Noah (The Mitchell/Healy Family #1)(20)
Author: Jennifer Foor

First I needed to find a place that I could call home. Then I had to figure out what I wanted to do. At some point I’d get rid of the woman in my truck and be able to get serious. For the time being we were just two people running away from our lives.

It was then that I realized it was time to let loose a little bit. I was out on my own, with nobody telling me what to do. If I wanted to get wild and party I could.

It was time to live the way I’d never been able to before; to do everything that I knew my dad wouldn’t approve of, just because I could.

Even thinking about it made me smile.

Shalan

His muscular arms held me tightly, making me feel safer than I had in a long time. The smell of his cologne filled my nostrils, making my desire for him heighten. He’d removed his backwards hat and was lingering over my naked body, ready to fill me completely. I ran my hands over his tattoos that I was able to see, while his lips made contact with my collarbone, slowly traveling my body until he reached my most sensitive private of areas. His eyes looked up into mine as his mouth brushed over my sex. I could feel myself trembling beneath him. I wanted his tongue to drive inside of me, and give me pleasures that I’d never felt before. I wanted to get lost in this strange man that made me hot between the legs.

Then I opened my eyes.

I woke up and it was dark outside. Country music played from the radio and Noah was humming instead of singing the words. He was too focused on the road to notice that I’d opened my eyes. Though feeling blushed, I decided to do whatever I could to not think about the dream I’d clearly just had.

Who could have blamed me for it, after taking one look at him? I couldn’t remember ever being so turned on by a stranger in my life, and it was all because of the way he looked. Though young, probably my age, he was so well-defined. Even his large hands were muscular.

I swallowed the sexual thoughts and remained quiet for a bit, determined to not let him see my predicament.

We’d stopped for lunch when we made it to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One would think it would be weird traveling with someone I didn’t know, but Noah was easy to be around. He didn’t ask a ton of questions, and he didn’t seem to mind all mine. I still hadn’t asked him anything really personal. We talked about music and things we both liked to do, but that was about it.

After we drove around the town for a while, stopped by the Salvation Army, and a Walmart so I could buy some cheap clothes to wear, we got back on the road. Noah was determined to get as far North as he could before the day was over. Since this was his trip, and I was only tagging along, I couldn’t complain about his schedule, as long as I was as far away from my old life as possible.

Though still worried about the repercussions of my actions from the night before, I felt safe for some reason. It was weird because I’d never been in a situation with a stranger, yet at the moment he was as close to a friend as I had.

I sat up and stretched the best I could in the truck. “How long was I asleep?”

“I don’t know. A few hours maybe.”

“Really?” I’d never been able to sleep in a car, which only let me know how tired I must have been. “So where are we?”

“Almost to New York City. I figured we could grab a bite to eat and find a place to stay tonight. Is that cool with you?”

I’d explained to Noah that the only money I had was his tip from the night before. For some reason, and it better not have been because he thought it would get him access to my panties, he’d offered to pay for my room and food, until I could figure something out, or it was time for me to go home. I felt bad, especially since I knew he was probably limited with how much money he’d brought with him. He wasn’t exactly frugal the night before with his money, so I didn’t want him running out because of me. When I suggested that, he just laughed and told me not to worry about him. “Sounds good. Just remember that places in the city are more expensive. We might want to find something on the outskirts to save a couple dollars.”

“And get bedbugs.” He laughed. “Shalan, I’m not risking the chance of bugs crawlin’ on me while I sleep.”

Just thinking about it gave me the heebie-jeebies. “Okay. Since you put it that way.”

A little later Noah parked in front of a hotel that only offered Valet. A man came and took the keys from him, while we grabbed our things and headed into the lobby.

My parents never had money for us to go on trips or take vacations. The marble floors were extravagant and I felt out of place immediately, especially with a ball cap on my head.

Noah walked right up to the front desk and got our rooms, so I thought. He came back over and handed me a card. “This is for you.”

“What room number am I in?” I needed a shower so bad. When we’d stopped earlier I’d brushed my teeth with only my fingers. I’d bought a travel toothbrush at one of the gas stations that we’d stopped at, but knew Noah had probably been smelling my stank breath all day.

“You’re in three fourteen.” He started walking towards the elevator with me.

“Cool. What room are you in?”

He smiled, giving me this look that almost seemed ornery. “Three fourteen.”

It took a second for me to interpret that it was the same room number he’d given me. “But -.”

“It has two beds, Shalan. I’m not tryin’ to take advantage of you, if that’s what you think.”

I put my head down, feeling a little overwhelmed for getting myself into this situation. “It’s fine.” I had to keep reminding myself that he was doing me a huge favor. I couldn’t be picky about the accommodations. “What if you meet someone and need to be alone?”

“I’ll make you hide in the bathroom until I’m done.”

I turned my face so he couldn’t see my shocked reaction. There was no way I was going to stand in a bathroom listening to him get it on with a stranger. He was sick.

He burst into a chuckle. “Seriously, woman, you’re so easy to mess with.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I took offense to his comment. He didn’t know me.

“Don’t believe everythin’ you hear. I ain’t always serious.” He laughed more. “I ain’t plannin’ on bringin’ anyone back to our room, unless you’re into three-ways.”

I shoved him, realizing he was definitely joking. “No! I’m definitely not the type of person that shares.”