by Vella, Wendy
The second ran at him and swung, and Noah took a punch in the nose. He heard a crack, which couldn’t be a good thing.
The first regained his feet and came at Noah as he fought the second. From the corner of his eye he saw Lani move, and then the man toppled backward into the water. With a last right jab, his friend followed.
“Nice work,” he managed to grunt as he turned to see Lani on her feet, arms in a fighting pose. “Let’s go.” He grabbed her hand and ran up the bank and back onto the street.
They needed to get under some lights in case those guys came at them again.
“Your nose, Noah.”
“Noses bleed like a bitch.” He felt blood running down his chin and wiped it away with the sleeve of his shirt.
“We need to get you help.”
“I want to report this incident first.” Noah pulled out his cellphone and called the cops. He gave his details, then pocketed his phone again.
“I think you should go to the hospital now, Noah.”
“It’s not that bad. I just need to get back to the apartment. The police will likely call there soon for me to make a statement.”
“Are you staying close by?”
“Yes.” His face was hurting now.
“Right, let’s go.” She pressed something to his throbbing appendage. “I’m good with first aid.”
“Handy,” he muttered.
Minutes later, he was entering Ethan’s building. Luckily there was no sign of Roy. They caught the lift up and went into the apartment.
“Bathroom?” Lani asked.
He waved a hand in the right direction.
They made it there, and Noah took off his shirt, which was now soaked in blood.
“Let me look at you.”
He stood still and let her examine his nose. “I don’t think it’s broken, but I think you need to get that looked at.”
“I have a doctor friend who can do that tomorrow.”
“Did you lose consciousness at all?”
She was right there in front of him, her eyes close—lovely eyes. Blue, an unusual shade, he realized. Somewhere she’d lost her cap, and he saw her hair was black and cut short, so it stood off her head in curls. Her face was pretty, with soft arching brows, dark lashes, and nice lips. The sharp edges of her cheekbones suggested she needed a few pounds, but that could be natural genetics.
Sweet, he thought. Very sweet.
“Did I look like I lost consciousness? Because it’s always been my belief that if you do, you fall.”
She didn’t answer, just washed him with a cloth that was rinsed several times, and he let her because while she was doing that the fear and tension weren’t there. She didn’t think about where she was, alone with him, and right at that moment he wasn’t ready to say goodbye to her.
“Your eyes look okay.”
“So do yours.”
Her hands stilled, and slowly the cloth was lowered to the basin.
“I should go now.”
“Probably.” He cupped her cheek.
“I really need to go.”
“Soon.”
Chapter Two
“Your face is sore, and you’ve had a shock. You need to rest.”
“I would never hurt you, Lani. You don’t need to be nervous.”
“I’m not.”
“You are. Now you’ve stopped fussing, suddenly you’re filled with tension.”
She didn’t look away. Noah leaned in and kissed her. It was soft, brief, and he felt it to his toes.
“I didn’t plan this, getting you here, but I’m not going to lie to you either.”
“About what?” She was whispering now, but hadn’t pulled back. His hand was still cupping her cheek.
“About wanting you.” And it was that simple. He had wanted this woman since she’d first turned those eyes on him, looking sad and confused. “I’m not trying to scare you, and if you want to leave, that’s okay too. The choice is yours, Lani.”
“I don’t do that kind of thing.”
“Okay, that’s okay. Let’s go, I’ll see you out and into a cab.”
She didn’t move. “I’m not really a one-night stand girl. I mean, I’m not really any stand kind of girl, to be honest.”
He had a friend, Willow, who chattered when she was nervous. He liked it.
“Lani, this is your decision.”
“I-I… ah, the thing is….” Her words fell away as Noah leaned in and kissed her again.
He kept it soft and gentle. Just nibbled on her lips, and the sigh she gave told him she was right there with him.
“It’s okay to say no to me, Lani. I won’t pressure you, I promise.”
“Like I said,” she whispered. “Good guy.”
He may be a good guy, but he was a hard one.
“Lani, what do you want?”
“You,” she whispered. “I really want you. I want you to hold me.”
“That’s handy, as I want you too, and holding you will be no hardship at all.”
He picked her up.
“Your nose.”
“Is on my face, and I don’t need it to carry you or have sex.”
“Oh, are we…?”
“Going to have sex? Do you want to?”
“I… yes. I think I do, very much.”
“Again, handy, as I happen to agree with you.”
He kicked open the bedroom door and walked to the bed, lowering her to the floor, sliding her down his body.
“I—ah, I can’t give more than this, Noah.”
“Okay, that works also.” The words should have been music to his ears, and yet something inside him did want more from this woman. Weird, as Noah never wanted more and was, his friends believed, commitment phobic after Samantha. It must be the knock to his nose addling his thoughts.
Wrapping a hand around the back of her neck, he pulled her in and kissed her. This time harder; this time with more heat. It licked at him as she leaned into him, pressed her body to his.
“Be sure, Lani,” he rasped against her lips. “I won’t be able to turn back soon.”
