Chapter 13
Light hit the back of Noah’s eyelids, making him frown.
Shit, what was the time? Usually he woke before the sun. Hell, he usually woke in the dead of night after a couple hours of broken sleep. But right now he felt rested, something he hadn’t felt in a long time.
A small mound of warmth covered his chest, making his frown deepen. It was only when he felt the weight rise and fall, followed by air brushing against his skin, that he realized what it was.
Addie.
His eyes shot open, and he looked down.
He’d fallen asleep with her. Shit. He’d only meant to hold her until she fell asleep, then go.
But he couldn’t remember waking. Not once. Did that mean there’d been no nightmares? He couldn’t remember any.
He lifted a hand off Addie’s back. It wasn’t shaking. And his heart wasn’t racing. There was no pit in his gut that simultaneously made him want to be sick and claw his own skin off.
That hadn’t happened since before.
A small feminine groan filled the air. Then Addie lifted her head. The second her gaze landed on him, he fell into the deep blue of her eyes. They were still hazy with sleep and so fucking beautiful that they almost took him hostage. Paralyzed him in the best way.
A slow smile curved her lips. “Hey.”
“Good morning, Addison.”
Her lips twitched. “So formal. How did you sleep?”
“Good, actually. No nightmares.” The words were so foreign that they didn’t feel like his. Because the nightmares had just become part of his life and who he was.
Her eyes softened. “That’s good.”
It was better than good. It was kind of unbelievable.
She trailed a finger down his chest, and it sent spirals of warmth somewhere deep inside him. “Maybe you didn’t need therapy. Maybe you just needed me.”
She was joking. But there was a truth behind her words, because one night of holding her had achieved what countless therapy appointments hadn’t. “You might just be right.” Without his permission, his thumb grazed her hip. “Did you sleep well?”
“I would say ‘like a baby’ but my mother told me that I was a terrible sleeper as a baby. She prefers the term ‘like a father.’”
He chuckled. “Your mother sounds very knowledgeable.”
“Hence why I need to learn to live without her voice in my ear.” She nibbled her bottom lip. “So…because last night wasn’t terrible, maybe you can get home a little earlier from now on?”
He wanted to say yes. He wanted to spend every waking moment with this woman. But there was still uncertainty there. A shit load of it. “It was one night, Addie. I don’t want us to get too relaxed. I would never forgive myself if something happened to you by my hands.”
“Nothing’s going to happen to me. But you’re right, it was only one night. We should try another.”
“That’s a risk.”
“I like to think of it more as an experiment.” Her gaze lowered to his mouth.
And the combination of the heat of her body, the feel of her bare legs tangled with his, and her warm breath over his skin…it stole the air from his lungs, and he had to remind himself to breathe.
“Addison.” But even as he said her name, his fingers curved around her neck and slid into her hair. Her head started to lower…
And he tugged her down that final inch and kissed her.
Fuck, she tasted good. Like oxygen he’d been deprived of for too long. Like everything good he’d been missing this last year.
Her lips separated and he slipped inside, tasting her. Exploring.
She moaned, a low, deep sound that vibrated against him. He wanted to bottle it up, listen to it again and again. Because this woman…she was color in a world that had turned too black-and-white lately. She felt like everything he’d been missing.
Gently, he rolled them over and pressed her to the mattress, his cock hard as it pushed into her core. She hummed and wrapped a leg around his waist, urging him closer.
Somehow, she still tasted damn sweet. Like honey in tea, warm and comforting, but also exciting enough to set his blood roaring through his veins.
He shifted his lips to her throat. All of her tasted the same, so infinitely Addie. When she cupped his cheek, he turned his head and kissed her palm, then her wrist.
He only opened his eyes for a second. A flicker of his eyelids.
But that was all he needed to see it.
The heat in his gut turned cold as he lifted his head and gripped her arm. “What’s this?” But he knew what it was. Bruises. Bruises in the shape of a damn hand. Someone had grabbed her.
She blinked once. Twice. The desire in her eyes shifted to confusion. “What’s what?”
Gently, he ran his thumb over the small dark circles. “Someone hurt you.” The desire of moments ago twisted into something harder. Darker. “Who?”
Her mouth opened and closed. “I was going to tell you last night, but I fell asleep before you got home.”
“Okay, so tell me now.” It was hard to keep a shred of calm in his voice. He wanted to fucking rage. “Who did this, Addie?”
Her chest rose. “Rhett.”
The fuck? “Tell me what happened.”
