What He Needs(7)

The vibe, which back on the bench had been about him wanting me to believe him, about him needing something from me, had shifted. Now his mood was dark. He walked over to the bar in the kitchen, uncapped a bottle of something amber-colored, and poured the liquid into a tumbler.

I wasn’t sure what to do, so I stood there for a moment, hovering by the door. He sipped his drink and then stared down at it, brooding. He was wearing a crisp white dress shirt, a dark tie, and a black suit. His clothes hung on his large frame perfectly, hugging his broad shoulders and chest. He was freshly shaven, his hair with just the right amount of gel to make him look gorgeous and put together without coming across as someone who cared to much about their appearance.

We stood there for a moment, not saying anything, and then finally, Noah pulled back and threw the glass he was holding against the wall. It shattered into a million pieces. I jumped at the sound of the breaking glass, my heart stopping in my chest, the sound seeming to echo through the eerie silence that followed.

After a moment, I moved toward it, intending to start cleaning it up.

“Don’t,” Noah growled.

I froze. He was removing his suit coat, draping it over the chair on the breakfast bar. He unbuttoned his sleeves and began rolling them up. A delicious shiver of fear and excitement skittered up my spine.

“It displeases me when I feel like you don’t trust me, Charlotte,” Noah said. “It displeases me even more when I feel like you’re not on my side.” He finally looked at me, his eyes boring into mine. “Do you understand?”

I nodded. I understood exactly what I meant. He meant that I’d chosen Josh over him, that I’d protected Josh back at the park. But it wasn’t like that. I didn’t give a shit about Josh. What I cared about was keeping my job with Professor Worthington, and making sure Noah wasn’t doing anything to fuck up his case. It was my job as part of his legal team. And beyond that, I cared about Noah.

“What do you understand?” Noah prompted.

“That you didn’t like it when you thought I was sticking up for Josh.” I took a step toward him. “But Noah, I wasn’t --”

“Stop.” He held his hand out, and I stopped moving. “You don’t understand at all.”

“I don’t?”

He shook his head, his blue eyes blazing. “When you upset me, Charlotte, when you defy me, there are consequences.”

And then I got it. There were consequences. Sexual ones. I bit my lip and looked down at the floor. “Oh.”

“Look at me when you’re talking.”

I looked up at him, and he began removing his tie. “Bend over the counter, Charlotte,” he said.

I swallowed. “Um, I don’t – ”

“Bend over the counter.”

I walked over to the counter and bent over, sticking my ass up in the air. He made me wait there for what seemed like an agonizingly long time, but was really probably only a few moments. And then his body was on top of mine, his chest pushing into my back. He pushed my hair back from my face and wrapped it around his hand, tugging on it gently. Heat pulsed through my body and I bit back the moan that was already threatening to escape from my lips.

Then Noah stood up, moving his weight off of me, and lifted up my skirt. “You know, Charlotte,” he said. “We’re going to have to do something about you wearing these sexy little outfits out of the house.” The cool air hit my ass, and that, coupled with the brush of his fingertips against the back of my thighs made my pussy start to get wet.

“This isn’t sexy,” I said. “It’s just –”

His hand slapped my ass, sending a stinging pain through my backside. “Don’t talk back to me, Charlotte,” he said.

“Yes, sir,” I said.

“Good girl.” His hand reached out and rubbed my ass, his thumbs hooking the sides of my thong and pulling it down, stopping when it was right under my cheeks. “Turn around,” he commanded.

I did as I was told.

I stood there with my skirt pushed up around my hips, the back of my panties pulled down, exposing my ass and pussy to him. “Hold your skirt up for me, Charlotte,” Noah said. “Show me that hot body.”

I held my skirt up and he circled around me in the middle of the kitchen. He unbuttoned his shirt as he walked, one button, two, three, revealing his gorgeous body to me as I stood there on display for him. He threw his shirt onto the floor, standing there in just his pants, looking strong, in control, his eyes burning with betrayal and disappointment.

Then he moved toward me, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me toward him, his mouth crushing against mine, his kiss taking me, consuming me as his tongue moved past my lips. He tasted like mint and whiskey and danger, and it was a heady combination that made me moan.