Before leaving, he draped his own coat over Noreen’s shoulders, worried she’d catch a chill.
As she waited for the driver to fetch the car, she saw Seth’s vehicle glide past right in front of her.
Inside, the cabin was warmly lit. Bianca stared at Seth with stars in her eyes, chattering happily about something or other.
Seth, head slightly bowed, wore a tenderness on his face that Noreen
rarely saw.
The car sped away, sending a gust of cold wind whipping across Noreen’s face.
It was sobering–painfully so.
She pulled the borrowed coat tighter around herself, thinking wryly that sometimes, a man wasn’t even as useful as a coat.
At least on a night like this, a coat could actually keep out the cold.
The wine she’d had packed a punch, and by the time Noreen got home, her head was spinning.
She fumbled at the door for ages before finally unlocking it.
Thank God she remembered her keys. Otherwise, she might not have
made it home at all.
Not that it was entirely her fault–Seth was to me for this too. If not for him, she wouldn’t have changed the locks, and now she had to lug her keys everywhere. What a hassle.
Alcohol always left her mouth dry, and of course, there wasn’t a drop of water left in the fridge.
After drinking, she always craved ice water. With the fridge empty, she had no choice but to order delivery.
21.25
She ced her order and waited about ten minutes before the doorbell
rang.
That was fast.
Noreen didn’t think twice. She went over and opened the door.
Only to find–not a delivery guy, but Seth.
Her reaction was pure instinct; she tried to m the <i>door </i>shut.
But Seth was quicker. He wedged his foot in the gap, stopping her.
His chest heaved gently in the yellowish glow from the hallway light.
Noreen didn’t even manage to finish her sentence- “What are <i>you </i>doing
here?”
Before she could, Seth gripped her chin and kissed her, not gently.
She tasted alcohol on his lips–he must have been drinking at the party, probably taking shots for Bianca again.
That made her stomach twist.
She lifted her hand and pped him across the face, the smack ringing out in the hallway.
But the wine had left her weak. The p didn’t sober Seth up–instead, it only seemed <i>to </i>provoke something deeper in him.
Seth was always forceful in moments like this, and with Noreen half–drunk, she was no match for him.
She barely protested before he tossed her onto the bed, her mind goingpletely foggy.
He didn’t give her a chance to catch her breath–he was on top of her in
an instant.
Tonight, Seth was nothing like before.
He was fierce, relentless.
213
?1 ?? –
He knew every sensitive spot on her body, like a general exploiting every weakness on the battlefield.
It didn’t take him long to break through her defenses.
Noreen wasn’t about to give in without a fight. She grabbed his jaw and bit down, hard.
She didn’t let go until she heard his muffled groan.
It was like a tug–of–war, neither of them willing <i>to </i>yield, both desperate to conquer the other.
But in the end, Noreen lost.
Between a man and a woman, physical strength was never equal.
Her nails dug into Seth’s shoulders as her breath grew ragged and her voice fell apart. “I really like your moves,” she gasped.
Her praise only spurred him on.
Seth was always wild in bed.
In his rough enthusiasm, he knocked over a small, ck velvet box on the nightstand.
He caught it just in time, stopping it from falling on Noreen.
Curiosity flickered in his eyes–he’d never seen the box before. “What’s this?” he asked.
Noreen, her tone t, snatched the box from his hand and tossed it aside. She hooked her arm around his neck and pressed her lips to his throat. “You’re getting distracted at a time like this? Getting bored of me already?”
He couldn’t resist her; whatever curiosity he had vanished instantly.
As Seth lost himself in her, Noreen nced at the little ck box lying forgotten on the side, her eyes growing misty.
Seth, you’ll never know what’s inside that box.