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 back. “What?”
“I told you. In front of me, Winter.”
“I didn’t do that for Easton or Xavier.”
“They didn’t ask,” he said. “Or tell you to do it. I’m not afraid of what I want.”
What you want?
Now I’m suddenly desirable? Why? Because I survived the accident you planned?
I looked forward and saw the mirror.
The gigantic mirror on my dresser.
I took one step to my left and saw Noah’s reflection.
That’s when an idea hit me.
The best of both worlds in a sense.
I could give him what he wanted and give myself what I wanted.
I hated myself for wanting the attention.
Especially from someone like Noah.
But what were my options? I had three Bumps who tried to kill me… now they want me. Plus I had one Troc who had already made his move on me.
I chased away all those thoughts and put the dress on the dresser.
I looked down at my shorts and gently flicked the button open.
When I stripped them down my legs, I didn’t bend over like some stripper looking for money. Instead, I did a squat, bending my knees, wrestling my shorts down to my ankles. I stood back up and stepped out of the shorts.
If I knew this was going to happen, I would have made sure my bra and panties matched.
There was nothing wrong with the panties I was wearing - they were gray with laced edges - just that they weren’t the ones I felt my best in.
I stood there and took a breath the best I could without Noah seeing.
My fingertips flirted with the bottom of my shirt.
I shut my eyes and lifted the shirt.
I kept my eyes closed as I felt the air in the bedroom tickle my skin.
When I dropped the shirt to the floor, I opened my eyes.
My bra was all black, nothing fancy about it.
My hair fell down to the middle of my back.
My eyes stared at the reflection in the mirror as Noah sat up.
His eyes burning at me.
I knew what he wanted me to do next.
Take the bra off, Winter.
But that wasn’t going to happen, yet.
Instead, I reached for the dress.
I had to carefully find a way to step into the dress.
I wanted to keep some class for myself, and I wanted to tease Noah.
He slowly inched to the edge of the bed.
The dress came up over my shoulders, covering the straps of my bra. The back was open, which meant wearing a bra with the dress wasn’t going to work.
At least not without a strapless bra.
Which was how I would have to wear the other dresses. Or any dress for that matter.
“Want to zip me up?” I asked Noah.
He launched from the bed with so much speed that I smiled.
This was working.
He stepped up behind me.
His fingers touched the zipper but he didn’t zip up the dress.
With one quick motion, he grabbed the clasp of my bra and twisted it, popping it open.
Heat rushed to my cheeks and I looked down at my chest.
The cleavage was showing a little more at that moment.
“There,” Noah whispered. “That’s better.”
His right hand then touched the right shoulder of the dress.
He moved it one inch and paused.
When his lips touched my shoulder, I quickly spun around to face him.
I opened my mouth, ready to tell him to get the hell out of my room.
Only I was speechless.
There was something about him.
Dare I even mention it… but it was comforting.
Almost familiar.
Noah put his hands to my hips and moved his body closer to mine.
“I think this will look nicer on the floor, don’t you?” he asked.
His lips barely touched mine.
“Noah, no,” I whispered.
“No?”
I pushed at his hard stomach, hating myself again for doing so.
Noah moved back and he flexed his jaw.
“What did you think was going to happen here?” I asked. “Did you think I was going to fool around with you?”
Any sense of power I had lost I had back.
I was in control of my body. He wanted my body. Which meant I controlled him.
The anger and annoyance on Noah’s face gave way to a smile.
“You look beautiful, Winter,” he said. “That color suits you.”
“Red? For what? Blood? Danger? Violence? The accident…?”
Noah leaned down toward me again. “No. Red is for the heart. Love. Romance. Truth.”
His lips closed over mine.
It was a kiss I couldn’t say no to.