Page 31 of I Shouldn't Feel This Way

Crap.

“No, I just wanted to get more comfortable.” I curled up in a ball, hugging my knees to my chest.

Noah reached for the throw blanket resting over the sofa and covered my body with it. “There, that’s better,” he said.

I took a minute to calm down, since I was on the verge of having a heart attack. My arm slowly slid under the side of my head, and he placed his feet on the ground. I guess he thought the elevated angle was hurting my neck. I didn’t mind, though.

Minutes later, I felt Noah’s fingers gliding through my hair, gently playing with my long, dark locks. The sensation aroused me as I closed my eyes. A forbidden fantasy began to unfold in my mind: his hand lingering down my arm, over the curve of my hip, resting it right on my … oh God. I had to stop these thoughts because all I could think about was him rubbing and groping me in extremely inappropriate places. But my fantasy refused to evaporate. I imagined a sexually aggressive Noah telling me to turn and lie on my back. I’d obey and stare up at him. His eyes would be wild with lust, and he would gaze at my body as if he had complete ownership over it. Then he would unbutton my jeans and slide his hands down my panties, feeling a very tight and sodden—

“Holy shit!” Noah yelled. “That was so badass! Did you see that?”

And poof went the fantasy.

“Oh, yeah—wow.” I faked my astonishment. My steamy little dream bubble popped and disappeared forever to an unknown abyss, never to be retrieved again. If I was cold before, my body had definitely heated up. My decision was resolute. I abandoned my devious thoughts and turned my focus to the film. It would have sucked if he asked me about it afterwards and all I would have been able to say was “My favorite part in the film? Um … all of it?”

Lame, Aria. Very lame.

CHAPTER NINE

Slow Seduction

They were halfway into the movie when Noah noticed that his daughter was a little too quiet. He leaned forward and carefully peered down at her angelic face. She had fallen asleep. A slanted smile formed on his lips as he reached for the TV remote. The television switched off and he gently scooped her in his arms to carry her to bed. But just as he was about to stand, he noticed that she was staring up at him with her sleepy blue eyes. Noah felt nervous all of a sudden.

“Hey, angel,” he said in a soothing voice. “Close your eyes.”

“What time is it?” She sounded groggy from the deep slumber that had crept up on her.

“It’s a little past ten.”

“I should call Mom.”

“Don’t worry about her. I’ll send her a text.”

“I don’t want to go home. I want to stay here with you.” She found herself vulnerable in her sleepy state, confessing truths like an honest drunk. Except she wasn’t intoxicated, she was sober. The only person who had intoxicated her was Noah. He smiled warmly and held her, easing back against the sofa. Aria curled up in his lap, snaked her slender arms over his shoulders, and rested her head in the crook of his neck.

Noah froze. He didn’t know what to do. He had planned on taking her to bed so she could lie down comfortably, but for some reason he didn’t want to get up. The deepest part of him recognized that he enjoyed holding her.

Ignoring his desire to feel close contact, he chose her comfort over his own and stood up to carry her to bed. The bedroom was huge. Noah laid her down on the mattress and turned on the bedside lamp. He stood very still and stared at her for a moment, admiring her youthful beauty as she slept. Her dark, silky hair was sprawled out over a luxurious gold pillow, and a cluster of cushions rested against the mahogany headboard. Her small frame looked even tinier in that bed.

Noah was about to put one foot out the door when she suddenly stirred in her sleep and woke again. “Don’t go. Please don’t leave me.”

He turned around and looked back at his frightened teenaged daughter. She looked so defenseless.

How many times has she woken up from a bad dream in the dark without me being there to comfort her?he asked himself. His absence in her life truly hurt him.

Her eyes betrayed an inner fear, and he realized right away that she needed him. Abandonment was the last thing he wanted her to feel again, so he sauntered back to the bed and sat on the edge of the mattress.

“I’m here, baby girl.” Noah offered a comforting smile, brushing the hair out of her face. “I think all that shopping tired you out, huh?”

She kept staring at him with eyes half open as she nodded and pulled his arm to make him lie down. And he did. Noah Hunter wasn’t the kind of man who would submit to anyone, including his wife. There were many occasions when Vanessa demanded his time and affection, but giving it always had to be onhisterms and athisconvenience. He was an alpha through and through, and there was never a time in his life where he relinquished control over himself to a woman.

In that moment it dawned on him that his daughter had the power to strengthen or destroy him. He would go to the ends of the earth to make her happy, and there was a chance that she would ruin him along the way. What if his love wasn’t enough? What if she wouldn’t be satisfied with all that he would lay at her feet? What if she secretly desired revenge and would never love him? There were so many “what ifs.” It was making him crazy. Noah wasn’t used to that kind of vulnerability. He was a man of control, yet when it came to his daughter, he couldn’t control her thoughts and feelings. She controlledhim. This realization settled in his mind as soon as he lay next to her.

Aria moved his arm so that it was resting flat on the bed. Then she slowly moved in closer to his body and curled into his chest. Noah turned on his side and looked at her. She was like a beautiful blue-eyed kitten. She shut her eyes and hummed contentedly. It made him smile. He was so captivated by her, even in her peaceful state. His fascination with her had stunned him. He had no idea how he could have contributed to creating such a beautiful human being. Aria was a part of him, and blood ties never lied. Noah gently caressed the side of her face, brushing her hair back in a soothing motion. She was his precious gift. He had been very young when she was born, but now he thanked whatever powers were above for bringing her back to him. He knew he could never let her go. Aria had the ability to make him fall to his knees and beg, if that’s what it took to get her to stay. Noah realized that his daughter would be the only woman in his life who would make him feel so desperate. The only one who could raise him up, or obliterate his pride, and crush him down. It scared him to death.

He lay there with her for the longest while before he remembered that he had to contact her mother. Quietly, he slipped out of bed; his footsteps fell silently behind him. Once he was back in the living room, Noah grabbed his cellphone, scrolled down to Emily’s number, and hesitated.

Hopefully she won’t bite my head off,he sighed and hit the dial button. Expecting his ex to pick up, he was surprised when a man’s voice answered the phone:

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