Free Love Unspoken by Delilah Hunt Page A

them healthier during
the winter when they lose the most weight.
    She wouldn’t look at him. Fed up, Cole jotted down a quick
message to her. He didn’t dare assume she’d continued with the sign language
lessons from her book and if by some miracle she cared enough to, he wouldn’t
get her attention as long she spoke at him, not to him.
    You know why. Noelle was scared and embarrassed. He heard
it in the tremor of her voice. She was admitting defeat and he was partially to
blame.
    She reached for a bag, bending low to heft it onto the scale when
Cole leaned forward and placed his hand above hers, stilling her movement. One,
he didn’t want her lifting the heavy weight and two— they really needed
to clear the air. She glanced up at him and Cole handed her the note.
    Noelle. I didn’t tell anyone. You don’t have to worry.
    Cole watched as her eyes scanned the words. She lifted her face,
gazing at him in surprise. Her stunning ethnic features softened slowly. Noelle
tilted her head, staring as if she’d never seen him before.
    “I don’t understand. I’ve been horrible to you. This was your
chance to punish me.”
    She thought he wanted to punish her? And in the worst way
possible, by revealing intimate details about her.
    Cole knelt beside her and brushed the back of his hand along her
soft cheek. His heart melted when she leaned her face into his hand, nuzzling
against him like a kitten starved for affection.
    Tipping her chin, he moved his hand in front of her. “Can you
understand me?” He sent a quick prayer to anyone listening that Noelle had
kept up with the lessons.
    “I understand you.”
    His chest felt lighter. Cole buried his face in the curve of her
neck, holding it there and inhaling her delectable scent. He did mean something
to her.
    “I’m so sorry,” she said quietly.
    He shook his head and pressed his mouth to hers, seizing her lips
between his. They felt so damn smooth and tempting. His heart sped a mile a
minute as Noelle parted her lips to deepen the kiss. Heaven in all its splendid
glory. He wanted to spend the rest of his life tasting those lips.
    Suddenly, she broke the spell. “Not here.” She glanced at the
door while caressing his jaw. “I don’t want to kiss you in here where I feel
like my every move is being watched.”
    Cole helped her to rise. He highly doubted her father was
concerned about the two of them being alone. The man viewed him as simple and
it was apparent he thought Noelle’s heart and body was safe from the likes of
him.
    “Why do you think that?”
    She gave him a rueful smile. “It’s the truth. I tried too hard to
ignore it.”
    Cole narrowed his brows. He always assumed Noelle was a prized
jewel in her family. This was unexpected and it didn’t make any sense. She was
perfection, how could her own father not see that? Maybe in time she would
explain it to him after he got it through to her that he wanted no secrets
between them.
    “You will tell me the reason?” he asked, issuing her a
pointed stare.
    She appeared to mull it over. Ever so slowly, she lifted those
long black lashes and nodded. “I’ll tell you one day. Let’s just get these bags
out of here. I don’t want my father to hold anything against you.”
    He rolled his eyes. Williams held no power over him. He didn’t
give a rat’s ass what the man thought of him. But if it made Noelle feel better
to leave the room, then so be it.
    “Come outside with me.” He drew her up alongside him.
    Noelle followed and Cole was pleasantly surprised by her adorable
yet weak efforts to help him load the truck. He was glad no one was around to
witness the fiasco of a man his stature being aided by a stubborn little female
in high heels, who refused to listen to his pleas for no help. The entire
episode pleased him beyond measure. She was now his stubborn female.
     
     

Chapter
Eight
     
    After Cole left two days ago and Noelle realized how forgiving he
was, it made the decision to follow her