She’s hard to forget? Is that what he just said? When did he even meet Kim? I grit my teeth and watch the two of them interact. Grandpa is blatantly setting them up, and what my grandfather wants, he gets.
My heart twists painfully when Dr. Grant smiles at her. She’s beautiful, with her caramel skin tone and her thick dark hair. He looks mesmerized, and it kills me. Jealousy claws at me, and I resist the urge to draw his attention away from Kim.
I tense when Grandpa suggests that the two of them go out for dinner. The idea of Kim having a part of him I’ll never have… I hate it.
“Dinner sounds lovely,” I say without thinking. “Let’s make it a double date.”
Gregory sits up, his gaze burning, but my eyes are on Noah. His expression is unreadable, and for a second I think he’ll dismiss my idea. But then he glances at Gregory, and something flickers through his eyes.
“A double date, huh?” he says, his words slow, drawn out. He looks into my eyes as he nods. “Sounds… lovely.”
I inhale shakily, relief and anger clashing within me. I’m annoyed he wants to go on a date with Kim at all, yet relieved he won’t be alone with her. The idea of that sickens me. Him having her in his arms, smiling at her… No.
Kim grins, oblivious. She places her hand on Noah’s arm, her touch lingering as though she’s admiring the muscles underneath her touch, and I grit my teeth. “Oh, why don’t we visit my family’s vineyard?” she asks, her fingertips trailing over Noah’s arm.
He turns to look at her, an intimate smile on his face. “Your family owns a vineyard? I’ve never been to one, so I’d love to go.”
Gregory wraps his arm around my waist and pulls me into him, his lips grazing over my ear. “A double date, huh? We haven’t done that in years.”
I nod and force a smile onto my face. The last thing I want to do is give Greg any ideas, but it’s too late now. Grandpa ambushed me by inviting him over tonight without even informing me, and I just made things so much worse by mentioning a double date. Grandpa is acting like I never asked him to stop standing in my way, like I didn’t tell him I’d never marry Gregory. I should’ve known my words would fall on deaf ears.
I won’t be able to get myself out of this situation… but I don’t want to. I’d rather suffer through a day with Gregory than leave Noah alone with Kim.
“I haven’t been to your family’s vineyard in years,” Greg tells Kim, and I breathe a sigh of relief when she drags her eyes away from Noah’s, breaking whatever spell she had him under.
“Yeah, when was the last time we hung out?” she asks, eying the two of us. “It’s been a few years, hasn’t it?”
Gregory smiles and presses a kiss to my shoulder the way he used to back when we were dating. “I have some fond memories of that vineyard. It’d be good to revisit those.”
My cheeks heat in mortification and Noah tenses. He locks his jaw and looks away, as though Gregory is getting on his nerves. Maybe he isn’t as unaffected as he pretends to be. Maybe this thing I’m feeling… is mutual.
“Excuse me,” he says, rising from his seat.
I jump out of mine too. “Oh, I’ll show you the way to the bathroom,” I tell him. “I need to grab my phone from my room, anyway.”
Grandpa stares at me, but I ignore his gaze. He took it too far by inviting Gregory over tonight. Setting Noah up with Kim is just adding insult to injury. There’s no way I’m sitting back and letting this happen.
Noah is quiet as we walk down the corridor, his shoulders tense. He isn’t smiling at me the way he usually would. He isn’t even looking at me.
“I didn’t expect you to be here tonight,” I murmur.
He nods, but otherwise he doesn’t engage with me at all, and it frustrates me. I don’t even know what I want from him… a reaction, I guess.
I grab his arm as we turn the corner, and he pauses, his eyes dropping to where I’m touching him. He looks angry, and that just confuses me.
“Are you mad at me?” I ask, my voice soft.
He smiles humorlessly and tilts his head. “Now, why would I be mad at you, Ms. Astor?”
Ms. Astor. So we’re back to that, huh? He pulls his arm out of my grip and keeps walking in the direction we were going. I follow behind him, feeling helpless. “It’s this way,” I say, pointing to my bedroom door. Noah nods and walks in, freezing when he realizes where I led him to.
He turns to walk back out, but I close the door and lean back against it. “You can use my bathroom,” I tell him, tipping my head toward the door behind him. “But I’m not letting you go back to the dining room until you tell me why you look so angry.”
