Page 74 of I Shouldn't Feel This Way

“Aria?”

There was a sudden knock at my door and I knew exactly who was standing behind it.

“Can I please come in?”

My music was playing loudly, so I walked over to my docking station and turned down the volume on my iPod.

The Noah Hunter side effects were beginning to physically afflict me again—my heart rate picked up. I didn’t bother putting a shirt on. Instead, I pretended not to care about my visible indecency. With a little reluctance, I contemplated opening the door. As much as I wanted to move, I was frozen in place, standing in the middle of my room, partly naked, dressed like some … streetwalker?

I finally found my voice. “Come in.”

The door slowly swung open and my heart stopped beating for a second when he stepped inside. Noah’s eyes scanned my body from head to toe, and it made me shiver. Instinctively, I reached for my left arm and rubbed it nervously. It was a stupid habit. I felt so shamefully naked in front of him and was worried that he could see right through me and mistake my wardrobe experiment for desperation. Was I truly desperate? I mean, why was I even doing this? Maybe I was in denial. No, it wasn’t desperation. I was just acting out.

Ironically, the music only added to the seductiveness that surrounded him, shifting the atmosphere in the room as if he were some ageless vampire who could psychically compel me to surrender to his will. But Noah wasn’t a vampire, he was very much human, and the fact that he had the ability to make me feel this way was dangerous for my health.

“Aria,” he said gently, stepping toward me.

My skin was flaring up. If he got any closer, I would be sure to faint.

“Sweetheart, why do you have all that makeup on? Are you going somewhere?”

I strengthened myself and convinced my wounded ego to stand tall. “So what if I am? What’s it to you?”

He frowned at me, clearly displeased by my demeanor. “Put a shirt on, please.”

“No.”

Noah folded his muscular arms against his chest and arched a very sexy eyebrow at me. Yep, this was totally a challenge.

“You’re inmyroom. If you don’t want to see me in a bra, then it’s quite simple—leave.” Ouch, that was harsh. Now it was clear where I got my temperament from.

“If you refuse to cover up, then I’ll just have to cover you up myself.” He grimaced and pulled off his tank top.

I watched him close the space between us before he slid his shirt over my head. It was a useless effort because I defiantly pulled it right off and threw it on the ground. The next accessory to go was my heels. I kicked them off and stared up at him. Now we were both barefoot and with no shirt on. Noah’s naked chest was …whoa. I couldn’t help but undress him more in my mind. I gazed at his body, quickly glancing at the rippled muscles beneath his abs. He had the sexiest nipples and I could have sworn he flexed his pectorals, but maybe that was my perverted imagination playing tricks on me.

“We need to talk, Aria.”

“I don’t want to talk. There’s nothing to talk about.”

He sighed and stared deeply into my eyes as if they held all the answers he was searching for.

“Why have you changed your mind about Italy all of a sudden?”

I shrugged and ran my fingers through my hair. “I want to go back to New York for the summer. I miss my friends. I miss Mom and the twins.” It wasn’t entirely a lie.

“I don’t want you living with that asshole again.” Noah clenched his jaw and knitted his brows together.

“I don’t think Rob will be a problem after what you did to him last time.”

“I don’t care. Look, angel, if you want to spend the summer in New York because you miss your family and friends, I understand. We can cancel the trip. But I would feel much more comfortable setting you up in safer accommodations.”

His offer was sweet. Why did he always have to be so nice and understanding? I was angry because I wanted him to give me every reason to hate him.

“At least let me come and stay with you,” Noah insisted.

“No.”

“Aria, please don’t push me away like this.” There was a faint sadness in his eyes as he held my face. “You have no idea how much it hurts me when you keep me at arm’s length. It’s not even that short of a distance with you at the moment. You’ve got me standing behind a brick wall, and you’re on the other side.”

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