Total pages in book: 215
Estimated words: 199344 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 997(@200wpm)___ 797(@250wpm)___ 664(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 199344 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 997(@200wpm)___ 797(@250wpm)___ 664(@300wpm)
Noah doesn’t dare stop kissing me, and it’s as though he’s been starved for me, and every lavish swipe of his tongue feels like the sweetest surrender. It’s as though he’s trying to make up for the past three years in one mind-blowing kiss.
The longing and hurt that’s built and built has finally reached its limits and explodes around us. It’s cocooning us in this moment and forcing us to act on our most basic needs for each other. That undeniable attraction and overwhelming hunger have taken complete control, and I don’t ever want it to stop.
When he pulls back, we’re both panting, and a part of me just expects him to walk away, only he stays right here with me, refusing to let me go. His forehead drops against mine, both our hearts still rapidly thrumming. “Zoey—”
“Don’t ruin it by speaking,” I beg him, terrified that he’s about to hit me with a long list of why we should never have done that, because if he did, it would surely kill me.
My eyes remain closed, soaking up the feel of his arm wrapped securely around my waist. I’ve never felt so safe in my life because I know nothing bad could ever happen to me while being locked in his arms. It’s like the old Noah has come back, and I don’t ever want to see him leave.
His body presses hard against mine, his thumb still stroking over my bare skin at my waist, and then his lips are back on mine. Only this time there’s control, and his lips only linger a moment before pulling back. He takes a heavy breath and puts just an inch between us before taking my chin and forcing my gaze to meet his.
There’s a longing in his eyes, and I realize it’s taken him great restraint to pull back, but there’s also a lightness I haven’t seen in over three years, making those dark eyes I’ve always loved just that little bit brighter. “Zoey, who the hell taught you to drive a car like a fucking idiot?” he questions, his deep tone like a warm caress that wraps right around me.
A real, heart-warming smile tears across my face, and I feel the apples of my cheeks pushing right up into my eyes as I laugh. My fingers ease out of his hair, slowly trailing back down until my palm presses right against his chest, feeling his heartbeat, and committing it to memory in case I don’t ever get the chance to do this again.
“Who do you think taught me how to do that?” I say, just as the person in question calls out from downstairs.
“Noah, honey. Are you up there?” Aunt Maya’s booming tone fills my home. “It’s time to skedaddle.”
I fix him with a heavy stare, my silence answering his question, and he nods. “I should have known,” he murmurs before going quiet for a moment, not the least bit bothered by the fact his mom is waiting for him downstairs. “It kinda hit me just how much of your life I’ve missed,” he tells me. “I always thought I’d be the one teaching you how to do shit like that.”
I don’t respond because honestly, I had always thought the very same thing, and the fact that never got to happen still feels like a million knives recklessly plunging straight through my chest.
“Noah?” Aunt Maya hollers. “You hear me, kid? Get your ass down here and drive your momma home.”
He still doesn’t make a move to leave, and I find my chest starting to heave, terrified of the moment he walks away, but all he does is hold my stare, his eyes conveying a million messages of pain and unease.
My vision blurs with tears as the inevitable agony swells inside me. “You don’t need to hurt like this anymore,” I whisper into the small, tension-filled closet, his haunted gaze not moving from mine for even a second. “He’d want you to find peace.”
“Zoey,” he starts, his hand slowly dropping from my waist and making me feel colder than ever before.
“Don’t say it,” I beg, feeling the rejection growing between us. “Just . . . When you finally realize that you deserve to be happy, come back to me.”
He flinches at my words as though I’d physically slapped him, and the agony in his eyes is almost unbearable. “I’m sorry, Zozo,” he murmurs, before leaning back in. He presses a gentle kiss to my temple just as the tears spill over and roll down my cheeks, and before I even get a chance to reach for him, he’s gone.
The closet door clicks closed behind him, and my heart breaks all over again.
18
Noah
Walking away from Zoey James after discovering how sweet she tastes is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do, especially knowing that she’s still up there in her closet, probably on the ground with tears streaming from her beautiful green eyes.