After the Storm (4 page)

“It shouldn’t take you this long to tell me yes. What the hell is going on?” Evie sounded exasperated.

“Well, it’s like this. My neighbor is here for a few months.”

“And exactly why does that make a difference if you come see me?” When Lexi didn’t answer right away, Evie became worried. “Lexi, honey, what’s going on? I’m packing a bag right now. I can be there in a couple of hours.”

“Wait. It’s not like that. Don’t pack. Everything is fine. In fact, he is fine. Hot, charming, funny, flirty, built, oh yeah, and hot. Did I mention that?” Lexi pulled the phone away from her ear quickly when Evie screamed on the other end.

“Tell me everything. And I mean everything. Don’t leave anything out. Who is it? It’s been a mystery who owned the place. What does he look like? Who would you compare him to?”

Lexi cleared her throat. “Noah Matthews.”

“Whoa. You neighbor reminds you of Noah Matthews. Oh my God. He is so fucking hot. I want to lick him. I want to make him my love slave. I’m standing in front of the air conditioner just thinking of him. Does your guy have tats? Oh, Noah’s are so hot. I’ve always wondered what’s at the end of the big one.” Evie stopped when she heard Lexi laughing. “What’s so funny? I know you think he’s hot too, we’ve watched his videos together. Boy, can he move his hips,” she purred.

“Evie, stop. He doesn’t
remind
me of Noah Matthews. He
is
Noah Matthews.” This time Lexi was ready for her and had the phone away from her ear when she screamed. “Are you done?”

“Seriously, he’s in the house next to you? Have you seen him? Of course you have, duh. Are you spending time him with him? What’s it like being around all of his sexy manliness? I think I’d have an orgasm just shaking his hand. Did you?”

Lexi was laughing so hard she didn’t hear the door open behind her.

“No, I didn’t have an orgasm when I shook hands with him. But I was having a great fantasy about him when you called. He’s building a fire pit for me. You should see his muscles move when he works.”

Noah grinned from ear to ear hearing her words. “Babe, we can always take this upstairs if you want.”

Lexi screamed and jumped off of the counter. She stared at him with wide eyes and promptly turned around and opened the freezer and stuck her head in.

Evie was screaming on the other end of the phone. “Was that him? He’s in your house right now? Get off of the phone and take care of business. Call when it’s done. I want a full update. Bye, sweets.”

Lexi kept the phone up to her ear even though Evie had hung up. She was hoping for the floor to open up so that she could disappear. Maybe she would go to Boston for a few months until he was gone.

Suddenly the freezer door was swung all the way open and Noah stood there grinning at her. “Can we just ignore the fact that you heard that?” She set the phone down in the freezer.

“Nope. Come here.” He grabbed her around the waist and pulled her in close. Her hands naturally came up to rest on his shoulders.

His skin was slippery with sweat and his heat spread into her body. It was a direct contrast to the cold from the freezer at her back. They stood staring at each other. She felt as if she had electricity running through her veins. She shivered as he broke eye contact and tilted her head to the side as he started to nibble on her neck moving from just below her ear down to her shoulder. She sighed when he started to slowly move back up.

He whispered in her ear, “You taste so good. I want to spend the rest of the day with my mouth on you.” The arm holding her in place pulled her in tighter, their bodies were smashed against each other. She could feel that he was hard and her nipples grew harder and ached from wanting his touch.

He moved his face along hers towards her mouth. His eyes locked with hers. He paused at the edge of her lips, giving her time to draw away if she didn’t want this.

His lips had just grazed hers when the phone rang. Lexi sprang back away from him, shaking her head. She turned and answered the phone, grateful for how cold it had gotten sitting in the freezer.

“Hello.” She sounded more breathless than she wanted. “Hello... Is anyone there? Hello.”

Noah gave her a questioning look. She shrugged.

“I’m sorry I can’t hear you… You’re going to have to call back.” She disconnected the phone and closed the freezer door. Before Noah could take a step towards her, she held up her hand. “Fire pit. We are working on a fire pit.” She grabbed her hat and sunglasses and started to walk out the door. “Are you coming?”

