his eyes and I leaned my forehead against his.
His lips met mine, a soft, sensuous kiss that stoked a hot liquid flame deep in my belly as his stubble brushed against my chin.
“Charlotte,” he said gruffly when he pulled away. “Please understand. I cannot put you in harm’s way.”
“I won’t be in harm’s way. I’ll be with you.” He started to speak, but I cut him off. “Please, Noah. I don’t want to be a prisoner to Professor Worthington. Please.”
His hand rested on my upper arm, his grip tightening as he struggled with his desire to keep me safe and his desire to keep me happy, the two of them battling as I held my breath to see which one would emerge the victor. “Fine,” he said finally. “But you will not speak. You will not move unless I tell you to. Do you understand me?”
“Promise,” I said, and put my hand over my heart.
“I am not kidding, Charlotte.”
“Me neither,” I said, and I was kicking the covers off and running to get dressed.
----
T wo hours later , Noah and I pulled up in front of a The Sunsplash Diner in Queens. The sign outside was a faded turquoise, with the name of the restaurant spelled out in a swirly script and a palm tree in the center of it. A group of men huddled on the corner of the street, their arms thick with tattoos. A homeless man dressed in a tattered flannel shirt rushed to Noah’s car. He was holding a squeegee and a bucket, and he began to wash the windshield, until Noah rolled down the window and handed him a hundred dollar bill.
The man’s eyes widened, and he shoved it in his pocket and scampered off.
Noah checked the rearview mirror, watching the group of men on the corner. “You stay close to me,” he said. “And do not talk to anyone.”
“Okay.” Suddenly the sound of barking pierced the air and the whole car shook as something pushed against my window. I jumped and leaned toward Noah, pushing my upper body into his. I turned back to see a black dog, his paws up against the window, barking at me maniacally.
A man tugged on his leash and pulled the dog down street, smiling at me as he went, his eyes dead with the look of someone who was coming down from a bad trip. My heart galloped in my chest.
“You okay?” Noah asked, as I slowly disentangled myself from his arms.
“Yes.
“Charlotte,” he said.
“Yeah?”
“If you want me to take you home, just say the word.”
“No. I’m okay.”
He looked at me. “No one is going to hurt you, do you understand me?”
“Because you have the strength of three burly men?” I asked, only half joking.
“No. Because I have the strength of four burly men.”
I laughed as he got out and walked around to my side of the car, opening the door and helping me out.
“Stay close to me,” he commanded, taking my hand and leading me up the sidewalk toward the diner.
He went in first and I followed him, the bell on the door tinkling as the scent of home fries and fresh coffee hit my nose.
“You can have a seat anywhere,” the dark-haired girl behind the register said to us absentmindedly, glancing up at us briefly as she totaled receipts by hand. “If there aren’t any free seats, just put your name on the list.”
Noah and I found a booth at the front of the restaurant against the plate glass windows, the only empty seat in the whole place.
“This place must be popular,” I remarked as Noah pulled menus from behind the container of condiments.
“Hungry?” he asked, opening a menu and setting it down in front of me.
“Starving.”
“Good. You hardly ate anything yesterday.” He looked out the plate glass window, his eyes scanning the street for threats like a soldier scanning the perimeter.
“So what do we know about this girl?” I asked as I studied the list of breakfast items that were laid out on the laminated menu. “Brief me.”
“Her name is Bella. She’s twenty-one years old. She works here fulltime. That’s all I know.”
“If she works here, then how