Page 21 of Breaking the Rules
“I know. I do too.”
“I can’t come over there,” Savanhi responded, still dancing.
“I have your earring,” he spoke.
Savanhi clenched her jaw and moved closer to him. She stood at the edge of the stage with her hand out. Noble opted to ignore her tiny hand and put the earring in its rightful place.
“You don’t need that mask,” he spoke, his large hand lingering on the curve of her neck. “Especially not when I’m acquainted with this.”
His hand moved down to the butterfly tattoos.
Savanhi stepped out of his hold. She could feel herself melting without permission. “Did you want a dance?”
“Sincere requested it. I ain’t too big on this. Not really my scene.”
“I’m learning you don’t like parties.”
“I’m learning that you are the party.”
“Good thing we have no agency over one another, right?”
Noble groaned. “Except for the fact I’ve been smelling you all day. Feeling you all day. That’s presenting a problem for me. Because I wasn’t supposed to find you.”
“Yet here you are.”
“Thinking about breaking my fuckin’ rules.”
“Don’t break them on account of me,” Savanhi sassed, resuming her dance.
Noble’s voice came out rigid, almost like he didn’t expect it either. “Tell me you didn’t think about me today, and I won’t.”
The thing about Savanhi’s eyes... they always told on her. And Noble had been the only one to catch the truth before she turned it off. Just like now, those diamond-sized eyes answered.
She sassed. “What do you want? An amendment?”
“To be sure, what I was intoxicated by was really that good.”
Savanhi drew in a breath. “I don’t fuck my clients. So I apologize. It’s a no. It seems you have a good memory. Let it play because we weren’t ever supposed to see each other again.”
“You think I won’t see you again?”
“I’ll be sure of it.”
If Savanhi didn’t blink, she would’ve caught what the denial ignited in him.
“Aight,” he conceded, leaning back in the seat.
That simple word sounded more like a promise than a concession.
The time expired, and Savanhi was trying to get out of there as quickly as possible. His large frame stopped her. He hooked her chin, gliding his thumb over her supple lips before placing a lingering kiss.
“Take care of yourself.”
Savanhi tucked her lips as she looked up at him. “You too.”
She roamed out of the space. Once out of his sight, it felt like her heart was being squeezed, and the only relief was his touch. She didn’t have time to stay in that space. There was work to do. There were goals to reach, and distractions had cost her too much.
NINE
