Everly waited until Jack was driving her home later that night to ask about the necklace with the wolf pendant. She knew he’d seen her reaction when she’d opened the box, but he hadn’t asked her anything other than if she’d liked it, and she’d just said, “Yes, it’s beautiful,” and he’d put it around her neck. She knew she couldn’t let her dad see it, though. She’d have to tell Jack what the deal was. Of course, if she just told Jack that she didn’t want her dad to see it because she didn’t want him to be suspicious that Jack might be a wolf shifter, that should be enough, but she wanted to tell Jack the truth.
They hadn’t even made it out of the village when he asked, “Did you have fun at your party?”“Yeah, it was great,” Everly said, squeezing his hand. “I had an amazing time. I still can’t believe you guys managed to pull that off.”“Y“They are exactly the same,” Jack noted, comparing the necklace he had given Everly, the one his mother had given him that had come from his grandmother.“I know,” Everly said, leaning over for a closer look.They were sitting on her couch, and it was Black Friday. Her father had gone to work a few hours earlier. Jack had waited a while to come over, thinking maybe Everly would want to sleep in, but she hadn’t. She looked tired, and he had the idea she might fall asleep on his lap again if they watched a movie, like she had earlier in the week, but right now, she was all riled up over the necklace situation. Jack couldn’t blame her. He wondered what it meant as well.“Did you get a chance to ask your mother if she knew where the necklace that had belonged to her mother had come from?” Everly asked.“I asked her,” Jack said, still looking at the wolves. They were howling standing up, their heads raised an
It was finally Saturday. Everly woke up with her heart in her throat and her breath catching every time she tried to draw in a lungful of air. She couldn’t believe this day was here.She’d never been one of those girls who spent a long time thinking about guys. She certainly hadn’t allowed herself to daydream about sex all of the time like she knew some people did. But as soon as she’d met Jack, part of her had awoken that she just couldn’t ignore, and she’d be lying if she said she hadn’t been drawn to him in a way she’d never been drawn to anyone else. Now, knowing that the two of them were going to be in bed together in just a few hours, she was both excited and nervous as hell.Since it was a Saturday morning, Everly’s dad didn’t have to go to work. He was never one to sleep in, but he would be up and outside messing around the property when she got out of bed. She usually tried to sleep in a bit on Saturday,
A brisk knock on the door let Everly know that Alyson was there to pick her up. It was a little past 4:00, and Everly had been ready to go for about two hours. She’d been literally counting the seconds since it had turned 4:00, and she had wanted to reach through her phone and pull Alyson out.It wasn’t that she was dying to sleep with Jack, but she did want to see him. That, and she was dying of boredom. She’d taken her long bath, fixed her dad some dinner, cleaned the house, and watched a couple of movies. Then… there was nothing to do but wait.She’d been lying with her legs draped over the end of the couch, staring up at the ceiling, counting the seconds with Mississippis between them when Alyson knocked on the door. She’d thought she’d heard a car engine but refused to acknowledge it until the knock came. Then, she sprang up like she was spring-loaded. Her dad was in his bedroom. So she shouted, “Dad! Alyson’s her
Everly walked out of Alyson’s room on unsteady legs, wondering what would happen when she reached the bottom of the stairs. She had a feeling Jack wasn’t just going to pick her up and carry her back up the stairs so that he could ravage her, but she knew it wouldn’t be long now, and the nervous tension inside of her was almost enough for her to make herself sick.Holding onto the railing so tight, she thought her hand might break through the wood, Everly made her way down the stairs. Before she even reached the bottom, she saw Jack standing near the door, waiting for her, one hand on the stair rail, looking up, expectantly.Her breath caught in her throat as Everly took Jack in. He was wearing a fitted suit, and he looked amazing. She couldn’t believe how hot he was, standing there, casually leaning against the banister, one foot crossed over the other, his right hand in his pocket while his other arm was on the railing.His eyes met hers, and
Jack didn’t say a word, just took Everly’s hand and led her upstairs. Her heart was still thrumming in her chest. She knew he could hear it, that his wolf shifter ears would allow him to pick up on how loudly it was pounding, but she couldn’t let that bother her, not when there were so many other things to think about.The two of them climbed the stairs side by side, Everly breathing deeply in an attempt to keep herself calm. With every inhale, Jack’s scent coated her lungs. He smelled like the woods, fresh and alive, like pine trees after the rain, with masculine notes intertwined, and she was reminded that her pulse was racing not from nerves but from anticipation.At the top of the stairs, Jack led her down the hallway to his room. She hadn’t been in there before, but when he pushed open the door, she wasn’t at all surprised to see that it looked like what she was expecting, except for cleaner. Of course, it was clean—he had mai
Jack took his time exploring Everly’s body, kissing her, touching her, caressing her, igniting her flesh with every graze of his hand, every brush of his lips. By the time he’d unhooked her bra and tossed it aside, she was nearly ready to come undone and found herself wanting to lift her hips to grind against him, particularly when he lowered his head to take her breast into his mouth, his hand working the other one as if he had done this a thousand times before. For someone who claimed to have no experience, Jack Grey was a natural.Both of them were breathing heavily, and she could feel how hard he was, his length resting on her hip, only his thin boxers between them. “I think…” Jack began, “I’ve had enough of waiting for you, Everly.”“Good,” she said, her eyes closed as she bit down on her bottom lip, trying to keep from clawing through the sheets on Jack’s bed. “I’m ready, Jack.” She
Jack lay in his bed staring up at the ceiling, thinking about what had happened earlier that night. Everly had gotten up about an hour ago. She’d taken a shower in his bathroom while he went into Alyson’s room and got her overnight bag. She’d gotten dressed in her pajamas, and he’d gotten her settled in one of the guestrooms—with Toby. It had been a long time since she’d been able to sleep with her dog, so at least she wouldn’t be alone. As much as he wanted to spend the night with her, neither one of them were ready for that yet, which seemed a little odd when he thought about how important it usually was for people to spend the night together after sex, but he thought she really wanted her own space.He wanted some space, too, but only because he was afraid if he didn’t put some space between them, he wouldn’t be able to keep his hands off of her. And she needed to get some rest, not be harassed by him all night.Sigh
The next morning, Alyson woke Everly up early. “I thought you might want to leave early, before my parents get up,” she said. “Or maybe not?”Everly was half asleep, but everything came flooding back to her. She’d hardly gotten any sleep the day before because she’d been up half the night thinking about what had gone on with Jack and worried about the whole situation with her arm. “Yeah, I think that’s a good idea,” Everly muttered.“Okay. Chase is going to drive us,” Alyson continued. “I didn’t know how you’d feel about seeing Jack. Unless you want to see him.”“No, I want to see him,” she said.“Oh, all right. I’ll let him know while you get dressed,” Alyson said, hopping off of the bed. Toby still wasn’t thrilled that this girl kept popping into the room and disturbing his rest, not to mention bothering his hooman, but he didn&r