His arms wrap around me and draw me into his chest, right where I need to be. “I’m sorry,” he murmurs, hovering above my lips, teasing me with his closeness. “I don’t like being mad at you.”
“There’s a simple solution to that, you know,” I say with thick sarcasm, silently wishing he’d just close the distance. After all, it’s been days since he last kissed me.
“Would you keep your little comments to yourself and let me apologize?”
“By all means, my king.” He smiles down at me with his eyes burning into mine, but I find myself unable to hold it in any longer. “I thought you were going to leave me.”
A heavy breath leaves him as he drops his forehead to mine, closing his eyes and breathing me in as his fingers tangle into my hair. “Never,” he whispers. “You’re the only girl I’ve ever met who challenges me. You make me feel things I’ve never felt before. Believe me, there’s no way in hell I’m about to walk out on that.”
“You didn’t talk to me for days,” I remind him.
“I’m sorry,” he says. “This is all new for me and I didn’t know how to handle it.”
“What do you mean?” I question. “You were with Monica for ages.”
He shakes his head. “Not like this,” he tells me. “You and me, this is different. With Monica, it was just about appearances. Someone easy who was able to keep all the other girls at bay. But with you, this is real.”
I search his eyes to find them already on mine. “Really?” I question, wondering if he’s maybe as confused about the whole ‘L’ word as I am.
“Yeah,” he murmurs. “You scared me. Seeing you like that, vulnerable and unprotected. Anything could have happened to you. To all three of you.”
“I know,” I sigh. “It was stupid.”
“Fucking stupid,” he amends.
“You can’t tell me that you’ve never gotten high at a party before.”
A sheepish expression crosses his handsome face and just like that, he’s been caught out. “Just promise me, if you need to get high again, tell me first. Not that I want to encourage you to do it, but if you must, I’ll get you the good stuff and I can make sure you’re safe while you're crawling around on the ground.”
“You know where to get the good stuff?” I scoff.
He smirks down at me. “Don’t doubt me, Spitfire,” he says. “I’d hate to think what kind of shit you were smoking on Friday night. Who’d you get it from anyway?”
“Trust me, you don’t want to know.”
“Henley,” he warns.
I roll my eyes. “Spencer.”
“Spencer?” he growls. “Are you fucking kidding me?”
“Hey, I told you that you didn’t want to know, but you insisted,” I tell him before pressing my lips together and raising my chin back up. I gently press my lips against his and the feeling of home instantly settles over me. “I’m sorry,” I whisper. “It was spur of the moment and despite how fun it was, I don’t think I’ll be doing it again.”
“You have no idea how happy that makes me.”
“I was a bit of a bitch last night,” I admit.
“You had the right to be,” he tells me. “I shouldn’t have blocked you out like that, but I was just…I needed a moment to cool down.”
“It’s ok,” I say. “But I’m going to need you to kiss me again.”
Chapter 9
Noah and I lay in my bed after spending the last half an hour, pressed up against the shower wall, getting reacquainted with each other’s bodies. The fact that the shower just happens to wash off all the egg from our war was a lucky bonus as cleaning ourselves off was the furthest thing from our minds.
I lay in his arms, dreading the massive clean up of all the egg and nerf bullets around the house which will, no doubt, take me all afternoon, and that’s considering I can pull myself away from him long enough to actually do it. I can just picture it now, one little egg is going to get missed and my house is going to end up smelling like a rotten fart until I get down on my hands and knees and search it out.
My fingers trace the beautiful lines of the lily tattoo on his chest as I listen to the rapid beat of his heart as he comes down from the wildness of what just went down in the shower. “We need to fight more often.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” he murmurs with his fingers trailing up and down my spine before he pushes up on to his elbow. “Come on,” he says. “You haven’t eaten.”
I squish my face back into his chest, pushing him back down on the bed. “No, I’m good here.”
“Even though your stupid fish has been watching us the whole time?”
