Chapter 13 #2
He wanted to be the reason she laughed like that, and the thought sparked a feeling of jealousy in him that he could not explain.
Right now, though, she was not with him.
She was on the dance floor with a bunch of hungry pricks who did not deserve to be in her orbit.
Because, as beautiful and mesmerising as she was, he was not the only one who’d noticed. How could he be?
That thought woke him up from the trance she had him in and his feet moved toward her in an instant.
Because Ryan had asked him to protect her, right?
That was the only reason he was there, and if he was going to do a job then he was going to do it well.
That was the only reason he grabbed her hand and pulled her off the dance floor to a dark corner of the club.
He instantly knew that was a mistake the moment they faced each other.
Noa was breathless from dancing and, for a moment, all he could focus on was the rise and fall of her chest, the swell of her perfect breasts.
She wasn’t wearing a bra, he noticed, and he couldn’t miss how her nipples pebbled from his attention alone.
He mentally scolded himself for noticing and recited the line, ‘ This is your best friend’s little sister ,’ in his head five times before shaking his head and raising his eyes.
He couldn’t be distracted from the reason he came here.
When he looked up, she was beaming at him, the rosy hue of her flushed cheeks giving away that she was slightly buzzed.
Still, even in her inebriated state, he couldn’t help but feel suspicious at her sudden change in demeanour.
All he’d been afforded earlier was a frown. Now she looked almost happy to see him.
He decided to ignore his scepticism, focussing on what he’d come here to do. He lowered his lips and spoke in her ear, telling himself that the closeness was so that he could be heard over the music, not an excuse to get closer to her .
‘You’re drunk,’ he whispered.
She giggled some more, so close he could feel her breath on his cheek, and she put her delicate hand on his chest. He focused on the contact that felt far more intimate than it should have, and his own breath hitched.
‘Thank you, Captain Obvious. What do you want? A prize? I’m allowed to let loose and have a good time you know! Or did my brother give you strict orders otherwise?’ she pouted.
Alex swallowed hard, fighting against the thoughts of what kind of prize she could offer him.
He could’ve sworn he watched her eyes trace the bob of his Adam’s apple.
The air in their little corner seemed to suddenly change, feeling charged, and he cleared his throat, trying to stay on course.
She’d been so angry to see him less than forty-eight hours ago, and now this almost felt like flirting.
What was going on? He concluded that she must’ve had far more alcohol than he’d realised.
Though he’d found it hard to take his eyes off her all night, so he wasn’t sure how.
‘You should go back to your room. It’s late, and you should get to bed before you get yourself into trouble, Noa,’ Alex tried to say, but it came out as more of a rasp.
Even knowing that she was drunk, he couldn’t help the natural desire that he felt for her, and he could only hope that she didn’t notice.
When he looked around, he discovered that without even realising, the two of them had become completely secluded in the furthest corner of the dancefloor.
‘But what if I like getting myself into trouble? I’ve been good for so long,’ she quipped, stepping even closer to him so their chests were almost touching .
Oh no .
The only person in trouble right now was him, and he needed to remember that. He was playing with fire. It took everything in him to step back. Her arm dropped away from him, falling to her side.
He wondered if she said that on purpose, remembering the nickname he’d given her growing up—Trouble. Did the word have their entire history playing out like a vintage film in her head? Or was that only him?
Before either of them could say more, they were interrupted.
A girl with dark blonde, curly hair came rushing over to them.
He’d seen Noa with her earlier, and she stood in front of them now, one hand on the curve of her hip, looking slightly scary with an amused gleam in her eyes.
He got the impression that this girl made up in sass what she lacked in height.
Pulling her gaze from him, she turned to Noa, rocking excitedly on her feet.
‘Hey, we are going to get going to the next bar. You coming?’ she almost sing-songed.
He could’ve sworn that the two women exchanged a look, like they shared some internal conversation that he wasn’t privy to. But before he could read too much into it, the look was gone and Noa’s new friend had a maniacal smile plastered across her face.
Weird .
‘Oh, Lola, I wouldn’t miss it,’ Noa said, glancing back at Alex with a look of pure mischief in her baby blues.
Well, at least he knew her name now.
Noa patted his arm and spoke again, ‘Alex here is going to give it a miss, though. He was just saying how late it was and how he needed to get going to bed. ’
‘Oh, that’s a shame. Well, night then. See you at breakfast,’ Lola said, waving at Alex and pulling Noa out of his reach and back into the crowd toward the exit.
Alex just stood there, unmoving, replaying the last ten minutes in his head, and he realised keeping an eye on his best friend’s little sister was going to be harder than he ever imagined.
He needed to stick to his plan, but Noa Drake was temptation in its purest form.
When it came to her, he was a weak man desperately clinging to his control.