Page 22 of Under the Lies

Noah wraps a strand of my hair around his finger, slowly. We stand so close as he rests his forehead against mine. I feel my heart go wild with how close we are and I pray that he doesn’t hear it. I don’t know what he’s doing but I don’t want to stop it. There’s something intimate about how we stand. Locked in this embrace, forehead to forehead.

I close my eyes, breathing in mahogany and amber. Breathing in Noah, getting lost in him as his thumb traces my cheekbone. With every stroke my chest feels heavier, beats wilder.

My eyes snap open, wide, feeling his lips brush against my skin on their journey to my ear. In a soft, sensual whisper Noah says, “Get on the ledge, Sayer.”

I pull away. He doesn’t let me go. And maybe it’s because I still feel the high of his touch or the altitude from being up this high is getting to me but my fate is sealed the second I open my mouth. “Make me.”

A dare wrapped in a pretty bow. Noah seizes it with an iron grip on my hips. He carries me to the edge and as he does he whispers in my ear, “There’s a lot I want to make you do, princess, but I’ll settle on this.” He puts me down and backs away. “For now.”

I make the mistake of looking down and wish I hadn’t. My throat works with difficulty to swallow. I don’t move. I’ve forgotten how.

Noah doesn’t pay attention to the turmoil that’s frozen my body. He doesn’t care.

“Go on.” He crosses his arms. “Dance for me.”

He practically purrs the words. Dance for me.

I used to love to dance. I grew up taking classes, it was the one thing my parents forced me into that I actually enjoyed. Maybe that’s why they ripped me out of them two years later.

I can’t even force myself to shift an inch, though. Heights are a foe I have no courage to squander but Noah waits. A knowing gleam rests in his eyes.

He knows.

He knows I’m afraid of heights despite me never telling him.

It’s been a fear that’s only lived inside me.

Surprise should come but it doesn’t. Of course Noah knows.

This is his kingdom and I am a lowly subject.

He knows all. Sees all.

And he looks ready to stay up here all night.

I’m not. Too bad my body is still locked in fear. To get out of it I have to channel a person I probably shouldn’t.

What would Harlow do?

The answer comes immediately.

She’d do anything, fear nothing and go after whatever she wants. Harlow would play this game while inventing her own.

And that’s what I need to do.

Confident. I need to be confident.

So I dance. I dance to no music, hips swaying with the wind.

After several unheard beats of awkwardness, my body loosens up and I dare to meet Noah’s eyes.

They flare when we connect.

A jolt stuns me.

Power shifting in the air.

Power directed at me, solely me. Noah’s undivided attention. He follows my movements, my hips rolling, hands exploring.

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