Page 118 of I Shouldn't Feel This Way

I smiled naturally and was about to respond when Noah appeared.

“Aria, can you give me a hand, please?”

Great.

“I’ll be right back, guys.” I stood up and took my time walking to the house, my heels clicking against the concrete.

The music was louder inside. Noah had installed these state-of-the-art speakers all over the house. They had a wireless connection to a docking station that was mounted on the wall of the living room. Vanessa’s taste in lounge music was good, much to my surprise.

Preparing myself for the worst, I was about to enter the kitchen and face him when my wrist was grabbed from behind. I quickly whipped my head around.

“Noah? What are you—”

The next thing I knew, I was being forced inside a dark room, hearing the door shut. Noah flicked on the light switch. We were in his library, and he looked frighteningly angry.

“Are you trying to make me jealous on purpose?” he questioned.

I paused for a moment. “Jealous? What are you talking about?”

“You know exactly what I’m talking about.”

He pressed his palm against my stomach and gently pushed back, trapping me between his body and the door. I swallowed hard, as he rested his right hand against the wall, above my shoulder. There was a dangerous calmness within the blue depths of his eyes. Here I was in the lion’s den, unarmed and vulnerable. It exhilarated me and made me tremble at the same time.

“That boy’s been all over you tonight.”

I scowled at him. “Excuse me? I think you made your choice crystal clear when you fucked your wife this morning.”

“Watch your language,” warned Noah, looking absolutely appalled by my remark. “It’s not what you think.” He backed off and ran his fingers through his hair. “We didn’t—” He lowered his voice. “—fuck.”

“Yeah? Then what did you do? Because she looked pretty post-orgasmic when she walked into the kitchen and groped your ass right in front of me and Vienna.”

He exhaled in frustration and fixed his piercing gaze on me. “Vanessa hopped into the shower unexpectedly. What was I supposed to do? Tell her to get out? She’s my wife, Aria.”

“Exactly.” I folded my arms against my chest, thinking that it would shield me from whatever injury would penetrate my heart. “I really don’t see the point in having this conversation. You’ve been hesitant about us being together, so you should be happy that I’m moving on with Ryan.”

“Is that what you’re doing, moving on?" He sounded patronizing. "I thought you were in love withme.” His eyes appeared to darken with amusement.

Time to go into bitch mode.

“Be careful, Noah. You almost sound like a jealous lover. And I say ‘almost,’ because technically, you’renotmy lover,” I stated sarcastically.

He cocked his head to the side, and I shivered slightly when he took a step closer.

“So, youweretrying to get me jealous.” His voice was deceptively calm, like the stillness of a lake. But its undertone was hard and glacial, which only made the water freeze up and turn to ice in my mind.

Why did he have to be so damn attractive? He looked so sexy in black. I couldn’t get the image of his half-naked body out of my head. It kept flickering and impairing my vision every time I looked at him—Noah without his shirt on.

“Answer me, Aria!” he growled, pulling me deep into that magnetic stare of his.

The energy in the room had quickly shifted. I could feel it. He could feel it. We both felt it, or so I thought, as I desperately fought to resist falling under his compulsion.

“How dare you declare your power over me when I’ve done nothing wrong!” I said. “You’rethe one who’s betrayedme!Last night was such a monumental moment in my life—I poured my heart out to you, and what do you do? Screw your wife the following morning like my feelings meant nothing! Like what we shared meant nothing!”

Oh God, here it was, those stupid tears. I dropped my arms and turned to walk out the door.

“Not so fast,” Noah said harshly, stopping me and twisting me around so that my back slammed against the wooden surface. Something raged in his eyes. It secretly aroused me. I think I enjoyed provoking him, even though he was clearly trying his hardest to control his temper.

“You’re going to listen to what I have to say,” he said, “and you’re going to listen well.”

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