Chapter 21

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Thankful I had worn some trail-running shoes, I jogged along the gravel path made slippery by the rain earlier. A quick run to clear my head before I got to brainstorming how I was going to solve the situation with the university. I needed this escape first. My breath had evened out, and my legs felt warm and ready for some mileage. Every time I ran, I sensed something in the woods watching me, and today was not an exception.

Steady footsteps fell in step with mine from behind, and I whipped my body around to confront my follower. My hands squeezed into tight fists, and I regretted not looking into getting some mace like Jenny had suggested. Ready to fight, my eyes landed on Everett in running shorts, a T-shirt, and a cheeky grin on his face.

“Why’d you stop?” he asked.

Only because you scared me, you idiot, I thought. I didn’t want to let him know he had startled me.

“How long have you been following me?” I asked.

“Not long.” His lips lifted in the amusement of his obvious lie.

“Well, good luck keeping up.”

I turned and ran down the trail, happy I had already run about a mile and my body had warmed up. Everett’s steady footsteps kept up with mine, and I couldn’t hear any hard breathing behind me. He was in good shape if he could hold this pace. I, unfortunately, couldn’t hold this pace for more than a mile, and I slowed down. So much for my taunting. Maybe all the running in his wolf form gave him an advantage. I could sense his presence behind me getting closer and closer as I slowed down to a jog.

The damn thread was back, and I could feel him reeling me in. Large hands reached out and gripped my waist, stopping my momentum and pulling my back against his chest. Both of us were breathing hard as I melded into him, once again a perfect fit. Our breaths found rhythm together, inhaling and exhaling. His heart pulsed against my back, beating erratically. My heart was doing the same, although I didn’t know if he could feel it.

“Did you think you could run from me?” Everett’s breath was hot against my ear. He seemed to enjoy a hunt. Maybe it was the wolf in him, or maybe it was just his nature. Everett could have had me several times in the last two weeks, but he was still playing with me. Like a wolf with a hare. “I’ll always catch you.”

He spun me around, and my forearms braced myself against his chest. Everett walked me backward toward a large maple tree. He pushed me against the tree with his body, reminding how well we fit together. The exposed skin on the back of my body tensed at the feeling of rough bark. My breathing rate increased even though I wasn’t running anymore. The smell of summer mixed with sweat filled my nose as I breathed steadily against his chest. The sports bra and shorts I wore left little to the imagination, and I wished I had one of my oversized T-shirts on to protect me from feeling all the muscles in his chest.

Sweat was dripping from Everett’s body as he leaned over me, and a drop fell onto my chest. The droplet melded together with my own beads of perspiration and slipped between my breasts, disappearing under my sports bra. I looked up to find Everett’s eyes following the same drip I was.

Probation . Distraction. The rot. The words again echoed in my head.

“I can’t do this with you.” It took so much will power to push him away. I wasn’t able to push him far, my palms meeting muscle.

“Why not?” Everett filled the gap between our bodies again, pushing his against mine, caging me in with his arms by my head.

“There’s too much at stake. I can’t be…distracted.”

“Do you find me distracting, Elise?” he asked.

Yes, in the best way possible. But…

“I could be kicked out of my program, Everett!” I ducked under his arm, leaving a space the size of my body between him and the tree. I stood with my arms straight by my sides, my fists clenched. As much as I wanted to, I couldn’t do this with him.

Everett walked over and wrapped his hand around my upper arm, pulling me close to him. “What do you mean?” His voice sounded threatening.

“The sample of the rot I turned in for testing came back inconclusive,” I explained. “I’m in trouble with my university. They think I falsified the sample.”

“But you didn’t. The rot is real.” Everett played with my ponytail, letting the hairs slide through his fingers. I let him, needing the comfort, the intimacy.

“Of course it is—that’s not the point,” I said. “They don’t believe me. I need to find a way to prove that I wasn’t lying. That’s why I’m out here, running, trying to clear my head before I get back to work.”

“I believe you.” He moved his hand from my ponytail to the back of my neck, massaging the tense muscles.

“Of course you do. You saw the rot yourself…”

Everett put his fingers over my lips, silencing me. “I believe in you. I’ve seen what you can do, Elise. You’re nothing short of amazing. The university would be stupid to let you go.”

His fingers fell from my lips to the bottom of my chin. He lifted my head up so our eyes met. The swirling of gold eyes was again my downfall. I was so tired of resisting. I threw my arms around Everett’s neck, lifting up my whole body so my face could reach his. Strong hands gripped under my backside as my legs wound around his waist. He pushed me harder against the tree as our noses touched, eyes staring at each other and lips opened, gulping in air.

“What is happening?” I asked.

“I found you, we ran together, and now you’re having trouble controlling yourself.” Everett’s words were true yet annoyed me.

“Okay, says the man who’s been following me on my runs,” I said. “Is it really me who is having trouble controlling themselves?”

“Who says I’ve been following you before today?”

“I know it was you two days ago. Hard to miss a giant black wolf running with me.” He smirked.

“My wolf wanted to spend some time with you and protect you on your run. I only agreed if he promised we would keep our distance. I didn’t want to scare you.”

“Your wolf?”

“My wolf is always in my head,” Everett explained. “It’s like having another part of me. We can communicate. He likes to get out and run. He likes you.”

“So, he’s in there right now? Watching?” I looked into his eyes, trying to see the wolf inside his head.

