Chapter 106: Morning Reckoning

Micah’s POV

My head was aching. No, it was banging so violently behind my eyes that even opening them felt like torture. Every muscle in my body was completely stiff, heavy, and locked in place.

Was I tied up in a suitcase or something? What was this suffocating tightness locked around my waist?

I gasped softly, snapping my eyes wide open. I blinked repeatedly, fighting the blurry haze in my vision until the dark ceiling and familiar ambient light of the room came into focus. I yawned hard, my hand flying up to grip my throbbing temple as tears of pure pain gathered in the corners of my eyes.

"Where am..." I muttered to myself, my voice raspy and dry. "Oh wait... this is Noah’s room."

I tried to sit up, but the moment I shifted, I felt a heavy weight anchored around my stomach. My eyes widened in shock, dropping down to stare at the pale, long-fingered hand holding me down against the mattress.

I followed the arm to the person sleeping right behind me.

Noah.

My hand slapped instantly over my mouth, freezing me dead in my tracks. A sudden wave of intense heat rushed straight to my face, burning my skin with unbearable shame.

Oh God.

Whatever happened yesterday was just a bad dream, right? Please let it be a dream. I couldn’t remember every single detail, but patchy, terrifying memories were already flooding back into my brain... drinking those glasses of heavy alcohol, feeling dizzy, and then Noah bursting into that room like an angry demon to save me before I blacked out completely.

I didn’t do anything stupid other than that, right? Even if I did, it was already too late. Noah had found out everything. He saw me at that club, dressed up like a host, entertaining men for cash.

And not just him. Damon was there too.

I clasped both hands over my face, groaning silently as my cheeks burned hotter than fire. The embarrassment was enough to make me want to melt into the mattress and vanish forever. How was I ever going to look either of them in the eyes again after acting like such a fool?

Slowly, hesitantly, I reached down to touch Noah’s forearm. I carefully pinched his wrist with two fingers, trying to lift his heavy arm and slide myself out from under him without waking him up.

I didn’t even get an inch away.

The second my fingers touched his skin, Noah moved. In one fluid motion, his hand snapped around my waist like a band. Before I could even let out a gasp, he yanked me backward and flipped me over onto my back, hovering completely over me on the large mattress.

My back hit the mattress soft, and suddenly Noah was right there, his large frame towering above me, trapping me completely beneath his chest.

He rested his weight on his elbows, his messy morning hair falling wildly over his forehead, his pale skin stark against the dark bedsheets. His tired, heavy eyes stared straight down into mine with a quiet, dangerous focus.

He looked so devastatingly hot, so effortlessly intense, that my breath hitched dead in my throat. I almost squealed right there. If the girls at our school saw him looking like this—disheveled, shirtless, and lethal—I couldn’t even imagine what they would do. They’d probably scream their lungs out until their voices vanished completely.

"Planning on running?" Noah asked.

His morning voice was low, raspy, and thick with sleep, vibrating straight into my chest. He was obviously furious with me, but there was no way I could take his anger seriously when he sounded like that. The vibration of his voice gave me goosebumps all over my arms and neck.

Maybe sharing a room with him wasn’t such a bad idea after all... that is, if I got to wake up and listen to that deep, rumbling voice every single day.

"Micah," he called my name sharply, snapping me right back to reality.

I flinched, my heart skipping a beat as I locked eyes with his cold, unblinking blue stare.

"You better start explaining what you were doing at that club," Noah growled, his jaw tightening. "Or things might get really, really nasty right now."

"I will," I whispered, my voice trembling as I quickly dropped my eyes to the tiny space between our chests. I couldn’t stare into his eyes without losing my mind. "Can we... can we sit up and talk?"

Noah tilted his head slightly, his dark brow arching. "Why?"

My face flared bright red. I covered my mouth shyly, squirming under his heavy weight. "Your..." I stammered, swallowing hard. "It’s hard."

Just saying those words out loud made my chest explode with embarrassment. Noah understood instantly. He knew exactly what I was feeling pressed flush against my hip through our clothes.

But why wasn’t he getting off me? Why was he staying right there?

Instead of moving away, Noah reached out, his long fingers gripping my chin and jaw firmly, forcing my head up so I had no choice but to look directly into his eyes.

"Your head is only thinking about how hard my dick is, huh?" Noah muttered, his deep voice dripping with dark irritation and possessive heat. "Why don’t you get serious for one second and tell me why the hell you were working at that club?"

"I only wanted money!" I blurted out, my voice cracking with genuine distress. I shifted slightly under his press, trying to find some relief, but I instantly froze as Noah’s hard length rubbed directly against mine through our thin nightwear. A quiet, involuntary gasp slipped past my lips before I forced myself to speak again. "I don’t know what my father left for me... I didn’t know if I had anything of my own! I couldn’t just sit around and survive on charity, so I wanted to make my own money!"

Noah frowned deeply, his eyes narrowing into cold slits. "Are you making that up?"

"Of course not!" I answered fiercely, tears of frustration pricking my eyes. "I was scared, Noah! I didn’t know what else to do!"

Noah let out a harsh breath through his nose. He released my jaw, running his fingers through his messy hair as he shifted his hips slightly on top of me.

I bit my lower lip so hard I almost drew blood, squeezing my eyes shut to stop any shameful moan from escaping my throat. The friction between us was driving me completely insane, making my whole body ache with a needy, confusing warmth.

Fuck.