by Liza Street
A young woman came by to take their orders. Summer ordered a burger, so Jackson did the same. “Split a milkshake?” he asked Summer.
She laughed. “So we’re really in the fifties now, huh?”
“Some traditions should never die.”
Nodding thoughtfully, she turned to the server and said, “Chocolate, please.”
The server left with their orders and Summer looked back at Jackson. He didn’t think he would ever get tired of seeing her kind, brown eyes looking into his.
“So,” he said. “Last night.”
She blushed. “Maybe this isn’t a conversation for…a public place?”
“There’s no one around, but if you’re uncomfortable, we can get the food to go.”
“It’s okay,” she said, “as long as you’re sure no one’s listening in.”
“I’m sure. I was just hoping you might want to do some of that again.”
“Yeah, I’d like that,” she said. “I…I don’t know about you, though, but it…it meant something to me, to let you touch me like that.”
“It meant a lot to me,” Jackson said, trying to let his sincerity be heard in his voice. She was human, he reminded himself. He had to go slow, not rush her. They didn’t know about whatever kind of magic held shifters to their mates. The thought that the two of them belonged together—forever—what if she didn’t buy that? So he’d just have to be as sincere and honest as possible, until she knew in her heart what he already knew in his.
“Good,” she said. “Then I guess I might be up for doing that again.”
He chuckled. She was so damn cute.
“Tell me about where you grew up,” he said. “It couldn’t have been in Huntwood, or we’d have known each other, right?”
“Right. I grew up in Seattle. It was just too big of a city, though. I went to school to become a dental hygienist. Then, when I was looking for a job, I narrowed the search results by size of the town. I wanted to go someplace where people knew each other, even though it cut down the dating pool by quite a lot.”
“Not interested in dating?” he asked.
“Oh, I was,” she said. “But I’d already met my boyfriend. Cory. We started dating while I was finishing school. He didn’t have a good job, so he moved here with me.”
Jackson waited. It sounded like there was a lot more to this story.
Summer continued, “And things were good, I thought.”
The server arrived with their burgers and milkshake. “Can I get you anything else?” she asked.
“No, thanks,” Summer said, and Jackson shook his head, too.
After the server disappeared, Summer said, “There’s more to the story, but you probably don’t want to hear about a whole lot of drama.”
“Actually, I do,” he said. “If it’s something about you, I want to know it. But if you’re not ready to share, I can wait.”
She bit into a french fry and rolled her eyes in pleasure. “This hits the spot after all the stress this morning.”
“My mom was all about this place when I was growing up,” Jackson said. “If she had a bad day at work, she’d have me, Will, and Hayley all pile into the car and she’d drive us here. We’d get a giant plate of french fries to share. She said it worked every time.”
“What does she do?”
“She owned an online gardening business.”
“Owned? Past tense?”
“She died a few years ago, in an accident. My dad, too.”
Summer reached out and took his hand. He’d had plenty of time to grieve with his siblings, but this was the first time that someone else had given him real, true sympathy. Someone from the outside, who didn’t know any of the sordid details surrounding that “accident.”
“Anyway,” Jackson said. “I got sidetracked. I’m still curious what the story is, with your ex, if you feel like talking about it.”
“Short version is that he ran out on me and stole not only my savings, but all of my private information so that he could take out several credit cards in my name. He’s racked up a lot of debt and I’ve been dealing with the fallout ever since.”
“That’s awful,” Jackson said, wanting, again, to punch someone who had hurt Summer.
“Well, I was gullible and thought I was in love. You know how it goes.” She sounded so resigned when she said it. She continued, “Luke thinks I need to forgive Cory, and then I can finally move on with my life. I have been moving on, mostly.”
Jackson polished off the rest of his burger, but he looked carefully at Summer. “What do you mean, mostly? Is Cory holding you back from something? Or your…grudge, if that’s what you want to call it?”
“More that I haven’t really been willing to take any risks with anything,” she said. “It’s been hard, knowing that when I let my guard down, something so awful can happen.”
She’d finished her burger, so Jackson slapped some money down on the table. “Let’s get out of here,” he said. “I’ll take you home and make you a drink and we can relax. No pressure, no risks. No need to let your guard down with me—you can keep it up all you want, until you’re ready.”
“I—that’s one of the nicest things a guy has ever said to me,” she said.
“Oh, babe. I’m just getting started.”
They both laughed, and Jackson took her hand as they left the diner. He never wanted to let her go.
Chapter Eighteen
Summer replaced the paper liner on the head rest of the dental chair, noticing its crispy dryness beneath her fingers. Since yesterday, she’d been touching everything as if for the first time. Her hair, the cool laminate counter top in the exam room, the ridged wallpaper border that spanned the waiting room, the slightly tacky plastic feel of the stool she sat on when she was cleaning teeth. Her sense of touch had been heightened, somehow.
