A choked laugh came out as she continued to stare at him. “What about last night? Just another way to make sure I was safe?”
He clenched his fists to keep back the emotions threatening to come forward.
“Never,” he said. His voice was low as he tried to maintain at least some control.
“I can’t,” she said.
Her voice wobbled as she spoke. It only made him ache more.
“I can’t trust you,” she said quietly and turned her back. “You lie to me, sleep with me and when I wake up, you’re nowhere to be found. How am I supposed to separate these things? To know which was real and which wasn’t?”
He couldn’t take it any longer. The pain she felt pressed deep in his own heart.
His arms wrapped around her, and he signed when she didn’t push him away.
“It was real,” he said quietly. “I was real. Being with you has been the only real thing in my life.”
She glanced over her shoulder at him, tears still sliding down her pale cheeks.
“You left and now this,” she said shook her head.
“No,” he said forcefully and turned her in his arms. “I left because when I’m with you, I feel things. You make me feel things. Last night…”
Noel took a deep breath and stared at her.
“You know who I am. What I’ve done. And yet here we are. No matter what, you still see me,” he said. “Being with you is like having my heart on full display. So much so that I’ve made you a target. And even now I can’t walk away when I clearly should.”
She shifted a little in his arms.
“I’m not a good man for you,” he said. “I can’t even show you the kind of night you deserve.”
She frowned.
“What?”
Noel glanced around, making sure no one had slipped outside to check on them.
“I was too rough,” he said quietly and looked away. Unable to see in her eyes what he felt in his heart. “I finally got to be with you, and I couldn’t even stop myself. I should have—”
He stopped talking when her small hand came up to his cheek and made him look at her.
“There is nothing about last night I regret,” she said. Her sweet voice calmed him.
Noel stared at her for some time before speaking.
“We should head back,” he said and nodded to the door. “They’ll be worried.”
She nodded and pulled herself from his arms.
Haley walked in silence. There were so many things that they had held from her. What was worse, ignoring this wasn’t going to make it better.
She saw her friend at the door and felt the pain of betrayal.
“Hales,” Alyssa called from the door. “Why don’t you come stay with us?”
Haley glanced over her shoulder as Noel made his way to her.
She turned back to her friend and shook her head. At some point she’d find the strength to forgive her friend, just not right then.
“I’m going home with Noel.”
Chapter Nineteen
Haley stared at the gun next to the door. She might have laughed on a different day, but now, she understood. This was his life. Things didn’t turn off for him, and there was no leaving the job at work. These things tended to blend.
“Was that there when I last visited?” she asked.
Noel ran a hand over his head and turned away from her.
“It just a precaution,” he said.
Haley looked back up at the gun and then to him again.
“But what stops you from just randomly using it?”
He looked over to her, his face serious.
“Training,” he said firmly.
There was no doubt in her mind that he had the training.
“I feel sorry for your delivery guy,” she mumbled.
“Did you see him that day? Did he tell you something?” Noel said, his face annoyed. “He’s such a drama queen. I didn’t even do anything to him.”
Haley raised an eyebrow. Noel frowned.
“All I did was offer to give him a lesson in guns the next time he woke me up,” he said.
Haley snorted at the ridiculousness of what he was saying.
“You threatened the delivery guy?” She snickered.
Noel scowled at her. “More like a strong suggestion.”
She shook her head. These men just did what they wanted. Although it was no surprise. Not many people would stand up to someone like Noel.
She slowly made her way around the living room. The other day she hadn’t gone inside, but from what she could make of the outside, things were very well maintained.
Lots of dark wood furniture filled the place. Dark wood beams lined the ceiling and made her think of a high-roofed church. Despite the dark colors, she liked the place. It was very him on the whole. Rustic and manly.
She ran a hand along the dark leather couch. It was like butter under her fingers. She smiled at the feeling.
It would see that being a mob henchman paid well.
Noel stood quietly near to the side of her. He hadn’t really said much on the ride to his house. In all honesty, he seemed more than a little surprised when she said she’d go home with him.
She knew Finn and Alyssa were as well. But she’d had enough for the day and the sting of her friend hiding this from her still hurt. She’d get over it, but for now, she just wanted to chew on it all. And being with Noel was the best way.
Anyone else would have spent all this time filling the silence. Sometimes silence was a good thing. It gave time to sort things out.
She turned to Noel and stared at him. He looked a little uncomfortable under her direct gaze.
“I’ve decided to forgive you,” she said quietly.
He let out a visible sigh.
“Good,” he said gruffly.
She stepped up to him. With just a foot stood between them, his warmth filled the space.
“I want to know what this means to you,” she said.
Noel frowned a little.
“Anton? He’ll slip up, and then I’ll have him.” His eyes burned with the rage he felt toward that man.
