His body presses against mine, and the need to give in and surrender swamps me. To give in and let myself believe that just maybe, Noah could mean what he’s said, it’s consuming.
“But, what about what you said last night?”
“No more talking. Not while you're threatening to do something fucking stupid.” He grabs the top of my arm and grips me tightly, marching me back inside. I don’t resist. The fight has left me, and instead, it's replaced with a deep desire to let everything go. Forget the outside world and get lost in Noah Locke. This is kind of what I imagined last night.
I stand still in the kitchen and take a moment to appreciate the curveball he's delivered and the potential for this to be something more permanent. Noah shuts the door behind me, and I go to the window, looking outside at the view.
“You good there?”
I turn around and see him standing in the doorway to the snug room. I’ll be able to curl up in front of the fire when the weather turns. Maybe he'll be at his computer screens, and I'll be relaxing to the sound of the keys tapping away.
“Neve?”
“Sorry, what?”
“You staying here?” he asks.
“What about Murph?”
“What about him?” He turns and goes to sit behind his wall of computers.
“How am I supposed to stay here with you, out of sight, and leave him?”
“We’ll figure something out.” His eyes are already darting across the screens in front of him, and I picture myself working next to him. There’s an excitement, or rather a giddy feeling at the possibility. Noah doesn’t see me as a geek. I’ll be able to have conversations with him without the fear of seeing his eyes glaze over. Although I never thought he’d invite me into his space.
“Are you just going to stand there?” He doesn’t look up at me.
“I’m going to have a bath.”
“A bath?”
“You don’t need it repeated.” I raise an eyebrow at him and smile. He never likes to repeat himself, so I take his lead.
Going upstairs, I turn the taps in the bathroom and sit on the edge of the bath. It would be so easy to stay. Noah would protect me – he’s more than proved himself capable. And despite his gruff exterior, there’s a man who I’ve come to care about. More than care about. Regardless of our situation, or perhaps because of it, things have moved … faster than if we’d have met under usual circumstances. Of course, it doesn’t mean what I feel isn’t real, right?
When the water is as high as I dare fill it, I slip under the surface and let the heat permeate around me. It does its job and seeps into my tired muscles. You can’t help but feel tranquil surrounded by water. It’s why my escape in Morocco is by the sea.
My eyes close, and I dip under the surface. The sounds turn muffled like I’m in my own world. The life I could have here spins out before me, and I’m happy; I know I’d be happy. But Noah said I’d need to cut myself off.
A wobbly shadow peers over me in the water, so I sit up.
“Hey.” I wipe the water from my eyes. “Any movement with Lewis?” I ask, trying to figure out why Noah’s up here.
“I came up to see you. We’re not talking about Lewis or family.”
“Okay, wow!” He scoops me out of the bath, sloshing water everywhere, and I cling to his neck as he stands and carries me from the bathroom.
“Um, I’m naked. And I was in the middle of a bath.”
“You’ll be naked more than not when you’re here. Get used to it. We’re going back to bed.”
“Wait, stop. While that’s an excellent way to spend the day, we need to talk.”
He looks at me with a ‘yeah, right’ expression.
I rest my head against his chest. “I’m serious, Noah.”
“Talking isn’t on my mind right now.”