She knew what it was—it was Jackson. He’d come back to her place last night and held her, comforted her. They’d curled up on her couch and done absolutely nothing sexy. And then, something changed. Jackson had fallen asleep, and Summer had cuddled into the crook of his arm, resting her head on his chest. Listening to him breathe, she realized she’d never felt so at peace with the world before. She’d spent an entire hour memorizing the lines of his body, what was visible through his t-shirt, and the small peculiarities of his face. Up close, she could trace a scar at the side of his chin. His whiskers were getting too long, and she’d rubbed her hand lightly over them, afraid of waking Jackson but unable to stop herself from touching him. She’d traced the edge of his shirt collar, and ran her knuckles over the knobs of his collarbone.
And now, all she wanted was to touch him again, to marvel in the feeling of his body, so close to hers.
What it meant, she had no idea, but she was starting to think that Luke was right. In letting go of the Cory hatred, she was letting go of Cory, and finally she might be able to forgive and forget. Her forgiveness would mean nothing to Cory, but it would mean everything to Summer.
And Jackson, too, if he’d meant what he said about staying in Huntwood.
The next patient, Crystal Eisley, hadn’t arrived yet, so Summer sneaked to the back room to check her phone. There were several notifications on the screen. One of them was from the SocialBook page for the Licorice Fiddles, the page that Jackson managed.
Licorice Fiddles: We’re working on a new song for all y’all, a bluegrass love song called “Summer.”
Summer stared at it. It was probably a coincidence. The song, her name. It probably didn’t mean anything. Did she want it to? No, it was too soon.
She looked at the next notification, this one from Jackson. I hope you don’t mind. I told them I was thinking of settling down, and they said “What’s her name” and the next thing I know, they’re making that announcement behind my back.
So it was about her. Heart pounding, she shoved the phone back in her purse. From the front of the office, she could hear the receptionist talking to someone. Likely Crystal, the next patient
. Summer took a deep breath and walked up to the waiting area.
Crystal wasn’t much of a talker, so Summer allowed herself to space out while she cleaned her teeth. It wasn’t like Jackson was writing the song, was it? And if he was, would she like that? She wasn’t sure. There was no denying that she was fast becoming besotted with him, to use Becca’s word. But that wasn’t the same as wanting a song written for her. It wasn’t the same as him saying, once more, that he was thinking of settling down.
Maybe he really did mean it. Summer’s feelings were all jumbled up. She wanted him, but this was happening so fast.
Before she knew it, Crystal’s teeth were clean and Summer was handing over the complimentary toothbrush and toothpaste.
After a few more cleanings, the day was over. Summer automatically pulled her phone from her purse as she left. There were three more messages from Jackson, two asking if she wanted to talk and one asking if she needed a ride.
She was tempted to ignore him. This was too much, too soon. She could never ignore him, though. She typed back. We’ll talk later. My tires are replaced and Becca’s giving me a ride to the tire store.
There. Putting off the issue for now of just how serious things were between them.
Chapter Nineteen
Jackson still hadn’t heard back from her. He paced through the woods behind her house, checking his phone occasionally. She’d said they would “talk later,” but what did that mean? When Hayley or Will told him they’d talk later, they usually got back to him in an hour or so.
He missed his brother and sister. Yeah, absence definitely made the heart grow fonder. When he’d walked away from Will’s truck at that gas station almost a week ago, Jackson thought he couldn’t get away fast enough. Now he’d pay any amount of money just to be able to bat some ideas around with them. Tell them about Summer, tell them about seeing their old house, half of it ashes.
They could rebuild. Hayley had some crazy good DIY skills, and Will had the eye for aesthetics. Jackson…well, Jackson could web search the shit out of any issues they encountered, and if they told him where to hammer a nail, he could hammer a nail. He was good at following directions.
Too good? Summer had said they would talk later, and he was just going to give her space, because she asked it.
Because that was the decent thing to do, despite the fact that he wanted to march up to her front door and demand that she let him in.
Stupid Licorice Fiddles, posting that thing about their song. They thought it was just a private joke, probably not realizing that Summer, the woman Jackson was in love with, was also following their posts. Had it spooked her, moving too fast?
He forced himself to stand still. It would be pretty poor guarding if the sound of his pacing attracted the predator to him, instead of the other way around. He was a freaking mountain lion, for fuck’s sake—he was supposed to wait patiently, quietly.
His prey would come soon. Nothing had happened since the tire incident yesterday, although Jackson had been very happy to stay with Summer and nap all afternoon.
That had been bliss, absolute bliss. He’d woken up from that nap feeling like a new man, like she’d anointed him with something clean and fresh. A new start, a homecoming.
He texted Will and Hayley. Guys, I was wrong. We should come back here. There’s some drama—some shifter wants me out, but it’s not a Clausen. Our house is still there, and—
He paused. Something moved in the woods behind him. Jackson shoved his phone into his pocket and turned slowly. Nothing happened. He couldn’t smell anything beyond the usual forest scents—pine trees, loamy earth, the dust in the air.
Suddenly, a squirrel darted up a tree, followed by its friend. Jackson held back a laugh. Getting spooked in his own woods. There was nothing here, but he quickly shucked his clothes and transformed into his lion. One patrol, farther into the woods, and then he’d come back and see if Summer was ready to talk.