“When he walked me to my car, I made a comment about not being interested in him. He grabbed me. I told him to let me go. He didn’t, and so I slammed my palm into his nose.”
Noah flinched. “He did this last night? When I asked him to walk you back to your car?”
“Did you hear the part about my palm and his nose? I was pretty badass. I’m pretty sure I broke it.”
He’d grabbed her, bruised her, because Noah had asked him to walk her to her car instead of doing it himself.
He climbed out of bed, anger simmering in his chest as he pulled clothes from his dresser. Anger at Rhett. And anger at himself.
“Where are you going?” she asked quickly, sitting up in bed.
She knew exactly where he was going—to fire the asshole. “We need to get to work.”
After a quick shower in the second bathroom, he threw on clothes and grabbed a couple of bagels. He wasn’t hungry, but he forced himself to eat while he waited for Addie.
When she finally stepped out of the bedroom, her eyes were cautious. “Noah—”
“Come on. We don’t want to be late.”
She sighed before taking the bagel he offered and stepping outside.
He trailed her car the entire way to the park, his fingers so tight around the wheel that his knuckles were white.
When they arrived, half a dozen cars already filled the lot. Which meant everyone was probably already at the rock-climbing wall, and they’d all see what was about to happen.
Good. Let them.
Addie looked at him as they walked down the trail. “I’m scared about what you’re going to do.”
“I’m going to handle the situation.”
“Okay, that’s not very specific and doesn’t exactly fill me with confidence.”
“You don’t need to worry, Addie.”
“I am worried.”
When they reached the base of the cliff edge, every staff member was already there, setting up equipment for the climb. Rhett stood at the end, a bandage on his nose.
Colt looked up from the equipment box, only to frown. Yeah, Noah probably wore the rage on his face like a mask.
He was moving before he could stop himself.
“Noah—”
He heard Addie’s voice, but he didn’t stop. Rhett was all he saw.
Rhett had his back turned to Noah when he grabbed his arm and yanked him around.
“Hey, what are you—”
“Get your shit and get out,” Noah growled.
Rhett frowned. “What?”
“You heard me. Get. Out. Now.”
“Why would I…” His gaze shifted around Noah to Addie. Then he scowled. “What did she say?”
“She told me what happened.” A silence fell over the group.
“Yeah? Well, did she tell you she broke my fucking nose?”
Noah stepped closer, the extra few inches of height allowing him to tower over the guy. “She told me you grabbed her. That she asked you to release her, but you didn’t.”
There was a small gasp from someone. Cass maybe?
Rhett actually stepped closer. “I barely touched her—”
“You bruised her.”
“Bullshit.”
“I saw the marks. Get out before I lose the last scrap of self-restraint I have left and murder you.”
Rhett’s jaw clenched, and he glanced at Colt. “I’m your most experienced staff member. You’re really just gonna let him fire me?”
“We don’t assault people here,” Colt said, as he stepped beside Noah. “If you don’t leave, we’ll call the sheriff, who’ll get a report about what happened last night.”
“This is bullshit! I should have reported her for assault! You’re gonna pay for this.” He looked over at Addie. “All of you.”
Everything was a mess. A complete and utter mess. She should have told Noah about Rhett when he’d gotten home last night. At least then he would have had the night to calm down, and this morning might not have turned out the way it had.
Yes, Rhett deserved to be fired, but she hated that every member of staff had seen. Well, not every member. Jules was sick.
Addie should have told everyone she was sick.
She looked up at the wall. Had it gotten bigger in the last few minutes?
Because it looked bigger. And to make matters worse, she’d been so preoccupied about everything that had happened with Rhett, she’d barely heard a word Noah or Colt said to the group.
They probably hadn’t gone through all the how-to stuff anyway because everyone else could climb a freaking wall.
This was bad. Really bad.
And guess who was first on the pre-arranged climbing rotation? She and Buck were. Because a week ago, silly Addie had thought that going first would mean getting her turn out of the way.
She was regretting all her decisions.
“Ready?”
Her head shot up at Noah’s voice. “What?”
“Are you ready to do some rock climbing?”
Absolutely not. “Yep.”
His lips twitched. Did he know she was lying?
He touched the small of her back and led her to the second pile of equipment.
Oh, and something else she hadn’t told anyone…she wasn’t a fan of heights. She wasn’t phobia-level scared, but she’d once stood on the edge of a cliff and gotten so nauseous that she’d almost been sick right then and there.
Noah helped her into her harness.
She studied the dark gray of his eyes. “Are you okay?”
“Better now that he’s gone.”