Page 131 of Before We Break

He looks at me, his tender expression melting me from the inside out. “No. I won’t sit by and listen to them talk shit about the people I care about.” His gaze cuts back to Karen. “You think just because your husband is a cop, you’re invincible. Money and status don’t mean shit in this town. Willow Valley was built on kindness and loyalty, both qualities you all seem to be lacking.”

He points at each of them in turn. “It would’ve been a goddamn privilege for you to be that baby’s grandmother. If Hayden decides to have kids someday, I hope he never honors you with that title. You’re a cunt.”

She scoffs. “Sure. Remind me…where’s that brother of yours again?”

The other women avert their gazes, quietly distancing themselves from the altercation.

I place myself between Karen and Noah, his steady presence at my back giving me the courage to speak. “I don’t know who the fuck you think you are, but you don’t get to speak to people that way. Noah has done nothing to earn this petty grudge you seem to be hellbent on holding onto. His brother made a mistake, but that doesn’t have any bearing on Noah as a person. It doesn’t even define Jonah. I hope you never make a mistake in your life. If you do, I’ll be right there waiting to throw it in your face.”

Shock overtakes Karen’s features, but I don’t stick around long enough to find out what she’s going to say next. I grab Noah’s hand and head back the way we came, but Noah has other plans, and he pulls me behind a large oak tree near the parking lot, pinning me against it.

He leans his elbow on the tree above my head and tilts my chin up with his thumb and forefinger. “That was the single sexiest thing you’ve ever done.”

I run my palm down his chest, my lips tipping up at one corner. “Oh? I thought it was that thing I do with my tongue.”

He pinches his eyes shut like he’s in pain. “Fuck, baby. You can’t say shit like that when we’re in public. I’m already hard as a rock.”

“Let’s get out of here.”

“What about Lexi and Auggie?”

“They’ll be fine for a while. I’ll text her and let her know we’re leaving.”

He presses his lips to mine. “We’re taking my bike.”

Crap.

NOAH

With Clio’s thick thighs bracketing my hips and her arms wrapped snugly around my waist, I guide my bike down the narrow side streets, enjoying the feel of her at my back. It’s so different from the first time she was on my bike, not just because I now know what it’s like to be completely consumed by her, but because I feel lighter this time. I still have the weight of the world on my shoulders, but being with Clio makes it bearable.

I grab her thigh, taking the curve onto the cross street between the town square and the cliffs. Watching her stand up for me like that… fuck. I was rock hard in seconds. If we hadn’t been in the middle of the park in broad daylight, I would’ve fucked her up against that tree.

I park on the edge of the cliff, pausing to take in the view. Clio climbs off the back, looking windswept and fucking breathtaking. The sky is overcast today, but you wouldn’t know it from the ray of fucking sunshine standing in my line of sight, brightening everything around her.

She has a yellow scarf tied around her hair, and a matching shirt beneath those overalls she loves to wear when she’s working on her art projects. There’s nothing inherently sexy about her outfit, and yet I can’t tear my eyes away. I don’t know how I ever thought this could be temporary.

I plant my feet on the ground, scoot back onto the passenger seat, and pat my lap twice. “Come here.”

She snorts out a laugh. “I’m not sitting on your lap.”

“You had no problem sitting on my face.”

Her cheeks flush an adorable shade of pink. “You’re insufferable.”

“Yet you’re still here.”

She swings one leg over my bike, draping herself across my thighs. Her arms twine behind my neck, and she leans in close. “It’s that thing you do with your tongue.”

“Is that all it takes?”

I’m a confident man, but there’s still a small, insecure part of me that worries she’s only with me for the sex. That what we have is comfortable and familiar, and staying with me is easier than finding someone else.

The sun begins to peek out from behind a cloud, and her eyes catch in the light, robbing me of the ability to think clearly. “You don’t see it, do you?”

“See what?”

“Your value. Your heart. You have the capacity to love so deeply, Noah,” Her fingertips glide into the hair at my nape. “Your heart has been closed off for so long. Maybe you don’t know what it feels like, but I can show you if you’ll let me.”