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I watch as he glances at his phone, frowns, types something, and then sets it back down before walking back to where I’m standing. Then, with a hand firmly planted above my hip, he guides me out of the suite.
“Have you seriously never played poker before?” he asks casually as we take the elevator down to the cheaper suites where I’m staying with my friends. I’m oddly disappointed that we’re reduced to small talk after what just almost happened between us.
“Not until this weekend. My brother tried to teach me a couple of times, but I could never remember all the different hands and he finally gave up. Plus, the last time I suggested we play with tampons instead of money.”
I smile at the memory, but it’s immediately followed by that familiar twinge of sadness.
“Sounds like you’re pretty close to your brother.”
“We were. He died a few months ago,” I say quietly.
“I’m sorry.”
For some reason, his words level me. People tell me they’re sorry about Liam’s death all the time, but the way Noah says it, it somehow means more. He doesn’t look at me with pity or try to offer any comfort, only those two short words uttered with absolute sincerity. Like he understands.
“Thank you. He’s actually the reason I’m here.”
He raises an eyebrow, encouraging me to continue. I stall for a moment as the elevator stops at my floor and we exit. He takes my hand, threading his fingers with mine, and it somehow gives me the strength to continue.
“My brother, Liam, was a Navy SEAL. He was everything I’m not—daring, impetuous, and larger than life, but I loved him more than anyone else in the world.”
“I wouldn’t say you’re as different from him as you think,” he murmurs.
I guess I do seem daring and impetuous to him—after all, I’m here with him—but he doesn’t know the real me.
“He had a bucket list of things he wanted to do before he died. He updated it just a few weeks before he was killed. I actually carry it around with me, because holding it and seeing his handwriting and knowing he touched it a few weeks before he died makes me feel closer to him,” I admit sheepishly. “One of the guys on his team gave it to me. I decided I’d finish the list for him.”
Noah’s looking at me intently. “What kind of things are on it?”
“Well, an all-nighter in Vegas was one of them, which is why I’m here. And I jumped off a waterfall last week, which was absolutely insane.”
“But fun, judging by the look on your face,” he comments with a faint smile.
“Yeah. It was fun. I never in a million years would have thought I’d do that, much less enjoy it, but it was amazing.”
“So what’s next?”
“Sailing around the Philippines, then diving in Malaysia, with a stopover in Australia afterwards to swim with sharks.”
He lifts an eyebrow in surprise. “You sail?”
I shake my head. “No. I’ve hired someone to take me.”
“I’ve sailed the Philippines a few times myself. I have a buddy from college who lives in Australia with a boat that he lets me borrow sometimes. You should be careful. Terrorist activities, maritime kidnappings… It can be dangerous.”
We’ve stopped outside my suite, and he has somehow inched me backward so my back is pressed against the wall in the hallway outside my room. His arms are braced against the wall on either side of my shoulders, caging me. My pulse is racing again at the sheer nearness of him.
“Kind of like now?” My voice sounds breathless, like I just ran up three flights of stairs.
“Exactly.” His lips trace a hot path down the side of my neck. “A man might take advantage of a beautiful woman like you.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll be perfectly safe,” I manage to whisper, even though his touch is igniting my skin. “I’m sailing out of Coron, and I’ve hired a retired husband and wife who’ve sailed around the world twice to take me. From everything I’ve heard, they’re as harmless as you can get.”
“No one’s harmless,” he murmurs, his lips so close to mine we’re sharing the same breath. “You’d do well to remember that.”
