Throttled (Dirty Air 1)

“Doubt anyone could say no to you, not even the great Noah Slade.” Daniel’s smile doesn’t fill me with warmth like Noah’s did. I give a weak smile back, not exactly enjoying how he brings up Noah and Bandini.

Sophie gives my knee a squeeze under the table, finding the perfectly painful pressure point. I force the idea of him out of my head. Her new project includes conditioning me into not thinking about Noah anymore, going as far as watching videos on Pavlov’s dog.

“Excuse me, I’ll be right back. I need to use the restroom.” I push my chair out with more force than I’d intended. It knocks into the back of another person’s seat, causing the occupant to glare at me.

“I’m so sorry.” I speed walk out of there and dart into the dark hallway near the bathrooms.

I pull out my phone to distract myself while keeping track of time. Scrolling through Instagram’s feed comforts me.

The screen shuts off.

I breathe in a smell that’s distinctly Noah.

Oh God, why does my luck suck so bad lately?

“Date going that terrible?” His hoarse voice grabs my attention, and my heart rate picks up. Calloused fingers lift my chin, making my body respond to him instantaneously like we haven’t spent a month apart. Poor lighting in the hall doesn’t give me much to look at. I breathe in the smell of him because I’m a glutton for punishment. His textured thumb drags across my lips.

“What are you doing here?” Did my voice sound husky? I can’t hear it over the blood rushing through my ears.

“I’m out at dinner with friends. It’s a popular restaurant.”

Okay, so at least he doesn’t follow me around. That would be a bit concerning.

Noah’s dark silhouette blocks any light, making it difficult to distinguish his features in the dim hall. His lips brush against mine. My lips tingle from the barest touch, a mere caress I feel guilty enjoying. I tilt my neck to the side to evade his lips.

He chuckles. His lips trail down my neck instead, leaving light kisses behind.

“I’ve missed you.” The three words he says feel like everything I want to hear. They make my heart ache because he can’t give me what I want, no matter how much I crave it.

“You can’t miss what you’ve never had.” If I wasn’t currently occupied, I’d clap myself on the back for that one.

“What if I told you I’ve changed, that the break did us good?” He gets the words out before his lips suck on my neck, what I deem to be my weak spot. Our chemistry has not wavered. It feels as charged as ever; as his lips drag across my skin, my body unconsciously arches into him.

The betrayal.

“Not sure if I believe you. Actions speak louder than words.”

Trashy tabloids have kept quiet since the blonde woman in Baku. He may speak the truth, but I don’t want to chance it, putting myself out there to get hurt.

“Let me show you. Just give me a real chance.”

His lips find mine again. But this time his kiss domineers the situation, just like him, crashing against me and tearing down my walls. His tongue strokes the seam of my lips, seeking entrance.

I keep them sealed off, preventing him from taking the kiss further. He

nips at my bottom lip in a silent demand for me to open up to him. His teeth graze and pull, causing me to groan at the feeling.

“Uh. Oh man, I’ll come back later.”

My head snaps up at the stranger’s voice. I bury my face into Noah’s button-down shirt, which is a bad idea because the addicting smell of him makes me lightheaded.

I don’t move until the stranger’s footsteps disappear.

“Hear me out. Let me expla—” his voice croaks.

Nope. Need to get out of this situation ASAP.

“Um. Uh…I have to go.” I take off in the direction of my table, leaving a grumbling Noah behind me, not bothering to steal a second glance at him. My brain tells me to run away from Noah while my body tells me to run toward him.