She straightened. “It’s true. After what happened with my parents, they showed up to my house and promised to help me continue going to school.” She glanced down at her lap before smiling softly. “They became my lifeline. They bought me food and encouraged me to continue going to school. I felt wrong depending on them so much, so I worked two jobs, but it was thanks to them I went to college.”
He had no idea. No one had ever said anything.
Her eyes widened. “You really didn’t know?”
He shook his head.
“I…I don’t know if I’m the person you should be with, Aric. I have a hard time trusting people. Hell, I have a bit of an attitude if you haven’t noticed.” She laughed. “Your parents and Ellie are the only ones who have been on my side before I met any of the other girls. I’m broken.”
She wasn’t broken. She was scared.
Pain fisted around his heart in a vice grip. The last thing he’d ever want was to hurt her. He turned to face her fully.
“I’ve wanted to be with you for years,” he admitted.
Doubt sparked in her eyes. He nodded. “It’s true. Ellie’s known for years that I wanted you. She thought it was just lust at first, but recently when I admitted to her you were more than someone to be with for a night, she warned me to not push you.”
“Push me?”
“Into a relationship unless you were ready.”
Her brows lifted. “Oh.”
“She’s always been very protective of you, and I didn’t realize why until now. Ellie loves you like the sister she never had.”
She sniffled. “I love her so much. She’s more than family.”
“Jordan, I can’t promise you I’ll be anyone other than who I am. But I can’t fathom not spending more time with you, helping our relationship grow.”
She bit her lip. She folded and unfolded her hands, agitated. “You really want to do this? I should warn you I have a jealous streak.”
He grinned. “I do too.”
When she didn’t appear convinced, he tipped her head up. “I’m not perfect, far from it. But what we have, this connection that’s deeper than I’ve ever felt for any other woman. I want it to grow. Do you feel the link?”
She raised a hand and placed it over his heart. “I do.”
“Trust me. Give me a chance to prove to you we can make it work.”
“But…”
“No buts. Life is what we make of it. You made a decision at sixteen to not allow your parents failures keep you from the life you wanted. Now you need to make a decision again. Will you allow fear to hold you back from what’s right for you? For me? For us?”
She grinned. “I hold the key to everything, huh?”
“You may not think so, but you do.”
The smile dimmed on her lips. “What about your animal? Does he get a say in this?”
“Baby,” he let her see the wild side of his beast in his eyes, “my wolf claimed you as his the moment he first saw you.”
Her nails curled on his T-shirt and she tugged him. It was a different kiss. One filled with more emotion than he’d anticipated. Their tongues rubbed in a sexy dance that turned his cock to steel.
She moaned. “I think I need therapy.”
He kissed the corner of her mouth and her jaw. “Why?”
“Well,” she panted, “every time I see that wild look on you, my panties get wet and I want to rip your clothes off.”
Hell. If she felt that way, they may never leave the house again. Thinking of her sexy body and slick * surrounding his cock made the animal inside him push at the skin.
“Let’s get you home,” he said and put the truck back in drive.
She slid a hand over his thigh and ran her nails over the bulge in his pants. He took a quick glance at her. She licked her lips and grinned. “Let’s get me home and get me laid.”
That was an even better plan.
*
Jordan glanced at the speedometer on her car, but couldn’t figure out how the vehicle kept slowing down without her pressing on the breaks. It got to the point the damn thing stopped in the middle of the road.
“Are you kidding me?” She slammed her hands on the steering wheel. Thankfully she wasn’t too far from her house to get there by foot. Aric was supposed to pick her up for dinner. The last thing she wanted with their new relationship was to have him get to her house before she did and realize how untidy she really was. While she wasn’t the most organized person in the world, she didn’t want to scare the man with the reality of her disorganized ways just yet.
She grabbed her dead cell phone and walked along the side of the deserted road.
“Nice time to wonder if living so far out town was a good idea,” she mumbled.
Fifteen minutes later, she reached her door. Throwing her bag on a sofa, she rushed into the kitchen to get a drink of water. Soft tapping sounded from down the hall where her bedroom was located. She put the glass of water down. She listened intently. The sounds drew closer and closer until she was sure there was someone in her house. Her attention snapped to searching the vicinity for a weapon. Someone had broken in and she wasn’t taking it lightly.
Grabbing a cast iron frying pan and a butcher knife, she took soft steps around her kitchen island, toward the hallway the noise was coming from. It was coming closer. A sound from the front yard made her glance to the door.