Pushing the Limits (Pushing the Limits, #1)(43)

Isaiah and Beth were bantering back and forth, giving our conversation some privacy. “You’re lucky. Everything that meant a thing to me burnt up in the fire. Everything but my brothers. I don’t have a single picture of my parents. Sometimes I’m terrified I’m going to forget what they looked like.” And the sound of their voices. My father’s deep laughter and my mom’s hearty giggles. The fragrance of my mom’s perfume when she got ready for work. The smell of my dad’s aftershave. The sound of them cheering from the stands when I made a shot. God, I missed them.

I had no idea I’d traveled into my own universe until Echo’s cold fingers squeezed mine. “Want to do normal?”

And my heart clenched in pain and joy at the same time. I missed my parents beyond words and this beautiful nymph understood. “I’m all over normal.” I opened my physics book.

THE SLAMMING OF THE HOOD startled me and Echo. We’d spent two hours reviewing for our physics test. If I didn’t pass the son of a bitch tomorrow, I’d never pass a test.

If I didn’t know better, I’d say Isaiah was on the best trip of his life with that crazy smile on his face. “I know how to get her going.”

Echo brightened to the level of supernova. “Really?” She dropped her physics book and hopped out of the car.

I fought the urge to stand behind Echo and wrap my arms around her as she bounced in front of Isaiah in delight. For a second, it appeared Isaiah would join in the happy dance. “Just a few parts, minor really. I’ll find them at the junkyard. It’ll take me some time and probably cost up to two hundred.”

Echo’s eyes widened and my heart sank. She didn’t have the money. How much could she make tutoring a loser like me? I had the money. I saved every dime to move into my own place after graduation and rescue my brothers. I could loan it to her and we could increase our tutoring sessions until she made enough to pay me back. “Echo …”

She threw herself at Isaiah, tackling him in a hug. “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Do you need the money now or later? I’ve got cash, if that’s okay.”

Isaiah paled and stared at me with his arms held out to his sides. “I swear to God, I’m not touching her, man.”

“Yeah, but she’s touching you.” The dark shadows in Beth’s eyes prompted me to take action.

Oblivious to the black-haired threat behind her, Echo released Isaiah, glowing as if Jesus had appeared and turned water into wine. A pang of jealousy nagged at my gut. To keep Beth from tearing Echo to pieces, I stepped between the two. “Told you I could help.” Shitty of me to attempt to take the credit, but I couldn’t help it. I wanted to be her champion.

Her cheeks filled with color and her eyes lit like sparklers. “Noah.” She gasped, out of breath. “We did it. We’re going to fix his car. Oh, God, Noah …” She threw her arms around my neck and pressed her head into my shoulder.

Everything within me stilled. I wrapped my arms around her warmth and softness, closing my eyes to savor the peace Echo’s presence brought to me. Life would almost be enjoyable if I could feel this way all the time. I nuzzled the top of her hair with my chin, sending Isaiah a glance of gratitude. He nodded once and shifted his footing as he caught a glimpse of Beth.

She had a hand on her throat, disbelief draining her face of color. “Isaiah, I …” She took two steps backward before turning and bolting.

“Beth!” Isaiah raced after her. The door to the garage slammed shut behind him.

Using my arms as chains, I kept Echo locked against me when she pulled her head off my shoulder. “What’s wrong?” she asked.

My messed-up friends are ruining my moment. “Isaiah’s into Beth and doesn’t want to admit it and Beth doesn’t want to be into anyone. At least not the guy she considers her best friend. But your hugging him got her riled up.”

“Oh.” She unlocked her hands from my neck and pushed her body against my arms, but I wasn’t ready to let her go—not yet. “Noah?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m kind of done hugging you.”

Reluctantly, I let go. One shot. One f*cking shot. What the hell do I do now? What the hell do I want? Echo. To feel her body wrapped around mine, to smell her enticing scent, to let her deliver me to that place where I would forget everything but her.

She packed her books in her bag, speaking the words on my mind. “What’s going on between us?”

I don’t know. I rubbed my hand over my face before glancing at Echo. A hint of her cleavage peeked from her shirt. Damn, she was sexy as hell. I wanted her, badly. Would one night be enough, even if she gave it to me? Echo already felt like a heavy drug. The kind I avoided on purpose—crack, heroin, meth. The ones that screwed with your mind, crept into your blood and left you powerless, helpless. If she gave her body to me, would I be able to let go or would I be sucked into that black veil, hooks embedded into my skin, sentenced to death by the emotion I reserved for my brothers—love? “I want you.”

Echo zipped up her pack and threw it at the door to the house. It smacked the wood with a bang and slid to the floor. “Do you? Really? Because these scars are sexy.”

How did she see herself? “I don’t give a f*ck about your scars.”

She stalked toward me, hips swaying side to side, eyes hardened with anger. Echo pushed her body against mine, parts of her fitting perfectly into parts of me. I swore under my breath, fighting for control over my body.