“No,” she said and placed a hand on his arm. “What do I mean to you?”
Noel swallowed. This wasn’t his thing. Dealing with emotions. It was so rare he’d even allow himself to have them, other than anger and annoyance. But with Haley, there just seemed to be no stopping it.
“I…”
He stepped away and ran a hand over his stubbled head.
“What am I supposed to say?” he asked. His frustration bubbled at the surface. Noel started to pace the room. “I just don’t know how I’m supposed to answer that.”
Haley sighed. “Honestly. You answer honestly, so I know where we stand.”
Noel stopped and stared at her. He really didn’t have any idea how to tell her want he was feeling.
“Being with you…”
There were no words that could describe how being with her made him feel. It was beyond anything he’d ever known.
He turned to face her and tried to start again.
“You are…” What was he supposed to say? That she was his heart? It seemed so lame.
“You deserve better,” he said and ran both hands down from his head to his face.
“What?” she said and crossed her arms.
“Look at me!” he shouted, tossing his hands out of the way to reveal his puckered skin. “You can’t say you don’t see it. And still you act like you don’t see it at all.”
His chest ached as he tried to hold his emotions in place. He turned his back to her and took in deep breaths. This didn’t bother him. It couldn’t. How the hell was he going to function if he was worried about how he looked?
Her hand pressed against his back, and he jumped at the gentle touch.
“That doesn’t matter,” she said quietly.
Noel turned to look at her. Haley smiled up at him.
“How can it not matter?” he asked.
<
br /> She shook her head and this time, when she placed a hand over the scar, he didn’t flinch.
“I said it before. This is not you.”
But it was him. His life, what he’d done, who he was. This was just the physical manifestation.
“How is it not me?”
Haley smiled at him and pulled her hand from his cheek. She ran it across his chest until it rested above his heart.
“Because this is you.”
Something burst inside him. Warmth flooded over him as he stared down at her.
He’d never find the words for what she meant to him. Never. But he could show her. And this time, he’d do it the right way.
Gently, Noel leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. It was soft and slow. He wanted her to feel what she did for him, the strength she gave him.
Her mouth moved equally as slowly against his. This time they would savor the moment. There was no need to hurry to the finish. He planned on having her every day she’d let him.
Gentle hands slid across his chest. The one that had been over his heart found the hem of his shirt and moved underneath it. Her fingers were soft against him and left him tingling where they touched.
Not able to take the light touches any longer, he picked her up like the princess she was.
“Where are you taking me?” she asked, a slight smile on her lips.
“Bed,” he said gruffly.
She continued her touching and slipped inside his shirt sleeve. The muscles there were stretched firm as he carried her. With one swift move, he opened the door and kicked it closed behind him. He clicked on the light next to the bed before setting her down.
Her hands found the hem of his shirt, and she pulled to take it off. He reached over to turn off the light, but she stopped his hand.
“I want to see,” she said quietly.
Noel pressed his lips but let it go. In one movement, he swept the shirt off his body and sat hard on the edge of the bed.
Haley pulled her own shirt off. The cute black bra she’d worn was see-through, and he seemed to enjoy the view he was getting.
This was her first real look at him. There had been a few times she’d seen him without his shirt, but they were brief or they were in the dark at the time.
Last time she’d seen they scars up close, they were still raw and painful. Now, they had healed well.
She ran a finger across the one on his side. Noel hissed at the contact.
“Does it hurt?” she asked.
He shook his head. “It’s just sensitive.”
Haley knelt down and placed a soft kiss on it. She could feel his breathing increase. The sound of it excited her. Knowing that she could do that to him excited her.
She moved her mouth across his chest and down to his stomach. When she reached the spot where the tail of hair disappeared into his pants, Haley sat back up.
Her fingers went to the button on his jeans but stopped when Noel moved slightly.
“Tonight is supposed to be about you,” he said.
She looked up to him and grinned. “It is.”
Noel moved his hands out of the way. The button came undone with ease. She peeled back the zipper and was surprised to find he’d gone commando for the day.
Noel could feel the blush coming. It wasn’t often that he went without, but when Riley had called, there hadn’t been time for anything. Not that he wanted to call attention to their lies at the moment.
He sat up slightly and shucked the pants.
Haley stood in front of him. She slowly slipped her pants down her body, leaving her in bra and panties. She smiled when she hooked the sides of her thong with her fingers. In one move, those came off as well. Then the lace bra.
Noel stared at her naked form in front of him. Beautiful.
She knelt in front of him again and looked up at him and took hold of his throbbing cock.
He moaned at the feel of her small hand squeezing him.
Mesmerized, he watched her as she took command of him and stroked slowly up and down. A little cum coated the top, and when she swiped her tongue across the top, Noel gripped the sheets.
“Fuck,” he moaned.
