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“I came here for you,” he admits deeply, like it’s the most reasonable thing ever. “I wanted to see you.”
“Why?” There’s an edge of hysteria to my voice, and I pull my arms tighter in an attempt to set myself to rights. “So you can bring me back to Goldenrod? And I can scrub your floors again?”
“No, because I want you,” he replies, his voice calm and matter-of-fact.
“Well, you don’t get me,” I grit out. “I’m just a pointless beta, remember? Isn’t that what you said?”
He shakes his head quickly. “No, you’re not. I didn’t mean that. You’re—I was wrong. Scared. An idiot.”
“You are an idiot,” I sniff. “I hate you.”
He tilts his head, stepping toward me. “You hate me?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t believe that.”
“Believe it,” I grumble, sniffing and staring at the dirt. My body still aflame, I turn to face the house, staring straight ahead as my eyes burn with tears. “Just go.”
There’s a long stretch of silence. I know better than to think he left, though. His scent and presence loom behind me, dark and imposing.
“I love you, Hetty,” he finally states coolly, breaking through the quiet.
I freeze. “What? No, you don’t.”
“Of course, I do.”
I can’t say anything or turn around. It’ll be over then; I know it. Instead, I just stare straight ahead as an intense heat moves through my body, gathering in my center.
“I don’t know what I’m doing out here, other than I needed to see you so badly today, I thought I’d explode,” he continues deeply, his rumbling voice vibrating through my body. “I would’ve done anything to get to you. Fight. Kill.” He pauses—my heartbeat is the only sound I hear. “We could die out here tomorrow, but I’d do it loving you.”
My eyes go wide, tears spilling down my cheeks as the gathering heat crumbles and dissolves into a million pieces.
Unable to hold myself on my feet any longer, I fall to my knees, not feeling the impact as I grasp my chest, a roaring pain burning and encompassing me with fire.
What’s happening to me? Suddenly, Noah’s in front of me.I look up, pleading and unable to speak.
He moves fast, crouching down next to me and pulling me into his arms.
“Hetty,” he whispers against my ear as I begin writhing against him. He feels so good. Hot, strong, and the smell … I press my face into his shirt and moan. So good. I want his body against mine. Inside me.
At the thought, I cry out, clawing at my chest as a fire tears through my chest and explodes as thousands of tiny sensations soar through my nerve endings. I scream loudly as it burns through me, setting my insides aflame.
“Ohhh!” My eyes crack open to find Noah staring at me in panic, his mouth hanging open and his eyes intense. “It hurts so bad, Noah,” I pant. “I don’t know what…” I trail off as a new pain ignites and tears escape my eyes.
“What?” he asks, his eyes darting over my face. “What’s the matter?”
I open my mouth to reply, but another bolt of pain slashes through me, cutting me off. Noah is in the background, repeating my name, asking me if I’m all right.
It sounds like he’s far away or under water, though. I’m so distracted by the pain. Finally, I can’t stop a loud screech—the loudest one yet—as my back arches and the pain bursts from my body in a loud ear-splitting buzz that moves through my body, setting me aflame from my toes to the ends of my hair.
Then, just as suddenly as it started, it’s over. I relax, sated and exhausted, groaning in relief as tears stream down my cheeks.
Noah’s hands explore my body as I relax in his arms, breathing him in steadily. That’s when I notice that while the pain is gone, the buzzing sound is still coming from my chest in a rhythmic chant.
I reach up weakly to touch my heart, surprised at the vibration. I glance up at Noah, sweat pouring down my forehead. He’s watching me like he’s never seen me before.
“I don’t know what just happened,” I admit faintly, my limbs heavy and useless and my head pounding. “But I think—” I pause to catch my breath. “I think I’m a little dead now.”
