Total pages in book: 142
Estimated words: 135522 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 678(@200wpm)___ 542(@250wpm)___ 452(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 135522 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 678(@200wpm)___ 542(@250wpm)___ 452(@300wpm)
It’s after I finally manage to wriggle my body out of the tight math club shirt and drop my shorts to the floor that I hear Noah’s voice at the door. “Oh, sorry.”
I turn around. “Hey there, Noah.”
His sleepy eyes drop straight down to my underwear—and the morning wood I’m packing in my black low-rise briefs. Then he does not appear capable of looking away.
I smirk and close the distance between us. His eyes flick up to mine the second I put a kiss on his cheek. “How’s your morning?”
Noah’s adorable shyness has returned in full force. “I just, um, wanted to say I folded up your clothes and …” He notices my shirt hanging in my hand. “… and obviously you’ve found them already and are aware of this fact.”
I bring a hand up to his soft cheek, caressing it. “Y’know, you don’t have to be shy around me.”
“I’m not,” he blurts.
“I mean, after the night we had …” I kiss his neck, right at the spot I learned while making out on his bed is his most sensitive. I can literally see his body melting like an ice sculpture in the sun. “I don’t know how I’m expected to keep my hands off of you.”
“Cole …” he practically moans.
“Or my lips.” I kiss the other side of his neck, just as sensitive. My hands softly slide down his body, as if exploring it for the first time all over again. “If you want me to stop, just say it.”
“Ughn …” is his articulate response.
The look on his face right now is something I want to put into a jar and let light up my whole life. He smiles so seldom, it’s a gift when I get to witness him being this happy. And his smile infects me, too, causing me to smile right back, like a mirror reflecting nothing but hope and buttery optimism.
Then I hear his mother’s voice call out from the kitchen. “You boys up? Want some scrambled eggs and toast? Orange juice?”
Noah pulls away from me in an instant, eyes wide.
I give him a playful smirk, amused by how easily he’s freaked out, then lean toward the doorway. “I’d love to, Mrs. Reed,” I call out, “but I’ve got a shift at the gym in an hour and gotta run!”
“Oh, that’s just fine! I can make you a quick somethin’ to take on the road!”
“Aww, aren’t you sweet!” I call back.
Then I go right back to kissing Noah on his neck, catching him by surprise. He lets out a funny sound I’ve never heard him make before, then wriggles free and shoots me a look. “You have to go home and get ready for your shift in an hour, and I have to get to the paper.”
“That leaves us, at the very least, two or three minutes to kiss and be adorable as fuck, right?” I link my hands around his back and pull him against me. He suppresses an unexpected laugh. I attack his neck again with kisses as he fights me. “There won’t be any of you left by the time I get out of this room, Noah.”
“Cole …!”
I release him after one last peck on his nose, which makes him shrink back in confusion, inspiring one of his cutest faces yet. “I’ll be seeing you again the first chance I get,” I promise him.
He stands there with his eyes closed. He appears to be reliving our whole night in fast-forward from the dreamy look on his face.
I tug my shirt over my head and finish getting dressed. I fold up the shirt and shorts Noah lent me and leave them on the chair where he left mine. “Thanks for these,” I tell him, “and really, for everything. I had fun. We should do this again soon.”
Noah nods. “Yeah. Yes. Of course. We totally should.”
I smile, then head toward his door.
He catches me by the wrist, stopping me.
I look at him. “What is it?”
“I think …” He looks troubled, his left eye twitching, his mind a tornado of thoughts. Then he looks at me. “I think we should … not tell anyone about this.”
I lift my eyebrows. “About … this …?”
“You’re about to be one of the eligible bachelors of Spruce. Eligible bachelors are, by definition, not tied down to anyone.”
I adopt a smirk. “What’re you saying? You wanna …” I come close to him, bringing our faces together. “… tie me down?”
“Cole …” he mutters, his voice low. “I’m being serious.”
“So am I.”
“Nadine and the others are going to expect you to be … free. To take someone on a date who wins you at the auction. To be the perfect guy everyone can dream about themselves being with. You need to fulfill that … that role.” Noah swallows and steps back. “We need to keep this a secret.”