The Note by Natalie Wrye (the read aloud family .TXT) 📕

I can feel myself freeze underneath Becky’s fingers as she moves in, her mouth starting to inch to the skin below my belly button.

But I can’t. I can’t do this.

Can’t be with her. Not right now.

Because all I can think of is the woman I’d rather have in bed with me at this very moment.

The mouth of the sultry brunette I’d recently left in my bed slants against my own, her tongue touching mine. Light brushes at first, then sweeping. I take control of her kiss, my fingertips traveling up her sides to tangle in her silky chocolate and caramel-colored hair.

She tastes just as sweet as the chocolatey hue of the strands on her head.

Pure temptation with a hint of tequila.

I’ve got the imaginary taste down to a science. Well, that, and the vision of the missing half a million dollar watch she’d lifted from my nightstand.

Not to mention the note she left behind, the dark ink wet even hours later when I found it, written in haste, its script scribbled and long.

The image of it was engraved in my mind long after the scent of her perfume left my pillows.

I close my eyes and still see it, still feel that thread of fear that twisted down my spine when I arrived at my apartment to a hysterical Maria, my nightstand in practical pieces on the floor.

I read the writing slowly, my eyes scanning.

Noah,

Believe me when I say this:

I never meant for this to happen.

But I swear, one day, I will find a way to pay you back.

Consider this an I.O.U.

P.S.

Thanks for not stabbing me in my sleep.

It’s good to know you weren’t a serial killer.

You were right. You’re not the liar.

I am…

Signed,

Little Bear

I read the note back in my mind’s eye, even while I imagine taking a taste of my little thief’s lips. The tasting turns hungry in my imagination, and within seconds, I’m taking my fill of her, devouring her ravenous kiss, holding her head between my hands.

With a nip of my mouth, I take her bottom lip between my teeth—tugging, and she moans, a sound so unexpectedly erotic that my growing erection turns to steel inside my slacks, begging for attention.

That’s when I open my eyes to find Becky pulling back an inch, still in my hotel bed, her mouth just out of reach of my skin, and she gazes up at me, her blue eyes questioning.

“Something wrong?” she asks.

“No… I just…” I stammer. Shit, I’m out of sorts. “It’s just a little, I don’t know…too right.”

She angles her head. “Too right?”

She doesn’t get it.

She’s not too right. The situation isn’t too right.

But what my brothers said is.

Too right. About me.

Becky blows out a breath, her pretty blushed cheeks puffing as I apologize, slipping quickly from the sheets. My tuxedo fitting is nearing anyway, and I kiss the skin at her cheek, promising to pay the rest of the hotel’s bill.

Calling a ride-share car, I thump down in the back seat, shoving a hand through my hair as I fix the early morning mess that is already me.

The Lyft car lets me out in front of a small cafe, and my eyes swing on a swivel until seconds later, they find what they were searching for. I can’t help but break out into a shit-eating grin.

My brothers, together like they are now on the street, are just as I remember them as kids, though a tad taller. The self-satisfied smiles of my siblings and company co-owners now replace the goofy grins of youth, and I walk closer to the troublesome pair on the street, my hand held out in a gesture of welcome that quickly fakes into a faux-punch.

I nudge the hell out of my younger brother first.

“Lachlan, you fucking bastard. Did you grow taller? Or are you just standing on your money?”

Each grins. “I think that’s because you’re shrinking, old timer.” He hugs me, slapping a hand on my back, helping me to recall all the laughs we’d once had, the jokes that had helped me make it through hard times and an even harder childhood. He winks. “How’s life treating you, Noah?”

“These days? Life is treating me like I slept with his wife and got caught red-handed.” I glance at Jase. “Nowhere near as good as this fucker, from what I hear.”

“Take a good look.” Jay shakes out his jacket’s lapels. “But if I keep traveling the way I have been for work these days, I might not make it to see the end of these next two weeks. Mindy is pissed that I have to leave to travel for work again tonight.”

“Hopefully a new deal in the works?” I arch an eyebrow.

Jase hitches a shoulder, letting it drop just as quickly. “When duty calls…”

“We pick up. Yeah, yeah, I know. I just wish the bastard would forget my number sometimes.”

Jase actually grins at me, a rarity these days. “And I have a soon-to-be-bride to keep happy.” A glint enters his gaze. “In more ways than one.”

He glows beside me, his sea-green eyes alive with joy as he slaps me on the back, our rough-housing just a reminder of the “good old days.”

Days I often (and quietly) miss.

Things were so damn tense with us over these past few years.

I stepped back to gaze at my two brothers. My two best friends, who, despite everything, were the closest people in my life.

It’d been a while since I had a reminder.

“Look, I know we only meet like twice a year? If that.” I glance at the slip of a cafe in front of us. “But why the hell are we meeting in front of this vegan-only shop? Did I miss the mention of brunch? Because I can taste the wheatgrass just by looking at this place. And I doubt they have enough calorie allowance for the scotch I think I need right now.”

Lach playfully punches my shoulder. “Ay, it’s a little early for the hard stuff, don’t you think, hotshot? Almost forgot for a