21. Noah
Noah
IT HAD JUST turned eight as I made my way out onto the front porch of Wilhelmina’s and took a seat on one of the rocking chairs to wait for Laurel.
It was a beautiful night. There was a cool breeze in the air but nothing that would make you avoid being outside. The sun had set a couple hours ago, and I had a feeling that today might just be the first day that I didn’t resent Harry for bringing me back here.
The midday make-out session under the bleachers hadn’t hurt either.
Along with the baseball game, which had been fun, despite that jackass Laurel knew trying to crack me in the head with his hard swing.
But I wasn’t going to think about him. I was focused on one thing—or person—only, and she was currently walking my way.
Damn. Laurel knew how to dress to kill, that was for sure. If her goal was to prove I was a slave to her every move, then she was going to get her wish.
As she made her way up the stairs, I drank in the sight of her red heels, long legs, and the little black dress and sheer shawl she wore. Her blonde hair was styled in a sexy wave that made it look as though she’d just spent the day rolling around between the sheets. “Wow.”
She softly laughed and smiled. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“Good, because it’s about all my brain can think of right now.”
“Then I should just go home?”
She went to turn away, and I reached out and took her elbow, halting her. Then I stepped in closer and ran my fingers down her cheek. “Don’t even think about it.”
Laurel angled her face up toward me, and under the lights of the balcony, her blue eyes twinkled. “No?”
“Definitely not.” I touched her lower lip with my thumb, and when she sucked in a breath, my brain kicked back into gear. “You promised me dinner.”
“I think you have that the wrong way around.”
“Hmm, well, either way, I’m not letting you leave just yet.”
Laurel nodded, and when I released her, she turned around to walk away from me.
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”
When she reached the edge of the stairs, she dropped the shawl to mid-back and glanced over her shoulder. “What?”
Oh, she knew exactly what I was talking about. The back of her dress—or should I say the nonexistent back of her dress—was cut low and was left completely open. It was all I could do to stop my tongue from rolling out of my head.
Jesus Christ, was it even legal to wear something like that in public?
When I finally managed to send the message from my brain to my legs and make them walk me to where she stood, I said, “You wore this on purpose, didn’t you?”
The grin she gave was that of a siren to a flailing ship, beckoning it to come closer to that which would end it.
“It seemed only fair, since you like to…tease.”
My cock kicked in response as she walked off ahead of me. As I jogged to catch up with her, I knew one thing for certain: that dress, and the woman inside it, was going to torture me all damn night.
“SO WHERE ARE we going?”
As we pulled out of the B&B’s parking area, I looked at my passenger and cursed myself for not renting a small, sporty car so she’d be much closer to me.
It was probably for the best, though, if I wanted to get us from point A to point B without injury. As it was, I was finding it difficult to concentrate with the scent of her perfume and the knowledge that her dress was pretty much all she was wearing, judging by the revealing nature of its back.
Fuck . I needed to stop thinking about it or I was going to have a difficult time remaining decent—not to mention walking.
“Noah?”
Shoving that thought aside, I made myself focus. “It’s a surprise.”
“A surprise? I don’t really like surprises.”
I frowned and shook my head. “That’s not what I remember.”
“Yeah? Well, things change. I’ve changed. And the adult me likes to know where she’s going.”
“Ah, I see. And what else does the adult you like?”
Laurel chuckled, and the sound was as effective as a hand stroking my dick. “Wouldn’t you like to know.”
“I was well on my way to knowing last night.”
“Then maybe you shouldn’t have stopped.”
No shit. “Is that an invitation?”
Laurel ran her gaze down over me, and when it settled on my lap, it took every ounce of willpower I possessed not to pull the car over and haul her across the console.
“More an…observation.”
“Duly noted.”
Her coy smile made me grip the steering wheel a little tighter.
“So you never answered my question. Where are we going?”
I stopped at one of the two red lights in town, and when Laurel scooted down in her seat, I couldn’t help but laugh. “Is there a bounty out on your head I don’t know about?”
She glared at me, and her irritation made me laugh even harder. “You know exactly why I’m doing this. It only takes one person to see me sitting in this car and the whole town will know before morning. I told you, I don’t want to be part of the local gossip.”
“I get it.”
Laurel frowned, and I couldn’t be sure, but it seemed like there was more to what she was saying than she let on. Before I could ask, however, the light turned green, and we were off again. Laurel straightened and shook her hair back from her face.
“You don’t need to worry, I promise. We’re going somewhere private.” This time when I glanced at her, Laurel’s eyes were fixed on me, and the desire from yesterday was back full force, but with a hint of…wariness? “Just you and me.”
She took in a steadying breath, and as she let it out, she bit down into her lower lip.
We fell into silence as we sped out of town, and thank God I knew where I was going, because all thoughts were now fixated on how incredibly sexy Laurel was.
When we finally reached our destination and I pulled into the drive, Laurel sat forward in the car and stared out the windshield.
“This is the winery, Noah.” She looked at me, alarm stamped all over her expression. “Why are we at the winery?”
“This is where we’re having dinner.”
Laurel’s eyes widened as she turned in her seat. “I’m not having dinner in there with you. Are you out of your mind?”
“Not last time I checked. And why don’t you want to have dinner in there? Is the food bad?”
“Of course the food’s not bad. It’s the finest dining in town.”
Her indignation was adorable as she stood up for her place of employment and, well, my family’s legacy.
“Then why would I want to take you anywhere else?”
Her words came to a dead end, before she seemed to regroup and shake her head. “I’m not going in there.”
“Why? Everyone else is gone for the night.”
“But—”
“But what?” I unbuckled my belt and pushed open the car door. “What’s more private than here? Plus, you owe me a taste testing, and I’m about to collect.”