I stumble back, studying her as her words sink in. I shake my head. “No. I was just trying to give you everything you deserved. I wanted to give you the world, baby.”
“All I wanted was you, Noah… and a family. I didn’t need the money and I would have been happy even if we lived in a shack. The club and the money - it was all for you so you could feel like a big man.”
“That’s bullshit,” I growl, stalking across the kitchen and pinning her against the counter. “Everything I did was for you.”
She shakes her head with a sigh. “I don’t have the energy to fight with you today. Let’s just agree to disagree. It’s not like it matters much now.”
What the hell is going on here?
Where is her fire and attitude?
Where is the fight that I love so much?
Where is my Kady?
“What happened to you, baby?” I ask, searching her eyes and she turns away from me as she tries to push me off her with her hips. I put my hands on the counter on either side of her, locking her in place. “Tell me.”
“It doesn’t fucking matter, Noah. You can’t change it.”
I knew it.
“Who was that man today at the clinic?”
She scoffs. “I should have known you were there, too.”
“That’s not an answer.”
Bucking her hips again in an attempt to push me off, she turns away from me. “You’re not going to get one so give it up.”
“Never.”
When she turns back to me, I can’t help but smile.
Ah, there it is - that fire I love so much.
“What the hell do you want from me, Noah? I think I’ve made myself pretty clear.”
I shrug. “I think you’ve made it clear that you’re a liar but beyond that, I’m not sure what you’re talking about.”
“Get out of my house,” she seethes, shoving me away from her. I tense up and hold steady, unwilling to let her out of my reach again. Leaning close, I hold her gaze and smile.
“No.”
She shrieks, shoving me again and my grin widens.
“Come on, Kady. Just tell the truth and admit that you still love me.”
“I do not,” she growls. Nodding, I lay my hand over her racing heart as I arch a brow.
“Really?”
Lifting her chin in defiance, she shoves my hand off her chest and meets my gaze. “Yes. Lots of other things can elevate heart rate, such as rage or hatred.”
“You don’t hate me, baby,” I whisper as I lean in, letting my mouth hover just above hers. Her nipples pebble against my chest and her hips tilt forward ever so slightly as I fight back a laugh.
“I do.”
I shake my head. “No, you don’t. Tell the truth. You still love me and you probably always will.”
“No.”
“Say the words, Kady,” I growl, irritation gnawing at me as my need for her builds. I grab her face in my hand and force her gaze back to me. I’m desperate for those words, to hear her say what we both know. I’ve spent seven long years without hearing it and I need it now. She tries to turn away but I force her gaze back to me again. “Tell me you love me.”
“I hate you.”
“No, you don’t,” I hiss, my top lip pulling back into a snarl just before I slam my lips to hers, pulling a gasp out of her. Her lips part and my tongue slips into her mouth, teasing and toying with hers as her hips press into me and she moans.
Fucking victory.
Pulling away, I gasp for air as I flash her a grin. “You hate that no matter how much you want to or how hard you try, you can’t bring yourself to hate me. You hate that after all these years, I still have a direct line to your stubborn heart. But most of all, you hate that no matter what you do, you can’t stop loving me. Same way I can’t ever stop loving you, baby.”
“You son of a bitch,” she growls, wrapping her hand around the back of my neck and pulling me to her again. This time, when our lips meet, I wrap my arms around her waist and pull her close, frantic for as much contact as I can manage. She tastes just like I remember, minty mixed with sweet chocolate and I’d be willing to bet if I looked around for a second, I’d find those little rectangular chocolate mints she loves so damn much. Groaning, I slip my hand under her shirt, skating my fingers across her back.
Fuck.
This is heaven.
“Stop,” she gasps, jerking away from me and in my surprise, I release her.
“Seriously? We’re going to do this again?” I growl. She shakes her head. “I thought we just worked through all this.”
Sighing, she shoves me back and walks past me to the table before dropping into a chair. “We haven’t worked through anything, Noah, and in case you’ve forgotten, I have a boyfriend.”
“He doesn’t matter.”
She scoffs and arches a brow. “He doesn’t matter? Really?”
“Yes, really!” I yell, running my hand through my hair as I start pacing through the kitchen. “Sure, I feel a little bad for the guy and everything but in the grand scheme of things, he doesn’t fucking matter because you and I are end game. I know it. You know it and I’m willing to bet Jason knows it.”
“His name is Mason,” she mutters, rolling her eyes and I kick a chair away from the table.
“I know his damn name.”
I sit down and she sighs, watching me closely.
“What do you want from me, Noah? You were gone, abandoned me actually, and I moved on with my life. You should, too.”
I shoot her a look as I run my fingers through my hair again, contemplating just pulling it out because of how crazy she makes me. “What don’t you get about this, Kady? There is no moving on with my life after you. There is no life after you for me, period. You are the love of my goddamn life, the other half of my soul, and I’m never going to walk away. I can’t.”
“Noah,” she murmurs, tears building in her eyes and I scoot my chair around the table until I’m in front of her. Taking her hands in mine, I meet her gaze.
“Please,” I plead. “Don’t walk away from me. Just give me another chance to prove to you that there is no one else on this earth that loves you more than I do.”
“There’s so much you don’t know - so much that could rip us apart.”
I shrug. “Then we fight it together. I’d face the devil himself as long as I have you by my side.”
Leaning back in her chair, she studies me for a second before sighing. “I’m not saying yes.”
“But you’re not saying no, either?” I ask, hope raining down on me for the first time since I got out of jail. She shakes her head.
“I don’t know what I’m saying yet. But I know I’m not a cheater and I need to talk to Mason after… that.” She points to the sink and I nod. “And I need you to go for right now.”
I stand up and squeeze her hand. “I’m not giving up.”
“I know.”
Pulling her hand up to my lips, I kiss it before dropping it back into her lap. “I love you.”
“Good-bye, Noah,” she says, turning away from me but I don’t miss the hint of a smile on her lips and that’s a win I’ll take all day long.