Everything: A Singed Wings Novel by Erin Noelle

mountain-fresh scent of his soap filled my nostrils and I squeezed my eyes closed, mustering up all of the willpower I had so I could say what needed to be said. Why is this so hard?
    A gentle stroke from his thumb over my cheek triggered my lids to fly open, and when I saw the same yearning I felt reflecting in his dark brown eyes, I instinctively leaned into his touch. Sweeping his soft lips across mine once, twice, three times, he whispered against my mouth, “So much better than good, beautiful Belle.”
    It wasn’t until he murmured my name did my self-control kick in and deliver a forceful roundhouse to the gut.
    Stumbling backward in my ballet flats, I caught myself on a nearby desk before twisting my ankle again and tumbling to the ground. What is my problem all of a sudden with staying upright on my feet around attractive males? Everett reached forward to help steady me, but I held my hands up in the air and shook my head, not allowing him to get close again.
    “N-no, I-I’m fine,” I stammered, while shuffling over behind my desk to put my messenger bag down and put some distance between us. “And you’re right, we do need to talk. Please sit down, Mr. Templeton. Maybe over there, where you and your girlfriend sat yesterday.” God, I sound like a jealous freak.
    “Belle, don’t,” he warned, as if he knew exactly what I was going to say. “It’s not what you think. Let me explain.”
    “It’s Ms. Sloan to you, and you have nothing to explain. I think Jayla took care of that yesterday,” I snapped, the anger from his deceit resurfacing. A real fucking jealous freak.
    Instead of sitting down like I’d instructed, he stalked up to my desk and leaned forward, resting his fists on top of the wooden surface. “It’s Belle ,” he gritted out, “and yes , I do. Fuck Jayla.”
    “I’m sure you do that plenty,” I seethed, crossing my arms over my chest. “Now, let’s just chalk up what happened Friday night to an error of judgment on both of our parts. I understandably had no clue you were still in high school, seeing that you were at a bar and all, and you obviously forgot that you had a girlfriend, seeing that… well, I guess because you’re just a lying, cheating teenager . But that’s totally irrelevant at this point. As long as neither of us says a word to anyone, I can go on keeping this job that I really need, and you can continue screwing other chicks behind Jayla’s back without her finding out about it. It’s a win-win for both of us.”
    “She’s not my girlfriend!” he fumed, furiously slamming his palms down against my desk. The loud boom startled me, but I was more taken aback by the conviction in his tone, and wondered if I’d read the situation wrong. “Never has been, never will be. I’m not a liar or a cheater, and what happened last weekend wasn’t an error of judgment either. I know you felt the same draw I did.” His heated gaze fell to my boobs that were perfectly framed with my angry crossed arms and he smirked as I dropped them to my sides, then peered back up at me. “I know your body did too, Belle.”
    The moment my name left his mouth, there was another knock at the door. Apparently, I’d forgotten to unlock it from the inside with my key when I first came in, so it remained locked on the outside. Both of our heads snapped to the small rectangular window in the door to find Liam’s friendly smile waiting to greet us. My nerves went on the fritz as I scurried around my desk, completely ignoring Everett’s comments, to let him inside. Oh, my God! What did he see? Could he hear us? How long has he been out there?
    I swung open the door with an overly cheerful smile on my face. “Good morning, Mr. Carroll!” I exclaimed, my voice teetering on the borderline of unnatural as I ushered him inside.
    “Good morning indeed, Ms. Sloan,” he greeted, as he took in the cream cashmere sweater I wore along with the gray slacks and matching flats. Luckily, he was too