I can’t help but crane my neck around him to look at Frog, to find the little guy staring straight at us. I shrug my shoulders. “What can I say? The bastard’s horny. It’s not like he has a little fishy girlfriend in there.”
“Ok,” he says in disgust. “You made it weird.”
“Just telling it like I see it.”
He shakes his head. “You’re an idiot, you know that, right?”
“Of course, I do,” I tell him, rolling over the top of him until I’m straddling his thighs and looking down at that magnificent work of art. “And that’s exactly the way you like it.”
All he does is smile and that one little gesture is enough to have my heart racing once again. “You sure you don’t want to go get something to eat?”
I shake my head. “I’m happy here.”
His eyes light up with excitement and just when I think he’s about to pull me down and start our fun all over again, he lets one rip and pulls the blankets over my head. “How about now?” he laughs.
“Noooooo,” I screech, flailing around, desperate for a way out as the smell truly hits me. “Let me out.”
“I thought you were happy here,” he laughs.
Needing to save myself from this horrendous torture, I slam my hands down on his chest and grab hold of his man titties with everything I’ve got.
“Fuck,” he calls out, still resisting letting me out from the confines of his fart, trying to be the big man in the room, but what he forgets is that I grew up with my father. I can handle this shit, in fact, I was born for it. If he wants to Dutch oven me, then he’s going to pay the consequences. “Let go.”
“Let me breathe and I’ll let go.”
“No,” he laughs as his body starts squirming beneath me. “You let go and then I’ll let you breathe.”
I take a deep breath, pretending the smell doesn’t make my eyes water. “I can do this all day.”
I give a little twist and laugh at the squeak that gets ripped out of him. “Fuck. Uncle. Let me go.”
Within the blink of an eye, the darkness from under the blanket disappears and the sunlight streaming through the window assaults my eyes, allowing me to finally gasp for fresh air. I let go of his man titties and laugh at the look of relief that rushes over him.
Both of Noah’s hands come up as he rubs his chest while looking at me in wonder. “That fucking hurt,” he tells me. “Who would have thought? I’ve beaten the shit out of all kinds of guys, but it’s you who finally brings me to my knees.”
I bend down and press my lips to his. “Don’t forget it,” I tell him. “Now, please, can we get out of here? You stunk up my room, dirty birdie.”
I swear, I’ve never seen him look so damn proud.
I haul myself off him and grab hold of his hand before giving a tug and nearly wetting myself when he nearly falls off the edge of my bed. Noah rights himself and grabs his pants off the ground as I search for something to throw on.
He stands patiently in my room as I get myself dressed and as I pull my shirt over my head, he notices the loose floorboard. My eyes widen as he instantly dives for it. “What the hell is this?” he questions, pulling it up and seeing the old jewelry box inside.
I scrunch up my face, not knowing how to explain this as he pulls out my jewelry box and opens it to find my roll of cash. “I… it’s my ‘get the hell out of he
re’ fund.”
His head snaps up to me as the roll of cash sits in the palm of his hand. “What the fuck are you talking about?”
Shit.
“I, um…you know, back when the whole Kaylah and Jackson thing happened. I just… I wanted to start over. I hated it here, everything I did was a reminder of what I’d lost and reminded me that I had nobody. So, I found cash anywhere I could and saved up. The second I graduated; I was going to get out of here.”
His brows draw down. “Do you still feel that way?”
I shake my head, unable to even imagine a life where I leave Haven Falls anymore. My heart is here. My home is here. He will never quite understand how much he saved me from myself by just being in my life. “No,” I admit. “There might be something keeping me here.”
That cocky confidence rushes over him and I roll my eyes, hating how much I love it. “Don’t be so sure of yourself,” I tease. “It’s not you.”