Why he was saying those words, he wasn’t sure. He’d had partners and never had any doubts before. But she felt different, vulnerable.
“I’m not scared of you, Noah.” She leaned in and kissed his bare chest. “Don’t stop.”
“It’ll be tough, but I’ll try.”
She giggled.
“But I should tell you something.”
“What?” He was busy working on her buttons. “You like to swing from the chandeliers?”
“Ha, no. But I haven’t had a lot of experience.”
He stopped what he was doing. “But you have had some experience, right?”
“Of course.”
He continued with the buttons, then reaching the last, he pushed the shirt from her shoulders, exposing her lovely body.
“You’re beautiful, Lani.”
Her skin was pale and her breasts encased in pink satin. Not too big or small, just perfect as far as he was concerned.
“They’re small.”
“They’re perfect.” He cupped them with both hands. “So perfect that I want to kiss every inch.”
“Yes, please,” she said in a prim little voice.
“If I must.”
Noah released her bra, then took his time kissing his way down her neck to her breasts, where he proceeded to attend to each thoroughly.
“Noah,” she sighed as he flicked one of her nipples. “So good.”
“Sorry if my beard—”
“No, I like the feel of it.”
He was hard and aching, and he couldn’t remember a time he’d been more aroused. Lifting his head, he looked into her sultry eyes.
“Take off the rest of your clothes, Lani.”
“You too.”
“Race you,” he gritted out.
In seconds they were naked.
“Oh, my, you have a lovely body.” She proceeded to touch every inch of him. “Such mu
scle definition.” She stroked the muscles that ran down his sides into his groin. “You’re exquisite.”
“Thanks, but that’s my line for you.”
She looked at him. “Can’t a woman tell a man that?”
“It’s uncomfortable.” Noah shrugged.
“You should be used to it by now, because I’m sure you’ve had your fair share of compliments.” She rose to her toes and kissed him, pressing all that lovely bare flesh to his. The contact was electric; he shuddered. Noah felt like he was losing control of the situation and himself, so he picked her up and lowered her onto the bed. He liked control. Following, he braced himself over her and kissed her hard and fast.
“Buckle up.”
“What?”
Ignoring the hands that reached for him, he kissed his way down her body, tormenting each breast before moving lower. He then stroked the smooth planes of her stomach before moving lower. Parting her legs, he set his lips to the most tender part of her, kissing, nibbling, and soon was rewarded with her gasps and pants. When he penetrated her with his fingers, she shattered on a long, soft moan.
“I want you now, please, Noah.”
He grabbed a condom and rolled it on, then seconds later was inside her. Deep and buried high inside her slick heat.
“You feel so good, Lani.”
She lifted her legs and wrapped them around his waist, and he pulled out and thrust back into her. He kept the rhythm slow and steady, fighting the need to take her harder, faster. Fighting the release that was clawing at him.
“Come for me again, Lani.”
She did, this time calling his name. Noah pumped into her and followed, the release so intense it left him breathless and scrabbling to find his brain cells.
Falling down onto the mattress beside her, he pulled her onto his chest and held her close like she’d asked him to.
“You good?”
“Uh-huh. Your nose?”
“Still on my face.”
He pulled the blankets over them, rolled over, and hit the bedside lamp.
“I should go.” She yawned.
“Soon,” he whispered, then fell into a deep sleep.
…
When the sun tickled his eyelids, he opened them, wrinkled his nose, and yelped as pain shot through him. Remembering, he turned and found the space beside him empty.
Chapter Three
One week later
“Your days in there are numbered.” Lani gave the heel of her boot another tug, but it didn’t move. “Oh, come on, like I have time for this crap.”
“Problem?”
“No… thanks.” Lani didn’t look up. She didn’t need a man’s help to get her sensible size 7.5, black boot heel out of the grate she’d stupidly stepped in.
Giving it another tug got her nowhere.
“Right here if you need me.”
“I don’t,” she gritted out. “Sorry. I’m fine… thanks.”
Another tug didn’t budge it.
She squeaked as two hands lifted her and placed her back on the ground to the right of her heel.
“Hey! Don’t touch me." She looked at the man who had man handled her, and her heart sank to her toes.
“Lani? What the hell are you doing in Lake Howling?”
She’d not seen him in the daylight, only in that bathroom, which had been disturbing enough, even with his nose swelling. But this close, he was devastating. That night with this man had been up there with the best moments of her life.
“Hello, Noah.” Lani took a deep breath in and hoped her heart stopped pounding soon.
“Why are you here in Howling?” He was frowning. It looked fierce due to his two black eyes, which in no way deterred from his good looks.
“I-I, ah, I was passing through.”
“To where? It has one road in and out.”
“I heard it was a nice place to visit.”
He had dark brows and lashes, and his eyes were the color of midnight. She’d known they were, of course, because Lani had spent that night staring into them. His beard was cropped close, and she bit back a shudder at the memory of it rubbing over her skin. His body was hard and toned. This she also knew, as she’d touched it, licked it. Don’t go there.
