Chapter 17
Chapter Seventeen
NOAH
It was a little before midnight when we arrived at Hope’s Haven. Nick’s dad came over to the B&B from his own house to check us in. Actually, all he did was unlock the door and made sure we had a key.
Bex had packed some of her own clothing for Everly, as well as some other stuff, since the cottage and its contents was a crime scene.
I wanted to shield Ev from what was happening inside but eventually the police needed her to identify that she had never seen both the mug in the sink or the fan mail on the coffee table.
Fortunately, since I was the current occupant of Everly’s bedroom, she did not have to witness the horrific display in there.
That sick fucker had quite a collection of porn that he used to cut up and stick Everly’s face on explicitly posed bodies.
The detective on duty had taken photos of everything.
Mason and I had done the best we could until the cops arrived and basically told us to leave the scene until we were needed.
Mason had already put a call in to Jared and he promised to have the files as soon as they were uploaded on the Marina De Ferrier Police Department server.
Tex would be accessing them as well. I wanted both of them working to find the fucker.
With both keys in my hand along with an overnight bag for Ev and my go bag, I walked up the stairs to the two rooms Daniel had indicated were open. I walked straight past the first one, since I would be using the one closer to the entrance.
I opened the door to the second one and switched on the light as I led Everly inside. I placed her bag on the dresser and moved to switch on the bathroom light. All the while Everly followed behind me.
I turned to her and held her cheeks in my palms. “You’ll be safe here. I’ll make sure nothing, and no one, can get you.
Those blue green eyes were dull as she nodded at me. “I know.”
“There’s water on the nightstand and I’ll leave the bathroom light on for you.” I didn’t know what helped her, but having more light always helped me when I needed reassurance. “Is there anything else you need?”
Everly swallowed hard and lowered her eyes. “I don’t want to be alone.”
That I could help with. I nodded toward the bathroom. “Get ready for bed, I’ll go and make sure all the doors are locked and the alarm is set.”
One of the women at the main house had already helped her out of the corset and lent her a hoodie since she couldn’t go into her own bedroom.
The entire security process at the B&B was familiar to me from staying there before I met Everly and Skylar.
Daniel even gave me the new alarm code since Nick insisted that they change it every two weeks.
Of course, as it turned out, alarm codes meant nothing if the power supply was cut.
Jared had originally argued that we needed a system with a lithium battery, but the wait was too long and Everly had vetoed it because of the price.
Well, she wouldn’t be going back to that cottage anyway.
And wherever she moved to next would have whatever Jared recommended.
Cost be fucking damned. No one terrorizes what’s mine.
And Everly was mine. Maybe not in the way I wanted her, but she was Skylar’s mother. And that made her mine to protect.
By the time I entered the room again, Everly was wearing the T-shirt I had in my go-bag. I could make out that she wasn’t wearing a bra, and it took everything I had to will my cock to stay down. Even twelve years later, the woman looked good in my clothes.
“I hope you don’t mind. I was looking for your toothpaste since Bex forgot to pack some for me.”
I shook my head and smiled at her. “I have never minded you wearing my clothes. I recall telling you that I actually liked it.”
“I remember that.” She offered me a small smile as she crawled into the bed. “If my memory serves, you prefer to sleep closer to the door.”
All I could do was nod around the big knot in my throat.
Watching Everly on stage earlier in the evening, I wanted to get her into bed.
I wanted to wake up next to her. I wanted everything with her.
And there I was, about to crawl into bed with the most beautiful woman I’d ever met, but fuck, I hated how we got to that point.
Quickly, I grabbed my toothbrush and made my way to the bathroom. Minutes later I was down to just my boxer briefs as I made my way under the covers, determined to stay on my side of the bed.
Everly, however, was of a different mind. As soon as my head hit the pillow, she plastered herself against me. “Hold me, Noah.”
With my thigh wedged against her pussy and her thigh brushing against my cock, I could barely breathe, let alone find any wherewithal to deny her. Not that I ever would. “Come here, sweetheart.”
I pulled her on top of me with the ease of someone who had done it many times before. The familiarity between Everly and I seeped deep into my bones. Even when I had kissed her earlier, it was like we had been doing that all our lives.
With her head on my chest, I could feel her body fitting with mine in all the right ways. There was no way to stop her from feeling my erection. Instead of moving away like I expected her to, she slid ever so slightly up and back down. The small moan coming from her told me it was not an accident.
“Ev, you have to know what you’re doing to me.”
Her head moved against my chest. And she slid against my length once more, with more purpose than before. “I need to forget Noah. Please. Just for one night I need that fucker to not exist.”
I wrapped my arms around her. Speaking softly. “Ev, I don’t want to be something that you regret.”
She pushed up off my chest and speared me with a glare.
Even if the lights were out I would’ve been able to see the fire in her eyes.
“You are the one thing I do not regret, Noah. Because of you I have the most precious thing in my world. There is nothing you can do to make me regret you. Now, please. Make. Me. Forget.”
How the hell was I supposed to say no to that demand?
I tugged her head down, bringing her lips closer to mine.
My blood heated as her lips opened for me without any prompting.
God, she tasted great. Mint and Everly, a taste I could easily get addicted to.
As our tongues continued to dance with one another, she continued to grind on me, making me hard enough to pound nails.
“Ev, you need to stop that.”
As if she didn’t hear me, she continued to shift against me, moving harder and faster. She needed the friction.
With one hand in her hair, I slipped the other around her back as I rolled us over. In the same move, I pulled away from her just a little. Her little growl of frustration brought a smile to my face. My woman was not afraid to let me know when she was unhappy. I liked it.
“Just hold on babe, I know what you need.”
I moved one hand down past her ribs and under the hem of the T-shirt. As my fingers skimmed up her thigh and over her hip, I found no panties.
Fuck. She was grinding her pussy against me and the only thing separating us was my boxers. Double fuck. If I had known that, everything would’ve been over far too soon. My fingers found her folds and she was already dripping. “Damn babe, I love that I can turn you on so easily.”
Her teeth nipped at my ear. “I love that, too.”
My thumb found her clit and before I could apply any pressure, her back arched and she bucked into my hand. The whimper that escaped those kiss-swollen lips spurred me on even more. I pushed one finger inside her, pushing with the same rhythm I was circling her clit.
Her body was responsive to my every move, I couldn’t wait to watch her come. As her pace increased, I inserted another finger. Going on memory alone, I curved my fingers and hit the right spot.
Everly’s body jerked, her movements became erratic. “Yes. Fuck. Noah. Right there. Yes.”
On and on she chanted that little mantra, and as her orgasm came to a head, my name was the only word she uttered. She chanted it in time with the movement of my hand until, at last, she came down again.