Page 14 of Million Dollar High

Her gaze lurched from him to the bucket seat, and a tiny part of him dared her to refuse him. Right then, nothing would’ve pleased him more than to bend her to his will, make her feel a fraction of the turmoil going on inside him. But she moved, swayed to him and grabbed the door to steady herself.

He cursed under his breath and slammed the door shut the moment she was seated.

Snyder was approaching as Noah walked round to the driver’s seat. The other guy must have sensed that he was on precarious ground. Whatever he’d been about to say died on his lips, and he changed course to the town car parked on the curb.

Noah got in. “Seatbelt,” he snapped.

Once she obeyed, he gunned the engine and accelerated away from the restaurant. He breathed in deep to calm his nerves. When her perfume filled every pore in his body, he dragged his fingers through his hair.

He knew he was transmitting the vibes his ex-shrink had once jokingly referred to as his Asshole-Alpha mode. And he wasn’t in the mood to turn it off. He sped through a yellow light, ignoring the blaring horns of a slow-moving car when he overtook it with a few feet to spare.

“I’d like to arrive at wherever it is you’re taking me intact. If you want to kill yourself, please do it in your own time.”

He didn’t ease off the gas until he was forced to at a red light. Gritting his teeth, he glanced at her. She faced forward, her hand white around her purse. He reached over, took the purse from her and threw it on the back seat. When she glared at him, he raised an eyebrow. “What did you say to him?”

“To who?”

“Snyder. Before we left.”

She sent him a sideways glance. “Does it matter?”

“Not even a motherfucking little bit.” He revved the engine and savored the angry roar of the powerful car beneath him. “I was just making conversation.”

“If you want to make conversation, tell me where we’re going. And why you’ve been calling me.”

“We’re going to the best coffee place I know in West Palm Beach. To sober you up before I attempt rational conversation.”

She squinted at the dashboard, then blinked his way. “It’s nearly midnight, Noah.”

“What’s your point exactly?” He eased away from the traffic light and turned left onto a street that held a row of trendy bars and coffee shops.

“My point is, I have to be up early to attend a board meeting, so I need to get a good night’s sleep.”

“A good night’s sleep, huh? Tell me, Leia, how did you sleep last night?” he asked softly.

“What? Why are you asking me that?”

He swung the car onto a side street and parked in the employee area behind a one-story building. Killing the engine, he turned to her, sliding a hand behind her headrest.

“Tell me you slept like a fucking baby last night after you walked away from me.” His smile felt like it was carved from granite. Moving his hand, he caught a strand of hair between his fingers and caressed its silkiness. “Tell me that so I can congratulate you. Or call you a fucking liar.”

“Noah…”

“Or tell me you stayed awake, your gut turning to stone every time you thought you’d never see me again. Tell me that so I can accommodate the fact that you’re a tiny little bit human.”

Her eyes widened and her breath rushed out between shocked, parted lips. “What good would that do either of us?” she whispered.

“It would make me feel a helluva lot better knowing I wasn’t crazy. That I didn’t spend last week losing my head over a heartless bitch.”

A deep tremble shook her body. She looked down andlocked her fingers together. Noah waited for her to speak, for her to tell him everything that had happened in the last thirty-six hours had been a mistake.

He stared at her exquisite profile, her perfect creamy skin, and smashed down the need to grab her.

Finally, she sniffed and raised her head. “Are we going to get this coffee? If not, I’d like to go home, please.”

The spikes in his gut grew longer, sharper, until his whole body flamed with excruciating pain. He continued to stare at her for another full minute before he yanked his door open and stepped out.

What the hell was he doing trying to rationalize a woman’s behavior? He’d needed therapy after being dragged through the fucking quagmire because of one woman. And he was stupid enough to be asking for more pain?

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