He places the jewelry box and cash down on my bed before straightening himself out and walking into me. He crowds me until he forces me back a few steps and only stops when my back is flush against the door of my closet. “Yeah,” he tells me. “It is, and just for the record, if you fuck off out of Haven Falls, I’m right there with you.” My eyes widen a fraction as I watch him duck his head. His lips find my neck and I curl my arms around him as he continues. “I’d go anywhere with you, Spitfire, but I’d prefer to stay here.”
“And why’s that?”
He kisses the side of my neck ever so softly. “Lily.”
I hold him a little tighter. Of course. Haven Falls is where his little sister is and always will be. He’ll never leave Haven Falls and right now, I don’t think I ever could either. Not as long as Noah Cage is a part of my life.
Noah releases me, knowing he’s more than made his point about what he wants and allows me to finish getting dressed.
When we’re both decent, he grabs hold of both my shoulders from behind before leading me out of my room and into the kitchen.
Noah releases me to search through the fridge and gets busy loading me up with all the ingredients for what I’m assuming is a killer sandwich, but when he straightens himself out and closes the fridge, I finally get a good look at him. My eyes widen as chuckles start pulling from me. “Holy shit.”
“What?” he questions.
I dump all the ingredients down on the bench and throw myself at him. I smother my face into his chest before kissing it gently. “I hurt your boobies. They’re red.”
“No shit,” he laughs, wrapping his arm around me and hauling me across the kitchen so he can get to work with me hanging off him. “What did you think was going to happen when you tried to tear my nipples clean off my body?”
“Exaggerate much?” I groan with an eye roll. “It wasn’t that bad.”
He goes to reach for my tits and I jump back, terrified for my poor little nipples. “Yeah, that’s what I thought,” he smirks, playing the role of designated smartass perfectly well.
We get busy making ourselves lunch and I can’t help but melt into his side as we work. I’ve never been this needy girl who constantly has to be close to a man, but right now, standing right beside him still isn’t enough. My soul calls for him and if sensing my need, he scoops me up into his arms, bridal style, places our lunch on my stomach and walks out into the living room.
Noah sits down on the couch with me in his lap and he looks absolutely thrilled to be shoving food down my throat as we all know that food gives us the energy to participate in all sorts of activities.
Our day is spent together and by nine o’clock at night, I’m desperate for my night not to end. I see the intention in Noah’s eyes to stay here the night and I cringe, not wanting to piss off my father any more than I already have over the past few weeks. “You can’t stay,” I tell him, hating the words as they leave my throat.
“Bullshit,” he says, wrapping me into his arms. “Who’s going to stop me? You?”
“Damn straight,” I laugh. “I don’t want to give dad a reason not to trust me. He left me a very specific note about not letting you sleep over and it might have said something along the lines of hunting you down with his new rifle.”
“Jesus,” he grunts. “Remind me never to cross your father.”
“I’m sorry…It’s just, I know he seems like a bit of a marshmallow, but he’s not kidding.”
Noah runs his finger down the side of my face, pushing a golden lock behind my ear. “How about this,” he starts. “I won’t break your dad’s rule, but I’m not opposed to bending them a bit. The thought of leaving you right now is killing me, so I’ll stay until you fall asleep and then sneak out. Technically we're not breaking his rules.”
“Oh, trust me, we’ve more than broken his rules today.”
“I bet,” he laughs. “So, what do you say?”
I raise my chin to his, begging him to kiss me. “Sounds good to me,” I murmur. “But what would the neighbors think when a tatted up, bad boy sneaks out my door in the middle of the night? Mr. Morrison already accused me of stealing his cat. I can only imagine what I’ll be accused of next.”
“Scandalous,” he teases. “But don’t worry, I’ll let them know you were cheap and good, even let me do unspeakable things to you.”
My jaw hits the floor. “You wouldn’t?”
His eyes sparkle with the challenge. “You want to find out?”
“I swear, Noah if you let my neighbors think that I’m running a brothel out of my home, your man titties are the last thing you’re going to have to worry about.”