He laughs and walks up to me, his hands wrapping around my waist. “And you think you’ll be able to stop me? Amara, I can lift you up with ease,” he says, and he does.
I gasp as he lifts me into the air and place my hands on his shoulders. He’s about to move me out of the way, but I’m not letting him go that easily. I can’t stand this feeling, this distance between us.
I wrap my legs around his waist, and he freezes. Noah swallows hard, but the anger in his eyes doesn’t diminish in the slightest.
“What would your boyfriend think if he saw us now, Amara?” he asks, pushing me against the door roughly, closing the remaining distance between us so my breasts are pressing against his chest.
I tighten my legs around his waist, my breathing turning shallow. I can feel him hardening against me, and it’s got me biting down on my lip in an effort to suppress the sudden need I feel.
“What would he think if he knew I had my fingers buried in your pussy just a week ago? I doubt he’d be happy to know that I helped you test some of your toys, that I tasted that hot pussy of yours. Tell me, what would he think?”
He’s breathing as hard as I am, and I smile, realization dawning. “You’re jealous.”
Noah grits his teeth and stares me down. “Is this just a fucking game to you? Some rich people bullshit?”
I tense, my smile melting away. “No. God, Noah. No.” I see it now. There’s not just anger in his eyes. There’s hurt and insecurity too. I’m definitely not the only one that feels something between us. He’s right there with me. “He’s not my boyfriend, Noah. I didn’t know he’d be here tonight, either. I’m as surprised as you are. I swear I haven’t seen him since that night at the ball. This is all my grandfather’s doing. I stayed quiet because of the relationship Gregory’s father has with my grandfather — because of the respect I have for my grandfather despite his actions tonight.”
He looks into my eyes as though he’s looking for a trace of a lie, and I breathe a sigh of relief when his shoulders relax. Noah drops his head to my shoulder, his lips grazing against my neck, sending an involuntary tremble down my spine.
“The double date?” he whispers against my skin.
I grimace, suddenly embarrassed. “I… I didn’t…”
Noah chuckles and straightens to look at me. “I love this shade of red on you,” he murmurs, and it just makes me blush even harder.
I swallow hard when his hands move down to my ass. He grabs onto me tightly and a soft moan escapes my lips. Noah smirks and leans in, his lips hovering over mine. I don’t hesitate to thread my hands through his hair and pull him closer. His lips find mine, and I moan, needing more of him. Noah gives me what I want and deepens the kiss, driving me crazy with the way he moves his body against mine.
He carries me to my bed and carefully puts me down before kneeling down in front of the bed. “I have a bad habit of falling to my knees in front of you,” he whispers, pressing a kiss to my inner thigh. A soft moan escapes my lips and he smirks as he separates my legs. “I was wondering if you were wearing any underwear tonight. I’m pleased to find that you aren’t.” He presses a kiss on top of my pussy, his breath tickling me, turning me on further.
Noah teases me with his tongue, circling it around my clit before flicking his tongue over it. He gets me close within minutes, and then he pulls away.
“Don’t stop,” I beg, and he smiles as he shakes his head, pulling my dress back over my hips before he rises to his feet.
“I’ve wanted more ever since I first got a taste of you in my office,” he tells me, his eyes on mine. “But you don’t get to come. This is punishment for making me jealous. For roping me into a date I don’t want to go on.”
I stare at him in disbelief. “You are the worst, Dr. Grant. It’s a good thing I have toys in my bedroom.”
He smirks and shakes his head. “Yeah, but you have no time. We’ve been gone for too long already.”
I stare at him in frustration, and he laughs as he grabs my hand and pulls me to the door. “We need to go back, Amara. We’ve been gone for far too long.”
I nod reluctantly and tighten my grip on his hand, my eyes on his. “You’re not mad anymore, are you? I promise you, I didn’t know he’d be here.”
He shakes his head and cups my cheek gently. “I’m not mad at you, beautiful. I shouldn’t have let my emotions get the best of me today. You and I… your grandfather holds my entire future in his hands.”
I drop my forehead against his shoulder, and Noah wraps his arms around me, holding me tightly. “I know that,” I whisper. “I know.”
He’s right, of course. Grandpa has plans for us both, and they don’t involve us being together. I could risk my own future, but I can’t ask it of Noah. We’re playing with fire, and we both know it.
