Total pages in book: 16
Estimated words: 15387 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 77(@200wpm)___ 62(@250wpm)___ 51(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 15387 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 77(@200wpm)___ 62(@250wpm)___ 51(@300wpm)
We reach the landing, and I follow him inside.
My eyes don’t even get to adjust to the light because one moment, I’m walking into his living room. The next, Noah clutches my jaw and crashes his lips to mine.
3
NOAH
This is wrong.
I’m going to hell for this and burn for all eternity. But not before Keith kills me first. Which I will totally accept because I fucking deserve it.
Lusting after his little sister is one thing, but letting my mind act on what my body wants?
Unforgivable.
Still doesn’t stop me from cupping the back of her head to slant my mouth to hers. And Jesus Christ, she tastes divine. A hint of coffee, mint, and her. All her.
When she slides her arms and wraps them around my neck, I almost completely lose it. Almost. Because it takes every ounce of my willpower to tug her arms down and pull back. It’s painful to separate myself from her, but I have to. We’ve already crossed one line tonight. I don’t intend to cross another.
Lies. All lies, Noah. And you know it.
Nora’s face and neck are beet red, her hair sticking to her forehead. She’s breathing hard, her eyes glassy.
I open my mouth to speak, but she beats me to it. “Please don’t say you’re sorry.”
“I’m not, but Keith…”
“I’m a grown woman who can make her own decisions.”
That makes me smile. She stands at maybe 5’4 and doesn’t even come up to my chin. So this stubborn and defiant side of her is nothing short of amusing.
“You find that funny, Noah?”
My balls draw up at the way my name rolls off her tongue. Dammit, why does everything she says affect me? Why has my body gone rogue from the moment I met her?
“No.”
I need to distance myself, think about my actions tonight, and decide how to tell Keith. Because despite how that asshat annoys me, he’s family. The only one I had ever since I lost my parents at 18. He was there when I took over the shop, and he was the one who sent dozens of customers my way.
He trusted me to take care of Nora. Yet, less than two hours after meeting her, I can’t even stop myself from touching her.
I’ve tasted her lips and want more, so much more, but I can still turn around. Dammit, I have to.
My place is small, just fit for a bachelor. A small living room with a three-seater couch and wooden coffee table. A kitchen with an island that doubles as my dining table. One bedroom with a bathroom. That’s it.
“You weren’t kidding when you said you weren’t as messy as Keith.” I’m still trying to catch my breath, but she’s already checking my whole place out.
I’m about to answer when she narrows her gaze. “I don’t trust a man living alone and without a single clutter. Who are you?”
The laughter bursting out of me surprises me too. “I’m rarely here, to be honest. I work all day downstairs and just come home to sleep.”
“Where’s Alvin?”
“Not sure. He comes and goes as he pleases. Acts like a lodger most times, but when he’s here, he fully expects me to wait on him hand and foot. I’m still not sure if I’m the master of this house or he is.”
Nora’s eyes crinkle around the corners. “That’s how cats are.”
“Tell me about it.”
The silence that follows isn’t particularly awkward or uncomfortable, but the palpable thickness in the air between us is back in full force. The longer I am in her presence, the more I want to cling to her like iron filings to a magnet.
Clearing my throat, I point to the bedroom. “Take it. I’ll sleep on the couch.”
Nora opens the door and peeks inside. She raises a brow at me. “The bed’s big enough for two.”
I growl and scrub a hand across my face. “Don’t do this to me, Nora.”
“Do what?” She folds her arms over her chest and leans against the wall.
“I’m dangerously close to acting on every dirty thought I have of you.”
“So why don’t you? I’m not a baby.”
God, this girl. “Just…just take a rest. Tomorrow, I’ll fix your car and find a locksmith for your house.”
I have to pee. The clock by the front door reads 4:18 AM.
Nora’s most likely sound asleep right now. If she didn’t lock the door, I could slip inside the bathroom and do my business without waking her up. Alvin is still probably wandering at the neighbor’s house. He’ll be here by morning when the sun’s up.
I ease myself out of the sofa and stretch. Man, I’m not built to sleep in something this small. Massaging the crick in my neck, I take slow, deliberate steps, my bare feet barely making a sound.
My hand rests on the brass doorknob, and I turn it slowly. The stairs may have creaked, but the hinges on this won’t. Alvin knows how to open doors, and the last thing I want is to get woken up each time he decides to sleep in my room.