Noah bridged the gap between us until he was in front of me. His gaze burned into my skin, and I wanted to reach out and pull him into my lap.
Why was I so attracted to this guy?
He put a knee on either side of me, his eyes never leaving mine.
I leaned back on the couch.
“We have a history,” he said, placing his hands on the back of the sofa. Not a single inch of him was touching me, but I felt his electric pull like a strong current.
“You’re too young.”
“Bullshit.”
“You don’t love me.”
“This isn’t about love. Bernard doesn’t love you. He might want to be spanked by you, which I can empathize with, but he doesn’t love you.”
I grabbed him by the waist and flipped him over on the couch so I was on top of him.
“Now we’re talking.” He raised his hips up to meet mine, but I kept space between us.
He was rock-hard under his jeans. My own erection was borderline painful. I hadn’t had sex with anything but my hand since our last time.
“What do you want from me, Noah?”
He swallowed and his face went serious. “I need your help. The safety of hundreds of vulnerable kids is at risk. I don’t know how to help my friends on my own. I need you.”
“And it would be fake?”
“The marriage would be real to fulfill the requirement of your dad’s will. Everything else would be fake. Once you have the company, we can wait some time and then get a divorce. This is a business transaction. We don’t need to complicate it.”
I couldn’t believe I was actually considering this.
“Why would you do this for me?”
“I told you. To help you. And because you can help me.”
“You don’t need to marry me to access my connections or influence. You just need to ask.”
He closed his eyes, some of his fight leaving him.
“I want to go to the mayor’s ball. All the people with money and influence are going to be there. I need them on board. If I don’t get this, my friends won’t be able to raise enough money to take over the lease for the old hospital. They want to turn it into a shelter for vulnerable young people, an activity center, and a safe place for kids in low-income families. They don’t have anyone tofight for them. Everyone else looks at that building and all they see are dollar signs.”
I stroked his cheek. “This isn’t a decision to make lightly, Noah. Marrying me will come with attachments.”
“Like what?” he asked, leaning into my touch.
“My mother. She’s going to want to be your best friend.”
“Can’t we tell her it’s fake?”
“No. It would break her heart to know I was deceiving everyone when, in her eyes, my father’s intention was that I was finally happy and settled.”
“My family is a little crazy.”
I smiled. “I wouldn’t expect any less from the people who raised you.”
“Hey.” He hit my arm.
