Deeper (The Deeper Chronicles #1) (42 page)

She glanced up at Avi’s silence, but Avi’s attention had moved to her right. Avi rushed toward Cass, who closed the door behind him when he saw her.

She stopped short at Cass’s folded arms. But she wasn’t going to be deterred, not now. “I need to see Noah.”

“That’s not a good idea.”

Like a guard, he stood in front of her.

Avi glared at him. “Is that his office?”

His silence was all the answer she needed. She folded her arms over her chest. “Look at me. Do you
really
think I’m leaving?”

They regarded each other. He seemed to be assessing her tenacity. But, she was part-Harry and part-Ellie, and Avi was getting beyond the door come hell or high water.

“I’ll wait here day and night if I have to.” She had nothing but time on her hands. Noah had to leave the building eventually.

“That’s what you should have done last week, sweetheart. You’re not—”

His mocking tone knocked a little wind out of her sails. Cass was right.

“But I’m saying it now.” Tears formed in her eyes even though she’d decided she wouldn’t be weak. “Please, I just need five minutes,” Avi whispered. Her bluster withered under Noah’s friend’s defensive body language.

Cass eased away from his post. She smiled, relieved until he said, “Save your theatrics for the man inside. I doubt it’ll work.” He stepped around her.

She took a breath and pinched her cheeks with her cold hands.

With her hand on the gold-plated door handle, Avi was ready.

“Ms. Linton, I can take your jacket if you like.” Bailey said from beside her with a hanger in her hand. When Avi handed her the jacket, Bailey leaned forward, saying, “Next time, I’ll be sure to remember your name.”

For some reason, her words were just the reassurance Avi needed. She pushed the handle down, stepping into the office and closing the door.

“What did you forget, Cass?”

Noah’s head was hidden behind two computer screens.

It’d been seven days, and seven miserable nights, since she last saw him. She prayed he’d lift his head, but he never did.

“It’s not Cass,” she croaked out. Her hand covered her throat, massaging the spot in the hopes of finding her voice.

The tapping sounds ceased for a split second, but resumed.

Noah still didn’t look up at her. Each clicking noise his fingers made rankled Avi’s resolve.

“It’s me,” she said, reminding him just in case he forgot.

Finally his gaze raised to hers and Avi staggered back. Now she missed the protection of her jacket. She shivered from the coldness emanating from him. She was sad to see that instead of excitement to see her, mistrust swam in his midnight eyes. She took a hesitant step toward him.

“What do you want?” He pushed away from his desk, leaning back in his chair.

Needing some time to gather her thoughts, Avi surveyed his office. It was like the man: dark with large furniture that featured hard lines. Nothing in here hinted of softness.

She grimaced. Maybe she’d made a mistake by coming here. She probably shouldn’t have called out today, but she had to see him. She saw a glimpse of hope, in the form of the wall painting of the calla lily from her father’s home.

Avi’s hand fluttered to the place she was just learning to trust. “
Place me like a seal over your heart...” Her own heart beat loud in her ears. “Like a seal on your arm,
for love is as strong as death.” She hadn’t realized the words below the wall hanging left her mouth until...

“Are you here to read to me, or is there a point to the wasted trip you took?”

What are the words you say to a man you left that you’re choosing to follow your heart and damn the consequences?

“I like your office,” she mentioned.

He stood and winced. It was then she noticed his pinched lips, pale complexion, and the way he favored his left side. She stepped closer to his desk to help him.

“Stay back.”

Avi yelped at his terse tone. “What happened?”

His steps were tentative, taking him farther from her and closer to the large window that overlooked midtown Manhattan.

“Nothing you need be concerned about.”

“Maybe I can help you.”

He was every bit of a king in command of his territory. From his tailored suit to his eyes that gave nothing away, Avi was scared the Noah she knew was nowhere around.

“Let me help you, Noah.”

She needed to get through the wall he’d erected, but the man before her wasn’t going to allow that to happen, if the hiss at her request was any indication.

“Why would you want to do that? You left. You made a choice.”

“Noah.” Her breath caught in her throat.

“What is it about you fucking Mannings?”

She frowned at his rigid back then just as she was about to ask for an explanation, his even words told her all she needed.

“You get me to give a shit, open my heart, only for you to stomp like hell on it.” He spun toward her.

She stumbled away from his anger.

“Your father did that bullshit two years ago, and then you. Really, is it in your fucking DNA or something?”

“Noah...”

“Get the fuck out.”

The pain in his words cut her to the quick. Behind a fist, she swallowed a sob that threatened to erupt. He was talking to her with such...

Words failed her.

The look of utter rejection blared at her from his stiff body. His direct gaze had her hurrying toward him when she should’ve run away.

