Chapter 0270
“Come in,” Noah called, his voice muffled by the heavy wood.
I stepped inside, and immediately felt his eyes fix on me. His gaze seemed to caress my body, and I felt a blush creep up my neck. Our eyes met, and for a moment, neither of us spoke. The tension in the room was palpable, thick and heavy. I couldn’t decide whether I wanted him to throw me down on his desk and take me again, or if I wanted to chuck the papers in his face and run.
“Hannah,” Noah finally said, his voice surprisingly even, as if he was composing himself. “How did you sleep?”
I swallowed. “Your bed is very comfortable,” I replied, then winced at how that sounded. “I mean… I slept well. Thank you.”
Noah’s lips curved into the faintest of smiles, a glint appearing in his eye. “I’m glad. What can I do for you?”
I held out the expense report, trying to ignore the slight tremor in my hand as I approached him. “Scott made some errors in his calculations. I’ve corrected them, but I thought you should know. It’s not the first time this has happened.”
Noah frowned as he took the papers, his fingers brushing mine. The brief contact sent a shiver down my spine; my wolf yearned for more. I quickly stuffed my hand in my pocket.
“I’ll speak with him,” he said, glancing up at me over the report. “Thank you for catching this. You have excellent attention to detail.”
I nodded, turning to leave. But as I reached the door, I paused. My wolf urged me to stay, to return to Noah, but I pushed the feeling down.
“Noah,” I said, without turning around. “About last night…”
“Yes?” His voice was carefully neutral, but I could hear the underlying tension.
I took a deep breath, my hand resting on the doorknob for a moment before I turned. “It was… nice. But don’t you think it could make things…”
“Complicated?” Noah finished for me.
I paused, blinking in surprise, then nodded. Noah sighed and leaned back in his chair.
“What was last night to you?” he asked.
“What was it to you?” I responded, unwilling to answer just yet.
Noah looked at me, and it felt as if those green eyes could see right through me. Despite my attempts to appear confident and composed, I felt like my chest was on fire, and his gaze was the fuel.
“I think… we both needed that,” he said simply.
“A release,” I replied carefully, nodding.
Noah blinked at me. He didn’t seem to have an answer; I couldn’t tell if he agreed or not. Finally, I muttered, “Maybe, if we’re going to get a divorce, we shouldn’t be so quick to jump into bed whenever we need to let off some steam.”
There was a long pause. Then: “Is that what you still want, Hannah? A divorce?”
My heart clenched. I dropped my gaze to my feet, unsure of what to say. Part of me wanted to run into his arms, to forget about the divorce and try to make things work—for us, for our baby.
But the logical part of my brain reminded me of all the reasons we had decided to end our marriage. The lies, the distance, the years of feeling unloved and unappreciated. The fact that he had never truly, wholly, moved on from his ex.
We were incompatible in all ways other than sexually. Or at least, that was what I told myself in that moment. Anything to keep myself from going back on my decision.
“Yes,” I finally said, carefully lifting my gaze to meet his. “I do.”
Noah’s eyes seemed to flash with something—pain, or maybe anger, or both, or something else entirely—before his face settled into a mask of indifference. “I see,” was all he said. “Did you want to talk about anything else?”
I shook my head, unable to speak past the lump in my throat. Without another word, I left his office, closing the door behind me. The sound echoed in the empty hallway, final and ominous.
As I walked down the hallway, my mind reeling, I nearly collided with Leonard. His eyes narrowed as he took in my disheveled appearance, his nostrils flaring slightly as if trying to catch Noah’s scent on me.
“Morning… Luna,” he said, his tone dripping with disdain.
Before I could respond, he brushed past me, his shoulder bumping mine hard enough to make me stumble.