She rounded the corner and came to a stop.
She stood there, haltered in her step. Not knowing what to do.
Two pairs of eyes stared back at her.
One, whom she loved since she was sixteen years old. Those icy blue orbs that could steal your soul, if you weren't careful. Oh, who was she kidding? She didn't know a woman who wouldn't give it freely for just a chance of a glimpse of his.
The second, also very familiar. Instead of blue, his were such a deep brown they sometimes appeared pitch black.
Ryan Danforth.
One of the WWD-Pack.
That stood for Walking Wet Dream Pack. That’s what the girls in their group always called them. Much to Andrea's annoyance that her brother was one of them. All four of the friends were members of the pack. God, looking at both of them right now, they both deserved that title.
She looked at Noah, still in his boxer briefs, without a shirt, since she was wearing his, again.
His muscular torso, long and powerful legs, she skipped the package in his boxers, quickly moving on, she didn't want to be caught staring at his crotch. How mortifying would that be.
Those bulging biceps that wrapped around her so gently when he held her close, and yet she could feel the strength brimming underneath the surface. Strength he demonstrated when he carried her around as if she weighed absolutely nothing.
All that power leashed and ready, just waiting to be set free. What would happen, if he ever let go completely? She had a small taste of it when they were making love. But the grip he had on his control was iron clad. She was completely robbed of hers when he scrambled her senses with his complete mastery of her body.
He was good. No, he was really good.
He knew exactly how to touch her, how hard, how soft, when to push her past her limits with a firm hand and when to let her bask in his gentleness and sweet soft caresses.
He was a master of knowing her desires before she did, to keep her at the very edge of anticipation and then thrusting her forward, letting her fall in the blissful abyss only he could provide. And yet he was always there to catch her, to comfort her, to bring her back to reality and then to push her over the edge again.
Over and over again.
Until she was but a heap of exhausted trembling limbs with a sweet satisfied smile on her face.
Oh, yeah. Noah knew exactly what to do to her body to make her moan and cream… oops, she meant scream.
She shook her head at the direction her thoughts were going, because she was becoming affected by it. She felt her nipples stiffen underneath the shirt she was wearing and her creamy juices flowing. Thank God she was wearing underwear.
Noah's boxers. The ones he was wearing early.
Sophie gathered her courage, breathing deeply and looked up.
Good God. What she saw had her barely containing her gasp of shock.
She noticed the deep red scratches and the hickey forming on Noah's shoulder. She blushed crimson at what she had done. She hadn't even been aware of doing it. God, what a savage she turned out to be. Shit.
She dared a peek towards them and she saw Ryan's twinkling eyes. He was surprised, that was obvious, but he was also amused.
***
Hot damn.
Sophie.
That's who he's been hiding.
Sophie.
His sister's best friend.
Ryan understood now why Noah was so secretive. His sister, Andrea, would go ballistic. It was widely known, at least among his friends, that his sister disapproved of any woman Noah was sleeping with. She called them inflatable Barbies.
Ryan laughed to himself. Yeah, she didn't know that they knew that, but Talon overheard them talking once in a bar. They didn't think anyone was listening so they weren't really discreet.
Talon really enjoyed retelling the story. Over and over again. He laughed his ass off the entire time. Ryan had to admit it was pretty damn funny. Those girls were very inventive when it came to name calling. They had some pretty juicy ones.
Noah on the other hand, was not amused. He didn't appreciate being the topic of conversation between his little sister and her friend. Especially since the main theme on the agenda was his sex life.
He valued his privacy and took great care that that part of his life wouldn't touch his family. Hell, if anyone found out certain things that they liked to do, a lot of business plans would go down the drain. People could be quite conservative when it came to sex. Any sort of kink would be considered disgraceful and disgusting by the old farts, sorry, patriarchs they had to deal with in business.
Even though what they did in their personal and professional lives was often much worse. They considered themselves above it all, therefore they could do pretty much anything their twisted brains would come up with. Other people on the other hand, were always judged much harshly, if they deserved it or not.
Yeah, that was their world. Hypocrisy at its best.
They learned to navigate it in their cribs. It was spoon fed to them practically since birth since they were born in to the families who were at the center of it all.
They never knew anything else, never knew any other way. They were born and bred to take over their family businesses and rule with an iron fist until one day their own sons would take over from them. And on and on it would go, for generations still to come.
There was no other choice. It was who they were meant to be and who they became. But that didn't mean they couldn't have a little fun along the way.
They tested the boundaries imposed on them, walked a fine line between forbidden and illegal and broke any and all rules they thought held them back from experiencing life to the fullest.
They worked hard. They played hard. And they fucked hard.
Their desires were those that people only whispered about. They, however, explored them to the maximum.
There were places that catered to the people like them. And they took full advantage of their services, especially when the shadows were bursting at the seams and the constant gnawing itch got too big to ignore any further without risking the inevitable consequences otherwise.
They weren't easy men. That's why the bond between them was so strong. They understood each other. They were cut from the same cloth, therefore they recognized the monster lurking beneath the surface.
