Page 15 of A Wicked Dance of Obsidian and Light (Echoes of Darkness #1)

“Y ou didn’t answer your phone, and I got so worried. I’ve been calling for two hours non-stop. I thought something happened to you again. I got your address from Grayson and came to check up on you.” Noah’s still hugging me tightly, his fresh, crisp smell taking over my senses.

“Oh,” I say in a breathy whisper as I suddenly become aware of the fact that I’m almost naked in his arms. I totally forgot that I had promised to show him the spot where the umbra attacked me in the forest.

My front is completely stuck to his, and I feel every single muscle and ridge of his body pressing against mine. He pulls me in slightly, allowing me to feel his erection poking at my belly. I inhale a shaky breath and swallow. Neither of us moves, and I know I have to be the first one to step back because I’m still deeply hurt by his actions. But I just can’t. My brain is short-circuited by the memories of us, of what we could have been together.

Noah pulls back a little to look down at me, and I almost melt at the way his eyes rove over my body. How many times have I daydreamed and wished he would come back and look at me just like that? He then lifts his hand and brushes his thumb against my right nipple over the see-through fabric of my shirt. I can’t stop the breathy moan that tumbles free at the contact.

His eyes are two mirrors of quicksilver as he closes the small space between us and brings his lips to mine in a searing kiss. The groan he lets out the moment our tongues meet is sexy as fuck. This kiss is nothing like the ones he gave me five years ago, which seem almost innocent in comparison.

Something happens, though, as the kiss deepens; Kaiden’s face unexpectedly flashes through my mind. The heat I imagined coursing inside my veins a thousand times over as Noah kisses me is barely a flicker of a dying ember.

What the fuck is wrong with me? He’s a demon.

Noah suddenly glides both of his palms on the back of my thighs and lifts me. The movement snaps me out of my thoughts. So, I circle my legs around his body in response and weave my fingers into his hair, pulling the strands hard and licking at his lips furiously. I refuse to recognize what this really is—a feeble attempt at erasing Kaiden’s face, which seems to be etched on my brain. With a frustrated groan, I try hard to concentrate on the way Noah’s hard-as-steel erection is pressing right at my center, dampening the lacy fabric of my thong.

Still not nearly as wet as when Kaiden had you pinned against the wall, the nagging voice in my brain screams at me.

I push it away as Noah closes the door by kicking it with his left heel and starts walking with me in his arms on the hallway that leads to my bedroom while devouring my mouth like a starved man.

He steps on one of the pictures, shattering the glass. We both land on the bed with him on top of me, right in between my legs. Lifting my T-shirt over my head and discarding it on the floor, he looks at me with awe in his eyes as he takes both of my breasts in his hands, making slow circles with his thumbs on my nipples.

“God, Iris,” he breathes against my right nipple before he sucks it into his mouth greedily.

Pleasure zips through me. “Touch me. Please!” I beg with desperation. Maybe if he touches me, I will forget about Kaiden. I have to. I have to!

He palms my pussy and starts making soft circles with his fingers on my clit, over the damp fabric of my panties, as he keeps sucking and teasing my nipples with his tongue. I close my eyes, trying to stay in the moment, but in the darkness, I get another flashback of the way Kaiden collared my throat with his tattooed fingers.

This is wrong.

So wrong.

I can’t do this to him. To me.

We have to stop.

As I’m about to push him away, Sam’s loud voice travels through the apartment unexpectedly. “Iris! Are you still sleeping? I almost died laughing at the voice messages you sent me this morning.”

“Fuck,” Noah groans under his breath and lifts his head. His eyes lock with mine, brimming with disappointment.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

The reality of what I was about to do hits me all at once like a ton of bricks as the haze of desire completely disappears from my brain with the sound of the front door of the apartment slamming shut. I push Noah off me with inhuman speed and jump off the bed to close the door.

“What the fuck happened in here? Why are all the pictures on the floor? Oh my Goddess! Did you drink all the leftover vodka alone? Are you crazy?” Sam asks in disbelief, shock dripping from her tone. Her heels click loudly against the hardwood floor as she approaches my bedroom. She knocks. “Iris? I can hear you in there. Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine, just a little hungover. I’ll be out in a minute. Let me put some clothes on,” I reply breathlessly from the other side of the door.

