightly ashamed.
I couldn't push the Major back for much longer, although in some situations he had already gained the upper hand, even if only briefly.
I could see how Seraphina then saw a change in me, but of course she couldn't know exactly what it was about.

She had promised me that she would never run away from me, but would she really keep this promise if she found out about him?
When she found out about my darker side and my deeds?