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  thumb grazes my nipple again, and the need I feel for him becomes overpowering. Warmth pools in my lower belly and travels down to the core of my desire.

  “There’s my girl.”

  “I need to tell you something.” My statement is met by another sweep of his finger against my hardened nipple.

  “Will it ruin this?” His cock pokes me in the back, and my body tightens.

  I shiver with need and tip my head back as another brick falls to the ground. “Probably,” I say through my lusty haze.

  “Don’t tell me,” he whispers, his tongue brushing over my ear. “I don’t want to stop.” A whimper escapes me as he presses against me, reminding me of what I have been missing.

  “But it’s important.”

  “I want to make love to you, Evie. Whatever you’ve got to say can wait. It’s waited this long. What’s another few hours?” he murmurs, running his fingers along my ribs.

  My stomach flips at the thought of him touching me over and over again. “Few hours?”

  “I need to savor you and take my time. I have years to make up for.” He cradles my face in his hand, and I’m a goner.

  “We should really talk,” I say one final time. I’m almost panting. I know it. He knows it too. He has me right where he wants me, and there’s nothing I can do or say except blurt out the words I’ve held inside for so long.

  He doesn’t give me a chance to say the one thing that’s been hanging between us. He smashes the final brick when his lips seal over mine, and he takes my breath away with the most passionate kiss, plundering my mouth like he’s exploring new territory and claiming my body as his bounty. I’m helpless to fight him off because I want this. I need this as desperately as he does.

  Jack lifts me off the floor and cradles me in his arms. Our lips are sealed, and everything else around us falls away as he quickly jogs up the stairs as if I weigh nothing.

  “Last door on the left,” I say into his mouth, unable to break contact even for a second.

  We don’t make it to my bed. He kicks the bedroom door shut before letting my body slide down his, pressing me up against the back of the door. The robe gives little resistance to his quick fingers.

  His fingers ravage me, pushing aside the crotch of my panties and thrusting inside of me as we kiss. I’m helpless to stop him. I ride his hand like a horny kid, relishing the contact and warmth of his body against mine. It’s been so long since I’ve come at the hands of someone else, and let’s be honest…this is Jack. I can’t stop him. I dig my fingernails into his skin and let him take me.

  His thumb presses on my sensitive bundle of nerves as his fingers bring me such pleasure. Harder and faster, his digits work me over.

  Within minutes, I’m close. The edge is so near that I can’t stop. Jack pulls his lips from mine and stares down at me as he increases the pace, watching his fingers as they scissor in and out of my tight warmth. I ride his hand faster, the intensity of his gaze overwhelming my senses.

  When my insides start to twist and my toes curl against the carpet, Jack’s strong arm keeps me upright as the waves of pleasure shoot from my core through every fiber of my being.

  “Oh, Jack.” I’m gasping, trying to regain my senses after one of the most devastating orgasms I’ve had in my life. It’s no use when Jack grabs me by the ass, and my legs wrap around his waist as if I’ve done it every day of my life. He carries me toward the bed, and I’m powerless to stop him because I’m so sated that my muscles feel heavy and useless.

  When he lays me down and backs away, all I can do is stare at him. Everything about his body has changed since the last time I saw him naked. My mouth waters, and my pussy springs back to life when his washboard abs and thick muscles come into view as he pulls his T-shirt over his head. Sweet Jesus. My fingers itch to touch him, but I gawk instead like I’ve never seen him naked before.

  He’s beautiful. A true work of art. Gone is the boy’s body I once worshiped, replaced by the beast of a man he has become.

  I ache for him. It’s the same ache that I had the first time he made love to me. I knew then, as I know now, that I am a goner.

  There’s no recovering.

  No getting over him a second time.

  I finally come to terms with the one thing I’ve been lying to myself about for years.

  I’ve always belonged to Jack Nelson.

  “Make love to me, Jack.”

  Jack crawls onto the bed, covering my body with his. When our bodies collide, I know I will never be the same.

  Taking his time, Jack ravishes my body with his mouth. Starting at my neck, he traces a path along my pulse to my collarbone, nipping my skin at just the right spot. I shiver under his weight and wrap my legs around his waist, pulling his body closer.

  His body is bigger than the last time we were in this same position. Both of ours are. We’re no longer kids, unsure and careful in our touches. We’re hungry, almost to the point of famine, with an insatiable appetite for each other. Our hands move quickly across the other’s skin, feeling every dip and curve as his mouth continues its descent over my torso.