“All right, weirdo. It’s not like I haven’t seen you naked before, but whatever.”

The deep breath I take into my lungs does nothing to still my rapid pulse. I turn back to Noah, but I can’t look into his eyes, so I take in his appearance instead. He’s sitting on the bed, his erection bulging the material of his jeans, his golden hair messed up by my wandering hands. I suddenly don’t know what to do.

I clear my throat loudly in an attempt to clear the blistering silence that has fallen between us as I stride to my closet. With my back to Noah, I sift through my clothes for something to wear. Taking out some dark blue sweats and a rock band tee, I hastily put them on.

“Iris, I—” Noah says softly.

I cut whatever he was trying to say while facing him again. “Can you please stay here? I’ll get rid of her fast. It’s just…I don’t know how Sam’s going to react if she sees you. She was the one to pick up the pieces when you left, and I can’t deal with the drama right now,” I whisper.

Knowing Sam, she will probably hex him with a small dick or impotence. She can be creative like that and also vindictive, especially if someone wronged me. Noah nods instead of offering a reply, and I leave him there, sitting on the edge of the bed, his elbows resting on his knees. I swiftly get out of the bedroom and close the door behind me.

The pictures are back on the hallway walls as if nothing ever happened, and the rest of the mess is picked up, the ice cream puddle nonexistent. Sam is sitting at the kitchen table, typing something on her phone. As always, she’s dressed to impress in a black pencil skirt paired with a stunning burgundy ruffled blouse that accentuates her fiery hair, which is pulled in a sleek bun.

“Hey, thanks for cleaning up,” I say as I approach her.

She lifts her gaze from the screen. “It’s nothing. I just snapped my fingers, and everything was back in its place. Witch, remember?” She points her right thumb at herself and arches a perfect auburn eyebrow at me while analyzing me up and down. “Why are you so red in the face? And why are your lips swollen like you just had a sexy make-out session?”

“I was throwing up right before you came through the door, maybe because of that. I feel like shit. I came back after my shift last night and drank a bottle of wine and the rest of the vodka left from New Year’s Eve by myself. I got so wasted; I don’t even remember what the fuck I did half of the time before going to sleep,” I answer, plopping down on the couch unceremoniously, hoping she’s going to drop it.

“Iris Harper, I know you better than anyone! There’s something you’re not telling me. Spill, bitch!” she demands while narrowing her eyes at me.

I huff. “God, Sam, there’s nothing. I’m so fucking hungover. I want to rot in bed and wallow in pain until I have to go out on my shift tonight.”

“That’s why I’m here, silly. I made something to help with the hangover.” She opens her designer tote bag and fishes something from inside. The small glass bottle she takes out is filled to the brim with a questionable-looking liquid like someone puked something green in it.

“I listened to your voice messages when I woke up, and I almost peed myself. I immediately knew you got smashed, so I prepared my perfected hair of the dog for you, aka Sam’s Hangover Miracle Juice,” she says as she strides to the couch, sitting down with the grace of a ballerina before passing me the glass bottle.

Nausea comes back with a vengeance at the thought that I have to drink the repulsive looking glob. I press the heels of my palms into my eyes, but it does nothing to calm my rioting stomach. “I’m almost afraid to ask, but what voice messages?”

“You mostly mumbled something about Elena and Damon breaking up. Who the fuck are these people? I know I’m your only friend. Anyway, this one’s my favorite,” she says before she unlocks her phone. My drunken voice suddenly blasts through the apartment at full volume.

“Kaiden’s so hot! I—I just dream about his abs you know? Like dude, duuuuude! I have never seen abs like that! I want to pour some chocolate sauce on him,” there is a pause as I belch loudly like a real lady and then continue, “Oh, oh, and some whipped cream and then lick him like the delicious fucking bad-boy dessert he is. No! A MAN, NOT A BOY.”

Shit.

