Damaged Love - Jaxson Kidman Page 0,43
I asked, almost flirting a little.
“Everything,” he said.
He reached for my face and stroked my cheek.
When he did that, all the chills that had been working through my body turned into mini balls of heat.
I didn’t quite understand what everything meant. Other than him messing with my head. Just like the others. Like Easton trying to convince me that he and I had hooked up in the backseat of his car. The closest thing Easton and I ever had to a hookup was me in his memory and him in his bed with his right hand doing the work.
The same could be said for Xavier.
And Noah.
A quick wave of sobriety came over me and I reached for the dress.
Noah put his hand to my wrist and moved my hand away.
“No,” he said again.
“No to what, Noah?” I asked.
“You’re not taking this dress and running off with it,” he said.
“Then what am I doing with it?”
“You’re going to try it on for me… in front of me.”
Trust me, I went through the logical process.
I told myself leading Noah to the beach house was a bad idea. I told myself accepting his dress - or the other dresses - was a bad idea. Even when I got to the deck, I put my right foot on the first step and paused.
Before I could even attempt to think a thought, Noah touched my sides and pressed the front of his body to the back of mine.
“Cold feet, Winter?” he asked as though he could read my thoughts.
That was an opening to come to my senses and tell him to leave.
There was zero reason for me to accept a dress from him. I could actually make my plan work by rejecting his dress without seeing it. It would hurt him. It would get into his head. He would have instant resentment for Easton and Xavier over it.
But there was this fire in me.
Wanting to prove to myself and to Noah that I wasn’t afraid of him. Or the others. Or the situation. Or the lies. Or the truth.
It was my chance to have some real power.
This was Noah wanting to see how far he could take things with me. He wanted to see me undress.
Which meant my body was now a prize.
A thing.
I hated the idea of being objectified, but… I would drive him crazy with my body.
Just thinking that made me blush.
I was lucky Noah couldn’t see my face.
I walked up the steps and went into the beach house.
I pointed to the cabinet and looked back at Noah with a grin.
“That’s where the good stuff is,” I said. “Since you hated the vodka so much.”
“I don’t think I need to drink right now,” he said to me.
He was still inches from me.
Wanting his body close to mine. Wanting to tease me with himself.
It was a game.
He was good at it.
But I was cheating to win.
Oops.
I took him up the stairs to my bedroom.
My heart danced around my chest.
Way more than I really wanted it to.
Noah entered the room behind me and shut the door.
“Are we alone?” he asked in a smooth voice that made me tingle.
“Yeah,” I said.
He didn’t lock the bedroom door.
He walked to the bed and laid the dress down.
He unzipped the covering and opened it.
Then he moved to the top of my bed and sat down.
Noah… sitting on my bed…
I looked at the dress.
It was a rich crimson color. A mix of red and black, based on the way the material folded or reflected the light.
I swallowed hard at the sight of it.
Just by the look and color it was my favorite one.
I would never admit that though.
“Do you like it?” Noah asked.
I shrugged my shoulders. “Yeah. Sure.”
“Try it on,” he said.
“Then you have to go,” I said.
“Deal.”
He put his feet up on my bed and put his hands behind his head.
I reached for the dress and carefully lifted it.
It was a rough material on the outside.
Face it, I knew nothing about this kind of stuff. I grew up rich, and if I had to wear something nice, it was picked out for me. I wore it and that was that. Even when it came to dances, junior prom, and the big prom, I told someone at the castle what I wanted and they got it for me. I knew nothing about fabrics, design, blah, blah, blah.
I slowly turned and Noah cleared his throat.
“Where are you going?” he asked.
“To try it on.”
“You can do it right here,” Noah said.
I looked