Chapter Six
NOAH
“Got it,” I said into the phone. “I’ll take care of it when I’m back in the office next week.”
“You’re not gonna cave and come back early?” my older brother, Dallas, teased.
“No,” I said, fighting not to sigh.
“Good,” Dallas replied firmly. “You need a break. I only called because you asked me to.”
“I did. And thanks to you, I think I might actually be able to take this break.”
Dallas chuckled. “Sounds like a plan. Now, I’m not calling you again. I’ll see you at Christmas.”
The line went dead in my ear, and I lowered my phone, sliding it back into my pocket.
I’d followed my older brother into the FBI.
Last year, we started working together on a case.
I loved working with Dallas because I trusted him implicitly.
He’d called to let me know they’d finally made an arrest on a complicated financial fraud case.
That was my expertise, which was kind of weird because my father was in jail for pulling off a massive fraud. Well, only temporarily pulling it off.
With a mental shake, I crossed the living room to look out the windows.
The evergreen trees flanking the backyard were dusted with snow.
Whitecaps ruffled the surface of the ocean in the distance.
A gust of wind blew a little swirl of snow off a tree, and the feathers of a blue jay were bright as the bird flew past the windows.
I thought about Sasha and that crazy-hot kiss. Fuck me. I knew it wasn’t smart to desire her. It definitely wasn’t wise to kiss her. Kissing her only made me want her even more. She kissed with abandon, and she felt so perfect—soft and warm with her curves pressing against me.
I decided, for the moment, to just see what happened. Maybe it was insane, but I wasn’t so sure I could keep my hands off delectable Sasha for a full week.
“You’re going where?” I asked, glancing up from where I was sitting on the couch in the living room. Although I’d managed to avoid further phone calls from work, I’d been unable to resist pulling out my laptop and checking my email.
“Out to dinner,” Sasha replied.
When my eyes met hers, my body instantly tightened.
She was wearing a fitted pair of jeans with leather boots that hugged her calves.
She wore a silky plum-colored blouse over a camisole, and my eyes landed on the stretch of cotton across her breasts.
She had lip gloss on, and I wanted to throw my laptop on the floor, stand, cross to her, and kiss it all off. I swallowed.
“I’ll come with you.”
Sasha’s eyes narrowed, her gaze considering as she looked at me from across the room. I felt as if I were being measured and sized up in her mind. “You’ve been avoiding me for the past twenty-four hours. Maybe we should stick with that. Apparently, kissing me totally freaked you out.”
I closed my laptop and set it on the coffee table before standing.
“Kissing you did not freak me out,” I said flatly.
The rapid thud of my heartbeat in my chest echoed with each word.
“I’d like to go to dinner with you.” I crossed the room, stopping where she stood in the archway that led into the hallway.
“I wasn’t aware I invited you to go with me.” Her tone was sharp, but there was a rasp to it, and I didn’t miss the way her cheeks pinkened.
“Fine, let me correct that. Would you mind if I went to dinner with you?” I tried to keep my tone crisp, but it came out slightly rough, like the serrated edge of my desire.
Sasha lifted her shoulder in a slight shrug with a saucy lift of her chin. “Fine. I hadn’t decided where to go yet. Do you have a preference?”
“How about Emile’s? We haven’t been there yet.”
“Fine. We’ve only been here so long.”
“I wasn’t saying that as a complaint,” I returned. “Just that I haven’t been there in years, and since you haven’t been to Haven’s Bay in a while, I figured you hadn’t either.”
“I haven’t. Shall we go then?”
“Sure. Let me just grab my jacket.”
The heels of Sasha’s boots echoed briskly on the floor ahead of me. My eyes tracked the swing of her hips. I’d been lying when I told her kissing her hadn’t freaked me out. It had most definitely unsettled me. Just not the way she thought.
Sasha snagged her fluffy down jacket hanging on the coat rack in the corner of the foyer. My jacket was hanging on the end of the banister, and I grabbed it.
“Oh wait, I need to let Matilda out before we go,” she said as soon as Matilda came trotting down the stairs. She’d taken to napping upstairs in the sunshine that came through the window and landed on a circular rug at the end of the hall.
It was early evening, and the sun was setting, but it was still probably warm in that spot.
“I’ll start my car while you take her out.”
Sasha nodded, following me with Matilda right behind us. My car was warm a few minutes later, and Sasha was quiet as I drove into Haven’s Bay. The holiday lights glittered under the evening twilight, casting the small downtown area in a charming twinkling glow.
“Wow,” Sasha said in a low voice. “I forgot how beautiful the town is over the holidays.”
I glanced sideways when I came to a stop at the stoplight. She was looking out the window, and I wanted to reach over and turn her chin toward mine for a kiss. But she was still annoyed with me, so now wasn’t the moment for that.
I turned onto Main Street, passing by Haven’s Bay Grocery.
Holiday lights were strung on the rooftops of the stores and homes in downtown proper.
The decorative lampposts had wreaths mounted on them, lining the street with holiday cheer.
Another moment later, the sign for Emile’s came into view.
I slowed and turned into the parking lot, not surprised to see it filled with cars.
As we walked across the parking lot with the sound of our footsteps crunching on the gravel, I commented, “We might have to wait at the bar for a table.”
Sasha’s eyes slid sideways, her lips kicking up at one corner. Lust bolted through me. “I’ve never even gotten to sit at the bar here. That’s big stuff.”
Her reply caught me off guard, and I barked out a laugh as I held the door open for her. “I guess not, seeing as you moved away from town when you were sixteen.”