I don’t remember recording this voice message or any message, for that matter. I cringe hard and hope like hell Noah didn’t hear any of this. But with the enhanced hellseeker hearing…

“Sam!” I protest loudly as I try wrestling the phone out of her hand, but she’s surprisingly strong for her petite frame and pushes back at my hands. I blame my stupid hangover for my weakness; otherwise, she wouldn’t have been able to overpower me.

“Stop it!” she scolds me. “Wait, the best is coming now.” She laughs loudly, tears gathering at the corners of her eyes.

My voice booms again, making me shrink in embarrassment. “And then after he spanks me, I WANT TO RIDE HIS DICK LIKE A DISCO STICK!”

Sam’s wheezing, not making any more sounds as she doubles over, laughing so hard her whole body is shaking and I—I want the floor to swallow me whole because there’s absolutely no way Noah didn’t hear me shout that.

“I didn’t know you were so kinky,” Sam snickers as she wipes at the corner of her eyes delicately, probably trying not to ruin her perfect makeup. “I’m so proud of you!” She pats my thigh like a proud parent. “Now bottoms up! You’ll feel better, I promise.”

“The last time you made me drink one of these, I almost shit myself for three days straight.” I scrunch my nose while all the times Sam used me as her personal lab rat for every new crazy potion she came up with flashes through my mind.

“I perfected it, okay? Trust me, it’s good. I changed the recipe; it just needed some frog legs. I tested it on me first this time. Cross my heart.”

“Frog legs? Are you for real?” A repulsed shudder ripples through me. She takes the bottle from my hand and uncaps it while bringing it to my lips like I’m a two-year-old. I gag hard when the stench of dirty feet hits my nose. It’s like she tried her best to make this as disgusting as possible.

“If I shit myself again or if anything else happens to me, I’m revoking you as my best friend.” Narrowing my eyes at her and pinching my nose, I drink the liquid in three gulps. Surprisingly, it doesn’t taste as bad as it smells, and it immediately calms the queasiness in my stomach.

“See? In an hour, you’re going to feel like yourself again. I have to go. I’m meeting a client for her wedding flower arrangements, and I’m already running late.” She stands up from the couch and bends slightly, giving me a quick hug. “I’ll see myself out. And by the way, I know you weren’t alone when I came in. You’re welcome,” she whispers the last part and winks at me with a cat that ate the canary smile.

I gape after her, not able to speak as she puts on her stilettoes and closes the front door behind her. When I finally get my bearings, I walk back toward my bedroom with the intention of letting Noah know she left.

Before I can put my hand on the handle, he storms out of the room with a hard look in his eyes, clouds rolling in, making them a slate gray. The vein pulsing on the side of his forehead looks like it’s about to pop any second now. He surprises me by locking me in between his arms with my back to the hallway wall.

I look up into his icy eyes. “What are you doing?”

He crowds me, his large body looming over me. We are so close, the tips of our noses almost touch. “Who the fuck is Kaiden?” he grits out through clenched teeth.

“Just some guy I met a few days ago,” I lie and shake my head. Well, it’s half a truth. I did meet Kaiden a few days ago, but he doesn’t need to know the specifics of how. I want to throttle Sam because this is exactly the result she wanted by playing my drunken voice messages loudly—to make Noah jealous. I don’t know how she figured out I wasn’t alone and that it was Noah with me in my bedroom, though.

“Did you let him fuck you?” Noah demands, ire dripping from his tone.

He did not just ask that. The audacity of this man!

His question burns through me like the blistering heat of a thousand suns. My nostrils flare, and a muscle thrums in my jaw. “What the fuck is it to you? How did you get in your head the fact that you have the right to know, huh? It’s been five fucking years, Noah!” I push hard at his chest, needing space to breathe, and continue with the same fire in my voice, “What? Was I supposed to wait for you like a good little virgin all my fucking life until you suddenly remembered I existed and came back for me?” I ask on a derisive laugh. “You never called! You. Ghosted. Me.”

