Why not strip off your clothes? Who’s going to notice? The security guard, that’s who.
After an hour or so, my upper lip was sweating. Enrique had given me a bottle of water from his office, and I was pretty sure I’d sweated most of it out.
My ears perked up when I heard footsteps walking the floor. The security guard had passed me a few times while doing her rounds. She was a no-nonsense woman, and I wondered what her Breed was.
“You’re early,” the security guard said in the distance. Then a heavy door slammed.
By this time, I’d seen enough to make an offer. Enrique didn’t want me cherry-picking titles but instead wanted a cash offer for the lot. That was how he did business. Anything I didn’t need could be tossed out. If he didn’t dispose of them, I would.
What did Archer mean by them finding a way to keep occupied?
They couldn’t drink, so what else did they have planned for a night on the town? When I thought about Noah in the sex club, I wondered if I could ever trust anyone.
You’re not mated,a voice in my head chimed in.Archer can go anywhere he wants, and so can you.
But I didn’t want to visit strip clubs or be with other men.
Footsteps drew closer from behind. “Need a hand?”
When I looked over my shoulder, a short-haired man greeted me with a smile. He rubbed his clean-shaven jaw, and it took me a second before I noticed the name stitched on his uniform. When I recognized Noah’s smile and devious gaze, my throat dried up like the Sahara Desert.
“What are you doing here?”
“What do you think?” he asked, his voice spirited. “I know you didn’t like the long hair and whiskers, so I took care of that. And this job pays better than the club.”
I discreetly glanced around for the box cutter. “That’s nice.”
“Nice?I thought you’d be more surprised than that.” Noah walked closer and then squatted, his dark eyes even more pronounced with his hair and scruff gone. “I’m a changed man. Look, I even set up this gig just for you.”
“What?”
A smile crept up his face. “Enrique didn’t mention it? How do you think he got your information?”
“Because he heard about me.”
Noah gave a mirthless chuckle. “Sure. He heard about some nothing bookstore in the middle of nowhere. Really, Cecilia? I thought you were smarter than that.”
I moved my left arm behind a tall stack of boxes and prepared to pivot and run. Then my fingers made contact with the box cutter, as if someone had magically placed it in exactly the right spot.
“Well?” He shook his head, eyebrows arched comically high as if he was expecting an answer.
“What?”
“Aren’t you going to say ‘thank you’?” He scoffed. “You really haven’t changed. I’ve been busting my ass to make an impression. Those idiot officials won’t let me back in town, and when I saw these books, I figured out how I could getyouto come seeme.” Noah suddenly stood and did a turn. “I look pretty sharp, huh?”
“I need to go. Enrique said when I finished?—”
“Enrique said, Enrique said.What about what Noah says? I went out of my way to set this whole thing up. The least you can do is sit and talk this out. I don’t deserve what you did to me, and I sure as hell don’t deserve all those nasty things you said that night. Are you still seeing that wolf?”
“Let’s go outside. It’s hot in here.”
“No, we’re staying right here. I love you, Cecilia. You owe me a conversation. You also owe me an apology.”
My fingers stayed locked around the weapon. “You don’t really love me, Noah. You wanted someone to cook your dinner, clean your house, and lie beneath you. And the only thing you ever wanted from me when you came home was either sex or a massage. Then you started coming home later, and you didn’t want me at all. Why bother keeping me? I’m not a possession.”
He shook his finger at me. “Youpushedmeaway. Remember? You started giving me all those looks, like I wasn’t good enough. Like my job wasn’t good enough and our house wasn’t good enough.”
I had never once said nor implied those things. Those werehisinsecurities living rent-free in his mind.