In one move, she replaced her hand with her hot mouth and slipped him deep inside.
She bobbed her head, taking him deeper and deeper. He groaned loudly when he bumped the back of her throat a few times. She worked her tongue around him, slipping around him as he was rooted deep in her throat.
She pulled him out and stood suddenly. Her legs on either side of his body, she positioned herself over him.
“Wait,” he said quickly. “I wanted to take it slow. To show you—”
Haley slid him deep into her wet pussy, and all thought escaped his mind.
“Fuck going slow,” she whispered as she wrapped her arms around his neck.
Noel groaned.
She lifted herself a bit then pushed down hard on him. Haley wiggled her hips a bit, swirling him deep inside her.
“Show me,” she moaned in his ear.
His hands came to her hips. He gripped her hard before guiding her up and down against him. Her grunts became louder the faster she went.
Haley moaned in frustration. She just couldn’t go fast enough.
“Noel,” she whispered in his ear. “Please.”
She tried to get out more, but nothing would come.
As if he knew, he stood with him still inside her. She moaned at the new depth they found this way and dug her fingers into his neck.
“Later,” Noel said. She opened her eyes to look at him and found his grinning face. “This way.” He laid her down on her back on the bed.
He pulled out, and she frowned at the emptiness. She looked down her body and found him kneeling on the bed, moving closer to her.
“I want to see you,” he whispered as he body covered her own. “I want to see when you when we come together.”
She took in a shuddered breath as his mouth found hers.
Her legs wrapped around him, and once again, he slipped deep inside.
His hips pounded against her hard, and she held on with all her strength.
The first waves of her orgasm were close. The faster he moved, the more excited she became.
“I can feel you,” he moaned. “So close.”
She panted along with him, moving closer and closer to the peak.
Noel leaned back and slammed hard into her twice. The second time was just enough to send them both over the edge. They shuddered in each other’s arms as they came.
She opened her eyes and found Noel was staring at her.
“Beautiful,” he whispered.
It sparked something in her, and she smiled.
He might not be able to say it, but she was sure this was love. And love was amazing.
Chapter Twenty
Haley hummed a little as she moved around the classroom. Things were finally starting to come together. Or at least she and Noel were. Everything else was still about as messed up as it got, but they were moving the right direction.
They had woken up in the morning still hungry for one another. She blushed thinking about how many times he made her come in the shower.
She picked up the nearest textbook and fanned herself with it. If she kept thinking about that kind of thing, she’d never get her work done.
When Noel had dropped her off this morning, he’d promised her a real date when he came to pick her up. There was no way in hell she’d be missing out on that. Today was her last day at the school for the summer, and nothing was going to stand in her way.
Haley picked up her drink from her desk and frowned. Apparently she wasn’t the only hot thing in the room.
She swept a hand over her forehead and frowned. Maybe it wasn’t just her inappropriate thoughts that were making her hot. It wasn’t normally this warm in the building. She hoped that maybe they were just tinkering with the air. If it was like this in the fall, she wasn’t going to be happy.
A piercing ho
rn blasted through the silence. The lights over her door flipped on and flashed red throughout the room.
Haley covered her ears and frowned. There was no way there would be a fire with so few in the building. Maybe it was all connected to the air. It wouldn’t be the first time the old wires in the building caused an issue.
Last year the oven in the teachers’ lounge had a surge and ended up melting a copper bottom pot on the stove. They still weren’t sure how that happened.
She walked to her door and opened it. Pungent hints of smoke filled the air, and she covered her mouth.
“What the hell is going on?” Stan shouted to her from a down the hall.
She shook her head, not really sure what was going on.
A little further down the hall past Stan, she could see someone moving toward them. One of the janitors came into view, and she felt slightly relieved. Maybe he knew what was going on.
“What’s happening?” Stan shouted to the janitor. “Do we need to leave?”
The janitor drew a gun from his side and fired twice at Stan. The scream was out of her mouth before she could even think.
Stan slumped to the floor. Blood blossomed on his chest and started to pool on the floor around him.
Her eyes met with the janitor, and she knew. Anton had found another way to get her.
* * *
It had been a great morning. In fact, it had been such a great morning for him that if one more person asked him why he was smiling, he might just ruin his great morning by punching them in the face. The one down side of doing his work at Finn’s place was that he had to deal with people.
He signed and stared at everything they had gotten from Anton. Today he just wasn’t feeling it. He didn’t want to be a pawn in some psycho’s master plan. All he wanted today was to live in the moment. Enjoy the high he was on. And think about all the things he was going to do with Haley when he got her back to his house.
The number one thing he’d discovered during this was his appetite when it came to that woman. As many times as he’d had her, he only seemed to want her more.
He smiled again.
“Uh oh,” Conor said as he came into the room. “I think I know that smile.”
Noel Page 10
