Todos os capítulos de The Trapped Heiress: Capítulo 61 - Capítulo 70

She was already on her way up when his voice stopped her."Laurel."She turned, the bouquet still pressed to her chest. Noah was still standing amongst the flowers with his hands in his pockets."I made dinner," he said. "Something very light; I thought you might be hungry." He hesitated, then added, "Would you like to join me?"No, the word was already on her tongue; she wasn't hungry, her stomach was tight and anxious, and her mind was still back in the house with a baby's fingers curled in her hair. She wanted her room, a locked door, and ten minutes to breathe."I am not really hungry.""I made it myself."The refusal died in her mouth.Noah, cooking—that's new, and that too for her; that’s simply unbelievable.Her heart gave an unsteady flutter, and she hated that she was touched. "Give me a few minutes," she heard herself say. "I will change and join you in a few minutes.""All right, I will be waiting."She didn't walk up the stairs but ran for her life, the roses crushed again

It wasn't pain; it was heat that raced outward from that single point, down her spine, through her arms, into the tips of her fingers. Her whole body seemed to wake at once, as though a part of her had been asleep for years and had only now been called by name."Noah…" It came out as a whisper, hardly a word at all."I know," he murmured against her skin. He kissed the mark again, and she shivered helplessly. "I know, darling."She had always thought that the mate mark was a formality to seal the bond. She had never imagined it could feel this way. The bond between mates, she realised dimly, wasn't simply a feeling. It was a thread pulled between two people, running through body and mind and soul, so that every touch he gave echoed through her as if it were her own. She could feel his heartbeat in her own chest; hear it in the hush of the room, steady, fast and fierce.He is afraid, she thought; under all of it, he is terrified I will push him away.And that, more than the kisses, mor

His face had gone completely still, the way it did right before a storm broke. The warmth of the past hour had vanished, replaced by something cold and hard. Laurel had seen that look across boardrooms, but she had never seen it turned on to someone in his own home, and that too on his precious Sherry."Sherry." His voice was low and dangerous. "What are you doing here?""Oh, Noah, don't look so angry!" Sherry laughed lightly, as if he hadn’t just questioned her. She set the bags on the nearest chair and began unpacking them one by one. "I was out shopping, and I saw that your favorite brand had their new season in, so naturally I thought of you. I got you a few shirts, a jacket, and that gray sweater you liked; you really do need to replace the old ones."She held up a sweater, smiling at him, and for a moment the room was so quiet that Laurel could hear the clock ticking in the hall.She knows what he likes, Laurel thought, his favorite brand, his favorite sweater, something small a

"Noah," she said mildly.He turned, startled, and as if he had forgotten anyone else was in the room."I don't think there is any need for a scene." Lula smiled serenely, the sort of smile that made people sit up straighter. "Why don't you go with Sherry? A friend's party, after being so unwell. How lovely, you should absolutely go after all; not everyone can recover so fast after being hospitalized, and even going out to party is very commendable."Sherry's tears stopped, her eyes lit with the first real brightness of the afternoon."But," Lula went on gently, "you should take Laurel with you; she is your wife, after all." She turned her warm gaze on Laurel and then back to Noah. "Surely your friends would like to meet her; it's long overdue, don't you think?"Silence fell like a dropped plate.Sherry's smile slid right off her face.Noah blinked once, slowly, then something in his expression cleared, and he said, "Yes, of course; it’s high time my friends met her."He said it so qui

Five chairs scraped back at once."How dare you!" The broad, bearded Alpha in the black suit was already on his feet, his voice a thunderclap. "This is neutral territory! Who sent you? How dare you show your faces on our ground?"The rogues answered with laughs echoing around them.It was low and ugly, and it carried no fear at all. The tallest of them, a big man with a scar across his jaw, stepped forward, grinning, his eyes sweeping slowly over the five standing Alphas, over the booth in the corner."Your ground?" he said softly. "Really, but not tonight."In the corner booth, Noah did not move.He sat calm and straight, his drink untouched, his face unreadable, only his hand betrayed him. Under the table, it closed tighter around Laurel's, hiding it completely."Don't panic," he murmured, so low only she could hear. "I am here."But Laurel was already shivering.It had started a moment earlier, before the door opened, a faint, cold prickle crawling up the back of her neck. Now the