Page 13

“No, I don’t have your goddamn phone. If I did, I wouldn’t be demanding you answer your calls, would I?”
She felt foolish. “Oh, umm, no.” Clearing her throat, she tried to focus. “You haven’t said why you’re trying to reach me.”
“I will. As soon as you come outside.”
Her gasp drew Warren to his feet. Pietro, who’d been retrieving her purse from the floor, straightened in concern.
“Outside? You’re here?” She hurried to the window, her breath fogging the cool glass as she searched for him.
Dressed in black jeans and a black T-shirt, he leaned against his Maserati. Long legs crossed, Noah stared straight at her. His eyes held none of the heated possessiveness she’d come to crave. Only a chilled glance that was no less domineering.
He held her gaze for a full minute, then he conducted a slow appraisal of her body through the window. When his scrutiny reached her legs, she imagined that his nostrils flared, but shecould’ve been deluding herself. His eyes gave nothing away when they reconnected with hers.
“Come out, Leia. Now.”
Heart hammering, she swallowed. “I… Okay.”
“Oh, and Leia?”
“Yes?”
“Leave your lapdog behind. I didn’t come inside specifically because I don’t trust myself to be within decking distance without flattening him. If you bring him outside, all bets are off. Are we clear?” The question was soft but filled with a menace that made her shiver.
“Yes, Noah.”
5
Noah watched her walk out of the restaurant. The relief he’d felt when he heard her voice after a day and a half of trying to reach her drowned him all over again. He barely controlled himself from grabbing her and demanding answers. He kept his cool until she stopped several feet away from him.
“Hi,” she said.
Hi. Like they were casual acquaintances. Like he hadn’t spent four solid days last week branding himself onto her. Like he hadn’t spent Friday night turning her ass red and her tight little cunt sore enough to make him wonder if she’d ever walk straight again.
Yeah, he’d done all of that. And she’d still walked away from him. To her, he may well be the most casual of acquaintances. The rock-hard stone, which he hadn’t managed to shift from his gut since Saturday morning, grew spikes and churned harder into him as he stared at her.
A part of his brain registered that this was the first time he was seeing her without some form of leather on her body. Butshe didn’t look any less incredible in the tight green dress that displayed her stunning legs.
She fidgeted under his stare. He hid a grim smile. Now that he knew she hadn’t been avoiding his calls, that she was safe and not in the clutches of her psycho stepfather, he could take his time to deliver the news he’d uncovered.
“Are you going to say something, Noah, or is this going to be a staring contest?”
Ballsy. Fuck, how he loved that about her.
He started to answer and stopped, frowning when her slight slur registered. Straightening, he stepped closer to her. The act of tilting her head to meet his gaze made her sway.
“What the fuck? Are you drunk?” he snapped.
She jumped and nearly dropped the tiny purse she carried. She tried to shake her head and swayed again. Anger roared through his veins. The thought of her in this state, alone with Snyder, dug hot pokers into his gut.
He yanked open his passenger door. “Get in.”
“Why? Where are we going?”
“To get some coffee inside you. I’m not having a conversation with you when you’re clearly drunk.”
“We can get coffee here. I’m… I’m sure Pietro wouldn’t mind…”
Looking over her head, he saw Snyder approaching the door, those lizard-cold eyes on them. Noah’s palms tingled from the urge to cause harm. “No. We can’t. Get in the car, Leia.”