“Faster, dammit,” I grunt out between thrusts. He’s pounding the breath out of me in sharp, guttural bursts—stifled growls reminding us both that I’m still angry as hell.

“You asked for it.” His arm pistons faster and I bite my lower lip hard enough to bruise.

He suddenly breaks our kiss, leaving me with nothing to stifle my whimpers, and his mouth descends to suck and bite at my neck. I want to tell him that he’s a dead man if he leaves a hickey, but I can’t form words anymore. All I can do is cling to him, clawing at his shoulders. I arch my hips up and spread my knees to urge him even deeper inside me. He fucks me as hard as he can into the wall while I hang on for dear life, gasping and trembling as the pleasure rises higher.

My thighs clamp around his forearm as I finally tip over the edge. No longer able to thrust with his arm’s full strength, Noah crooks his fingers to massage my G-spot and grinds the heel of his hand into my clit. I shudder violently, my mouth opening in a silent scream, wave after wave of white heat pulsing through my entire body. Noah keeps working his hand to let me ride out my climax to the end.

Floating slowly down from my high, I can feel myself still spasming around his fingers, my inner walls gripping tight and relaxing and then gripping again, weaker and weaker each time. I flush deep red at the thought of just how much Noah can feel. He could tell the moment I started to come and the moment my orgasm finally faded away. There’s nothing I can hide from him when I’m like this.

His fingers slide free with a faint slick noise. His eyes are dark with lust as he brings his fingers to his mouth and sucks them clean. My knees tremble a little. God, he’s infuriatingly sexy.

He steps closer to loop an arm around my bare back and he kisses me, tenderly now. I can taste myself on his lips. I’m feeling so languorous that I relax into his embrace without thinking. His cock is still rock hard in my hand. Instinctively, I reach out to unzip his pants and reciprocate the pleasure he just gave me. Even through his tuxedo, his body is so warm against the breeze trickling down from the ceiling vents, the chill I somehow never noticed before . . .

It suddenly seeps into my spine and I shiver, blinking like I’ve just woken up from a dream. Wait . . . what am I doing? Why did we just . . . ? My jaw tightens. The fog of lust is clearing fast and goddammit, I’ve made a huge mistake. I’m supposed to still be pissed at him, but yet again, I let my libido take the reins. How does this always happen?

I yank my hands off Noah’s crotch like I’ve been burned. Giving in to pleasure was bad enough, but giving in to the desire to please him . . . I’m acting like we’re making love. And as much as I try to tell myself it was just force of habit, I know it wasn’t. I wanted to get him off almost as badly as I wanted to come myself.

“What’s wrong?”

Noah’s voice is still husky, so ready for my touch, and I shake my head like I can dislodge the seductive sound.

“You already know.”

My cheeks burn with embarrassment as I hike my panties back up and smooth my skirt. I let him get so far. He still has so much sexual power over me. He can play my body like a violin, and the rest of me is helpless to follow.

“Hey, where are you going? What about me?”

Ignoring Noah’s protests, I charge out of the closet like something is chasing me. As if I can outrun my own feelings. I fling open the door . . . just in time to lock eyes with Mr. Tyrell, walking down the hall. His eyes widen in confusion.

“Got lost looking for the bathroom,” I blurt, and stomp back to the main room as fast as my high heels will let me.

Chapter Six

Noah

If Olivia is going to stay mad, fine. So be it. But if last night is any indication, we still have chemistry. With my fingers buried deep inside her, she came apart, clawing at my suit jacket, devouring my mouth, gasping for air. She can pretend to be unaffected all she wants, but I know the truth.

And she’s still here, sharing our apartment. She hasn’t filed for divorce or started looking for a new place or anything like that. So I have to believe that, deep down, she does still have feelings for me. Her father was right—growing up, we were so in sync, right there for each other through every rite of passage. Granted, I’m sleeping on the couch, but at least she hasn’t left.

I’ll just have to find a way to make her believe those feelings, show her that we belong together. Convince her that the happily-ever-after she’s always wanted isn’t just a fantasy—it’s something we can have together, for real. But it’s become obvious that I’ll have to fight dirty. And that’s why I’ve enlisted the help of our friends. This is gonna take a village.

“Where’s Olivia today?” Camryn asks, surveying our empty apartment as she enters.

“At the spa.” I usher her over toward the dining room where I have everything set up. I booked Olivia for the works today—European facial, hot stone massage, manicure, pedicure, and something called a blow-out, which I’m told is for her hair. “We have at least four hours,” I add.

Olivia thinks the appointment is just my latest attempt to apologize for everything, but really, it’s because I needed her out of the house so I could hold this brainstorming session.

Camryn nods. “I’ll help however I can.”

I appraise her as though I’m looking at her for the first time. Her mischievous green eyes have a sparkle to them and her expression is open and curious. “Why the change in attitude?” I ask. She once told me she wasn’t Team Noah, after all.