Noah gave her a look at her choice of words. “Yeah, I’ll be there in a minute.” Going over to the sink, he turned on the cold water and dunked his head under the stream. He sighed, and walked back out the door.

Lexi groaned as she sat the groceries down on the counter. One trip and fifteen bags later, she had everything in the house and put away. She’d gone to the store for a few items to make lasagna for tonight and ended up with more than she really needed. She knew better than to go to the store hungry but she’d wanted to get out of the house after finding more flowers by her back door with another note.

Alexia, I thought I would try daffodils today. They remind me of a summer day, and thinking of you warms my heart. Noah

She inhaled deeply. For the past three days, she hadn’t seen Noah. Since they’d spent so much time together the week before, she was surprised they hadn’t run into each other. She hated the fact that she looked for him all the time but didn’t want to sink to the level of asking Sam or Martha about him, so she avoided them, too.

Grabbing a quick bite to eat, she checked out homemade bread recipes online. It would go wonderful with the lasagna. She cleaned up from lunch and started making the bread. Kneading the bread got some of the frustration she felt about Noah out of her system.

While the bread rested, she went out to play catch with Pepper. Unfortunately, they got a little too rambunctious and Lexi ended up in the ocean. Out of nowhere, Noah came splashing through the water to help her stand up. She could tell by the look on his face that he was trying not to laugh.

“Go ahead, I wouldn’t blame you. I’m sure I look like a drowned rat.” She frowned at him, pushed her hair out of her eyes, and glanced at Pepper who was jumping around, dry on the shore.

“I wouldn’t dream of it, babe,” he grinned.

She was trying to look at anything besides his face but lost the battle. He was shirtless. She should be immune to it by now, but it’d been three days since she’d seen him. It felt like years. Her eyes tracked his broad shoulders and sexy, strong arms then followed the tattoo that went across his body and down into his low-slung, black board shorts. They barely clung to his hips. Her fingers itched to trace along the ridges. She clenched her fists in the sand so she wouldn’t reach out and run her fingers over his body.

All the tattoos,
oh so sexy
. She wanted to know about and lick each and every one of them. His legs looked so powerful. Then his feet. Really, feet should not be that sexy. She licked her lips wanting to taste every inch of him.

By the time she got back up to his face he was grinning wickedly. “Like what you see? I can arrange for a private viewing.” He waggled his eyebrows.

She felt herself blush at being caught. “For now I’ll just get up out of the water.”

He extended his hand to help her up and she looked at it for a moment before taking it. He pulled her up just as a wave broke behind her and it pushed her into his chest. She stayed still breathing in his fresh scent mixed with the ocean. Her eyes closed and she gripped his shoulders before she could finally bring herself to look at him, “You planned that, didn’t you?” Lexi glanced up at him through half-closed eyes trying to keep her breathing normal. He was so strong, his muscles hard as a rock.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Noah said. “It’s not my fault the wave decided to break at the same time I was helping you up.” He smiled down at her. “But while I’ve got you here, I don’t think I want to let you go.” Lexi’s eyes went wide as he slowly moved in closer, his lips less than an inch from hers. “Maybe I’ll just take a kiss or two. Or three.” He tilted his head to the side bringing his lips even closer.

“Noah, we can’t stay here forever.” Her body came alive being this close to him. She half-heartedly wiggled to try and free herself but his body felt so warm and she wanted it wrapped around her, to finish what they started the other day.

Noah sighed. “Speak for yourself, this feels like heaven to me.”

Lexi cleared her throat. “Yeah, well in a few hours when the sun goes down we’re going to get really cold. And, yes, I’m sure you know ways to keep us warm but it’s not going to happen.” She needed to get her traitorous body away from him.

“Lexi, really, you think I’m that kind of guy?” He sighed, “I don’t know what to say.” He looked down into her eyes.

