LOGINCROSS’ POVMOMENTS AGOI stare out the backseat window, clinging to whatever thin patience I still have left, and take a long drag from my cigar. The smoke curls up toward the ceiling of the car.How long does it take for one bastard to show up?If there’s one thing I hate more than incompetence, it’s waiting. And the asshole knows it. He’s doing it on purpose.“Evans.” I don’t bother looking at my best friend/PA in the driver’s seat. “Maybe we should hire someone better. Someone who actually finishes a job without making us sit here all fucking day.”“Maybe. Maybe not.” Evans keeps his eyes on the street. “Could be he’s held up.”I scoff and tap the ash into the small crystal ashtray built into the center console.“All he has to do is get me information on Bruce Humphrey. What’s so difficult about that?”Evans only shrugs.I take another pull from the cigar. Bruce. That fucking rat. After borrowing money from one of our clubs he vanished off the face of the earth. He’ll regret it
TIFFANY’S POV“Uh… I…” Noah’s fingers fly to the side of her neck. Her eyes dart around the way they always do when she’s been caught. In the next second she sweeps her hair forward, letting the waves cover the mark completely. Then she offers me a small smile that is obviously forced. “It’s nothing. Just… a reaction.”“A reaction?” I fold my arms, genuinely impressed by how bad the lie is.“Yes. I’m really tired, Mom. I’ll talk to you later.”She’s gone before I can say another word, disappearing down the hallway toward her old bedroom. I watch her go and let out a quiet scoff.What does she take me for? Some clueless older woman who can’t tell the difference between a hickey and a random skin reaction?The question of how she got it settles heavily in my chest, and the uneasiness that follows is immediate.Was it Miles? Did he touch her?“Oh God.” I have to sit down on the nearest couch. The thought of him getting physical with Noah makes every muscle in my body lock. I can’t
NOAH’S POV“You’re mistaken. That isn’t me.”I force the words out the second my brain starts working again and shove Miles’s hand away from my back. My heart is hammering so hard I can barely stand still. I turn and try to walk away, anywhere, as long as it’s away from the fact that I’ve been caught. But his arm hooks around my waist and yanks me back flush against his chest.My pulse triples.“Let me go—” I twist hard, but his grip doesn’t budge. Instead he peels the open dress the rest of the way down my arms until it pools at my waist, leaving my entire back and the thin lace of my bra completely exposed.Heat and panic flood me at the same time.“What the hell do you think you’re doing?!” I yell at him, struggling against the iron hold around my middle while he keeps examining the tattoo like he’s still trying to prove himself wrong.“This has to be some kind of sick joke.” His voice is low with disbelief. “It’s exactly the same.”His fingers trace slowly down the bare length
NOAH’S POVThe warning in Miles’s voice should scare me. It should make me shove him off and run. Instead it only feeds the fire already burning under my skin. My nipples ache against the lace of my bra, hard and sensitive. My panties are soaked through, clinging to me with every small shift of my hips.A long, shaky breath leaves my mouth as he drops his head to the side of my neck. His lips find the most sensitive spots along the column of my throat and open there. Hot, intentional kisses that make my knees threaten to buckle. At the same time his hand finishes the zipper. Cool air rushes over my bare back as he exposes my skin.A sudden wave of shyness hits me hard, heat flooding my cheeks at the thought of how exposed I am.“Miles… I… I can’t…”I’m not even sure if the words are protest or raw need. Before I can decide, his mouth moves higher. He catches my earlobe between his teeth, then soothes it with the slow drag of his tongue. The sensation shoots straight down my spine,
NOAH’S POV“Are you crazy?”Miles stares down at me like I’ve completely lost my mind. Like every word coming out of my mouth is proof that I have no idea what I’m doing.But I do. Unlike him.“No.” I say firmly, refusing to break eye contact even though his gaze is cold enough to carve straight through me.I don’t even know where this new confidence is coming from. Maybe pure desperation to keep the deal alive? For one fleeting second I actually wonder why I’m fighting so hard for it. Surely it can’t just be about stopping Mom’s relationship with Carl… right?Miles doesn’t move. He just stands there in that tall, solid frame of his, staring down at me with a blank expression while a muscle ticks hard under his jaw. The silence stretches. My insides are tight, but my head is loud.Honestly, what the hell was I thinking, kissing him like that?I want to slap myself.Finally he speaks, voice flat.“You don’t know what you’re saying. If you had any sense, you’d stop involving yourself
NOAH’S POVMy eyes fly open the second Miles’s mouth crashes against mine.The kiss is deep and hungry, nothing careful about it. His fingers curl lightly around the side of my neck, holding me in place as he presses harder, devouring my mouth like he’s been starving for it. Heat tears through me so fast it steals my breath. His lips are hot, insistent, tasting faintly of desperacy. For one dangerous second I almost melt into it and let my body answer the demand in his.Then my brain immediately catches up.What the hell is he doing?I can’t taste or smell any alcohol on his breath, which means he’s not drunk. So why is he suddenly acting this way out of the blues?Forcing my palms against his chest, I shove him back with everything I have.“What’s wrong with you?” I search his face, still half-dazed. My lips are already tingling, swollen from the force of his mouth.Miles’s expression darkens. His eyes look harder and blacker than I’ve ever seen them. Before I can step away, he s







