Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 95748 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 479(@200wpm)___ 383(@250wpm)___ 319(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95748 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 479(@200wpm)___ 383(@250wpm)___ 319(@300wpm)
But revealing it would expose the weakness in her pack. Duty always came first. Didn’t it?
She leaned back, breaking the magnetic pull between them. The loss of his touch was immediate and sharp, but she forced herself to breathe, steadying the tremble in her legs. The crackle of the fire seemed louder now, filling the silence between them as if waiting for someone to break it.
“I can tell there are a lot of thoughts going through your head,” Jackson said, smiling. “Yes or no, baby?”
He was the only soul on the planet who could get away with calling her baby. “We’re meeting with your prospective mates in a few hours, Jackson. It would be seriously wrong for us to take this further. You get that, right?”
“I do, and I don’t care.”
Okay. So, he’d laid it on the line.
“I do care.” But she wanted him. Badly. “I’m sorry.”
He stepped away from the wall, allowing her to unclasp her ankles and let her legs slide to the floor.
She wavered but then regained her balance.
“Come on, Em.” He took her hand again and led her down a long hallway, the walls lined with Western oil paintings depicting sweeping landscapes, wild horses, and rugged mountains. Their footsteps echoed softly against the hardwood floor until they stopped at a bedroom door.
Jackson opened it, and Emily gasped. The room was stunning. Soft and inviting. Pale cream walls reflected the golden glow of a roaring fire in a fireplace framed in polished stone. A thick, woven, earth-toned rug covered most of the floor, and the bed—a grand four-poster with carved wooden posts—was dressed in layers of plush white blankets and soft pillows. Lace curtains framed the tall windows, their edges drifting from a heat vent in the floor. Across the room, a vanity with an antique mirror and delicate floral carvings sat beneath a chandelier with crystal drops that caught the firelight.
“The bathroom is through there.” Jackson nodded toward a door on the far wall.
She barely heard him as he stepped closer and tucked a stray strand of her hair behind her ear. The brush of his fingers sent tingles across her cheek and down to her breasts, making them ache with a need she had no business feeling. If she leaned just a little closer, she could taste him again.
“If you change your mind, my room’s at the end of the hall,” he murmured, leaning down to kiss the tip of her nose. Her breath caught as he straightened. “Your belongings are being brought from the hotel. I’ll leave them outside the door. Get some sleep, Emily.”
The last words were firm, as if he could command her body to rest. Then he was gone, the door clicking shut behind him.
Her knees buckled, and she sank to the floor, gripping the edge of the bed to steady herself. She was so tempted to chase after him that her hands trembled. Or maybe that was the illness. She pressed a hand to her chest, feeling the rapid beat of her heart and trying to slow her breathing, knowing sleep would not come easily tonight.
It was long past time she told someone the truth. Emily picked up her phone and started to text her father but hesitated, glancing at the clock. It was too late for a conversation like this. She would tell him everything in person later. The thought made her chest feel both lighter and heavier all at once.
For now, she needed to focus. Three more meetings loomed on her schedule this coming morning. Three more encounters with undoubtedly stunning, appealing, and brilliant Alpha females, all of whom she was supposed to pair with the man who had just kissed her into oblivion.
Good Lord. What had she been thinking?
She pushed herself up from the floor, her toes in borrowed socks curling into the soft rug beneath her. The hint of pine from the burning fire mixed with the lingering trace of Jackson’s scent in the air. It wrapped around her, making it impossible to push him from her mind.
She ran her fingers over the smooth, white comforter, the fabric cool beneath her fingertips. The crackle of the fire was the only sound, filling the room with a soft hum of warmth and solitude. Yet the silence seemed to amplify the ache low in her belly, the memory of Jackson’s hands and mouth still too vivid.
She inhaled sharply and sat on the mattress. The springs gave way beneath her, and she rested her elbows on her knees, head bowed. Tomorrow, she would face her duties. Tomorrow, she would be composed, efficient, and focused.
After she finally got some sleep, she would help Jackson find a mate.
Chapter 17
Just after lunch, Jackson started on his third coffee of the day, seated in one of the leather chairs in the sitting area of his office. Emily sat across from him, scrolling on her phone, her fingers moving with quick efficiency. Her scent, soft and warm with a hint of something wild, wrapped around him, making it hard to focus. His wolf stirred beneath the surface, restless and craving her.