“About time.” My words come out with so much snark that I immediately regret them.
Noah looks at me and smirks. “Someone is upset. As you should be, ladybug, come here.”
“No. I… I think it’s time you take me to the airport.” Looking at him is so hard, it makes me want to cry. I’m being a bitch because I’m scared he will hurt me first.
Noah prowls toward me, and I scramble off the bed on the other side. “Oh, ladybug, you are in for it now.” He growls and moves around the bed toward me. If I crawl over the bed, he could reach me. His arms are long enough.
“Please,” I whisper as he crowds me and my back hits the cold window.
“I’m not letting you go, Othella. You need to get that through your head.” He touches my face, and it calms me down. It’s such a different touch than Clyde’s and I’m thankful. Hell, I’m ecstatic to have Noah touching me.
“But…” He kisses me, cutting my words off. His tongue delves into my mouth, coaxing me to kiss him back. To play with his tongue in a lover’s dance. Sighing into his mouth, I let go of my worry for a moment and enjoy the bliss his lips bring me.
We are both gasping for air when we pull away from each other. I tremble in his arms. “I know Clyde scared you and you’re worried. There’s no reason to be. He’s all but signed his own arrest warrant. Alright?”
That’s what I needed to hear, but also didn’t want to hear it either. “So, you did your job. Great. Now you can let me go, and I won’t be a burden.”
Chapter Fourteen
What.The. Fuck? Looking at my woman, I can’t believe she thinks she’s a burden. Again. “Who the hell said you’re a burden? It’s my honor to do things for you, Othella.” My blood pressure is rising, and I know if I don’t control it, it’s going to get worse.
Her eyes look devastatingly raw. Goddamn, her mother has done a bang-up job of wrecking her self-esteem and self-worth. Taking Othella gently by the face, I force her to look at me.
“Do you think I really believe you are a burden?”
Her eyes beg me to understand, but her body gives off a totally different signal. Othella doesn’t speak, but she doesn’t have to. I can read her like a book. “Oh, ladybug.”
Chuckling, I kiss her again. This time, I pull her into me and don’t let go. “I love you, Othella.”
“Wh-what?” she stutters and looks at me with eagerness. God, she’s starved for love, and I am so ready to give it to her. There will never be a day from now on that she doesn’t know what love is. She will understand that being with someone isn’t a goddamn burden.
“You heard me, ladybug. Now, answer my question.” I kiss down her throat and she whimpers. Every time she gives me those little noises, it goes straight to my dick.
“Yes. I’ve always been one. No one ever wants me around. Hell, even my roommate at college kicked me out because I was too young. The Dean of Education had to make a special arrangement for me to live by myself and even that was out of duty,” she whispers to me, and I pull back so I can look at her. Tears well in her eyes, but I can see the need and hope in there.
“I will take care of you forever. Never forget that ladybug.”
Her arms come around me so hard and fast that she knocks my footing loose and we stumble a bit. I chuckle and hug her, keeping us from falling. “There now, I got you, Othella. Always and forever.”
Rubbing her back, I feel the stiffness and the worry seeping out of her. Othella turns her face into my neck and kisses my pulse. My cock twitches, and I’d take her to bed right now if Bruiser didn’t walk into the room.
“The mayor is here. You want me to let her in?”
“No!” Othella screams so loudly it hurts my eardrums, but I don’t say a word. Bruiser’s left eyebrow rises but he smirks.
He raises his hands in an act to make him look innocent. Yeah, right. The man is almost seven feet tall, with at least 350 pounds on me. “No problem, ma’am.”
Othella looks at him and gives a small smile. “You… you and I are friends now.” Her words come out wobbly, but my ladybug is determined. She steps out of my embrace, extending her hand to Bruiser, and I want to growl in frustration. I reel it in, knowing this is needed. The feeling that Othella doesn’t have many friends makes me angry.
Bruiser takes her hand and Othella beams. “Any friend of Noah’s is a friend of mine. Besides, you…”
She pauses and blushes. “You saved me. I owe you my life.”
“Oh now, Miss Othella, you don’t owe me a damn thing. It was a pleasure helping you. Now, let me get rid of the mayor.”
“Let me,” Othella says, and I bristle.
“Wait.” I walk over to her and hold her back to my chest. “Are you sure you want to do this?”
