Page 129 of Under the Lies

Noah, the infuriating asshole who just leaves without a goodbye.

Noah, the man who unravels me like no one else.

Noah, who’s found a home in the one place I never expected him to be.

My heart.

Frustrated, I kick a littered soda can in my path and it rolls into the street, a car swerving to not hit it. The driver honks and flips me off.

Without thinking, I do it back.

It’s too dark for them to see, but it feels good all the same.

I keep walking until I reach the pier, the cool sea air tangling my hair, tickling my skin.

Maybe if the breeze grows strong enough like a bird, I can fly away.

My elbows rest on the wooden rail and I stare at the ocean, onyx black and furious—deafening waves crash below.

I don’t know how long I stand out here before another person joins me.

“Give me like three minutes, Thea.” I sigh.

“Sayer.”

I freeze while my body ignites at the voice.

It’s deeper than Thea’s.

Intoxicating and lethal.

Noah.

Slowly, my head turns, taking him in.

Standing next to me, mirroring my stance, our elbows almost touch on the rail.He stares at me with his usual unreadable expression, but those intense blue eyes hook me nonetheless.

A battle rages behind them when he looks at me, fighting what’s churning in his head.

“You’re home.” My tone is neutral.

“Miss me?” He grins, but his eyes remain the same, an internal battle.

His words fuel me with anger as I narrow my gaze at him, veins humming in irritation. All the missing I’ve felt for him shriveled away with his sentence.

“No.” I look back to the dark ocean, dismissing him. “To be honest, I forgot you were gone.”

“That so?”

My sharp nod is the only answer he gets out of me. He’s back in the city. And he didn’t tell me.

Did he even leave the city?

Everything in me is ignited as he slides closer, arms caging me in, pressing me up against the wood.

Invading my personal space, he leans in so his scratchy stubble grazes my cheek. “Liar.”

It’s a whisper. It’s an accusation.

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