Page 31 of Healing the Heart

He released her, but only so he could grasp her upper arms and haul her to her feet. “You were mistaken about me this whole time, but now that you’ve learned the truth, you’re giving up?”

“I need time to think.”

“Take all the time you like, sweet subbie. But while you do, think on this.” His mouth came down on hers in a hot, steamy, intensely arousing kiss. It seemed to go on forever, but when he raised his head, just enough to speak, wasn’t nearly long enough.

“The next move is yours, Fiona,” he murmured huskily, his lips brushing hers. “The question is, are you daring enough to make it?”

He straightened, his intense gaze not leaving hers until, once making sure she was steady, he stepped back, and his hands fell away. Heart racing with her head spinning a mile a minute, wanting him but also afraid to admit it. Axyl had warned her from the beginning, and the entire club knew he was a one-and-done kind of dom. Heck, he’d told her that himself. She needed to talk to Val and Esme, to see why he’d suddenly applied for their matchmaking service.

Very close to crying out the truth, that she wasn’t daring at all, she was scared out of her mind because he, more so than anyone had the power to annihilate her heart, the words evaporated on her tongue as the door shut quietly and she was alone again.

Chapter 9

Exhausted Eyewitness

FIONA GRABBED HER PURSEfrom her locker, closed the door, and spun the lock. With a groan, she leaned forward and pressed her forehead against the cool metal, completely drained.

She’d just finished a twelve-hour shift and was operating on zero sleep. Each time she shut her eyes, memories of her encounters with Noah played on repeat in her head. From that night at the bar to when she rejected him in subspace and the ugly scene with Jordan when, like a hero in the movies, he’d swooped in and saved her. The despicable jerk should count himself lucky Noah had been more concerned with her well-being than kicking his ass.

Recalling his tender care and kindness, and what a bitch she was in return—and how badly mistaken—she banged her head against her locker. Not once but twice, the clang of skull meeting metal echoing through the room.

“For a woman with a master’s degree, you sure can be an idiot,” she muttered.

It amazed her that even after how coldly she’d treated him, he still agreed to a Kinky Matches fix-up. She’d messed that up too by falling for the lies of a heartless, sadistic asshole.

While being freed and helped from the bench, she only caught the tail end of Master Noah laying Jordan out, but shehad a vivid imagination and liked to imagine him knocking out a few of his teeth.

“They’re probably all caps and fake like his tan and nose job,” she muttered snidely under her breath.

Pushing aside her lingering bitterness, she focused on the apology she owed Noah. It would need to be meticulously crafted, brimming with sincerity, and practiced to perfection, to ensure she didn’t screw it up too.

But it wouldn’t be tonight. She was in such a state of exhaustion, standing was a struggle. All she had the energy to do was go home, stand under a hot shower, maybe wash her hair, then crawl into bed. She should eat but was too tired to even think about dinner, let alone cooking it.

Tomorrow was her day off, and soon enough to muster her daring—and man oh man was she gonna needed it—to beg his forgiveness.

Fiona pushed upright, her legs a little wobbly as she dug around in her bag for her keys. Why did they always have to end up at the bottom? When she finally found them, she walked out of the locker room, past the darkened gym, to the office. It was deserted except for John, one of the physical therapists, who was still typing away.

“I’m heading out,” she told him.

“If you wait, I’ll walk out with you,” he offered. “I just need about ten to fifteen more minutes to finish my notes.”

It was past nine. She was running late because she’d had to stay to complete a pile of case notes, making her shift thirteen and a half hours, not including a half hour for lunch.

Feeling the exhaustion deep in her bones, she declined. “That’s okay. I’m in the garage and snagged a spot in the second row.”

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