“There’s a first. When have you ever been at a loss,” she said sarcastically, trying to keep this from going any further, but she couldn’t tear her eyes from his. She was powerless, locked in his gaze. It shouldn’t turn her on, but it did.

Engrossed in each other, they weren’t paying attention to the ocean and another wave broke behind them. This one was much larger and it knocked them off their feet. Arms and legs intertwined, hands grabbed, sliding over each other as they tried to get separated and reach the surface.

She came up sputtering first. “We almost drowned in three feet of water!” Lexi was relieved. The wave had broken the spell and cooled her off.

“You’re going to blame this on me aren’t you?” he asked.

“Well, you didn’t have to get all grabby. I can take care of myself.” Lexi stood up, poking a finger in his chest. She tapped into her anger to keep from jumping into his arms.

“Don’t get your panties in a knot. I was just trying to help.” He looked all sexy, standing there with his hands on his hips, water dripping off of him and a scowl on his face. With every word he spoke, Lexi grew angrier and… more turned on.

“Really, why don’t we just blame it on Pepper since I was playing ball with her and she bumped me in the ocean?”

“A little feisty, aren’t we?” Noah tried to hold back a chuckle as he pulled her in for a hug. “How about this, why don’t I go home and get some dry clothes on, you do the same, and then you can make me dinner for saving you.”

“And why should I make
you
dinner?” She raised an eyebrow at him and moved back out of his embrace.

He started counting on his fingers “Because I’m a nice person. I enjoy spending time with you. I’d like to get to know you better. I bought you ice cream the other day. I’ve been leaving you flowers. I built a fire pit for you. I saved you from the ocean.” He started tugging her out of the water by the hand. “You’re overreacting, and I haven’t seen you in a few days.”

She tilted her head, contemplated his points. “Fine. You’ll eat what I make, no complaints. You’ll be over here by six-thirty, no later. And bring a good red wine.” She started to stalk off.

“That has to be the most wonderful dinner invitation I’ve ever received. I’d love to come to your house for dinner.” His voice became louder with each word as he watched her stomp away.

~*~

Noah walked back to his house, smiling to himself. Lexi wasn’t the typical woman he dated, but she had spirit. And hell, she was beautiful. It never hurt to spend time looking at a gorgeous woman, and now a home cooked meal? He could cook just fine but he craved something different.

Out of habit, Noah checked the views from the security cameras set up around the house, as he passed his home office on the way to the second floor. He paused and took a closer look at the one pointed toward Lexi’s house.

His security team had wanted the whole cove covered. At the time he really hadn’t cared, now he was glad they’d done it anyway. He knew from his reports about the area people like to climb the rocks surrounding both of their properties.

Reviewing the tape, his attention was caught by a figure Noah didn’t recognize. He didn’t know what it was but there was something about how the guy moved that rubbed him the wrong way. Maybe it was the way he just sat there and looked at Lexi’s house

Something about her brought out the protective impulses in him. It was a new feeling and he kind of liked it but he knew the sentiment would piss her off. She didn’t seem the type to lean on anyone, let alone a man. But boy would it be fun to tease
and
protect her.

Noah watched the guy for half an hour before he got up and left. Noah checked the other camera to see if he could see where the guy was going, but he couldn’t. The guy was too far away for the camera to get a clear picture, but Noah printed one out anyway. For all he knew, the media could’ve found out he was here.

After showering, Noah put on a pair of well-worn jeans and a tight black t-shirt. He went to the box on his dresser where he kept his watches and saw the box of condoms in there. Any other time, he would bring a few. This time, however, he knew the lady wouldn’t be jumping his bones any time soon. While he certainly wouldn’t mind something happening tonight, he knew it’d be better if they waited.

Hell, I’m no gentleman, but for the right one, people can change.
Right?

~*~

Lexi was still arguing with herself about Noah when she heard him come up the back stairs. She leaned her hands on the kitchen counter and took a moment to calm down.

“Lucy, I’m home!” Noah sing-songed at the door.

