Page 15 of Noah (Pecan Pines #4)

Chapter 15

Jackson

The forest was quiet, save for the occasional rustling of leaves.

I sat on a fallen log, staring at the dirt beneath my boots, my mind trapped in an endless loop of frustration and regret.

Three days. Three whole days without a word from Noah.

Without hearing his voice, without seeing his face, without feeling that steady, grounding presence that had always made me feel whole.

It was my fault. I knew that. And my wolf—my damn stubborn, guilt-ridden wolf—hadn’t let me forget it either.

He prowled restlessly inside me, angry, impatient, but mostly…lonely.

I clenched my fists, remembering the hurt in Noah’s eyes when I’d grabbed his shoulders in the dining hall, demanding that he let me protect him.

I’d let my instincts take over, let my possessive nature override everything else.

Seeing Adrian so close to him had triggered something dark and territorial inside me, something I wasn’t entirely proud of.

But that didn’t justify the way I had dismissed Noah’s feelings, the way I had ignored his plea for space.

I sighed heavily, running a hand through my hair. How did I fix this?

I felt a shift in the air before I caught the scent. Familiar. Beck.

Beck dropped down onto the log beside me without a word, elbows resting on his knees as he stared out into the trees.

My brother always knew when to give me space, when to sit in silence, and when to tell me to stop being an idiot.

Finally, I muttered, “Beck, I messed up bad.”

“Yeah, we all saw,” he said dryly.

I huffed a laugh, but it was hollow. “I told Dad and Hudson about Noah and me.”

Beck nodded. “I heard.”

I shook my head. “Now I’m not even sure we’re anything anymore.”

To my surprise, Beck punched me in the shoulder—hard enough to make me grunt.

Beck wasn’t violent by nature, but when someone pushed his buttons, he could be brutal.

I blinked, startled, and for the first time, I saw a similarity between him and Noah.

“You’re an idiot sometimes,” Beck said.

I rubbed my shoulder. “What do you mean?”

“I was there in the dining hall too, dumbass,” he said. “All Noah asked for was time to cool off. He wasn’t breaking up with you.”

I frowned, replaying the moment in my head. “But Noah said?—”

“—because you were being too pushy,” Beck interrupted. “So he had to give you an ultimatum. But even I knew he wasn’t serious about it.”

I groaned and covered my face with my hands. How had I misread the whole thing so badly?

I thought back to the way Noah had looked at me—angry, yes, but also overwhelmed. Suffocated.

I’d done that to him. I hadn’t listened when he needed me to.

“What do I do now, Beck?” I asked quietly.

Beck shrugged. “I haven’t been in love with anyone before, but…isn’t the proper thing to apologize?”

I huffed out a tired laugh. “You make it sound so easy.”

“Because it is,” Beck said simply. “Three days have passed. It won’t hurt to try.”

I nodded slowly, feeling a small spark of hope. Beck was right. I had nothing to lose by trying.

The town was bustling, but I barely noticed. My focus was on my mission—to make things right.

I stopped at Noah’s favorite pie shop and bought him a fresh peach cobbler, then picked up a small bouquet of wildflowers.

I wasn’t sure if he even liked flowers, but hell, I was desperate.

Armed with my peace offerings, I made my way to his apartment.

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I knocked on his door. Would he pretend not to be home? Ignore me entirely?

The idea made my chest tight, but I stood my ground, inhaling deeply.

I heard footsteps. My heartbeat picked up. Maybe he was looking through the peephole, debating whether or not to open the door. I swallowed hard.

“Noah,” I said, my voice rough with nerves. “I just…I want to apologize for what happened three days ago. I was a jerk.”

For a long moment, there was silence. Then, to my surprise, the door opened.

Noah stood there in his pajamas, his dark hair a little messy, like he’d just woken up from a nap.

His eyes were guarded, but the fact that he’d even opened the door was a good sign.

My wolf stirred, desperate to close the distance between us, to touch, to hold. But I restrained myself.

I held up the flowers and pie like an offering. “I come bearing gifts.”