“Leave. Now.”

“No.”

“I’m warning you...”

“And I said, no.” Avi enunciated each word.

They were going to have this out, right now and right here. He hadn’t backed away from her when he had relentlessly pursued her. How many times had she told Noah she wasn’t interested? He disregarded everything Avi’s lips told him—seeing through her lies—and heard her true emotions. Emotions that she hid behind a thick wall of fear. And that was exactly what she planned on doing today. He was telling her one thing, but Avi held onto the belief that deep down, he meant something else. Maybe he still wanted her like she wanted and needed him.

“What are you doing here?” Noah asked through clenched teeth.

Her lips parted to tell him about her week-long agony, how a recent letter from her mother helped her reach an epiphany, and how she was a fool for leaving his condo.

Noah grabbed her. “You think this is a game? This is my damn life, woman. I told you shit...” He stopped, backing away from her.

His chest heaved.

She rubbed the place on her arms that he’d dug his fingers into.

He told me...
Her features twisted with bewilderment.
He told me what?

“What are you talking about?”

Her memory raced with anything he’d ever shared, but Noah was always so secretive, speaking in coded terms she never understood. She squinted at the unapproachable man and kept trying.

“This piece of shit barely scratches the surface.”
Her eyes sought his face.

“Ding fucking ding.” His breath was labored.

She didn’t understand. Was she missing something to the puzzle?

“Wh-why are you...” A tear rolled down from her eye as comprehension settled inside her. “You thought I’d tell the cops?”

When he hissed again, she knew the source of his anger.

“Didn’t you?” He stuffed his hands into his pocket. “You haven’t spoken to your own mother...”

“Noah, I would never—”

“Why should I believe you? Why should I take the word of someone who knows jack shit about loyalty?”

The slap stung her palm. He stood there as her handprint stained his sallow cheek.

“I don’t know why I came. What I hoped would be accomplished. But, this...this isn’t it.”

She backed away.
She didn’t need this. Her heart was breaking, had been breaking since she left his condo, but this anger, she didn’t need, nor did she deserve it.

“You walk through that fucking door and you better keep walking. Don’t ever come back,” he gritted out.

She stopped.

“You think this is easy for me?” She faced the man who had stolen his way into her life when she tried so hard to keep him out. “You think I want to feel what I feel?” He was everywhere: her thoughts, her memories, and he never did leave her dreams. His onyx eyes and deep dimples haunted her. In his absence, she missed the way Noah made her feel like a queen, like a real woman. “This wasn’t in my plans when I came to New York. This was to be my refuge, my chance of a do-over.”

He turned away from her. “You run when shit gets hard.”

A part of her wanted to yell that wasn’t true, but that’d be a lie. She’d proven that she’d rather put off dealing with the hard things. He was quiet for so long she thought he was finished speaking.

“This is me and much more.” Noah’s hand swept the New York City landscape seen through his expansive office window. “I won’t change.”

Did she even want him to? It took a week’s worth of soul searching to come to the decision that she’d rather have him in her life than not. Avi picked up her feet and ran to the only person who made crazy sense. Her heart pounded when she slammed herself into his imposing back, willing it and him to bend—even for just a little bit. Her lungs fought for air when Avi wrapped her hands around Noah’s waist.

She exhaled when he faced her then enveloped her into his embrace. She was safe. She was home. Avi melted into Noah.

He lowered his head to hers.

Forehead-to-forehead, their breaths mingled.

His hand caressed her soft cheek.

Her lips sought his neck, breathing him in, reveling in his masculine scent that drove her insane.

“What are you doing here, Avi?”

“I want more than one night,” she confessed.

The End...

for now.

Snippet from

“A
re you going to give up the goods or what?” he asked, curving into her softness.

Not bothering to turn, she inquired, “When do you ask for what’s yours?”

His hand ran the length of her thigh. He gripped her hipbone, liking the fleshiness. He never got enough of her.

“Thought I’d have to steal it like I’ve been doing these last few nights,” he said, kissing the sensitive area near her left ear.

“Um.” The sheet rustled. “Noe, I’ve been super tired. Classes are killing me. School begins in a few weeks. It’s just...”

His hand moved her underwear to the side. “Why do you wear this shit, Avi?”

He was known to rip them at will. His finger entered her and she moaned.

“Be-because,” she stammered. Clearing her throat, she tried again. “Just because you ask me not to, doesn’t mean I’m going to do as you say, Mr. Adams.”

Even with two fingers in her delicious body, drenched with her essence, she still busted his balls.

That was his Avi.

I would like to thank my husband, the visual genius who created my teasers, trailers, and book cover. Thank you, baby. He and our daughters gave me the room I needed to spread my creative wings.