I turned out to be correct. When we stepped inside, every table was full. Even the bar was full, although I spied one barstool and quickly guided Sasha to it. Without thinking, I rested my hand on her lower back, coaxing her forward as we threaded our way through the tables.
I saw people turning as we passed by with some waving or calling out quick greetings. I hadn’t been back home too often, but I did know some locals. I honestly didn’t know who might recognize Sasha.
“Right here,” I murmured, leaning down to speak into her ear.
She slipped her hips onto the barstool, and I leaned my elbows on the bar beside her. She spun around, her eyes arcing about the room. “Wow, it looks pretty much the same.”
The restaurant was in a renovated cape-style home with the walls knocked down and supporting beams refinished to create open space.
Tables were scattered in the center with a coffee bar on one side, a liquor bar on the other, and a deli counter and kitchen in the back.
The place functioned as a coffee shop and deli in the morning into the afternoon.
In the evenings, the coffee bar shut down, and alcohol flowed with the food.
They served standard pub fare with the seafood twist of mid-coast Maine.
In addition to burgers and sandwiches, they had fresh lobster rolls, fish and chips, crab cakes, and the like.
The restaurant was pretty basic as far as décor went. Over in one corner, there was a pool table. The bar had a glossy wooden surface, and the bartender, Rick, caught my eye, grinning when he recognized me.
“Well, hey there, Noah. Long time.” His eyes landed curiously on Sasha. “Do I know you?” he asked as he set two napkins on the bar in front of us.
“Maybe,” Sasha replied with a saucy grin. “I’m Sasha Hilts. I grew up here, but I moved away in high school.”
Rick nodded slowly, his brows hitching up. “Ah, I remember you. How’re things?”
“Pretty good.”
“What can I get you two?”
“I’m driving, so I’ll just take a water. You?” I glanced at Sasha, not missing Rick’s lingering gaze on her. A bolt of possessiveness jolted me.
“What kind of margaritas do you have?” she asked.
“Strawberry and regular.”
“I’ll take a strawberry one.”
“You two waiting for a table?” Rick asked as he quickly filled a glass with ice and water and handed it to me before making Sasha’s margarita.
I nodded. “We’d like to sit down to eat.”
“Got it.” He glanced over just as a server slipped through the swinging doors into the kitchen in the back. He handed Sasha her drink. “I’ll put that on your check for after you eat,” he said as he turned away to serve another customer. “Great to see you both.”
Minutes later, I decided coming out with Sasha was a bad idea.
The guy on the other side of her was flirting with her, and she was flirting back.
Grinding my teeth, I was feeling fucking insane.
Jealousy wasn’t something I had any experience with.
Sasha seemed uniquely able to bring a sense of possessiveness out in me.
Hell, I wanted to punch the fucking guy and Rick too.
Because he kept casting her appreciative looks.
When the server let us know a table was open, Sasha slid her empty margarita glass over toward Rick. “That was delicious. Thank you.” Turning to me, she added, “Be right there. I’m going to stop in the ladies’ room.”
As she walked away, Rick asked me, “You two a couple?”
Because I wasn’t thinking rationally, I lied, “Yes.”
He chuckled. “Better hold on tight.”
Sasha met me at the table minutes later, sitting down with a smile. “You know, I wouldn’t trade being a single mom, but it’s kind of nice to have a break. Nobody here knows how unglamorous my life is. It’s like actually being single instead of being a single mom.”
I stared at her across the table and almost growled. “Really?” I managed tightly.
“Why so grumpy?” she asked. She pulled the laminated menu tucked between the salt and pepper from the center of the table and began scanning it.
“I’m not grumpy,” I muttered in return.
Her gorgeous green eyes lifted to mine, searching my face. “If you say so.”
A minute later, she tucked the menu back between the salt and pepper. “I’m getting a lobster roll. I haven’t had one in a while.”
“When we’re back in Boston, I’ll take you to my favorite place for lobster rolls at the docks.”
“We?”
“Yes. We both live in Boston. No reason we can’t get together there.”
She stared back at me, and I didn’t know how to read what I saw flickering in her eyes.
We had dinner, and it was delicious. My manners kicked in, and I learned more about her life at work.
By the time we left, my body was twisted tight for her.
Sitting across the table and watching her eat was its own form of torture, made worse by my irrational possessiveness.
Every man who looked her way annoyed me.
I supposed the worst part was I felt like I’d put myself in the situation.
As we crossed the parking lot toward my car after dinner, Sasha smiled in my direction. “Thanks for going with me. It’s nice just to get out.”
“Great to see you, Sasha,” a voice called. She turned back, waving at the guy who spoke.
“Nice to see you too, Aaron!” she called in return.
I didn’t even know Aaron, but they’d had a few classes together in high school. I rounded the car to open the door for her, trying to shackle my urge to kiss her.
But then, she looked up at me. “Remind me why you’re so grumpy.”
I answered her by leaning down, sliding my hand around the back of her neck, and fitting my mouth over hers.
I didn’t know what the hell I was doing, but I was done trying to ignore the flames that licked through my body every time she was in my proximity.
Hell, I’d fallen asleep last night thinking about her, and she was all the way upstairs.
Sasha made a little sound at the back of her throat, and her mouth opened, her tongue darting out to slide sensually against mine. With a sigh, she arched into me.
The next thing I knew, I pressed her against my car and kissed her roughly, pouring days of pent-up desire into our kiss. A car door slammed somewhere in the vicinity, puncturing the haze of need clouding my thoughts. I forced myself to lift my head, but it was no easy feat.
Her eyes were dark, and her lips puffy as she stared up at me. “What was that about?”
Fuck me. Even the sound of her voice revved the need driving me.