Noah’s lips twitched, but he didn’t smile. “Peach cobbler?”

“Your favorite,” I said. “Figured you might be willing to hear me out if I bribed you.”

He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck before stepping aside. “Come in.”

I didn’t hesitate. The second I was inside, his familiar scent wrapped around me, comforting and warm.

But there was still tension between us, an invisible wall that I had to break through.

I set the pie and flowers on his counter, then turned to him.

“I was wrong,” I admitted, my voice softer. “I should’ve listened to you that night instead of pushing. I was too caught up in my own feelings to respect yours, and I hate that I made you feel like you weren’t being heard.”

Noah’s eyes flickered with something—hesitation, maybe—but he didn’t interrupt me.

“I let my wolf get the best of me,” I continued. “Seeing you with Adrian…it messed with my head. But that’s not an excuse. You don’t need me hovering over you like you can’t handle yourself. You’re not the same boy from back then, and I should’ve known that.”

Noah crossed his arms, studying me for a long, tense moment. “You really mean that?”

I stepped closer, carefully, watching for any sign that he wanted space. When he didn’t move away, I reached out, brushing my fingers against his wrist.

“Yeah. I mean it.”

He exhaled, some of the tension in his shoulders loosening. “I just needed time, Jackson. I needed you to trust me.”

“I know.” I swallowed hard. “I trust you. I just didn’t trust myself to keep you safe.”

His expression softened, and finally—finally—he let me pull him into a hug. He was stiff at first, but then he melted into me, his arms sliding around my waist.

My wolf let out a relieved whine, and I pressed my face into his hair, breathing him in.

“I missed you,” I murmured against his temple.

“I missed you too,” he admitted, his voice quiet. “But next time, Jackson, just listen, okay?”

I nodded against him. “Okay.”

We stood there, wrapped up in each other, and for the first time in days, I felt like I could finally breathe again.

The peach cobbler was warm and sweet. I couldn’t help but smile at Noah as we dug in. He looked up from his bowl, still not fully back to the easygoing Noah I remembered.

At least there was a glimmer of the old him—the one who could joke, laugh, and be vulnerable with me.

“You know,” he said, taking a bite and letting out a satisfied hum, “you should always buy me peach cobbler whenever we fight.”

I chuckled, the tension in my chest easing just a little.

“Is that so?” I teased, setting my spoon down for a moment. “I’ll keep that in mind. Next time we argue, I’ll just head to the diner.”

“Magic cobbler,” he said, almost to himself, a small smile tugging at his lips. “Yeah. That’ll do the trick.”

The fact that he was joking made my heart lighten, a flicker of hope igniting in my chest. Maybe we weren’t as far off as I’d feared.

The fight, the distance, the unspoken things between us—they felt like they were finally starting to fade into the background, even if just for a moment.

I swallowed the lump in my throat.

“Noah,” I said softly, my voice almost betraying the vulnerability I was trying to keep buried. “I’m scared.”

Noah raised an eyebrow, looking at me with curiosity. “Scared of what?”

“Of losing you,” I admitted, my heart pounding in my chest. “Back at the dining hall, I really thought I screwed everything up.”

The look on his face softened, and he put his spoon down, setting the bowl aside. Noah leaned forward, and looked at me like I was the only thing that mattered.

“Jackson, you’re not losing me,” he said, “We’ve had our first fight. All couples fight. I’m not going anywhere.”

A weight lifted off my chest, but it was quickly replaced by the heavy truth that had been pressing on me for far too long.

I needed to tell him now, before this moment slipped away. Before I lost the courage to say the things I should have said long ago.

“Noah,” I started again, my voice more hesitant this time, the words feeling almost foreign coming from me, “I’ve known for a while. For a long time. I—I’ve known that we’re fated mates.”

His eyes widened just slightly, but he didn’t interrupt me. He didn’t pull away or react the way I’d expected, like he was going to shut down.

No, he just stared at me, listening, waiting for the rest of it.

