Heat

RORY

“Hey,” someone snaps me out of the entrancing book world of Alex in ~Promise Kept~. I’ve been reading this book all week, and I can see why Everett values it so much.

I look up and turn my head to the seat next to me, finding Jax smirking at me like he can flirt with any girl and have them begging him for a date.

Unfortunately, this is a regular class for me, which I haven’t noticed him in for the whole week. And if he’s going to be pestering me, I might just have to change class. Not that I want to get run out of English Literature.

“Hey,” I return politely before turning back to my book. But I can feel him staring, leaned back in his chair with a smug expression. “Is there something I can help you with?”

“Friendly conversation. I don’t bite, babe,” he flirts, inching closer to me.

Everett would slaughter this guy if he saw how close he is to me right now. I inch away, leaning toward the window and shuffling my chair quite obviously to show him I’m uninterested.

“I’m not your babe,” I deadpan, not looking up from my book. “So I’d appreciate it if you didn’t call me that.”

“Oh, so you’re sassy, are you? I like hard-to-get girls.”

“I have a boyfriend,” I state curtly.

“I don’t see him.”

“You’ll see his fist in your face pretty soon if you don’t stop,” I retort, glancing over and giving him a bitter smile.

Not that I want to be rude, but this is for his own good. It’s true, Everett will come at him if he hears Jax won’t stop hitting on me. And this guy, he’s new, I can have a new start.

I don’t have to be a pushover.

But all he does is laugh. He actually laughs. Do I not sound threatening enough?

I am small, and clumsy, and seemingly innocent, and I don’t do scary very well. But I was serious, and I said it in my serious tone.

“You’re incredibly cute. You know, I was asking around about you. Oliver said you were shy and innocent, and were dating that skinny lacrosse player before. I didn’t think you’d be this confident and bold.”

“I’m just reading at the moment. And class is about to start, so I’d prefer to concentrate,” I say with another bitter smile and focus back on my book.

“I’m guessing Oliver told you about the party this morning from the way you were looking over at me, checking me out—”

“I was not checking you out. I don’t need to. I have a boyfriend for that.”

Everett loves when I ogle him and drool like he’s the most attractive man ever to have lived. I think he is.

“You coming to the party?”

“Like I told Oliver, no,” I state firmly.

“No? You’re turning down one of my parties? They can be pretty wild, but I thought a girl like you could handle it. I guess I was wrong.”

“I guess you were.”

He laughs again, shaking his head slightly in amusement. I have no clue what he finds so amusing. “Reverse psychology usually works.”

“Well, that’s when you’re talking to people who have a low self-esteem and need to be validated by proving people wrong. I have a boyfriend, and a personal life, and I don’t want or need to go to your party.”

The words just flow out of my mouth—I can’t stop them. I don’t know what it is about this guy, but he infuriates me.

“Shit, I don’t bite, but you definitely do. I was not warned you’d be so…resistant.”

“Resistant? Because you get every girl that you want?”

“Yes,” he replies quickly with his signature smirk. “I do. But it’s clearly more difficult to get you. I like that, a challenge.”

“Trust me, I’d stop trying. It’s not difficult, it’s impossible. If I told my boyfriend you’re hassling me, which would be…maybe two or three more conversations away…

“He’s incredibly protective and might do something I can’t stop him from doing, that he’ll probably regret later. But you will definitely be in a hospital.”

All he does is laugh.

“Fuck, you’re adorable. Those shoes, where’d you get them? I was thinking I’d buy some for my kid brother. What size are your feet?” he asks sarcastically.

He’s comparing me to a child, like everyone does. But when Everett does it, it’s…caring and protective and cute.

Before I can say anything else, the teacher strolls in, starting class, and it renders me silent as I attempt to listen. Of course, Jax attempts to catch my attention.

After class, Jax follows me out, making random comments, and I just ignore him. I empty my locker with Jax leaning next to it, continuously talking and flirting.

What the hell will it take to make him stop? I don’t think he gets turned down too often, or ever, so me doing so is spurring him on, but what can I do?