He booms out with laughter. “You really think I’ll let anyone in this godforsaken town think even for a second that you were selling your body? Baby, I told you, I’m not good when it comes to sharing. Even the idea of it pisses me off.”
Relief surges through me as I smile up at him. “I see,” I tease. “You’re all talk. You play a big game but when it comes down to it, you’re chicken shit.”
He shakes his head. “I’ll show you a big fucking game.”
Before I know what’s even happening, he grabs hold of me and launches me across the room. I crash down onto the couch with an ‘oomph’ and watch as he strides towards me, his eyes molten lava. His hand comes over his back to grab hold of his shirt and he shrugs out of it as heat floods me.
My tongue darts out. This is going to be good.
----------
A loud banging jolts me awake and my eyes fly open. What the fuck was that?
My hand shoots out across the bed and disappointment surges through me when I find my bed empty. I have to remind myself to get the hell over it. After all, I was the one who told him he couldn’t stay, but having him with me all day after the shitty few days of not speaking was absolutely incredible.
The noise must have been Noah escaping and I briefly wonder if he made a show of it and snuck out the window. Nah, he wouldn’t. He’s normal. Sneaking out the window when there’s a perfectly good door is more Tully’s thing.
I close my eyes and try to drift back off to sleep as I listen out for the sound of Noah’s Camaro starting up. A smile flutters across my lips knowing he’s probably trying to be as quiet as possible with the world’s nosiest car.
When the sound never comes, I start wondering what the hell he’s doing just sitting out there when another loud bang sounds at the door.
My eyes shoot open once again. There must be a problem, and naturally, Noah locked the door behind him, trying to keep me as safe as possible. Maybe the idiot forgot his keys or phone.
I grin to myself as I drag myself out of bed. I reach across and light up the time on my phone before blinking a few times. One in the morning? Shit. Noah must have fallen asleep with me before waking and remembering that he was supposed to sneak out.
Throwing the blankets off, I blindly make my way across the dark room before feeling the wall for the light. I switch it on and squint against the unbelievable brightness before trailing out
of my room, wishing I’d grabbed my robe as the cool night air forces shivers to take over my body.
I hurry towards the door and roll my eyes as he knocks once again. Though he should have been able to see that a light is on in the house, but then, Noah isn’t exactly known for his patience. “Alright, alright. I’m coming,” I groan.
I reach for the handle and give it a tug before remembering that it’s locked and groan once again. I unlock the stupid thing and laugh as I realize he even threw the deadbolt in. But then, if the deadbolt was in, how the hell did he get out? Maybe he did climb out the window after all.
I shake my head to myself as I turn the handle of the door with a wide grin. “What did you forget?” I laugh.
The door swings open before me and I’m hit in the face with my past.
My eyes rake over the person standing before me in complete disbelief. What the hell is this?
I fumble back a few steps as a gasp sails out of me. “Mom?” I question, looking over the woman I once knew; however, this isn’t her. This woman is thin. Her once shiny hair is now ratty and dull. Her dark eyes seem hollow, right along with her cheekbones, and her clothes are practically falling off her frame.
She almost looks…addicted. But to what?
“You got big.”
“Ummm… yeah.”
“Where’s your dad?”
“On a job.”
She steps forward with a frown when I notice her hand behind her back and as she moves into the house, she drags along a little golden-haired girl with dad’s bright blue eyes. “Oh, well,” mom says with a grunt, thrusting the little girl towards me. “Here. She’s your problem now.”
With that, the woman I once knew as my mother scrambles away from my front door, dives into the passenger seat of an old shitbox car, and not a moment later, disappears down the road, all while this little girl watches after her with nothing but sadness in her young eyes.
Chapter 10
What the actual fuck?
I stare down at the little girl who looks like she hasn’t slept in weeks, not to mention, it’s past one in the morning. Shouldn’t kids this little be so asleep they’re practically comatose?
Unbelievable: Haven Falls (Book 2) Page 9