“Come on in, Ricky. The dinner you invited yourself to is almost ready.”

“Ah, come on, babe. You aren’t still upset, are you? What can I do to make it better? A kiss, maybe?” He came toward her with his arms opened wide and his lips puckered.

“You can open the wine,” she said and pointed to the bottle he held in one hand.

“I think a kiss would’ve been better.” He looked at her mouth then back up to her eyes. “Nice place you’ve got here. How long have you lived here?” He put the wine down on the counter and started roaming around the room looking at everything.

Lexi sighed and pulled a corkscrew out of the drawer and opened the wine herself. “About three years, after my grandmother died, I inherited it from her. I spent summers here with her when I was younger. She knew I’d always loved this place.”

He pointed to the large photograph above the fireplace. “One of yours?” He turned to look at her over his shoulder.

“Yes, the last summer she was alive.” She tossed the salad. “I’d been going through a rough time and came out here to get away. She would always take her beach chair down to the water and sit and watch the sunrise. That’s where she said she felt closest to God. Just her, the vast sky, and endless ocean. I feel like she’s still watching over me every time I look at that picture of her sitting on the beach.”

He crossed the room in a few long strides and gave her a hug. “It sounds like you were very lucky to have her in your life and I can tell you still miss her. This rough time you mentioned, is it still going on?” He rubbed her back as she laid her head on his chest.

She could feel him get all puffed up like a bull protecting its territory. It was both annoying and kind of sexy. “Yes and no, but I really don’t want to get into it tonight.” She gently pushed away from him to put the food on the table.

“I understand. Can I see more of your pictures?”

She pulled a couple photo albums off the bookshelf and set them on the coffee table while he settled down on the couch. One of the first pictures was the one she took the morning they met.

“Wow. This is beautiful. And quick, when did you have time to do this?”

She shrugged, “When the photo is that good to begin with, there really isn’t much editing to do, plus I have a monster of a photo printer in my office closet. I can’t do large prints from here like the one over the fireplace, but I can do standard sizes.” She always felt nervous when people looked at her pictures, and for some reason, she was more nervous with Noah looking through them.

“These photos are amazing. So then, this is your work? Are you able to make a good living at it?” He moved onto the next book.

“I do it because I love it.” She shrugged and made sure everything they needed was on the table. “I’ve sold some prints around town and on the internet. My grandmother was a very smart woman and left me enough money so I can do whatever I want. Dinner is ready.”

He got up to sit down at the table with her, taking a deep inhale “Dinner smells delicious. How did you know lasagna is my favorite? Are you trying to woo me?” He looked at her with a hopeful expression.

She sputtered as she passed the bread to him, “Woo you? Seriously, Mr. Rock Star?” She paused for a moment trying not to laugh and looked up at the ceiling. “No, Noah, I was already planning on having lasagna today, which is my favorite recipe, plus homemade bread and strawberry shortcake for desert. You just got lucky.” She tried not to smile as she said the last sentence.

“That I did. Do you want to talk about whether I am going to get even luckier tonight?” He leaned in.

She put her hand on his chest to move him back, “I wouldn’t push it if I were you, Romeo. I don’t know if I want to know the answer to this, but do you always flirt this much?” She spread some butter on her bread.

“Good question. You already know I always find something beautiful about a woman. All too often, women in today’s society aren’t made to feel special. So yes, I do flirt a lot, but that doesn’t mean I’m not being genuine when I say I’d really like to get to know you better.” He paused as he took a bite of the lasagna. “Oh, man, this is great. Did I tell you I met your grandmother briefly when I purchased my home? She talked about you a lot. I got the feeling she wanted to do some matchmaking.”

“She never said anything to me.”

“What? She never told you she met me? I’m heartbroken, Lexi.” He shrugged, “Despite my love of them, I don’t know if I have ever been this intrigued over a woman. I know you’re a girl who’s not going to jump into bed with me so let’s take the time and see what happens. Maybe we can at least become besties,” he said with a grin.