Page 16 of Fractured Trust

Summer’s pulse kicked into high gear, and her fingers stilled, hovering above the keyboard as she stared at her computer screen, reluctant to turn around and see him again. But considering how small the office was, she knew she had to or appear impossibly rude.

Schooling her expression into a semblance of calm, hoping the nerves coursing through her weren’t visible, she turned in her seat. Her eyes landed on his chest—his very muscular chest—before reluctantly sliding up and up, over the tanned skin exposed at the neck of his plain white t-shirt, over the strong column of his throat, past the blond stubble covering his angular jaw, and the seductive curve of his lips, finally landing on his vivid blue eyes, so similar and yet so different from his sister’s.

Noah was looking directly at her, but she had no idea what he was thinking; his expression gave nothing away. “Hi, Noah.” Her voice came out more nervous and breathier than she’d wanted it to, which was annoying. But she hadn’t exactly prepared herself for the impact of seeing him again.

“Summer,” he acknowledged. His tone wasn’t cold, but it wasn’t brimming with warmth, either. Which was understandable. This wasn’t the most comfortable of situations, even though her working here had been his idea. She guessed he was as uncertain about how to act around her as she was around him.

She wet her lips and his eyes dropped to her mouth for a fraction of a second, before drifting farther down. Summer cursed herself for being lazy this morning and only throwing on a comfy vintage band tee that hung off one shoulder and a pair of jeans. It had seemed like perfectly acceptable work wear since they didn’t have any meetings with clients today. But as Noah’s gaze lingered where the thin material of her shirt clung to her breasts before rising to meet hers, she wished she’d put on something a bit more armor-like. She had a feeling she might need it.

Apparently unaware of the sudden tension filling the office, Eden rushed back to her desk and started gathering papers and putting them in their respective folders. “Noah’s come to take me to lunch, and probably to tell me all about how awesome he was on tour.” She threw a cheeky grin in her brother’s direction.

He turned his eyes away from Summer and winked at his sister, a warm smile creasing his face. “I mean, I’m awesome all the time, so I don’t know if there’s much new to tell you.”

Eden laughed, and Summer’s chest tightened. There was the Noah she remembered from… before. Before it had all gone wrong. The affectionate, fun-loving one. She guessed he reserved that part of him for people he actually cared about. Not his ex. Nother. It shouldn’t make her sad. It shouldn’t. But the ache in her chest told her it did.

“That sounds nice,” she said, trying her best to play it as cool as he was. As long as she kept a pleasant smile on her face and her voice steady, he didn’t have to know how her heart was knocking against her rib cage.

Noah turned back to her, his eyes roaming lazily over her face. The warm smile he’d afforded Eden faded until all that was left was the faintest of creases around the corners of his eyes.

“Yep,” Eden said. “And I need to fit in as many lunches as possible before he heads off on tour again with Fractured.”

Noah was still looking at her, so Summer asked, “How long until the Fractured tour?”

“Two and a half months.”

“Doesn’t that get tiring?”

This time, Noah’s mouth did tug up at the corners. “I’ve got plenty of… stamina.”

His voice dropped on the last word, coming out low and velvety. Summer’s lips parted, and she stared at him. Was heflirting? “Oh, um, uh, that’s good then.” She stumbled over her words, inundated by memories. Too many memories—of flirting and laughing and touching. Not to mention first-hand experience of that stamina he was talking about. Heat crept over her cheeks, and she twisted back to face her computer.

Summer was about to try to at least pretend she was getting some work done when Eden suddenly dropped her purse onto her desk. “Sorry, Noah. I’m ready, but I’m just going to quickly run to the bathroom before we go. I’ll be back in a minute.” She ducked into the back room where the office’s small bathroom was located.

Tense silence filled the small space. Feeling awkward just sitting there while Noah loomed nearby, Summer inhaled, grabbed a file off her desk, and stood, flashing him a smile as she walked the few steps to their filing cabinet.

“So, two bands, huh? You must be busy,” she said, as she placed the file back in its spot. Ugh, small talk was so not her forte.

She turned back toward him and found him studying her from where he stood a few feet away. He watched her for a second before a smile pulled at the corners of his mouth. “You could say that. But you know me, I like to keep busy.”

She nodded jerkily. God, why was she so nervous around him—her pulse thrumming, breath coming a fraction too fast. Yes, it was awkward and uncomfortable, but they’d dated for two years. It may have been a long time ago, but she’d never been awkward around him back then. In fact, that was one of the things about him that had appealed to her so much—outside of his ridiculous good looks and charm, of course—how well they fit with each other. How easy it had been between them. As if they were made for one another.

“I remember,” she said, her eyes drifting down to the fingers of his right hand, which were tapping restlessly against his muscular, denim-clad thigh, a motion she remembered vividly from when they were dating. She almost smiled at the memory. “The only time you ever stopped moving for more than a few minutes was—”

She cut herself off, but it was too late; his eyes had flared hot and bright in remembrance. Because they both knew the only time he’d ever truly relaxed, truly been still, was after they’d made love. After he’d dragged a second or third screaming climax out of her, after he’d finally let himself go, he’d roll her onto her side, wrap her in his arms, and hold her against him. Sometimes they would just lie there, hearts beating to the same rhythm, breathing each other in, completely content. Or they’d talk, make plans for the future, share their dreams. Sometimes they’d drift off to sleep like that, but just as often, he’d eventually start to skate his fingers lightly over her skin, and before she knew it, he’d be inside her again, telling her he loved her, with his words and his touch. Binding her even tighter to him.

Until it had all come crashing down.

The storm swirling in his eyes told her he was remembering the same things she was. What on earth had she been thinking to bring that up? She didn’t want to reminisce about their shared history. They hadn’t had the kind of amicable breakup where they could laugh about the good times. There was too much hurt, too many things left unsaid, to be bringing up the past.

But she couldn’t take the words back, and by the look on Noah’s face, the memories had triggered something in him. The skin around his eyes was tight and his gaze seared into her as he paced forward, slow and smooth, like a lion stalking its prey. This was the new Noah. The one she didn’t recognize—harder, more intense.

He came to a stop in front of her, and her throat dried as she looked up at him. “Youwere the only one who kept me still. Losing myself in you, that was when I could let it all go.”

Noah was too much in the small office space. Not just his physical size—how he towered over her when he stood so close—but the way the electricity that still sparked in the air between them sucked the very oxygen from her lungs. His blue eyes had turned as dark as the ocean before a storm at the memories she’d unwittingly dredged up. Summer’s breath grew shallow in response. She shouldn’t have said anything. Why bring up a past they both wanted to forget? Especially when he’d done her the favor of getting her this job.

Trying to lighten the charged moment, she let out a nervous laugh. “It was sex, Noah, notme. All those endorphins rushing through your body. Just a biological reaction. I’m sure it’s the same no matter who you’re”—her throat tightened—“with… physically.” Her voice trailed off, and she realized she’d said the wrong thing again when his eyes turned diamond hard, his jaw tensing.

When he took another step forward, Summer had to stop herself from involuntarily moving back. Instead, she raised her chin and kept her gaze locked with his. Whoever Noah was now, he wasn’t someone she was afraid of. Not physically, anyway.

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