  I lie back, closing my eyes and basking in the feel of him against me. His palm closes around my breast, and I ache to feel his tongue against me. “Jack,” I moan.

  As if he can read my mind, his lips close around the tip, and I melt into the bed. I’m drunk on lust. Lost in love with Jack. It’s been six years since anyone has touched me.

  I dig my fingers into his hair and hold his face against my breast. My toes curl, and my breath hitches as his tongue sweeps across the top, sending shock waves through my system. He grinds his hips against me, driving me wild and quickly close to the edge of orgasm.

  God, I’ve missed this. Missed the feel of him against me. Missed the sounds he makes deep in his throat as he kisses my body.

  I slide my hands down his back before reaching between us and fumbling with his belt.

  He scoots down my body, breaking my hold on his pants. “Not yet,” he growls, licking my skin at the edge of my panties. “I want to taste you.”

  My insides rejoice at his words. I want him to taste me too. I want him to taste every inch of my body. He stares down at me, looking over my body with such reverence that any nervousness I have drifts away.

  “I love you,” I say with a soft smile. I do. I love the man before me, grown-up and fierce.

  “I love you too, Evie girl.” He settles between my legs, never taking his eyes off mine as his lips close around my most sensitive spot.

  For a few moments, I’m unable to form any thoughts. His mouth is just that good. The world around us seems to evaporate as if we’re the only two people left on the planet.

  Every caress of his tongue sears my skin with such passion. He’s marking my body, claiming me once and for all as his. Not that I have ever belonged to anyone else.

  Jack Nelson is all I have ever known.

  He is all I have ever craved.

  I lose track of time and the number of orgasms he’s able to pull out of me before I’m left gasping for air. My body shakes under his touch as he inches his way up my body and kicks off his pants.

  “Say you want me,” he says as his cock hovers at my opening.

  “I want you.”

  His fingers laced with mine, Jack pins my hands over my head before capturing my lips with his. He gently pushes the head of his cock inside before seating himself fully. I moan softly, loving the fullness of him inside me.

  Our bodies rock together in perfect harmony, never missing a beat. Jack’s eyes never waver from mine as he takes his time making love to me.

  He loves me.

  I love him.

  That’s never changed, not with distance or time. Love isn’t something that can be swept away or forgotten so easily or so quickly. Six years may seem like an eternity, but when there’s true love, the kind that has been permanently etched on your soul… it’s no time at all.

  13

  Jack


  It’s dark outside when I finally open my eyes. I’ve been in bed with Evie for hours, snuggling, fucking, and touching. Exploring each other’s bodies as if it were the first time.

  Her hand is tucked under the pillow, and her blond hair is cascading over the sheets like a waterfall of gold as she breathes deeply through her parted, full lips.

  I could lie here for an eternity and be content. She doesn’t even need to speak to me. Merely having her by my side is enough. This is better than anything I’ve done in the last six years. For the first time in a long time, I feel whole. I feel at peace, but that doesn’t stop the memories.

  “My father is going to kill me,” Evie says, scrambling around the barn and picking up her clothes that were discarded around our blanket.

  I prop myself up on my elbow and watch her as she panics. “The damage is done, love. Just lie back down with me.”

  She shakes her head and is on the verge of tears as she pulls her white cotton panties up her legs. “He’s going to ground me for all eternity.”

  She’s being a little dramatic, but not by much. Her father is probably going to ground her for at least a month for not calling or being home by curfew. “Then lie with me for a little while longer. It’s going to be a while before we can do it again.”

  She yanks her T-shirt over her head and then stands there, staring down at me as she thinks over what I just said. “I don’t know, Jack. I’m already two hours late.”

  “Just give me another ten minutes. I want to hold you in my arms,” I tell her and motion for her to come lie next to me.

  She jostles from foot to foot, chewing on her bottom lip while her eyes dart around the barn as if she’s going to see something that makes it all okay. “Just ten minutes,” she says, finally walking back toward me and taking a seat on the blanket next to me.

  I wrap an arm around her middle and pull her down against my side as I relax. “I love you.”

  “I love you too,” she says back to me, staring up at me from the crook of my arm.

