I stared at the closed door for a full minute after Noah blew out of it without even a backward glance. After he’d just fucked me into the mattress. After a night unlike any I’d known. After I’d let him get closer than anyone ever had before.
I was naked, lying in a bed of rumpled sheets…alone. Stunned. I didn’t get caught off guard very often, but Noah had managed to do just that, throwing me way off-balance.
But this was exactly what I’d always wanted. What had always worked for me… Being left, alone, after a night of amazing sex. I’d spent my life seeking exactly that, had always been satisfied with it. No strings, no commitments, no relationships.
So why was my stomach churning? Why was there this hollow feeling inside? Even though my body still ached with awareness of exactly where Noah had been and what he’d done last night—and again this morning—I’d never before felt this empty.
I hadn’t spent the night with a man in…well, ever, so I was probably just a little off my game. Especially considering I’d closed my eyes for only a moment last night and then suddenly woken up this morning in Noah’s arms, his hands cupping my breasts, his cock hard and ready against me. It’d been languorous…affectionate. Two things I never thought I’d equate with sex. It was definitely a first for me—just like the sleepy morning sex.
But it was no big deal. Just sex. Noah’s passing remark before he fled proved how he saw it—as a single day between us. The same way I did. An amazing day and one I wouldn’t soon forget, but still just one day.
I turned my head, burying my face in my pillow, only to realize it smelled like Noah. My blanket did, too. Even my hair smelled like him. With a groan, I threw off the covers and pushed myself out of bed because it was driving me crazy that his scent surrounded me. Like he’d never left.
After a quick shower, I slipped into my favorite dress and pulled my hair back into a cute ponytail, then painted my lips with my favorite color. It was a red lipstick kind of day.
I had a bit of time before I needed to be downstairs to open the store, so I stripped my bedding and threw it in the washing machine before remaking the bed with fresh linens.
And then it was like Noah had never even been there.
It was surprising how easily any trace of him could be removed from my life. Had it really only been forty-eight hours since this whole thing between us had come to a head? Because it felt like a lifetime.
I poured myself some coffee into my travel mug and grabbed my e-reader, making sure it was stocked with reading material in case it was slow today. With one last glance at my apartment, completely wiped clean of any evidence of last night, I shut the door behind me and headed down the steps on the side of the building.
The sun was bright, the air crisp but not chilly. Another beautiful fall day on the island, and people were out enjoying it. Cars filled the church parking lot—a typical scene for Tuesdays, as one of the busier days at the church. I normally reveled in their busy days, when visitors would pour out of the front doors, the red awning above Sin immediately drawing their gazes. I’d stand outside under the guise of watering my flowers and flutter my fingers in the direction of those grouchy old women. Women who walked around with perpetual wedgies because they constantly got their panties in a twist anytime they even saw me walk down the street.
Today, however, I couldn’t bring myself to give the church more than a cursory glance on my way to the front of my building. The thought of seeing Noah after he ran out just an hour before made my stomach twist with something I definitely hadn’t had enough coffee to examine.
Actually, come to think of it, that examination might be better suited for the gin variety.
I juggled my e-reader and coffee, readying my keys as I approached the front door of Sin.
“Harper!”
On instinct, I turned my head in the direction of my name. Noah stood across the street, members of his congregation surrounding him. When our eyes connected, he smiled and waved, then left the people talking to him and jogged toward me. He still wore the clothes he’d had on last night, every bit as rumpled as I’d expect them to be from spending an evening shoved between my couch cushions or under my bed.
The thought caused my stomach to flip, remembering his face buried between my legs. How he’d taken me, soft and sweet, yet still somehow greedy. How he’d pulled me into his lap, taking the opportunity to run his fingers or his palms or his lips over every inch of me he could.
Then I remembered how he’d fucked me this morning, then bailed with little more than a thank you.
Straightening my spine, I glanced behind Noah toward the people still crowding the front lawn of the church, all eyes on us. “Pastor Noah.”
His smile faltered as his brow drew down. “I was hoping I’d run into you. I’m sorry I had to rush off this morning.”
I nearly laughed because it was usually me who was feeding some bullshit line. I waved him off, needing to get into the sanctuary of my store. Needing some space from Noah. “I get it. Lots to do on weekdays for the pastor.” I turned away, finding the key I needed for the shop. “I’ll see you around, Noah.”
“Hey, stop for a second.” He reached out to still me, encircling my wrist and pulling me out of the alcove of the entryway. I glanced down at his hand, hating how much I loved feeling his fingertips against my pulse point. Hating how it reminded me of his intimate touches at dinner last night. “I really am sorry. I forgot all about reflection this morning.”
“Well, I’ll give you one thing—I’ve certainly never gotten that excuse before.”
“It’s not an excuse. I wanted to stay in bed with you, but the silent reflection hour is one of our biggest weekday events. I couldn’t miss it without someone to stand in for me.” He tightened his grip, his thumb rubbing circles against the underside of my wrist. “Please. Let me take you to lunch. We can—damn, I have a church council thing. Dinner, then. Let me take you out to dinner again.”
I shook my head, pulling my hand away, because I couldn’t think when he was touching me. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
His brow furrowed, confusion plain on his face. “I’m not sure I understand.”
“Look, Noah, I get it. We’re both adults. You had a little itch to scratch, and who better to scratch it with than me, right?”
“You are not just an itch, Harper.”
“An itch. A little acting out. Whatever you want to call it.”
Voices carried from across the street, drawing my attention, only to find nearly everyone outside looking in our direction. Some of them were covert about it, slight nods toward us, while others were just outright pointing at the two of us together.
I put on my best smile and waved to the catty, gossipy bastards. To Noah, I said, “We’ve got an audience.”
He shook his head, not sparing them a glance. “I don’t care about them. I’m here to talk to you.”
“I’m not exactly thrilled to have my personal business discussed in front of the people who have no problem judging me day in and day out, so I’d really rather not.”
“Harper, I don’t—”
“If you’ll excuse me, I need to open the shop. Goodbye, Noah.”
“Harper, wait. Let’s go inside and talk. There has to be a way—”
“Everything okay, Pastor Noah?”
“Henry, this isn’t a good time.”
“Yes, I can see that. But the council is convening—”
I didn’t stick around to hear the rest, slipping into the shop and locking the front door behind me. I had thirty minutes until I needed to flip the front sign to OPEN, and I was going to use every single one of them.
Their muted voices seeped through the walls, low enough that I couldn’t discern what they were saying. I walked around the counter and placed my stuff down before going to the register to ready it for the day. From here, I had a perfect view out the front window to where Noah stood with Henry, husband of one of the gossipier blue-hairs I had to deal with. Noah said something to him, then glanced back to where I’d been standing moments ago. He closed his eyes, his shoulders sagging as he looked at the empty patch of concrete.
The soft hum of a voice filtered into the store again. Noah turned back to Henry, and he nodded.
And then he walked away.