Page 91 of The Christmas Fix
“You want to talk? Okay. I get that you’re not ready to discuss this with Sara, I do. But you made me feel cheap. Like I was something to be ashamed of. I amneitherof those things. Now give me the fucking boot.”
She reached for it, off balance, and Noah pushed her onto the couch. With no other options, he lay on top of her, pinning her.
“Noah! I swear to God—”
He clamped a hand over her mouth. “Shut up a second, will you? Christ, Cat. How could you think for a second that I think you’re something to be ashamed of?”
“You made me hide in the pantry.” She said it as if he were half deaf and a whole lot stupid.
“Sara is twelve years old. She’s never met anyone that I’ve… dated.” He was at a loss to describe just exactly what he and Cat were doing. “I haven’t done much… dating. So, I don’t know what’s acceptable to expose a child to. And you know me. I always err on the side of caution.”
Cat went still beneath him, and tentatively, Noah removed his hand. “Fine,” she said coolly.
The strength she possessed in that long, lean body always surprised him as it did now when she managed to shove him off of her and onto the floor. She pulled on her jeans with temper and snatched her bra out from under the coffee table.
“I didn’t realize you had such issues with casual sex,” she snapped out.
She wasn’t fighting fair when she shucked off her shirt and dragged on her sports bra.
Frustrated, Noah shoved his hands in his hair. “Just because I don’t want Sara to think that it’s okay. That’s what upsets you?”
She gave him a long look. This one wasn’t cool. There was fire behind those eyes.
She shoved a foot into a boot. “What are we doing here, Noah?” she asked reaching for the laces.
“Having mind boggling sex. Enjoying each other.”
“Having mind bogglingcasualsex,” she pointed out, lacing the boot and searching for its mate.
“I’m new at the whole casual sex thing.”
“That’s the point. You’re not a casual sex kinda guy, and I’m not a serious relationship kind of girl.”
“I’m trying—”
“Maybe we shouldn’t be trying. You obviously have some kind of judgment about the way I choose to live my life. And it’s not like I’m going to be here much longer.”
Noah was at a loss. He didn’t understand how he could go from feeling sated and whole to panicked. It slid through his gut like ice. “I don’t want you to go.” He wasn’t just talking about tonight.
“And I don’t want to be in a relationship. I’m not going to make room for something like that right now. So, I guess we’re at an impasse.”
She made it to the door before he gathered his wits. He grabbed her by the arm and spun her around. And when she wouldn’t stop struggling against him, he pressed her to the door and did the only thing that came naturally. He kissed her.
She went stock still beneath him, and then her mouth came to life. She ravaged him. She reached into his body and grabbed on to his soul, and he let her. Their tongues tangled, teeth dragging, breath sighing.
He was hard again and oh so desperate for what only Cat could give him.
And then she was pushing him back a step. He let her this time. He needed the space, the air.
“I’m not going to let you make me feel bad about how I live my life. I choose what sexual relationships I want to have. And five minutes ago you were at the top of that list. But there’s no room on that list for someone who doesn’t respect me,” Cat said quietly.
“Cat just because I don’t want Sara to—”
Cat cut him off. “I have to go.”
And just like that, she slipped out the door leaving Noah alone in his big, empty house.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