She’d wanted to forget that night because it had been so out of character, but that wasn’t going to be possible if she was in the same town as Noah.
“How long?” He demanded.
“How long what?” This wasn’t the polite man she’d met that night.
“How long will you be here?”
“I don’t know.”
“Well, hell,” he said, looking pissed off, which in turn pissed her off. Lani hadn’t known he lived here or that seeing her again would annoy him so much.
“I didn’t come here to find you, Noah. How could I? We never discussed where you lived. Are you married?” The thought slipped into her head.
“No, why would you say that?”
“Steady girlfriend?”
His black brows lowered into a long, angry line.
“Do I look like the type to sleep with a woman while married or in a relationship?”
“How do I know what your type is? I barely know you.”
“We talked for hours, and you should know after that I wouldn’t cheat. Besides, you said I was one of the good guys.”
“Men can be nice to get what they want. And we talked in a bar while we were both drinking. You could be a completely different man in the daylight.”
“That makes no sense unless I’m a vampire, but the part that does is insulting.” His hands were on his hips now.
“You don’t think your reaction to seeing me is insulting?”
He exhaled slowly. “Okay, and you’re right. I forgive you, and sorry back at you for the way I just behaved. Seeing you was a shock.”
“Ditto.”
“So, Lani, fancy you turning up in my town.” The anger fled as fast as it had come, and there he was again, the man she’d made love with.
She followed his eyes as he looked around him. Pride was there in that glance.
“You own it?”
“Funny girl.”
She was nervous now the anger had gone. The man was a lethal combination of many things. He had actually listened when she talked; not many people had done that in her life, let alone a man. He was hot… boy, was he hot, and way out of her league, even if she was interested, which she could never be. She knew Noah would be one of those people who knew what to say and when to say it, unlike her. Lani just bet he’d been one of the cool kids in school. Comfortable in his own skin.
“Look, Noah, I’m sorry this is your town and now I’m in it, but there is no need to make a big deal out of this. What happened, happened, and we’re consenting adults.”
“Felt like a big deal when I woke in the morning and you’d gone.”
Color filled her cheeks, making them burn with humiliation. She’d woken, panicked, and run. Lani didn’t normally behave like she had that night. She never let people close; it was too dangerous. She hadn’t been proud of her behavior, but she’d done it just the same because there had been no other option. With a last lingering look at the large male in the bed, she’d run, clutching her shoes as if the hounds of hell were on her heels.
“That’s how it works.” She went for bravado, like she slept with men and moved on all the time when in fact he was the first man she’d done that with. The one before that she’d thought she loved; turned out she’d been wrong there.
“Good sex, then goodbye?”
She risked a look at his face, and he was still smiling at her, but it was a knowing smile now, like he knew she wasn’t telling the truth.
Of course she’d told him she wasn’t experienced, and of course he’d remembered her words. Damn.
“It was for the best. I’m not good with that stuff.” Her voice rose. Great, now she sounded hysterical.
“Stuff?” He leaned his weight on one hip and folded his arms like he was set
tling in for a nice long conversation.
“Look. We likely won’t see each other again, so bye.”
“It’s not a big town, to be fair, so we likely will if you stick around.” He was teasing her now. “What are your plans while you’re here?”
Her eyes shot over his left shoulder to the cake shop, or more importantly the small white card in the window that had the words Help Needed.
“Mrs. Cribbins is a lovely lady, if you need work. She would be awesome as an employer. Eccentric, and a bit crazy, but nice.”
Her eyes shot back to his.
“It started out as Cribbins Cakery because Mrs. C thought it sounded posh, and then the locals nicknamed it the Howlery and it stuck. It’s the only place in town that does celebration cakes and cupcakes.” He leaned in closer. “I’ll be honest, it needs modernizing. We’re all a little over purple flowers on top of our cakes.”
“I don’t need a job,” Lani lied. In fact, she did desperately, but she wouldn’t be taking one in Noah’s town.
“Go talk to her, and I’ll put in a good word for you. Are you any good at cake decorating?”
“I don’t think so—”
“And there she is. Mrs. C, you got a minute?”
“What are you doing?” Lani hissed as a tall woman approached. She wore an orange tracksuit with black stripes up the side. On her head was a wide turquoise scarf with two black braids sticking out the bottom.
“I don’t have my boots on,” Lani hissed, dragging her eyes from the vision approaching. Her lips were painted a bright orange.
“She’s not employing you because of your boots or lack thereof.”
“Hello, Noah dear. Looking handsome as always.” The woman kissed his cheek, leaving a set of orange lips imprinted there.
“You been out walking the trails again, Mrs. C?”
“I have. Doc and Lizzie came with me, but I couldn’t drag Hank out of bed. That man’s getting lazy since he retired, and fat as a slug.”
“He sounds sensible to me,” Noah added. “Lani, this is Mrs. Cribbins. She broke my heart when she married Hank, and I’ll be forever scarred, but what can you do in the face of true love.”
The woman swatted Noah on the arm.
“He’s a charmer, Lani, this one.”