Total pages in book: 138
Estimated words: 133688 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 668(@200wpm)___ 535(@250wpm)___ 446(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 133688 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 668(@200wpm)___ 535(@250wpm)___ 446(@300wpm)
He pushes out his bottom lip.
“I’ll be around for a while,” Noah promises him. “Probably will be around working on the house every now and then too.”
Owen’s face lights up. “Really? Maybe I can help too.”
Shocked, I immediately beam. “Who would’ve thought all it took was Noah to get you interested.”
Noah chuckles, and Owen crosses his arms over his chest. “I am sometimes,” he says, and he puffs out his little chest.
“You do.” I throw him a wink. “Go put your stuff in the car, and we’ll get going.”
“Bye, Noah.” Owen gives him a wave, grabbing his Bible and bag.
I linger for a moment, not really sure what to say. “Let me know if you need anything, okay?”
“I will. Good night.”
“Night,” I say and force myself to walk away.
On the drive home, I try to process what happened earlier. I feel silly for not believing Gemma and Everleigh in high school, but he didn’t make it obvious—not to me, at least. Had I known, maybe things would’ve been different, but it doesn’t matter now. What happened can’t be changed. All we can do is move forward, even if I don’t know what that currently means.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
NOAH
I never thought I’d have the guts to confess my feelings to Katie. However, something came over me yesterday, and I couldn’t stop the words from coming out. Once they did, though, I felt a huge wave of relief because it’s finally out there.
The last thing I anticipated was for her to admit they weren’t one-sided and to finally…kiss her.
Decades of dreaming and fantasizing about that very moment couldn’t do justice for how it actually felt.
Pure fucking heaven.
Like everything in the world made sense.
The axis that’d tilted had straightened.
Katie’s soft lips tasted like the sweetest honey, and hearing her moan my name nearly had me losing control.
As much as I wanted more of her, I knew we had to slow down. Good thing Loretta showed up because I’m not sure I would’ve had the restraint to actually stop.
This puts Katie in an awkward position, and it makes me feel horrible, especially since she has to lie to Gabe’s mom. Not to mention, Owen’s in on it too. But the consequences of anyone finding out could mean the difference between life and death.
As I stand in the shower, I replay every second of our kiss. My cock hardens as I squeeze my eyes closed and recall the sweet sounds she made as my tongue danced with hers. I stroke my shaft with images of her floating in my mind, and I pump faster as the release builds. Soon, I’m muttering her name on my lips.
“Fuck,” I hiss as I catch my breath. The number of times I’ve jerked off to Katie is embarrassing, but I don’t care. It feels like I’ve waited an eternity for this chance with her.
After I get out, I wrap a towel around my waist and check my phone.
Katie: I’m on my way over with lunch.
Just as I’m about to text her back, I hear her clicking heels against the floor as she walks toward me.
“Noah?”
I step out of the bathroom and meet her gaze as she walks into the master.
“Hey,” I respond sheepishly.
Her mouth falls open as she stares at my damp bare chest. She swallows hard, then meets my eyes.
“Uhh, hi. Hey. Sorry, I texted but—”
“No, it’s fine,” I interrupt her adorable rambling. “I just saw your text. I was in the shower.”
“Yeah, I, um…see that. I’ll just meet you in the kitchen.” She gives me a nervous smile as she stumbles backward. “Come out when you’re ready.”
I smirk, holding back a laugh at how frazzled she is. “Sounds good. I’ll be there in just a second.”
After she closes the door, I put on some clean clothes. Once I’m decent, I find her standing at the counter.
“I hope tacos are okay,” she says, handing me a paper plate and a can of Coke.
“Tacos are perfect.” I grin. “Especially if you made them.”
She lowers her eyes, but the corner of her lips tilts up into a smile.
“This is so good,” I say after a couple of bites. “Definitely not the tacos I was getting in prison.”
“Guess you probably had to change your palate, huh?”
I nod. “The first few months were rough. It wasn’t all horrible, but it definitely wasn’t anything to rave about. I was just lucky to eat.”
“Well, you know Lawton Ridge isn’t gonna let you go hungry now that you’re back.”
“No kidding. Between you and Belinda, I’m living my best life.” I flash her a wink, and her cheeks heat.
“This might not be the best time to say anything, but I need to get something off my chest,” Katie says.
“Alright, go ahead,” I tell her, though her tone makes me nervous.
“Um…well, last night.” She pauses, licking her lips. “We should talk about what happened between us.”