Page 20 of To Hate You

“Ouch. You motherfucker.” I grimaced.

“I see you still have a dirty mouth.”

My body went cold, and my stomach turned inside out.

“Still feisty as ever.”

The bag got pulled off my head, but I kept my eyes shut for a second longer. That voice. I recognized it.

I held my breath and opened my eyes, staring into blue irises that seemed to shatter with intensity. “Noah.”

“Hey, baby girl.”

Chapter8

Noah

Iwanted to kiss her.

It’s been weeks since I last saw her, and now that I was finally looking at her beautiful face, all I could think about was kissing her until we both ran out of breath. Those beautiful plump lips I’d been fantasizing about for weeks were my fucking weakness. They tasted of ripe cherries, their sweetness exploding on my tongue every time I kissed her. God, it felt like yesterday when they were mine, no matter how brief. Yet it seemed like forever since I claimed them.

Green eyes threaded with gold couldn’t hide her surprise as she stared at me. “Noah.” She breathed my name like it was pure oxygen, and I wanted her to say it over and over again. I wanted her to whisper my name against my lips while I kissed her. I wanted to hear her say it as I touched her skin, setting her body aflame. And I wanted my name to be her curse and prayer as her orgasm peaked with my cock inside her.

I locked my gaze with hers. “Hey, baby girl.”

She merely stared at me, her eyes wide and shimmering.

While crouched, I looked down. “I know you probably hate me right now.”

She didn’t say a word, and it was unlike her. The Sienna I knew would lash out, scream and curse, and tell me what a cruel motherfucker I was for leaving in the middle of the night. She’d tear into me, wanting to inflict the same amount of pain she had been forced to endure because I left her without an explanation. Without closure.

But not now. Sienna simply shifted, pushing her back harder against the wall as if she was trying to get away from me. I hated it. All I wanted to do was touch her, tell her that I was sorry and wrap my arms around her so I could comfort her if she’d let me. But as I met her pained gaze, I knew she’d break if I had to touch her now. A single tear had already escaped, and the sight broke my fucking heart.

I pulled a palm down my face. “Sienna, listen—”

“No. Don’t you fucking dare.” She barely moved as she trembled. “Don’t apologize.”

“I have to.”

“No, you don’t.”

“Sienna, come on.”

“By apologizing, it means you think that what you did to me is actually forgivable.”

“An apology would mean I’m sorry, not that I expect you to forgive me.”

“I don’t care.”

“Sienna.” Her name sounded fucking perfect as it left my lips. “It’s so much more complicated than you think.”

“Of course, it is.”

I sighed, roughing my hand through my hair before pulling out my pocketknife.

Sienna stiffened, pulling her legs as far up to her chest as possible.

“Jesus. I’m not going to hurt you.”