  There’s a sadness that hangs in the air because we both know we’re going to be separated for a while. We’ll still see each other in school; there’s nothing he can do about that. However, the time we spend together after school is going to come to an end until her father decides to let her out of the house again.

  “I’m sorry I fell asleep.”

  She sighs and traces the lines of my stomach with her fingertip. “Don’t apologize. I could sleep forever in your arms. It’s just as much my fault as it is yours.” She smiles softly.

  There are times when I wish we were adults, on our own and not under the rules of her father. Evie and I could be so happy and content, but the bastard will do anything to keep us apart. Even if I drop Evie off one minute late, he grounds her. He’s such an asshole.

  My hand glides up and down her arm as I kiss the top of her head and bury my face in her hair. I close my eyes and memorize the feel of her skin against mine and the smell of her around me. I need the memories to hold on to. They will have to get me through the next sentence her father plans to dish out.

  My phone on the nightstand has been vibrating on and off for the last minute, trying to pull me from the memory of my last full night with Evie before she dropped the bomb on me that she was moving overseas.

  The sound doesn’t wake her, and I think about ignoring it, but the way it stops and starts again lets me know it’s probably important.

  I slide my hand carefully to grab it without moving or causing Evie to stir. The screen almost blinds me in the darkness of her room, and I squint to make out the words of the text messages.

  Mom: Your sister’s in trouble.

  Mom: Are you there?

  Mom: Jack, call me.

  Mom: It’s URGENT.

  I sit up, grabbing my pants and T-shirt from the floor as I climb to my feet, and tiptoe into the hallway, closing the door behind me.

  Fuck, I don’t want to leave this house right now.

  I grab a pad of paper that’s sitting out on the counter and scribble her a message. I hate knowing that she’s going to wake up alone, and I can’t stomach not at least giving her an explanation.

  Leave it to Myra to screw up my night. I swear, she has an Evie radar that goes off just out of pure hatred and jealousy. After I’m dressed and halfway out the door, I finally call my mom back.

  “What the hell took you so long?” she barks on the other end of the line.

  “I’m with Evie, Ma. What’s wrong?”

  “Your sister has been arrested. You need to go over there and see if you can get her out. I’d go, but…”

  “I got it.”

  Fucking Myra.

  “Call me when you know what happened. The officer wouldn’t say anything to me and asked me to come down to the station.”

  “I will. Give me a little bit to get there.”

  “I’m worried, Jack.” Her voice comes out strained, and I can tell she’s been crying. My sister needs her ass beat.

  “I’ll handle it,” I tell her before the line goes dead.

  * * *

  I stalk into the police station ten minutes later, completely pissed off at my sister. Not only did she interrupt my night with Evie, but she has my mom in a complete panic. That’s what upsets me the most, what she is doing to our mother, making her worry.

  I did some stupid shit in my day, but never anything bad enough that I ended up in police custody.

  “Can I help you?” the officer behind the desk asks me without even looking up.

  I grip my cell phone tightly, almost crushing it. “I’m here about my sister.”

  “Her name?”

  “Myra Nelson.”

  “One moment.” He picks up the phone next to him, still staring downward. “Someone is here about Nelson.” He finally glances up at me, his eyes coming to my legs before climbing slowly up my body. “Your name?”

  “Jack Nelson, her brother.”

  “It’s Mr. Jack Nelson.”

  “Someone will be right out,” he says as he slides the telephone back onto the base. “Please have a seat.”

  Not much has changed since I came here years ago to claim my father’s personal effects after his death. The place makes me uneasy; the crushing memory of that time in my life still weighs on me.

  I regret not being around when he died. Moving away for school had always been a dream, but I never realized how short life could be or how quickly it can end. When I was younger, I guess I thought of my parents as being invincible. They were always simply there. I never dreamed of something happening and taking either of them away from me.

  “Jack,” Jess says as he walks into the waiting area, looking every bit the part of a small-town, asshole deputy.

  I smile politely and shake his hand, because the last thing I want to do is piss off a cop, even if it’s Jess. “Hey, Jess. I heard my sister is here.”

  The slow, simmering anger that I’ve had since my mother called is about to boil over if he decides to give me any shit.

  “Yep.” He rocks back and forth on his feet and drags his hand through his mullet before blowing out a long breath. “Sorry to say she is.”

  I ball my hand into a tight fist at my side to stop myself from having a meltdown. “What happened?”