Chapter 36

When I got to Noah’s house Friday morning, he wasn’t wearing his usual painting clothes. Instead he was dressed in a pair of dark slacks topped with a light purple, short-sleeved button-up shirt. The shirt brought out the violet in his eyes, making them stand out more than usual.

“Are we not painting today?” I asked, glancing down at my own paint colored clothes. Luckily I always brought a change of clothes so I could go to the gallery later so if I needed to change, I could.

“No, we’re not. I thought it would be nice to take a break. You’ve been working so hard here and at the gallery. I’d like to reward you for all that you’ve done so far,” Noah said and my cheeks turned red at the word ‘reward.’ Arthur used it so much that I now associated it with sex.

Noah’s eyes dilated as he took in my scent, but he didn’t remark on it. Thank the Moon Goddess. I wanted to crawl under a rock as it was.

“What did you have in mind?” I asked shakily, trying to push past the embarrassment.

“Well, I was thinking we could go to The Contemporary Art Museum and see the new exhibit. Then we could get some lunch, take a walk down the boardwalk, get some dinner and finish by watching the sunset on the beach. How does that sound?”

It all sounded really nice, but… “What about the gallery?”

“Don’t worry. I already called them and said I needed you for the entire day. It’s not like Molly can argue with me. She has to play nice if she wants my work at her gallery,” Noah said cockily and I had to smile. Despite Molly’s hostility towards me, she was treating me much better and it was all thanks to Noah.

“Okay. Sounds good. I just need to change,” I said and Noah waved me off. I went into the guest bathroom and quickly pulled on the black pencil skirt and gray blouse I had brought.

Noah gave me an appreciative look as I came out of the bathroom and I blushed again under his scrutiny.

“Let’s get out of here,” he said, taking my hand and placing it on his arm as he led me to the garage. I settled into the car, my palm still burning from the contact. My traitorous heart was beating faster than it should have been.

You’re boring, Lily complained and I bared my teeth at her. She wanted more drama in our lives, like we didn’t have enough already. I was very content with the drama that we had, thank you very much.

For the rest of the day, I had the time of my life. It was so easy getting along with Noah. We had so much in common. It was almost like we were the same person, just with different backgrounds.

As always, he remained a perfect gentleman. Kaylee didn’t even clear her throat once, which she typically did whenever Noah and I were together. Not that Noah had done anything since that kiss in Arthur’s office.

We were currently strolling down the beach, looking for a good place to watch the sunset. Noah carried a bottle of wine and two wine glasses in his hands. The warm ocean breeze drifted lazily over my skin, ruffling my hair, pulling it behind my shoulders and baring my neck.

Noah visibly tensed beside me and I looked at him questioningly. His eyes were glued to my neck, his eyes brimming with barely concealed anger. I brought my hand to my neck, wondering what he had seen, when I felt the fresh indentations of the mark Arthur had given me last night. Oh.

Despite the look in his eyes, he gently removed my hand from neck before replacing it with his own. He lightly grazed his fingertips over the mark, raising goosebumps on my arms.

“He’s treating you like you’re his property,” Noah growled and I grimaced. He wasn’t entirely wrong, but he wasn’t entirely right either. I did belong to Arthur, but he treated me well. And I didn’t exactly mind being his either.

I stepped away and Noah dropped his hand limply to his side. “He treats me really well. Besides, he’s my fiance. He can mark me if he wants.”

Noah clenched his jaw. “Does he have a matching mark?”

I shook my head. “No, he doesn’t. I’m not ready for that yet.”

Noah watched me for a few more seconds before his lips pulled back into a smile that I didn’t fully understand. “I think we’ve found our spot,” he said, drastically changing the subject. I didn’t mind though.

We collapsed onto the sand, stretching our legs out in front of us. Noah opened the bottle of wine and poured each of us a glass. The white wine was sweet and barely tasted like alcohol.

I was done with my first glass by the time the sun started setting, sending vibrant colors over the constantly moving waves. It was a beautiful sight and probably the prettiest sunset I had ever seen.

Noah topped off my glass. I slowly sipped the wine and rested my head against Noah’s shoulder. It was getting so heavy.

Almara, you’re getting drunk, Lily warned, but I ignored her. The sound of the waves and the rapidly descending sun was incredibly relaxing. The wine was wonderful too. It was warming me up from the inside.

Noah leaned his head against mine, resting his hand on my knee. I hummed in contentment. This was so nice. Just two friends together on the beach. I giggled.

Noah’s hand rose higher to my mid-thigh. I let out a breathy moan. That felt good. His hand was so warm.

“Sweetness, I want to kiss you again. Is that okay?” Noah breathed into my ear and my breath hitched. I knew somewhere in my muddled mine that that was probably a bad idea, but I couldn’t remember why.

I turned my face toward his and he wasted no time claiming my lips. The hand on my thigh tightened into a delicious pressure that had me groaning into his mouth. His tongue swiped across my bottom lip, asking for permission which I gladly gave.

The hand on my thigh went higher, his fingers playing with the edge of my panties. All he would have to do was move slightly to the right..

But that wasn’t going to happen because Noah was suddenly ripped away and flung five feet closer to the water. I blinked blearily at him. Did I do something wrong? Then Arthur walked into my field of view.

The look on his face was murderous, but damn did it look sexy on him. Another giggle burst out of me before I could stop it and Arthur whipped his head around to glare down at me.

His eyes dropped down to the wine glass in my hand and understanding washed over his face. He scooped me up in his arms and I put my head against his chest.

“You are in so much trouble, little wolf.”

“How’d you find me?” I asked, my words slurring a little.

“Kaylee called,” was his gruff reply.

“Kaylee’s a tattle-tell,” I whined.

Arthur growled low in his throat as Noah stood up and started stalking toward us, his hands in fists at his side, the wind whipping his hair around his face. He looked like a deadly angel.

“Stay the fuck away from us. I swear to the Moon Goddess if you ever touch her like that again, I’ll fucking kill you,” Arthur warned as Kaylee came to stand between us.

Noah paused, taking in Kaylee’s stance and I could almost see the gears turning in his head as he assessed his chances. He must have decided that a fight wasn’t worth it because his shoulders relaxed and he gave a little laugh.

“You can try, but as long as she wants to work with me, you can’t keep us apart. Watch your back, Alpha,” and with that he disappeared like he had done in Arthur’s office. How was he so fast?

Arthur blew out a breath from his nose. “Let’s get you some coffee so you can sober up. Then you’re going to be punished for this.”

I wiggled in his arms and let out another giggle. I liked Arthur’s punishments.