No one else could possibly grasp what drove them, what made them the men that they were. They valued their friendship, the bond they shared and if one was threatened, endangered, they would all stand strong together and defend each other with the last ounce of power they possessed.
After that they would destroy, they would seek vengeance and unleash their collective might against any enemy that threatened them. They've done it in the past and since then they've only become more powerful.
They were a force to be reckoned with and the people they've dealt with recognized it and have learnt to fear it. In business circles they were known as ruthless, smart, uncompromising, yet fair. Most of the time. They were always in control and they were always the ones who set the rules of engagement.
Some said they had ice in their veins, nothing rattled them, and whatever the case they would never bend.
Those people. They saw only what they wanted to see. They never looked too deep beneath the surface. They wanted ruthless, heartless business men and that is what they delivered.
Who they were in private. Now that was a different story.
***
Sophie wanted to burrow into the ground and dig a tunnel straight to China or any other far away land where she could find a rock big enough to hide under.
Talk about letting the cat out of the bag.
They wanted to keep their relationship hidden for the time being, for obvious reasons. Andrea would absolutely freak. There would be yelling, accusations and ultimatums.
Sophie could almost see that disaster rolling down the hill and she was not prepared to face it yet. She knew her best friend and she was almost positive Andrea would make her choose between her and Noah.
Andrea hated every girl that Noah dated, although dated was a strong word for random hookups and one night stands. Not that Noah shared any information about the women he was seeing. No, the information came from the women themselves, because they were bragging that they got to spend a night in Noah Crawford's bed.
Usually there was way too much information for Sophie's peace of mind. And Andrea's liking. She thought all those girls were skanks with no class, hence the nickname inflatable Barbies. They were fake in more ways than one.
The only girl that Andrea liked for a time was the one that hurt her brother the most. The one that turned him from a fun loving guy into the hard, jaded and cynical man that he was today.
Natasha.
Her betrayal hurt not only Noah but his entire family.
Sophie knew how much Andrea was affected by it. She also knew that was part of a reason why she never approved of any other girl or woman that was interested in Noah. No one was good enough for her brother, but then again Noah did tend to go for clueless airheads. What did that say about her?
Although with his tendency for control, they did seem easier to manage or bend to his will. Most of the time at least. What men don't tend to think about, those types, they're usually the most manipulative.
Noah was successful, incredibly hot - with a sculpted body that made you drool, desired and coveted by so many, and the other big thing, probably the biggest selling point, and no, Sophie wasn't talking about his cock, weeelll, not just his cock. That was pretty spectacularly, deliciously, mouthwateringly, rock-your-world-and-keep-you-trembling-for-hours amazing.
What Sophie meant was his bank account. His millions of dollars big bank account.
Yeah. Noah was rich as in capital B rich. And the gold-diggers of the world knew it. And they came out of every rock out there to catch themselves a prize stallion with a billion dollar target on his back.
Okay, that was a slight exaggeration and a bit over the top, but sometimes it sure felt like it. The way these women would talk about Noah… It's like he wasn't a living breathing human being with feelings for them, he was just an object that they coveted and had to have at all costs.
It drove Sophie mad listening to their chatter and she knew Andrea felt the same. These women weren't shy about sharing explicit details. Although they would swear everyone around them to complete silence and confidentiality about what they would tell them. They wanted bragging rights that the Noah Crawford chose them, noticed them, had sex with them.
They liked to lord it over the other women who vied for that position.
Stupid. All of them.
If there was one thing Noah kept a tight leash on, it would be his privacy. He went to great lengths to keep his private life just that, private. And he made that very clear to anyone who knew him.
These women clearly didn't. And there were rumors about what Noah Crawford would do to those who didn't comply with his wishes.
Sophie looked to where the two men were still staring at her and she blushed all over again, from the tips of her toes to the roots of her hair. Her entire body felt like it was experiencing a hot flash. Shit. Now she knew what her grandma used to say about menopause.
Maybe this was an early onset. It sure felt like it.
Medically impossible, but Hell, if anybody would get that at twenty-two it would be her. Noah had her blushing all the time.
That can't be good for your health, can it?
She looked at Noah and then at Ryan. They were both staring at her with these little twitches at their mouths. She knew they wanted to laugh. But if they did, God help her, she would punch one of them.
Well Hell. The cat was definitely out of the bag. Now that Ryan knew so would the other two. She looked at Noah again. Why wasn't he more concerned about this? He was the one who was adamant about keeping them a secret. Not that she was complaining about that. She knew what Andrea's reaction would be and she wanted to delay that confrontation for as long as possible.
She liked the little bubble they were living in at the moment and she didn't want to burst it with reality. Although she knew they were living on borrowed time, Sophie wanted it to last for as long as possible.
Noah didn't do long term and it was only a matter of time when he would want to move on and by the knowing look in Ryan's eyes he could see that flicker of emotion reflecting in her own eyes.
She didn't want his sympathy.
She wanted his support and acceptance. He was Noah's friend, after all. He should have their back, no matter what.
But most of all…
She wanted his silence.