CHAPTER ELEVEN

Noah met them at the door to their “house”. Leah thought the word fortress was a more fitting description for the massive structure that was an architectural masterpiece. When she stepped inside, despite the wide, open entrance, the dark wooden walls lent an air of warmth that was comforting.

“Leah,” Noah greeted, his voice low and intimate.

Noah’s gaze slid briefly over Leah, surprised by the relief he felt at finally being able to set his eyes oner.

Surprised because he hadn’t even been aware that he’d felt anxious at not having her within reach. He’d...missed her, he realized, and perhaps it was the intimate nature of tonight’s meeting, but he felt no desire to deny it to himself.

“Mr. Bridgeway,” Leah replied shyly, her gaze avoiding his.

Noah felt his cock twitch at her breathy voice. His wolf stirred sinuously in response.

Not now.

It had been his idea to have this dinner to lay all their cards on the table. He couldn’t attack her the minute she walked through the door.

Instead, he reached out to remove her sweater.

He pointedly ignored Colin who was standing behind Leah with a stupid grin on his face.

“Christophe is just finishing up with dinner. Would you like a tour of the house?”

“Huh?” Leah was caught off guard by the question. She started when she felt one of Colin’s hands wrap around her waist, the other coming up to brush her hair away from the side of her neck.

He bent to press his cheek against hers, his stubbled chin resting against her bare shoulder. “Are you nervous, love?”

If she hadn’t been nervous a second ago, she was now.

“Why?” she mumbled in response.

“You’re in a house with three big bad wolves...we could do anything we wanted and you wouldn’t be able to stop us…”

Noah glared fiercely at his brother.

He was teasing her, of course. It had a strange effect on Leah, however. Or maybe it was the stressful day she’d had going back and forth about what tonight was about. Or maybe it was the glass of wine she’d downed too quickly before coming here. Maybe it was a combination of all those things, but in that moment, Leah decided she was going to throw caution to wind, (as much as she could, given her personality)...at least for tonight.

She spun in Colin’s arm and faced him, and while the move seemed to surprise him, it was nothing compared to the shock he felt when she pressed a kiss to his lips. It was over and done before he could process what had happened.

Colin could feel his brother’s surprise through their link as well.

Leah smiled at the stupefied expression on Colin’s face. He was standing stock-still, blinking down at her.

“Maybe you should be nervous instead,” she delivered before stepping out of his embrace.

She glanced up at Noah, heat staining her cheeks. “I’d like a tour of the house now, please,” she glanced over at Colin. He still hadn’t moved.

“Since someone doesn’t want to behave, he can stay behind,” Leah added sassily.

Noah indicated that she should precede him and Leah did so in haste.

Is she trying to make me fall in love with her? Because it’s definitely working. Colin’s voice came through their link.

What happened? Christophe asked from the kitchen.

Your brother’s an idiot, Noah replied before pointedly shutting their link.

*~*

“You’re very quiet,” Noah noted. He had given her a tour of most of the house, and asides from a few innocuous sounds at the appropriate times, she hadn’t said much. They had ended up on the back porch where a table was set for dinner. Colin and Christophe were somewhere in the kitchen, taking an awfully long time to bring out the food. Noah knew what they were doing of course. They were hoping he would break. And while the 20 minutes had been particularly… uncomfortable, he had promised himself he wouldn't touch her until they defined the terms of their relationship going forward.

He had forced himself—much to his wolf’s displeasure—to keep a respectable distance from his PA throughout the entire tour. And it didn’t escape his notice that she was being especially skittish. Well… more so than usual.

She was fidgeting with the end of her dress. Noah stuffed his hands in the pocket of his slacks casually, stifling the sudden urge to rip the damn from her body in one pull. It seemed to him, that Miss Perry had quite the collection of dresses he’d never seen her in. This one was white and littered with dark red roses. The hem brushed teasingly, just above her knees and the bodice clung to breast.

“I am?” she asked in response to his comment.

He took a step closer to her, noticing a slight stiffening in her posture.

“You are. Very different from the woman who just told the Beta of my pack that he should be very nervous being alone in a house with her.”

A delicious blush heated her exposed neck and cheeks. He wondered how far down that blush went.

Fuck!

“That’s different,” she whispered shyly.

“How so?”

“I can’t threaten my boss. Not unless...you give me permission?”

Was she ...flirting with him? He couldn’t tell. Just when he thought he had this woman figured out...

This was a new development.

Noah took another step towards her, putting him within touching distance. He kept his hands firmly in his pockets.

“Permission,” he tested the word, tilting his head to observe Leah’s features.

Her blush deepened considerably. “Yes, sir.”

Noah’s composure slipped. His hand shot out to snag her arm, pulling her into him swiftly.

Startled by the abrupt change in his demeanor, Leah stumbled into him dazedly.

“Are you teasing me Leah?” he asked her, genuinely nonplussed. “I can’t decide, since you’ve never done it before.”

She couldn’t decide if she could continue along this caution-to-the-wind path.

She had been teasing him, but now that she was all but plastered to the hard steel of his chest, her moxie had gone right out the window. Her boss was a big man, Leah had always known that. Obviously. But, with her pressed so close to him, she could clearly feel just how big he was...everywhere. He obviously felt no qualms about having his erection nestled between them while they had a conversation.

What were they talking about again?

Oh right … “Are you angry?” she asked, even though she feel how not angry he was.

If Leah were to be honest with herself, despite feeling shy, there was a sort of thrill in realizing she affected Noah this way. While Colin and Christophe had made it clear that they found her attractive, she had still been uncertain how Noah felt, with his ever-controlled expression.

She supposed this cleared that up.

His other hand came up to cup the back of her neck firmly.

“We should talk,” Noah informed her, though, even to his own ears, he sounded more like he was trying to convince himself.

Leah found herself smiling, “Hmm. Christophe mentioned the talking bit was your idea.”

“I might have to revise it,” he grumbled before swooping down to capture her lips.