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)
My gaze flickers to the photograph of me that’s half hidden behind his big body, and I will the tears to stay at bay. He was there for all of it. Held my hand through the chemotherapy. Is he so far gone to have forgotten all of that?
I shake my head in disbelief. “You know what?” I say, trying to hide the hurt I know he sees in my eyes. “Figure it out yourself.”
“Zo—”
“No,” I cut him off, feeling myself starting to fall to pieces. “I’m not doing this with you.” I point to the keys in his hand. “You got what you came here for, so just go. Leave me alone.”
As if forgetting all about the keys in his hand, he glances down, studying them for a moment and not even pretending to make a move to leave. “Where’s my keyring?” he questions, his tone thick with authority, demanding a response.
I groan, realizing we’re playing the Noah game tonight and that he’s not leaving until he’s gotten exactly what he came for.
I shrug my shoulders and return my hand to the towel, gripping it with everything I have. I arch a brow, not willing to allow this to go down however he thinks it will, even if I don’t quite know how I want it to go down.
“You mean my keyring?” I question, pleased to find he has enough sense not to push me on the whole little warrior thing. “Tell me, just how many times have you snuck in here and stolen my shit? Better yet, why do you steal my shit? Is your little dark soul so depraved of human contact that you need to take my things just to feel something?” I stride toward him, my gaze narrowed on his. “Or did you finally realize that you pushed away the one good thing you had left and now you’re desperately clinging to any piece of me you can get your hands on?”
Noah clenches his jaw, and I know without a doubt that I’ve struck a nerve. “You certainly think highly of yourself.”
He holds my stare, much like he had during dinner, and the air is knocked right out of my lungs. He’s so intense and demanding. His presence alone fills the room with a thick tension, and I have no idea what to do with it.
Raising my chin, I stand just an inch away. So close that I can feel his warm breath brush across my bare shoulder. Lowering my voice, I keep my eyes locked heavily on his. “Tell me I’m wrong.”
Noah doesn’t respond, just continues staring as the heat and tension become almost unbearable between us. Goosebumps spread across my body, and I know he sees it. He feels it too. Moving this close to him was a mistake. A colossal one.
My hands shake, and yet for some reason, I can’t find it within me to move away.
“Where’s the keyring, Zoey?” he grumbles, that deep tone filling my room as his stare holds me captive.
“You’re not getting it back,” I tell him, forcing my stare away and breaking his hold on me. I cross my room, certain that if he were to look a little closer, he’d notice the way my whole body shudders under his intense stare. “Feel free to see yourself out.”
Striding into my walk-in closet, I kick the door shut behind me, but when I don’t hear the familiar click of it closing, I glance over my shoulder to find Noah walking in behind me. My back stiffens, and the second he closes the door, there suddenly isn’t enough oxygen in the room.
I turn to face him, ready to tell him to leave, but as he continues toward me, his heated eyes full of determination, the words catch in my throat, and all I can do is watch as he closes the distance between us.
My chest heaves, rising and falling faster than ever as my hands shake at my sides. The tension ramps up, almost to the point of physical pain, and my body screams to reach out and touch him. I’ve never quite felt something so intense in my life. All that exists in the world is him. His dark, intense eyes, his scent filling my small closet, the space closing between us.
My heart thumps erratically, but he just keeps coming, those deep, haunted eyes not daring to look away from mine.
I back up a step, then another, until my back hits the overflowing row of clothes hanging in my closet. I’m desperate to keep the distance between us as I read the intention in his eyes. He’s just as lost as I am, breathing just as heavily, but he’s not stopping, not daring to look away and break this connection between us.
“Noah,” I breathe, a soft warning that neither of us truly hears.