Page 134 of Aria

Chelsie released a startled gasp when I wrapped my arm around her waist, tugging her to me. I ignored the pain in my side and walked her back toward the wall, leaning us both against it to steady my balance.

Her chest heaved as she stared up at me, our faces only inches apart. She looked unsure. Drenched with uncertainty. But then she raised both hands to my face, falling limp against the wall, and pulled my lips to hers.

I groaned with desire and relief when our mouths locked. Fuck…yes.Tasting her again was pure ecstasy. With one hand planted against the wall beside her head, I used my other to fist her hair and deepen the kiss. She tasted like spearmint gum and fucking sunbeams.

She tasted like my life was never going to be the same again.

Chelsie pulled me as close as possible, one of her hands reaching around and clutching the nape of my neck, while the other found my hair. She plunged her tongue in and out of my mouth, eager and impatient, her whimpers shooting shockwaves straight to my dick. Angling my face, I kissed her deep, desperate, unrestrained. I kissed her like a madman devouring his last meal. Her leg raised, wrapping around my upper thigh as she ground herself against me, turning me on even more.

I was painfully hard. I needed to be inside her.

But I also needed to breathe, so I pulled back for air, pressing my forehead to hers. “God, Chelsie…” I rushed out, ignoring my aching wounds warning me to slow down. “You're exactly what I need.”

She lifted her chin to close the gap between us once more, her lips swollen and bee-stung as they found mine. But before I could deepen the kiss, Chelsie made a little gasping sound, almost like a cry, and withdrew from me. She shook her head, breathless and distraught. “I can’t, Noah.” Slipping out from under my arm, she dragged frustrated fingers through her hair and turned her back to me. “I thought I could, but I can’t.”

What the hell?

I straightened, staring at her with addled confused. “Why can’t you just admit this is what you want?” I demanded, my heart straining my chest and my cock straining my jeans. “What are you so afraid of?”

Chelsie headed toward the front door and reached for her coat.

“Abandonment?” I called out. “I would never leave you.”

She paused, jacket in hand. Chelsie swiveled around to gaze at me with a poignant clarity in her eyes. “I’m not afraid for me,” she confessed. “I’m afraid for you.”

My teeth scraped together. “That’s ridiculous, and you know it.”

Did she know it?

She looked pretty damn convinced.

“You’ll regret this, Noah. It’s for the best.”

“I’m a grown ass man, Combs. I’m willing to take that risk.” Except she wasn’t a risk at all. I had never been more certain of anything in my life. “Is it Devon?” I wondered, flustered. My fists curled at my sides. “Do you still have feelings for him?”

Chelsie was pulling her arms through her coat sleeves, flipping her hair out over her shoulders. “No. It’s over with Devon.”

“Do you have feelings for me?”

She paused, locking her eyes with mine. There was no hesitation as she whispered, “Yes. So much.”

I walked toward her with caution, as if any sudden movement might scare her away. “Then stop punishing yourself.”

Chelsie’s eyes watered as she shook her head, just a little. “I care about you too much to let you get hurt. I’m poison… a disease.”

“Those are the words of a psychotic, murderous abuser—not yours. And sure as fuck not mine. You have to believe that.”

Chelsie looked reflective for a moment, her eyes glimmering with possibility. For a split second, there was hope—there was a future.

There was spaghetti to be eaten.

“Give us a chance,” I begged on a quiet breath.

But the hope dissipated when Chelsie zipped up her coat and spared me an apologetic glance. “I’m so sorry, Noah. It’s for your own good.”

Don’t walk out that door.

The sound of the door rattling shut echoed through the house, a metaphorical closed door on everything I thought might be.

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