He broke away for air and kissed his way to her neck, to that spot beneath her jaw that made her a little crazy. “I can’t believe you came back.”
“Noah,” she breathed, fidgeting against the wall. “We need to talk.”
“Later.” He kissed her again, ran his hand over her ass, squeezed, and pulled her hips against his, groaning at the way they fit together, the way his erection pressed into her lower belly. “Much…later…”
With a hand against his chest, she pushed him back, her expression smoldering but serious. “Now, Noah.”
He scanned her eyes, his breathing shallow, his heart kicking hard. “This isn’t good news, is it?”
“Depends on what you want.”
Everything. He just wanted everything. “Having to choose is never good.”
Her sweet lips tipped up in a smile. “You’re just so used to getting it all, huh?”
“Hardly, but I never stop trying.”
“Hold on to that perseverance.” She slipped out from between him and the wall. “You’re going to need it in rehab.”
He pressed his hands to the wall and closed his eyes. Disappointment bottomed out in his gut. The woman he wanted had slipped behind those damn walls again. She’d turned back into the professional hard-ass.
One of the barstools scraped against the tile, and Noah turned to find Julia sitting at the high countertop separating the kitchen and eating area. She pulled a stack of napkins and a pen from her pocket.
“If you’re not here for me, what brought you back?” he asked, making his way toward her, wishing he’d hear what he wanted instead of what he needed.
“I did come back for you. Without you, there’s no job.”
Ouch. Not only had she turned back into a hard-ass, he’d turned back into a job.
“Not what I was hoping to hear.” He slid onto the stool and dragged off the yogurt’s foil top, stirring the mixture with a spoon. Stalling. He wasn’t particularly eager to hear what more she had to say.
“Drake made me realize how much help you need, despite the fact that you aren’t willing to accept it. You two have an impressive relationship, and it got me to thinking—about you, about me, about this situation. So I drew up a quasi contract to line out my expectations these next six weeks if I stayed.”
If she stayed.
This was definitely not what he wanted to hear.
He set the yogurt down without eating any and crossed his arms. “On napkins? You created a contract on napkins?”
“Could be on toilet paper and it would still be binding—as long as it has your signature.”
He sputtered a laugh. “We both know that’s bullshit.”
“Look. I need the money and the referrals. You need the help.” She heaved a breath that lifted her shoulders and rocked her perfect C’s. “This is my career, Noah. It’s really important that you’re honest here. Do you get that?”
“I’m offended you have to ask.”
“I’m probably going to offend you several times a day for the next month and a half, if you can’t deal—”
“I can deal.” But this wasn’t how he wanted her back.
“Okay, then.” She slid the stack of napkins toward him. They were white, with sharp black ink writing. “These are rules I need you to abide by to get you back in top condition before the Games.”
Watching her, he put his hand on the napkins and slid them toward him, turned them around to face him, and started reading.
Julia pushed the pen toward his right hand. “You have to sign all of them.”
He cut his gaze to her. “I don’t sign anything unless Drake’s seen it.”