Chapter 0306
But that boy was gone. Our food arrived a little while later, and we ate in silence. Noah made no further attempts at conversation, seemingly lost in thought. As we finished our meal, I couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt for my behavior. Still, I quickly reminded myself of all the reasons I had to be angry with him and finished my meal.
Once we were back in our room, I quickly announced, “I’m taking a bath,” and locked myself in the bathroom before Noah could respond.
Over the next thirty minutes, I took my sweet time; I ran a scalding hot bath, soaked my tired muscles in bath salts and lotions, and scrubbed every inch of myself as if that could somehow remove the feeling of his skin against my lips. Maybe I had made more of a fool of myself than of him with that little display, I thought.
And maybe… I felt my wolf roiling inside me. As much as I hated to acknowledge it, she had been aroused by that display at dinner. I could feel her excitement pooling in my belly, a warmth flowing out through my abdomen and down my legs. Years ago, Noah and I would have made love in this hotel. Maybe I would have put on some lingerie, played some romantic music. We wouldn’t have slept very much at all, despite the plush bed. But now… Now, those days felt so far away. Almost like they never even happened. And maybe, to Noah, they hadn’t, just like the rest of our shared past.
When I finally emerged from the bathroom, my fingers pruned and my body wrapped in a fluffy hotel robe, I was surprised to see Noah arranging blankets and pillows on the couch.
“What are you doing?” I asked, sinking down onto the bed and toweling my hair.
Noah simply shrugged without looking up. “I thought I’d sleep on the couch. Give you some space.”
“Oh,” I said, a bit taken aback by his consideration. “Well… Good.”
I climbed into bed, relishing the soft sheets and comfortable mattress. Noah turned off the main lights, leaving only the soft glow of a bedside lamp. I heard him settling on the couch, the furniture creaking under his weight.
But as I tried to drift off to sleep, I kept hearing Noah groaning and shifting on the couch. After what felt like hours of listening to him toss and turn, I couldn’t take it anymore.
“What is your problem?” I snapped, sitting up in bed.
Noah sat up too, running a hand through his hair. “Sorry,” he said, his voice strained. “The couch… it’s not exactly comfortable.”
I turned on my bedside lamp and really looked at him for the first time. The couch was clearly too short for his tall frame, forcing him to curl up in an awkward position. Despite my anger toward him, I couldn’t help but pity him, at least a little. And we both needed sleep, which we wouldn’t get if he was rolling around all night.
“This is ridiculous,” I sighed, rubbing my temples. “Just… get in the bed.”
Noah hesitated. “Are you sure? I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”
“I’m sure I’ll survive,” I said dryly. “Besides, we can’t have the mighty Alpha of Nightcrest showing up to my father’s party with a backache, can we?”
I could have sworn I saw a small smile tugging at Noah’s lips as he stood up, stretching his long limbs. “Thank you, Hannah.”
As he approached the bed, I scooched as far over to one side as I could manage and held up a warning finger. “But if you so much as think about touching me, I’ll bite you. And not in a fun way.”
Noah raised his hands in surrender and pointed to his forearm where I had bitten him before. The marks had long since healed over, but I could still picture the blood from that day. As much as I hated him, I did feel a little bad, even now.
“Understood,” he said. “Don’t want a repeat of last time.” He climbed into bed, careful to stay on his side. I turned off the lamp and lay back down, hyper-aware of his presence next to me.
“Goodnight, Hannah,” he said, his voice breaking the silence.
I rolled over and shut my eyes without a response.