We make it outside and I try to find Lucius’s car.

“Who are you waiting for, babe? Boyfriend?”

“A friend. But it’s none of your business,” I remark, rolling my eyes at his interest. “And do you even know my name, or do you think it’s Babe?”

“I know your name, Rory,” Jax counters with a devilish smirk. “I’m Jax, if you didn’t know.”

“I know, I just don’t care,” I snark, which makes him chuckle.

His hand touches my shoulder and turns me to face him. I try to shrug him off, but he’s certainly persistent. Before I can completely take it off, it’s done for me, by someone I didn’t expect to see.

“I see your hand on my girlfriend again and I’ll cut it off and feed it to the hounds I know. You like your hand?” Everett growls darkly, squeezing the life out of Jax’s hand.

It definitely threatens Jax. He literally looks like he’s wet himself from shock and the tightness of Everett’s hand around his.

And since the school day is done, the crowd is hurtling out, noticing the display, and deciding to watch the show.

“Yeah, I like my hand,” he grumbles, struggling to escape Everett’s grasp.

“Then keep it away from Aurora,” Everett hisses before releasing Jax’s hand, taking mine and dragging me to his car.

“Everett,” I whine, stumbling over my own feet from the way he’s dragging me—although I’m not sure whether that wouldn’t happen if I was walking normally. “Everett!”

He twists around to face me and hauls me to the car, pressing me against the side whilst he stands in front of me, looking down, dominating me.

“I thought it was an unspoken rule. I told you that you don’t go near Eddie, but that was a generalization for all males.

“You don’t even let one touch you if it’s not me, or Lucius or Ace, whom I trust,” he hisses lowly, his hands squeezing my hips.

“This isn’t my fault. He wouldn’t leave me alone. And if I was talking to him, it’s not like I would do anything. I’m with you. But you don’t trust me?”

“I smell other males on you. It’s a wolf thing, if you didn’t forget. And I’m an Alpha, so my senses are even more heightened. Tell me the truth now. You spoke to Eddie today?

“Because I can smell him,” he seethes, grabbing the back of my neck, his lips hovering over mine. “Tell me the fucking truth, Aurora.”

“I talked with him at lunch. I wanted to explain to him the breakup and the text. I thought he deserved that,” I explain.

“He deserves shit if it means coming nowhere near you. You’re my little mate.”

“I didn’t forget, Everett,” I scoff, pushing him away from me slightly. But he barely moves, and when he does, it’s only because he wants to—not because I’m strong enough to move the wall.

“I may be your mate, but you don’t own me. You don’t control me. I like you. Really like you. I have feelings for you, past the mate bond.

“And I like the protectiveness and the Alpha qualities and the sense of responsibility you hold. But I’m allowed to fight back against it when you’re out of line.”

“Out of line, am I?” he whispers, his lips hovering over mine again.

Why do I just want to kiss him right now? I’m mad, but I just want to kiss him. So I give in to the powerful urge and smash my lips onto his, which he meets halfway, already acting on that same urge.

Before we fall deeper into our make-out session, he opens the passenger door beside me, lifts me in and runs around to the other side.

We drive a good few blocks before he shuts down the engine and drags me onto his lap so that I’m straddling him.

And then we’re kissing again, passionately. And fiercely. His hands grip my sweater and my hair, yanking my hair kinkily, and he starts to suck on my neck.

I can feel his bulge pressing against me through his jeans, and it turns me on so much. But I can’t. I’m not ready. And he’s not ready.

I know that having sex for the first time, for him it would be when he’s ready to mark me, ready for me to become Luna. Neither he nor I are ready for that.

But he kisses me like he never will again. And his kisses make me moan into his mouth. I’m frustrated with him, and I’m kissing him and I want to kiss him.

I didn’t want to kiss Jax when I was frustrated. But with Everett I felt so...heated, and there was tension between us, and it just exploded into making out.

I think I’m falling in love with him. All of him.

Pssst, did you know this book is also available as Paperback? Check it out here.