Page 62 of Falling for Fury

Humiliated, lost for breath, my heart beats so fast my chest hurts, and I claw at my neck to get air down.

“Addison! You’re okay. You’re okay.” Noah lifts me and tries to plant me on my feet but I push off.

No, you can’t see me like this.

I head for my bathroom and try to shut the door, but Noah is hot on my heels.

“Addy, you’re scaring me. Talk to me.” His tone is angry and pained, but I can’t… I can’t catch my breath and my cheeks sting with fresh tears.

“Shower,” is all I manage to get out before I collapse to the floor of the tiles, my body convulsing and panting. I bury my head in my knees as I rock back on the cold tiles.

Worthless.

Damaged.

A waste of space.

I can’t, oh God, TURN IT OFF!

“Okay, baby, I got you,” Noah whispers. The shower sounds like it’s going, but I don’t remember hearing it being turned on. Noah lifts me effortlessly and before I know it, the water is hitting my back. Sitting under the showerhead, my head buried in my knees as I cry in uncontrollable breaths, I feel a solid warmth behind me, rubbing circles on my back. “Shhh, I’m here, shortcake. I got you.” His deep voice caresses my mind and my breaths ease up a bit, my body still shaking uncontrollably despite the hot water. I start to notice my surroundings, the rest of my senses coming back into the room. I sit in the shower, still in my clothes. Noah is seated behind me, his solid jean-clad legs on either side of me.

Noah. Like a sigh in my mind, the recognition of him here forces a huge breath of air into my lungs.

“That’s it. Big breath. I’ve got you.” He continues to rub circles on my back.

He is here. In the shower, behind me, fully clothed and getting drenched. “Noah.” His name is a sob on my lips, and he sits forward, wrapping his arms around me, nuzzling my neck so his chest is fully pressed to my back. I feel the beating of his rapid heart between our saturated clothes.

“I’m right here, Addison. I’m right here.” His warm breath coasts down my neck as he rocks us gently. “I’m not going anywhere.”

Noah

“Addison?” I call her name as I enter her apartment. I all but forced her into giving me a key after last week’s attack, her panic causing me to lose my mind. The thought of her suffering when alone—I wanted to be able to help her without her needing to let me in or being aware enough to unlock the door. She didn’t take much convincing.

“Out here.” Her smooth voice sings from the living room, that sweet strawberry scent instantly wrapping itself around my heart as I take a big breath. Her apartment is elegant, making it very clear three women live here. But it’s perfectly Addison, and in a way, that warms me. Mostly white furniture and soft accents of blue and pink throughout the house. A jaw-dropping view from the living room with floor to ceiling windows and a couch situated to look out at the view.

Home. Coming here and being in her presence. It feels like home. I walk through the kitchen and she comes into view. The picture of real beauty. Her soft smile in my direction, as she is bundled up on the couch, a coffee and a book in hand. I could stand here all day and just watch her, the way her smile creates the tiniest of dimples in her cheeks and makes the corners of her eyes crease. When she smiles fully, she smiles with her eyes, and every time, it’s like the wind is knocked from my chest.

She had a long sleep–like ten hours–after her panic attack, and then she told me everything that Jake had said. I had calmed down enough to hold her through it and not make it about me and my rage. As she has told me before, I have no right to her rage, but fuck, if Jake doesn’t make that hard to come to terms with.

She opened up to me more this week, too. I had asked, but didn’t want to push. She gave it freely, and it’s been a bit of a learning curve, understanding the way her mind works, how to support her. I don’t want to wrap her in cotton wool, but it’s hard seeing her in pain and having no idea how to help. So instead, she told me about her triggers, the need for routine–another reason I didn’t want to be later than I told her I’d be. It was hard to hear that sometimes triggers are inescapable. Just having a bad sleep, being tired, having a bad run in with someone down the street, all things out of her control, and yet she is the one who deals with the consequences. Every day she gives me a bit more, teaches me a bit more, and my heart grows a bit more for her.

Addy is still my Addy, but I’m just awed by her. Her strength and her fight.

Rosie and Casey have been great. They give me secret updates when one of them is with her, and I manage to coax Lucas into information at the club, too, just to make sure she is happy, okay, and managing.

“Which book is that?” I ask as I stroll towards her and lean my forearms on the back of the couch behind her. She tilts her head back in a heart-stopping smile.

“That dirty book I was telling you about.” She giggles, a bit of the little demon I love, making an appearance, and damn if it doesn’t tent my pants instantly. I smile deeply and kiss her soft lips.

“Hey, shortcake,” I whisper against her lips.

“Yeia sou, Romeo,” she whispers back, stealing my breath and adding a twist to our usual greeting.

“Well, someone has been busy.” I jump over the back of the couch and pull her into my arms, snatching the book out of her hands.

She shrugs self-consciously. “I wanted to impress you.” A soft pink blush reaches her cheeks and my heart explodes in my chest, a million feelings I don’t have time to label flooding through my veins. Reining in everything I want to say, I kiss the soft pinkness of each of her cheeks. “What else have you learnt?” I question, curiosity getting the best of me. This insane woman took the time to learn words in my native language, and I don’t know why that does things to me, but I wish I had the power to eviscerate clothing with the snap of my fingers. She turns in my arms and leans forward, causing me to fall back onto the couch. That seductive temptress from before makes a rapid appearance, and her smile has my dick hardening in my pants. Now completely above me, her legs straddling my waist, she leans down to my ear and whispers, “Se latrévo, Romeo.” My god. I groan, reaching around to grab a handful and let her know just how impressed I am; the roll of her ‘r’ was perfect. Before I can ask, she continues, “Yámise me .”

“Learning all the important words I see.” My voice is rough, and she bites her lip in response. I waste no time getting to my feet, throwing Addy over my shoulder and heading straight for her room, just doing as I’m told. She squeals playfully and laughs. “Tha se káno na ourliáxeis kontó kéik ,” I taunt back and slap her ass.

---