Page 38 of Naughty & Nice

“His touch burned. Lit me up inside in a way I kinda always thought it might do but was never curious enough to find out.”

I close my eyes as pain slices through me.

I should have given her that.

Not him.

“We danced and danced. Things got… a lot.”

A growl fills the room, and it takes a few seconds to realize that the noise actually comes from me.

Noelle spins around, facing me for the first time since she started this little story, and my chest tightens at the sight of her tears.

“Did you sleep with him?” I force out.

She hiccups but thankfully shakes her head.

“No, Rix. I haven’t—we haven’t.”

The breath I didn’t realize I was holding comes rushing out of me.

“So…”

“He…” She swallows thickly. “He touched me. Made me feel good. Made me forget.”

An image very similar to earlier with him pinning her back against the wall fills my head, but his hand isn’t only around her throat…

Silence falls, the air between us charged with a million and one emotions we’re battling with.

“I’m sorry,” she whispers, her eyes locked on the floor.

My chest heaves as I stand there staring at my best friend curled in on herself as her regrets get the better of her.

Anger pulses through my veins, but there is more than just that. My feelings for Noelle have never been that simple. They don’t fit neatly into any box.

I’ve tried to keep her contained in the best friend zone, but she’s never managed to stay there.

“Noelle,” I breathe, needing to see her eyes.

It takes her a couple of seconds, but she finally lifts her gaze.

Something crackles between us, and for the first time ever, the barrier that’s always stopped me from crossing the line with her has gone.

Not just gone.

Obliterated.

11

NOELLE

Something changes in Hendrix’s expression. His eyes darken and pure determination flashes across his face.

I was expecting to see nothing but anger and betrayal.

Both of them are there, sure. But they’re not the overriding emotions. Something else is, and it makes my stomach twist and my chest contract.

“Rix, what are you—” My words are cut off as he lurches toward me.

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