Page 59 of Forbidden Whispers

Noah pulled his eyes from the waves and gazed down at her. He studied her face, the slight furrow between her brows, the expression of concern coloring her features, and the curve of her lips as she nibbled the bottom one with her teeth. Then his eyes skimmed over her, admiring how her skin glowed like warm honey from their afternoon in the sun. In spite of everything that was happening, everything they had just learned from Hugo and the anxiety it induced, all he wanted to do right now was wrap her in his arms and pull her close. He could almost feel the softness of her body against his, feel her inviting warmth as he breathed her in.

His eyes moved back to hers and found her looking back at him, heat flickering in the depths of her gaze. Their eyes remained locked on each other’s for a heartbeat, then two, as the tension between them seemed to grow with each passing second. The air around them crackled with unspoken words, and Noah felt his pulse begin to accelerate. He reached out a tentative hand, his fingers tracing the line of her jaw, brushing against the soft curve of her cheek. She leaned into his touch, her eyes fluttering briefly, as she seemed to savor the sensation.

Then, without breaking eye contact, Noah leaned slowly toward her, testing. But she didn’t move away. Instead, her lips parted. The swell of her breasts rose and fell as her breathing increased. In that moment, time seemed to stand still, and the world with all its chaos faded away, leaving just the two of them.

Maybe it was the confusing roller coaster of emotions he’d been riding all weekend. Maybe it was the safe port in the storm that she represented for him in the midst of this turmoil. But no. Even as these thoughts occurred, he dismissed them from his mind just as quickly. It wasn’t any of those things. It was the fact that he was in love with Maggie Milena. He’d always been in love with Maggie Milena. And now, he wanted to kiss her.

His heart pounded in his chest as he closed the gap between them until their lips were only a breath apart.

“Noah?” her voice whispered against his skin.

Woof, woof! Boon’s sudden barking caused them both to start. Noah automatically looked up and Maggie quickly scooted from beneath him, sitting back up a distance away. They both turned to look at where the dog sat beneath the tree, staring at them. Both of his expressive ears were now pointed upward at full attention. The spell was broken.

“The poor guy is probably bored,” Maggie said.

Noah nodded, certain that the regret he was feeling showed clearly on his face.

“I...think we’d better go,” she said.

***

They didn’t talk much on the way to the vehicle impound lot. Maggie was grateful for Boon’s intervention. Who knows what stupid thing she may have allowed to happen if she hadn’t been saved by the bark? She knew without a doubt that Noah had been about to kiss her back there on the beach. And heaven help her, she’d wanted him to with every fiber of her being.

Oh yes, I’m not dating at all anymore. No, siree. I’m staying away from men completely. Big talk, Milena.

The more time they spent together, the more difficult it was getting for her to deny her true feelings for him. She thought their years apart would have erased her feelings for Noah, or at least softened them. But she was even more in love with him than she’d been in high school.

She knew that Noah was a wonderful man, and she even recognized that he was not the type who would be a bad choice for her. In fact, he was the opposite. He was the kindest, most thoughtful, most gentlemanly—and yes, she may as well admit it—the sexiest man she’d ever known. The problem was that up until now, they’d remained strictly and safely in the friend zone. And even though he’d been about to kiss her, she was certain that her feelings for him ran much deeper than his did for her.

And there was absolutely no way that she was going to let herself get involved with him in some sort of casual way. She was smart enough to recognize the pain such an involvement would cause her down the road if she let herself act on impulse now.

She took a deep breath and reminded herself that he was her client. It was her job to find him his happily ever after. And a casual romance with her was not it.

They pulled into the impound lot Hugo had directed them to. And after Noah signed a form, the officer in charge led him to his car and handed him the key.

“They found your car unlocked with the key under the mat,” the officer said with a shrug.

Noah unlocked the car and looked around inside, then checked the glove box. “Everything seems to be here,” he said.

“Is the car still in your name?” Maggie teased with a smirk.

“Looks like it,” he said, holding up the small, white car registration form.

“So, what do you want to do now?” she asked.

“I don’t know,” he said. “I’ve gotta be honest, I’ve felt pretty weird driving around in that Porsche. I think I want to hold off on driving it anymore until we get to the bottom of this whole thing.”

“Sooo...what are you going to do with it?”

“If you’re okay with this, can you drive the Porsche and follow me back to Valentina’s lot? We can leave it there for now.” He ran a hand through his hair. “I would take you home after that, but I think we should sleep at my brother’s again tonight. I know the police have made it a priority to look for Nick the Knife and his partner, but they’re still out there somewhere.”

Maggie hadn’t really heard much of anything Noah said after he’d asked if she’d drive his Porsche. With a broad grin, she held out her hand. “Key, please!”

Noah rolled his eyes and pulled the sleek decorative key fob out of his pocket. Maggie reached for it, but he pulled his hand back, looking her squarely in the eye. “No speeding!”

“Yeah, yeah,” she said, snatching the key and slipping into the driver’s seat. “Come to Mama,” she said as the engine purred to life.

Back at the condo parking lot, she pulled into a space and regretfully turned off the engine.

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