Chapter 28
Noa
A rriving back at the hostel after a full day of sightseeing, and feeling proud of the rise that she managed to get out of Alex earlier that morning, Noa sauntered toward her room.
It had been a busy day and they’d made no plans for the evening, so she had decided that a date with her Kindle and her bed to recharge was exactly what she needed.
They had an early flight to the Philippines the next day, and she didn’t want to be exhausted when they arrived.
‘Noa, wait up,’ Marcus called, jogging down the corridor behind her.
The two of them had spent the whole day together and, despite enjoying his company, there was no deep connection there.
No spark or heat. No desire. All the day had done was reinforce how much she felt those things for a man that she couldn’t help but feel like she shouldn’t.
As Marcus moved toward her now, she felt unease spread inside her as she also wasn’t sure that he shared her feelings. Or lack thereof, as it was.
‘Hey. Are you okay?’ she asked.
‘Yes, I’m more than okay. That was one hell of a first date,’ he beamed, and she just continued to stare at him.
First date? Shit . Had she blurred the lines and lead him on, or was he trying his luck? It was hard to tell when it came to Marcus, so she just waited for him to continue.
‘I usually get what I want and, I have to say, you drive a hard bargain, Noa. You’re quite good at giving a guy the run-around. But the wait was worth it.’
Was he for real?
She gaped at him, not hiding her shock. This year was set on trying to swear her off men, she was sure of it.
‘Marcus…’
He didn’t let her finish, just leaned in close enough that she had to back into the wall.
‘I just thought, why end it here? Maybe we could go for—’
Quicker than she could process, he was cut off by a fist that came flying in his direction. A cracking sound filled the air and Noa gasped. Alex charged at Marcus, pinning him against the wall. Noa’s heart beat more rapidly.
In fact, it felt like it may break free from her chest any moment .
‘Jesus fuck—’ Marcus cursed as he wiped at his nose and tried to shake himself free of Alex’s grip.
‘Be very careful with those next words,’ Alex snarled.
Noa hadn’t seen this side of him in a long time.
Not since they were younger. Not since he’d been abandoned by his dad and been that lonely boy across the street.
The realisation hit her with the force of a brick.
She’d left him. He’d asked her to stay, not to go on the moped on her own, and she’d chosen to ignore him.
Not only that, but she’d chosen to take Marcus over him.
She was such an idiot and, now knowing that all she had done was feed into Alex’s deeply embedded fears, she wished she could take it all back.
Even if Alex had never expressly said it, Noa knew him well enough to know that he’d been left with abandonment issues after his dad left.
She had been so careless with his feelings.
His face told her that as he turned to her, and she could see the hurt in his eyes.
‘I warned you, Noa,’ he growled.
She felt like her eyes had doubled in size, and she just gulped down the lump that had formed in her throat. She couldn’t find an appropriate response before he continued.
‘I told you. I told you if you let another one of these men touch what they don’t deserve, then I wouldn’t be responsible for what came next.’
There was so much anger in his tone, but she could still see the hurt and even fear, if she wasn’t mistaken.
‘You’re fucking crazy,’ came from Marcus, whose eyes were wide as he glowered at Alex.
Noa paid him no attention, focussing only on Alex. He really did care for her. Behind the tough guy act and angry bravado, he cared. But this didn’t feel like the way a friend cared for another friend, or like protection for the sake of her brother. This felt deeper. Real. More .
It was that thought that made her move toward him, slowly, as if he was a bomb that she didn’t want to go off.
She placed her hands on his, pulling, and slowly removing them from where they still held Marcus against the wall, who just stood there, dazed and a little exasperated, his head whipping between them both.
As Alex’s hands fell away, Marcus mumbled something that sounded like, ‘I am not getting involved in this shit,’ and scurried off.
Alex loomed over her, chest heaving and nose flaring. He looked feral. He was so angry, but she wasn’t scared of him. She did need to defuse the situation, however.
‘I’m sorry,’ she whispered, trying to pour all her remorse into those words, and grabbing his hands in the hope he would feel it.
They were big compared to hers and she could feel the callouses there from all the days he’d spent putting work in at the bar.
He grabbed the back of her head, pulling her forehead against his so that they were staring right into each other’s eyes, and whispered back, ‘You are so goddamn reckless sometimes, Noa.’
She didn’t know what to say, so she just stayed there, letting him know that she was with him and that she was safe.
What had started off as a fun game to mess with Alex had turned into so much more, and she knew her growing feelings were going to catch up with her soon.
She felt them in every cell in her body now, every fibre of her being came alive for this man.
‘You drive me crazy. Do you know that?’
Alex’s eyes softened, the anger dissipating, like all he’d needed was to touch her and have her close. She knew she’d been reckless, and nothing was probably more so than what she was about to say.
‘Show me,’ she breathed.
‘Show you what, Trouble?’
The pet name that had always gotten under her skin felt more like an endearment now, and it sounded sexy as hell coming from his lips.
‘How crazy I make you.’
She was breathy, and her heartbeat thrummed in her ears.
Everything else around them fell away and Noa forgot where they were, forgot they were in public.
But then, Alex was reaching behind him to the closest door which, conveniently, must have been his own.
That’s how he’d got to her and Marcus so quickly, she realised.
Then she was pulled inside, the door being closed behind her, and she was swallowed by darkness.