Page 32 of Chasing Infinity

I notice a tattoo depicting a map covering his entire left shoulder that travels down into his pectoral. He’s been living here for two weeks, but up until this point, I haven’t seen him shirtless. My eyes are glued to the ink as he walks toward me, taking in the finer details.He has an old-style compass tattooed on his chest, the north arrow pointing at the illustration of land. Circling around the compass is a rope looping into a knot right over his heart. My mouth goes dry when I recognize the infinity symbol hidden in plain sight.

Noah is quiet as he walks toward me, watching me watch him. He comes to stand behind me, the warmth of his skin seeps into my back through my thin t-shirt, and I suppress a shiver. One large hand snakes up my side and rests on my hip. Fire burns my skin underneath his touch, and I bite my tongue so I don’t make a sound. The desire from last night flares brightly inside me and I bite back a moan.

Noah bends down so his lips are close to my ear, his fingers brushing my hair away from my shoulder. His breath is warm on my skin, and I clench my thighs together, easing the ache that is readily forming within me. “A woman like you should never be left wanting after a date. If you were mine, you might as well throw that thing away. But you already know that don’t you?”

He steps back, and I’m hit with a chill. With my heart beating in my ears, I turn around and look at him, breathless. He gives me that signature smirk and shrugs a shoulder.

“Just food for thought, Parks. I’m gonna go shower. Looking forward to having that little chat with you later.”

I gape after him, my cheeks pink and my brain still not fully awake enough to comprehend the encounter.

What the hell just happened?

Chapter 9

Noah

Sunlight streams through the blinds, hitting my face and alerting me that morning is here. With a sigh, I roll onto my side on the couch, turning my face away from the bright light. I blink my eyes a few times, trying to focus. After I’ve laid there, dawdling for longer than I should, I push myself up into a seated position. I stretch my arms over my head before getting up and heading to the kitchen to make a pot of coffee.

As I get up and move around, I’m surprised to see Addison’s bedroom door still closed. Usually, she’s up before me, hustling about and getting ready for the day. She’ll usually go on a run before the sun comes up and then come back to shower before I’ve even started to stir. Maybe she decided to sleep in this morning.

Despite living under the same roof, I haven’t seen her much in the last few days. She has avoided me since I called her out on her date with her vibrator a few nights ago. If I had to guess based on how her cheeks flamed when I brought it up, I embarrassed the shit out of her. We still haven’t had the chance to talk things through since then.

I pour myself a cup of coffee and sit at the kitchen table. Today, I need to get back on track with my purpose of being here. I’ll probably run down to the sheriff’s station later today. I need to talk to Charlie to see if he has any more leads on the Orville Marks situation or has anything further on my father.

My fingers drum against the ceramic mug as I try and organize everything that’s bouncing around in my head. We don’t have much to go on when it comes to nabbing my father for all his crimes. Still, if this Orville Marks turns out to be a solid lead, I could quickly get a warrant and move things forward significantly. All I need is something to get the ball rolling, and the rest should fall into place with little effort.

“Noah,” I hear her croak from inside Addison’s bedroom, pulling me from my thoughts.

I frown, staring at her bedroom door, unmoving. Her voice sounds scratchy when she calls for me again, and I stride over, rapping my fingers against the wood of her door. From behind it, I hear a weak, “Come in.”

I twist the knob and push the door open, peeking my head inside. “Parks?”

She’s just a lump buried under pillows and blankets, and I see her hazel eyes peeking at me from underneath. Before she can say anything, a god-awful cough emits from her lungs. It sounds heavy and productive. I take a step further into the room, my eyebrows pulling together. “Are you okay?”

“No,” she squeaks. “I’m sick.”

“I can hear that,” I mutter, walking in until I’m closer to her bed.

“No, Noah, don’t come any closer. I don’t want you to get sick too,” Parks protests shooting a hand out from under the covers. “I just wanted to make sure you knew I wasn’t feeling well.”

“What do you need me to do?” In rebellion, I sit down on the edge of her bed, reaching for her comforter and pulling it down so I can see her face. I frown even harder.

She turns her head away to cough again, and I wince at the sound. “Can you call Grace and tell her I won’t be down there this morning? She and Jack can handle it.”

“I can do that,” I tell her, reaching up and resting the back of my fingers against her forehead. She groans at my cool touch and closes her eyes. “God, sweetheart, you’re burning up.”

“I feel like death.”

“Do you have any cold medicine here?” Parks shakes her head no at my question. “I’ll run down to Monty’s today and get you a few things. Just wait here. I know we have some juice in the fridge; I’ll get you some.”

Parks moans when I get up, getting jostled by my movement. “Could you make me some tea?”

I nod my head at her before returning to the kitchen and making her some tea. I heat up the water and pull out her favorite kind of tea before steeping it. Bringing it back into her bedroom, I retake a seat on the edge of her bed.

“Here you are, Parks,” I nudge her gently and hand the cup over to her.

Addison pushes herself up from where she’s become one with her pillows and takes it from me, bringing the steaming cup of hot leaf water up to her lips and taking a sip. “Thank you.”

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