“I should’ve said it sooner. But it scared me.” I let out a long breath, before continuing, “I think I was scared of how much it all meant. Of how much you mean to me.”

His gaze softened, and I could see the shift in him, like a crack in his armor. The laughter from earlier faded into something more genuine.

Noah reached out slowly, his hand brushing against mine.

His fingers tentative at first, but then they curled around mine.

“I’m scared too,” he said, his voice low. “Scared of everything that comes with it. With us.”

“Me too,” I whispered, my heart pounding in my chest as I looked at him, really looked at him.

There was a long silence between us. The air seemed to crackle with unspoken words, the charge of everything we’d ignored hanging heavy.

And then, without warning, I leaned forward, my lips capturing his in a kiss that was slow at first, hesitant, as though we were both testing the waters.

But it didn’t take long before it turned desperate—intense—like we were both trying to make up for the last three days.

For every word we hadn’t said, every moment we’d kept from each other.

When we finally pulled apart, both of us breathing hard, our eyes met, and I saw it—there was no more hesitation, no more fear in his eyes. Just trust.

“Jackson,” he murmured, his voice thick with something I couldn’t quite place, but I could feel it in every inch of me. “Take me to my room. Now.”

I didn’t need any more encouragement. I stood up, pulling him to his feet, and without another word, we moved toward the bedroom.

The air between us was thick with need, but beneath it, there was something deeper. Something more.

When we finally reached his room, I pushed the door open. We were standing at the edge of something, and I wasn’t sure if it was going to pull us under or set us free.

But in that moment, I didn’t care. I just needed to feel him. To prove to myself that we could be together, that everything we had was real.

I kissed him again, this time with a fevered urgency. Clothes hit the floor. We were fervently kissing each other. I went lower, reaching his member.

Then I took my time, licking and sucking on him until he was hard and ready. Not yet, I told myself, pulling away.

Without me needing to tell him what he wanted, Noah got on all fours and I had a view of that gorgeous ass.

I knew where Noah kept the lube, so I grabbed it from the nearby dresser.

Then I prepped him for my access. I slid one, two digits in him, loving his moans. Finally deeming him ready, I angled my prick inside him.

Then I entered him, slow and good. I started with slow strokes, before building up speed.

Noah clawed at the sheets, urged me to go faster and his wish was my command.

I picked up the pace, reducing us both to panting and needy messes. We moved with a fluid rhythm, as if we’d always been meant to fit together this way.

At my last entry, Noah came. His breath was hot against my skin, and when he whispered my name—just my name—it felt like everything inside of me shifted.

We both collapsed on the bed and I gathered him close.

“Jackson, please,” Noah whispered.

Something primal, something deep, surged to the surface at those words. And without thinking, without hesitation, I marked him.

My teeth sunk into the soft skin of his neck, the taste of him filling me with a fire I couldn’t control.

When I pulled back, breathless, I saw his expression—his eyes wide, pupils blown.

He looked like he was in shock, his hand instinctively reaching up to touch the mark I’d left.

“Jackson,” he said, voice tight. “You?—”

I froze, panic bubbling in my chest. I knew what he was feeling. The bond, the mate mark—it was a lot to process, to accept.

Hell, I hadn’t expected it to happen so soon either. I should’ve slowed down, I should’ve given him more time to come to terms with it.

“Noah,” I said, panic creeping into my voice, “I didn’t—I didn’t mean to push you, I?—”

But his eyes were wide with something else now. Panic. Real, raw panic.

And the moment we’d just shared, the passion, the urgency, the connection—it all seemed to fade away, leaving only the weight of his reaction hanging between us.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered, stepping back. “I didn’t?—”

“No,” he cut me off, his voice shaking. “It’s not that. It’s... it’s too fast.”

My heart dropped into my stomach. I knew it. I had moved too quickly, too recklessly.

The mark—the bond—it was supposed to be a sign of everything we were, but maybe it wasn’t the right time for us. Maybe I’d made a mistake.

But deep down, I couldn’t help but believe we were meant to be. I just needed him to see it. To feel it.