Everett laughed. “Yep. And he’s excited that I have you trapped against a tree. He’s wagging his tail.”

“You both have the same eyes.” The golden color was like nothing I had seen before.

“We do. We also both like your scent.” He leaned over and took a large inhale along my neck.

I pushed his face away, keeping my fingers on his cheeks and my thumbs along his bottom lip. “Ew, gross, Everett. I was just running. I’m all sweaty.”

He shrugged. “Your sweat only strengthens your scent. Trust me—you always smell good, but you smell even better this way.”

Everett turned his head and caught my thumb in his mouth. My eyes grew larger as I looked up to meet his. They caught mine, the thread pulling taut. I could feel my thumb roll between his teeth as he applied enough pressure for it to pinch, but not so much that it felt painful. His tongue flicked the tip of my thumb as he closed his lips around the base. The feeling of sharp teeth gave way to the pull of him sucking my thumb deeper into his mouth. I didn’t know why this felt so good, but it did. Why was Everett always right?

I squeezed my legs against his waist and began slowly moving up and down his stomach. My running shorts were thin and not much fabric was between me and his bare abdomen. I quickly pulled my thumb out of his mouth and replaced it with my tongue, gliding across his teeth and feeling the sharp points of his canines.

Everett slid my body down a few inches and replaced his hands with his right thigh so that I straddled his leg. One of his hands wound around the back of my head to protect it from the bark of the tree, while the other felt my hardening nipples under my sports bra. He caught my purrs of want in his mouth, swallowing them until I could feel them vibrate deep within him.

I turned feral as his thigh provided the perfect hard surface to rub myself against. My arms found my way around his back, and I used them to guide myself back and forth in short push and pulls that had my body pulsing. The thread that was taut between us now pulled tight, deep between my legs, and threatened to snap at any moment.

My deep breaths turned short and shallow. I gripped my legs tight around Everett’s thigh, bracing myself for what was coming. Sounds of release started leaving my lips when Everett dropped his leg that held me up and my feet shot out beneath me, catching me from falling into the dirt.

“What the hell, Everett!” My hands hit his chest as I pushed the rest of him away. I’d been so close, and he’d pulled away again. I didn’t know how he was still playing a game of cat and mouse when I was so willing to get caught. Maybe I was the cat hunting for the mouse.

“I’m sorry. I got carried away,” he said. “I won’t have you coming for me for the first time against a tree. Maybe the eighth or ninth time, but not the first.”

“I can’t take it, Everett!” Not in the tent, not in my bed, not in the woods! “I have never been this needy before in my life.” It was becoming too much. “Is there something wrong with me? Apparently I don’t smell bad, so that can’t be it.”

“It needs to be perfect, Lyka. I’m not about to take you for the first time in a situation that isn’t anything but perfect.”

Everett was smoldering. I could tell he wanted this just as bad as I did, and it was killing him to have to walk away. But it didn’t take away any of the frustration I was feeling. It was deep sexual frustration.

“You also made it clear you have work to do,” he said. “I wouldn’t want to be too much of a distraction.”

Like he didn’t already do just that. But I didn’t want him to stop just yet.

“Who’s Lyka? Why do you keep calling me that?” Now that we physically separated, I cooled down. The sweat that glistened on my skin grew cold, causing goose bumps to form on my arms and legs.

“That’s what I like to call you,” he explained, like it made perfect sense.

“It isn’t some other girl you have me confused with?” Why was I suddenly feeling the pings of jealousy? We barely knew each other.

“No, I couldn’t confuse you with anyone. You’re my only Lyka.”

Everett looked into my eyes intensely, making sure I absorbed all the words he was saying. Relief washed over me. At least I was the only girl he left unfulfilled.

He kissed me lightly on the cheek and turned around. “I’ll let you get back to work saving the world.”

Then he started jogging down the trail, leaving me more confused than ever. Tied to that damn thread, I was his personal yo-yo that he could push down and pull up at his leisure.

I ran as fast as I could all the way back to the cabin. I was done feeling this way. Everett had wound me up and refused to help me find relief.

I slammed the door shut to the cabin and stomped down the hallway, glancing in Leo’s and Jenny’s rooms. They were empty. The door to my room closed harder than I’d intended, making the walls rattle. Stupid Everett and his stupid games. I once again had lost control of myself and played right into his hand. Well, the control he had over me would soon be over.

I stripped out of my running shorts and threw them toward my closet where my laundry basket was. Not caring that I was sweaty, I flopped onto my bed. I was still vibrating with need from the woods. Running home hadn’t removed any of the tension that was inside of me. The tension that had been building for the last weeks. It never went away. It just kept building, like one block on top of another. The tower was built so high it was wobbling. I needed the block tower to fall, and the only option was my hand. Maybe after I found relief, Everett’s sexual atmosphere wouldn’t affect me, and I could control myself around him.

I reached between my legs and found the sensitive spot I was searching for. It didn’t take me long to find release. Moaning as I came down from the climax, I realized once again that Everett was right. I was loud. Damn it. Why was I thinking of him again? This little rendezvous in my bed was supposed to rid me of him.

Rolling over, I groaned. I still felt the tension between my legs. My hand had only knocked a couple of blocks off the tower. I knew if I encountered Everett again, I would add even more blocks, and I would find myself in the same situation I’d been in only a couple of minutes ago. What was wrong with me?