I clench and unclench my fingers, indignation coating every word. “As far as I knew, I was dead to you, so stop acting like a jealous boyfriend! You lost that right five years ago when you left and never looked back.” I start pacing at this point, not being able to douse the rage bubbling in my veins. “And don’t tell me all these years you haven’t been with anyone. How many women have you fucked since you left, huh?”

He doesn’t answer. Instead, he evades my gaze, his eyes drilling a hole in the wall, jaw ticking. He doesn’t have to say a word because I have my answer right here.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought. Talk about double standards,” I scoff and shake my head with equal parts anger and disappointment. I know it shouldn’t hurt so much that he moved on, but a tiny part of me still hoped he didn’t. I couldn’t be a bigger fool even if I tried.

His shoulders slump, and his lips draw in a thin line. “Fuck…I’m sorry. It’s just that you let me kiss you again, and then we did more, and I thought—”

I cut off whatever he’s trying to say. “You thought what? That you own me? Yeah, news flash, you don’t! And now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to take a shower, and if you are still here when I get out of the bathroom, we can go to the national park. If not, you can go by yourself. I don’t give a fuck.” I sidestep his big frame, careful not to touch him as I enter the bathroom, slamming the door behind me.

I pull my clothes off with more force than necessary and turn on the water in the shower, stepping into the cold spray. The cold water feels like heaven on my overly heated skin. How my life became so fucking complicated, I have no idea. And why did I kiss him, dammit?! I shouldn’t have. I blame my stupid hangover brain for that and the fact that I’ve been horny as hell since leaving Kaiden’s apartment.

I also feel the strong need to hit something again because, despite what I said, I did wait for Noah to come back like a good little virgin. Stupid Iris. Stupid. Stupid. He probably fucked a dozen women since he left, and all I did was have some really boring dates with random dudes that I didn’t even like all that much.

Stepping out of the shower, I wrap a towel around my body and enter my bedroom to grab some clothes. I settle on a pair of leggings and a loose black T-shirt since we’re going to walk around a forest. I quickly blow-dry my hair and put it into a ponytail. I also dab a bit of foundation and blush on my face in an attempt to mask the fact that I’m still hungover.

My stomach isn’t queasy anymore, though, so that’s an improvement. At least Sam’s concoction seemed to work a little, despite the frog legs.

Ugh.

When I finally get out of my bedroom, I almost bump into Noah. He’s holding one of the framed pictures that’s normally hanging on the wall, looking at it with a strange intensity.

“You have a photo of us,” he says in a whisper while turning his head to look at me. “I remember this day; it was right before I asked you out on our date.”

“Yeah, Sam took it. I almost threw it out, but I guess I wanted a reminder of how simple and happy my life used to be back then.” I shrug nonchalantly and try to pass by him, but he blocks my way, stepping in front of me. The hallway is pretty narrow, so I can’t avoid him.

“I’m sorry about earlier…I can’t seem to think straight whenever you’re involved, and for what it’s worth, I’ve only been with a few women since I left. They were all drunken mistakes, and I couldn’t stop picturing your face. I swear.” His words are laced with sorrow and regret.

“It’s none of my business, Noah…as far as I’m concerned, we were broken up the moment you ignored my calls. You could have fucked a thousand women. I don’t care.” The lie makes my stomach clench. “Can we please go now? I want to have some time to myself before I start my shift tonight.”

I take a small step forward, hoping he will take the hint and move, but he doesn’t budge. Instead, he invades my space, framing my face with his hand. He tilts my head slightly and looks directly into my eyes. The contact makes my pulse scatter.

“I don’t care how long it takes, but I’m going to prove to you how much I love you, and I will fight for you, Iris. It doesn’t matter who this guy Kaiden is or whomever you’ve been with since I left. All that matters is that I’m here now, and I’m not leaving.” He then bends slightly, kissing me chastely on the lips.

The kiss is so swift, it almost feels like I imagined it. After that, he turns around and places the framed picture back on the wall, leaving me speechless and frozen in the middle of the hallway. I bring my fingers to my lips and swallow hard.