Chapter Twenty
Summer quickly combed her hair and pulled it up into a ponytail. It didn’t have to be perfect. Every time Jackson had seen her before, he hadn’t seemed to care what her hair was doing, or whether she had make-up on or not. How strange and wonderful it was to feel completely accepted by another person.
She’d texted him five minutes ago, saying she wanted to see him. He’d written back three words—on my way—and Summer had panicked. Something would happen for them tonight. Either they’d decide to part ways, an idea that killed something inside of her, or they’d decide to keep going, make a real relationship out of what they’d already begun.
She knew which option she wanted. She wanted Jackson.
Someone knocked at the door and she’d dithered in front of the mirror instead of changing her clothes. Her thin pajama shorts and oversized t-shirt would have to do. She rushed from her bedroom to answer the door. But then she stopped before pulling the handle. “Who is it?”
“Jackson.”
She opened the door. He stood before her, his hair slightly messy. He smelled clean and woodsy and she wanted to snuggle against his tight-fitting t-shirt.
“Wow, you were fast,” she said, opening the door wider.
He stepped in, kicking off his shoes. Then he turned to face her. “Summer, I’m so sorry if I’m scaring you off, if I’m moving too fast. It’s just…it’s just that I know what I want, and that’s you. I want a relationship with you.”
The words were barely out of his mouth before Summer stood up on her tiptoes and kissed him. This was her own personal version of heaven, kissing Jackson. He growled quietly before opening his mouth and running the tip of his tongue over her lips. Summer parted her lips, allowing him to deepen the kiss, allowing him to take control. Whatever he was offering tonight, she’d take it. Readily. Joyfully.
His hands cupped her bottom, warm even through her pajama bottoms, and he lifted her up so she could wrap her legs around him. They continued kissing as he carried her from the living room and back into her bedroom. It could have been awkward, being carried like that, but he was smooth, and their kiss was only sloppy for a moment.
It had been a warm October, and the late afternoon sun had heated Summer’s room to almost uncomfortable levels. Jackson tossed her on the bed and reached up to turn on the ancient ceiling fan installed by her landlord. It whirred thickly, a subtle whump, whump soundtrack to Jackson’s languorous movements as he stood over her.
She scrambled to prop herself up on her elbows to see him better as he tugged off his t-shirt. She’d never considered herself moved by the sight of ripped abs or sculpted pecs, but she was definitely moved now. The sexy grin he wore when he saw her looking was like icing on the cake.
He moved his hand to his waistband, and Summer felt her eyes widen when he fiddled with the buttons.
“You okay?” he asked.
“Y-yeah.” She bit her lip, sucked in a breath, and answered more decisively. “Yes.”
“Good. Because Summer, I’ve been wanting you since you first sent me the pufferfish photo on SocialBook. But if you want to stop, any time, you just say the word.”
He’d wanted her since the pufferfish photo? She grinned and nodded. “Got it. Now take off your damn pants.”
He laughed, unbuttoned his pants all the way, then reached in and gave himself a squeeze. Summer couldn’t help the impatient sound that came from her throat. He was such a tease.
But two could play at that game.
She bit the corner of her lip, locked eyes with him, then squeezed one of her own breasts, allowing her fingers to crimp her nipple briefly. A sharp desire-pain shot straight to her clit.
Jackson’s nostrils flared. He let go of his cock and let his hands fall loosely to his sides.
“More,” he said in a strangled voice.
Summer didn’t break eye contact with him as she moved her hand into the front of her shorts. She traced the edge of her panties, then dipped her fingers inside. She was already wet, so ready, so turned on.
Jackson growled and shoved his pants and boxers down. Before he could climb onto the bed next to her, Summer sat up quickly and took his cock in her mouth. The opportunity to taste him again was too good to waste.
“Fuck,” he muttered. “Your mouth. Fuck. Summer…”
He was salty, the skin soft, the cock hard, engorged. She swirled her tongue around the tip and he sucked in a quick breath, tangled his fingers in her hair. She gripped his ass, pulling him closer, taking him in as far as she could.
When she took her mouth away, he moved his fingers along the sides of her jaw, over her lips. His cock was wet and even more swollen than before.
“Condom?” he asked.
She pointed to her nightstand. He found the pack she kept in there, tore one of the wrappers open, and rolled the condom on. Then he pressed her back on the bed and lay down on his side so he faced her.
His cock brushed up against her bare leg, an insistent reminder that neither of them had found their satisfaction yet. But instead of ripping off her shorts like she wanted him to do, he drew her closer and kissed her sweetly, tenderly. His lips were firm but slow, like he and Summer had all the time in the world. He ran his hands over her back and ass and legs, up and down, the friction both erotic and maddening.
He was naked, she was still clothed. That needed to change, because she wanted to feel all of his skin pressed against hers. While they kissed, she struggled out of her t-shirt. She broke their kiss so she could toss the shirt aside, then looked back to see that he was smiling at her.
“What?” she asked.
“You seem…ruffled.”
“Ruffled?” She laughed. “If we don’t start banging in ten seconds, I’m kicking you out so I can take matters into my own hands.”
His laughter rumbled through him. “As my lady wishes.”
