Page 48 of Noah

A throat clearing broke the spell.

Noah frowned at Drey. He wasn’t so sure he liked visitors if they interrupted violently pleasurable moments where their gazes clashed and held.

“The female?” Drey prompted.

Adrienne shook her head violently. “I don’t know. I’ve never been there. I considered storing my things last time I moved but the dates worked out, so I didn’t need to use the storage unit.”

“Who pays for it?” Drey asked, though he probably already knew.

“My father inherited a fair sum from his mother, and squandered most of it on travelling,” she snorted. “He bought the unit, then rented a space from a local company. They kept it secure and clean and that’s about all I know.”

“Why didn’t you ever…”

She was already shaking her head before he could finish. “I wouldn’t have anything to do with him. Not if I could help it. He broke my family in two so he could go and be ‘free’” She put sarcastic air quotes around free. Noah felt a growl build as he scented her hurt. “So no, I didn’t want to see all the treasures he put on display shelves from around the world. All the things that were more important than his family.”

Noah immediately reached out, his hand curling around her hip.

She let out a shaky smile. “I figured it was time. If I had to store my things in there, then I would need to face whatever he used it for. Be it petty trinkets or expensive memories of a life without us.” She shrugged but he heard her pain.

Drey stood with a grin, walked to the edge of the porch, and threw over his shoulder. “We’re having a dance tonight. A chance for everyone to get together and have fun. Come.”

Interfering. That’s what the male was doing as he swaggered away.

Noah saw Adrienne’s head jerk up hopefully like she wanted to attend. “Would you like to go?”

“Would you?” she asked.

Because of his lie, she didn’t think he could leave her for long periods so if she wanted to go, then they would.

He found it challenging to be away from her. She had been nothing but accommodating and he was beginning to realise that despite her strength and protests she could look after herself. Her heart was too soft and giving.

That feeling he had experienced in medical expanded to choke him and he knew what it was…he could put a name to it now.

Guilt.

He felt guilty and he felt even more guilt when she ducked her head and whispered, “It’s okay if it’s too much. No one would blame you for sitting it out.”

Noah would blame himself if she missed out, so like the gentlemen he saw on television, he clasped her hand.

Her chin came up, her eyes met his as he kissed the back of her hand. Creamy brown skin, smooth and silky. “Will you go with me, Adrienne?” he asked.

She swallowed hard, her chest heaving, the mounds moving fascinatingly. “Yes.”

His beast was roaring in triumph. The sound came from his dominant core, resonating inside him. It was like he had been given a prize.

A prize. No, she was more than that.

The man saw what his beast did, an emotionally kind soul hiding behind a lifetime of loneliness, pain, and the bad hands she’d been dealt.

He wouldn’t add to them, so he replied firmly, “Then we’ll go to the dance. Together.” He hesitated, then added, “And have fun.” Noah wasn’t sure what fun entailed so he couldn’t guarantee he knew how to have fun, but he’d try.

That’s all that mattered.

“Dancing. Anything special I should know about dancing?” he asked, reluctant to let her go.

Her mouth moved slowly upward. “Dancing is easy. You move with the music; you feel the rhythm.”

“I’m not sure I have a rhythm.” He growled worried he would show her up.

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