All Chapters of Exposure: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

While Noah slept, Raven dressed in jeans and a black turtleneck sweater and padded into the kitchen. Coffee brewing, she leaned against the counter and bit her lip.Her head was woozy with everything he'd said but, oddly, she didn't feel trapped or pressured. Being with Noah was easy. Maybe too easy. Sometimes, she kept waiting for the other shoe to drop and for him to say he'd hit his emotional limit. After all, for his entire adult life, he'd had no one close to him to latch onto. There were security people and caretakers. And her. But he was used to being alone, depending on only himself.Logically, he should be as wary as her. Instead, it was the opposite. He knew what he wanted and went for it with courage she wished she had. She didn't even know why she was like this. Her mother was a sweet, compassionate person who'd given Raven everything a little girl required. They didn't have a lot of money, but she'd never gone without.The missing element was inside of her, and she had

"What would you like to do for dinner?"Raven glanced up at Noah, leaning on the doorframe to her office. He wore faded jeans and a black Henley under his thick down jacket. And she thought him in a tux was sexy. "Hi. You look better." She closed her program and reached for her coat.He nodded to Max, who stepped out. "Don't put that on yet.""My coat? Why?"From her office viewpoint, she watched Max and Jones set the alarm code, cut the lights, and went out the front door."Alone at last." His grin was wicked. He shoved off the doorframe, turned off the lights, and strode toward her with only the dim hall light at his back."What are you up to?" Was it possible to swallow your own tongue? In his predatory gait, he drew closer, and her heart pumped. How did he do this every time?He tossed his coat on a chair and rounded her desk, setting his hands on her hips until her ass met the edge. "I told you I had a fantasy about you and this desk."She forced an exhale. "You can't mean

Noah sat on the bed and stripped off his tie. After the shooting, he couldn't stomach the thought of staying in Anchorage, so he had their driver take them right to the airport and, by helicopter, they flew to Aubrey's Castle. Thankfully, his niece slept through the noise and allowed him and Raven to enter the third floor suite without interruption. He was hoping he'd be in a better frame of mind in the morning.Listening to the water from Raven's shower, he stripped out of his clothes and tried to block the images from earlier from his mind. But they kept coming. Raven with a scope target on her chest. Her underneath Max on the floor. Noah being too far away for too long, wondering if she'd been hurt. Agonizingly long moments where he hadn't known if she was alive or dead.Running his hands through his hair, he flopped onto his back. If Max hadn't been so close to her, it could've been her that had been shot, with a much more fatal wound. He pressed his palms to his eyes, rememberin

By the time Monday rolled around, Noah seemed to have a tangible hold on his rioting emotions and could at least look at Raven without remembering Max shoving her to the floor. Most of the time. They'd stayed the weekend and hung out with Aubrey, decompressing. Raven's gallery was still in lockdown until the forensics team was through, so Noah did some work from his laptop at home to keep her company. They'd called the hospital to check on Max about fifty times per Raven's request, and their bodyguard was recuperating nicely. McCannon thought it unwise to visit the hospital until they could get more on Soreno. Max was set to be released today anyway.From the kitchen alcove, Noah eyed Raven pushing her dinner around her plate, having barely eaten any of the baked chicken she'd made. She'd been quiet most of the day, too, only speaking when asked a direct question. After they'd made love at the castle, she appeared to relax, but now he was worried about her depression. For years, she

"Get us the fuck out of here." Noah slammed the car door and faced the front seat, too riled to attempt consoling Raven next to him. She hadn't looked upset by the time they walked out of the police station, but she had to be rattled.When McCannon had called them into the station, Noah figured they finally had something on Soreno. They had something all right. They had a handwritten note that had been shoved in the mailbox.If I wanted her dead so soon, she'd be dead. Consider the other night a warning. Revenge is best served cold. She'll be cold soon. She won't die quickly and there won't be mercy.All Soreno wanted in the end was to crank her fear so she'd make a mistake. Or maybe Rizzoli had orchestrated the words himself. People didn't think clearly when scared out of their mind or worked into a rage. And Noah was in a rage. The note implied they'd torture her first. Noah had no doubt she'd beg for death by the time Soreno was through with her."Fuck," he muttered, scrubbing his