“Nah.” I shook my head. “I’m tripping. That could be anybody.” I drove off down the street. I didn’t understand why Noa Green seeing somebody had me so hot. It made little sense. I’d just met the girl, and it wasn’t like I could step to her like that anyway. I wasn’t a bum, but I felt like one. I didn’t have my own spot, was fresh out of prison, and was working a construction job. I wasn’t the man I used to be, and I damn sure wasn’t the man I wanted to be, not yet.
Merging onto the highway, I tried to let my thoughts of Noa roll right out of the window. I didn’t have any business getting tight over who came or went from her house, just like I didn’t have any business even thinking about approaching her on that level.
“Just fix the house, Quade,” I told myself as I headed home. “Do the job. Nothing more.”
My body washot in a way I’d never experienced in my entire thirty-five years of life. I could barely catch my breath.
“I see you.” A deep baritone came from below me, making me look down to see Quade staring up at me. His eyes were soft yet intense. “I see you,” he repeated, and I shivered. We had no business being in this position. How we’d gotten from measurements to this, I wasn’t sure, but I didn’t want it to stop. My body was calling out to him like he had everything I needed.
“Quade.” I moaned as his lips moved down my shirtless torso, layering soft and deliberate kisses across my body. His hands held me gently, like I was something he wanted to protect. I appreciated how he wasn’t in a rush. He moved like we had all the time in the world.
“I see all of you,” he whispered, his lips brushing over me, his tone full of something real. When he kissed my lower lips, it was slow, careful, and I melted into it.
“Ooh!” My fingers tangled in his hair as I pushed him into my center. My body was in heat, and I could feel myself getting lost in this moment with him. Every swipe of his tongue against my clit sent me higher, and I felt like I was floating in the air. I dropped my head back and arched my back as he devoured me.
Bang. Bang.
A sharp noise made me jerk my head. What the hell was going on?
“Do you hear that?” I asked, confused. Quade looked up, just as puzzled, face drenched in my juices.
“Nah,” he said, shaking his head. He didn’t waste any time settling back between my thighs, but the loud banging continued. “Just focus on us.”
It was easier said than done. The more I tried to focus, the louder the banging became until it was the only thing I could hear.
“What is going on?” My voice came out as a whine as I tried to grasp onto what was left of the moment. Whoever was making all this noise was going to hear from me. Sitting up, I pushed his head back.
Bang. Bang.
“It’s outside,” he said, trying to grab onto me and hold me in place, but I could barely feel his hands against my body. I glanced down again as the banging suddenly filled the room, and Quade slowly faded away.
“Quade?” I called his name as I attempted to grip onto him. I didn’t want him to go.
“I see you. I see you,” he whispered as he faded away, and the banging noise consumed me.
Bang. Bang. Bang.
I jerked awake. My eyes fluttered open, and my hand immediately flew to my chest to calm my racing heart.
“You were dreaming,” I whispered to myself as reality hit me. I was in my bed alone. My room was empty. There was no sign of Quade, just the loud banging, and a hot ache between my thighs was still present. I slid my hand over my center. This ache wasn’t from Shawn’s pop-up visit last night but from something different.
Suddenly, images of Quade’s sticky face between my legs filled my thoughts.
“OMG!” Heat and embarrassment flushed through me, and suddenly, I was breathless again. “I just had a dream about Quae Lo.” It was one that still had my body buzzing and tingling as though it was real.What the hell, Noa?
I lay in my bed, trying to process it all, but the constant banging outside my bedroom window wouldn’t let me think. I rolled out of bed faster than normal, almost forgetting my diagnosis. The pain that crept through my spine and down my legs quickly reminded me of my limitations. I grabbed hold of my chair just as another bang echoed through my home, shaking my windows. This time, chatter followed it.
I lifted myself from my bed and settled into my chair. My morning meds and hygiene routine were going to wait. I had to figure out who and why someone was outside my house making all this noise. Rolling into the living room, I made my way to the window and peeked out. The Northside Rebuild truck that was parked out front had me looking up at the clock. It was seven o’clock in the morning. I knew they were coming by, but I wasn’t expecting them this early. I damn sure wasn’t expecting them to be tearing apart my wheelchair ramp without checking with me first. Blood boiling, I threw up the front window and stuck my head outside.
“Excuse me! What the hell are y’all doing?” I yelled.
“Removing your ramp, ma’am,” one man from yesterday—I’d forgotten his name—replied.
“I’m confused how, because nobody ran that by me.” I rolled my neck, a little annoyed.
He didn’t respond, just glanced up from where he was hammering at the side rail and looked toward the truck.
“Quade!” he called as he threw up his hands. My eyes darted toward the movement behind the open truck bed just as Quade appeared.