Trying to snap out of it, I blink a few times and shake my head as I finally manage to move my feet toward the entrance, where Noah is waiting for me. I make quick work of sliding two daggers into my boots after I slip them on. With my whip in one hand, I open the front door. As I lock it, I spot Ms. Robbins coming up the stairs, struggling with four bags of groceries, barely keeping her balance. Her usually neat bun is messy, most of the wild strands stuck to her sweaty forehead.

She looks up from the bottom of the stairs and huffs loudly when she sees me. The sharp glare she gives me could level an entire city. Her bony knees are in bad shape, and she can barely climb the stairs as is, but having to carry the heavy grocery bags on top of that must be torture. I’m the one who normally does her grocery run at the beginning of the week, but with the events of the past few days, I totally forgot. Shame and guilt filter through me, even if she annoys me more than half the time.

Before I can, Noah moves fast, descending the stairs to where she is. He takes all four grocery bags in one hand like it’s a piece of cake, offering Ms. Robbins the other to help her with the stairs.

“Oh, thank you, young man!” She beams at Noah, which surprises me because she rarely smiles. Then she pats his arm, saying as loudly as she can, “I wouldn’t mingle with this one if I were you. She likes to throw orgies in her apartment. Everyone in the building knows.”

No, she did not say that. The old bat.

My entire face flushes red at her words, and Noah’s eyebrows shoot up. He bursts into laughter at my expense.

All of a sudden, I don’t feel guilty anymore.

“I don’t throw orgies, Ms. Robbins. Stop telling people that!” I shriek, my voice coming out loud and squeaky.

Reaching the top of the stairs, she throws me a dirty look, still holding Noah’s arm. “You kept me up all morning with the screaming and that awfully loud music. You should be ashamed of yourself! You should also close the door when you are having sex; you almost gave me a heart attack earlier.” She scowls at me. The grimace deepens the wrinkles on her face even more. “And don’t tell me you don’t throw orgies when I saw that redhead coming to join you two.”

Oh God, she saw me kissing Noah only in my underwear and a see-through shirt. That’s how Sam probably found out Noah was with me. Ms. Robbins must have told her. The whole building will probably know by tomorrow.

Ugh . I’m going to die of embarrassment.

“C’mon, Ms. Robbins, we both know you don’t sleep past four a.m. in your old age,” I say as I roll my eyes at her. “And we did close the door; we were just kissing, not having sex. Stop being dramatic,” I grumble. The tips of my ears will probably catch fire if this encounter doesn’t end soon.

“It sure looked like you were having sex to me. You were as good as naked,” she says vehemently, pointing an accusatory finger at me while inserting the key in the lock of her door, mumbling, “Kids nowadays don’t have manners anymore. Everyone has sex in plain sight.”

Noah is waiting patiently for her to open the door. Judging by the big smile on his face, he doesn’t want this impromptu meeting to end as soon as I do.

Ms. Robbins finally opens the door and winks at Noah cheekily. “I wouldn’t have minded, though, if you were the naked one.”

A surprised laugh bubbles out of me. I don’t know if I should be shocked or cringe in awkwardness. That’s a side of Ms. Robbins I haven’t seen before.

“Do you want me to bring these in for you, ma’am?” Noah asks, his big smile not at all bothered by her remark.

“Oh, if you don’t mind, sure. Right there in the kitchen.” She moves aside to let Noah pass. “Maybe you could stay for some tea. She’s not invited, though,” she says before she throws me another dirty look from the doorway.

“Yeah, like I’m not the one taking you to all your doctor appointments or buying your groceries weekly. I forget one week, and suddenly I’m the Devil,” I mutter under my breath, thinking Ms. Robbins didn’t hear me, but she definitely did because she snaps her head back at me with a scowl.

“I can’t right now, unfortunately; I have somewhere to be. Maybe another time,” Noah tells her charmingly while exiting the apartment.

“Anytime you want,” Ms. Robbins shoots back. Her smile is so big thatyou can see the entirety of her dentures. She then closes the door, not sparing me another glance.

“I like her,” Noah says as he closes the distance between us on the small hallway.

“Yeah, I bet, since you bring out her inner cougar.”

He chuckles at my response, and we start descending the stairs at the same time.