Air vanished from my lungs.
Jasper’s weight pinned me there instantly, one arm braced against the wall beside my head while blood poured down the front of his abdomen.
He was breathing harder now.
But he was smiling.
Actually smiling.
“Good,” he rasped, looking down at the claw marks torn into his stomach.
Blood soaked his shirt.
“You’re finally showing me the real Aria.”
Kara snarled viciously inside my chest, claws still extended as I tried to push him away.
He didn’t move.
His hand tightened on my throat.
Not choking.
Holding.
Owning.
“And I like it more than the one you always pretended to be,” he continued quietly, his voice rougher now.
His free hand slid down to grab my wrist.
My claws were still out.
Still shaking.
He forced my arm upward between us and looked at
