Page 85 of It Was Always You

"You wouldn't do that."

I gave her a look over, letting my eyes slowly run up and down her body, taking in just how good she looked in her dress tonight. "You don't want to take your chances on me, Lexi. When I want something badly enough, I find ways to get it."

Now she looked scared. Which was good. She was playing in a new ballpark now. She'd officially entered the world of guys, and the one she was with now was still trying to learn how to be a good one.

But when she continued to look at me with anxiety in those big hazel eyes of hers, I knew I needed to say something more.

I drew in a deep breath. "I don't mean to scare you too much, but I just want you to understand how certain things affect me."

"And kissing you like that is bad?"

I shook my head and gave her a half-smile. "Kissing me like that isverygood. But wrapping your legs around mewhile we're kissing likethat... Well, let's just say that I only have so much self-control."

She gulped. "I'll try to remember."

"Walk me to the door?" I asked.

"Sure." She slid off the counter.

We took a few steps before she stopped. "Oh, wait. I found your shirt in my closet earlier. Let me grab it for you real quick."

31

LEXI

My legs wobbledthe whole way back to my room. I still couldn't believe what Noah had said—that I had the ability to tempt him to cross those lines. It was mind-boggling. But I was glad he'd told me, so I'd know how to be more careful. I had no idea what I was doing, and I didn't want to mess things up. Even though I wanted to date and kiss him—the guy my dad forbade me from hanging out with—I didn't want to cross that line. I wasn't going to be the girl who forgot all her plans, goals, and desires just because she was finally dating the guy she'd always liked.

I didn't really think Noah would do that, either, since he'd been the one to stop things. But it was still smart to be careful.

I walked into my room, flicking on the lightbefore going to my closet. Noah stepped just inside the doorway like he wasn't sure he could come in.

"You don't have to wait there, Noah. It's not like you haven't been in here before."

"I just don't want to get you in trouble. I don't think your dad would be very happy to find me in here."

I waved my hand. "He told me I shouldn't expect him back until about midnight. We should be fine." I was just grabbing his shirt, anyway. It wasn't like he was going to be sleeping in my room again.

I opened my closet and looked around for his shirt. I was pretty sure I'd seen it in here earlier when I was trying to figure out exactly what to wear. I put my hands on my hips and frowned at the huge mess I'd made this evening.

"Your closet looks a little different than it did when I left this morning," Noah commented, coming to stand beside me. I tried not to feel too embarrassed about how it was totally obvious that I'd tried on about everything I owned before throwing it onto the carpet.

"Trying to look nice for someone today?" There was a smile in his voice.

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, okay you caught me. I was trying to get you to notice me."

He laughed and leaned against the door frame to my closet. "Oh, you already had my attention." He touched the sleeve of my dress. "But this didn't hurt, either."

I felt a blush rise to my cheeks. I shook my head. What was I doing in here again? Oh yeah, finding his shirt. I lowered myself to my knees so that I could dig through the messy pile of clothes on the floor. A moment later, I spotted it. I grabbed the gray shirt then jumped back up.

I stood up too fast and felt lightheaded. Noah grabbed my arm again. "Does that happen every time you look for things on your closet floor?" he asked.

I gripped his waist to steady myself. "It only seems to happen when you're around."

He smiled. "As long as it's only when I'm around."

I found myself getting caught up in his eyes but decided I needed to stop. He’d already told me he was tempted to be with me, so it would probably be a good idea to stop finding ourselves in my closet from now on. It seemed to have some sort of magical pull for us when we were in it.

I handed him his shirt and stepped away. "Here you go. I think that's all you left here this morning."

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