He chuckles and replies, “What are you reading there?”
I slam the book shut, feel my face heat, and stare at the closed book. Just because we had sex doesn’t mean he needs to know the dirty scenes I love reading and fantasizing over.
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” I say, trying to turn away from him. He’s too quick, turning me back against the bookshelf and lifting my chin with his thumb, pressing closer to me. How the hell did he move so quickly? My core starts to heat, every neuron in my body firing, tingling with anticipation of his next move.
Brushing his thumb over my lower lip and leaning down, I can feel his breath against my neck when he whispers, “I want to know everything about you, especially what makes your heart race and legs shake.”
He slowly traces his thumb across my bare collarbone, as my sweater slides off my shoulder, bringing his forehead against me, and my breath starts to labor.
“I am going to learn everything, to figure out exactly what you like.”
His arm against the bookshelf is blocking my head from turning as he leans inward, I gasp, feeling his ice cold hand brush up against my abdomen approaching my already hard nipple.
The book I’m holding falls to one hand and hangs by my side as I loop my fingers into the waistband of his jeans, annoyed that they’re locked into place by the belt he’s wearing.
“Like the way you stop breathing when I do this,” he starts, pinching my nipple enough to hurt in all the best ways. There’s an ache, a need for more, as I tilt my head up to the ceiling, exposing my neck and waiting for the next touch.
When I close my eyes I can feel his lips hovering right over the sensitive part of my neck, giving my nipple another pinch taking my breath away when we hear, “Oh, honey, right this way, that book is on the small white table in the romance section.”
Fuck.
Noah stands tall, removing his hand from underneath my shirt, draining the heat from my body with him. My face flushes, not with the desire, and lust that was just there but from a hint of fear and embarrassment at what we were doingin publicand almost got caught.
“We can do what’s in that book later. Let’s get some food,” Noah says, appearing utterly unfazed by everything that’s just happened as he grabs my hand and leads me to the check-out counter.
Chapter 29
Noah
“Whenyousaidwewere going to ‘the pub down the street’ I didn’t think its name was actually the Pub Down the Street,” I say to Ollie as we walk up to the pub to see this lively redhead pipe up from a table in the back, waving us over.
Ollie just shrugs in response. I can feel her emotions shift as the biggest smile grows on her face. “That’s Caroline,” she says.
Looking back to the firecracker, I see Cole sitting at the table across from her, head down playing something on his phone. Caroline’s excitement as she’s jumping up and down waiting for us to come over is comical and I'm half surprised she hasn’t run across the bar to hug Ollie as if she hasn’t seen her in a month…when in reality they live together.
Cole stands up next to Caroline with a huge shit-eating grin on his face as we approach and I can’t help but wonder what he did all day and if there is something secret going on between the two. Cole would vehemently deny it for Ollie’s sake, but I don’t think she would mind it. It's clear she has a deep connection and friendship with Caroline, and I’ve known both Ollie and Cole forever so there’s no doubt about the connection they share.
“Are Mason and Savy here yet?” Ollie asks Caroline as we approach the table.
“No, they got stuck in traffic on 43,” Caroline replies with an annoyed look on her face.
“Ugh, that’s the worst highway coming into the city,” Ollie replies.
We sit down across from Caroline and Cole, leaving space for the others at the end of the table when they get here.
“Caroline and I met at a spin class downtown,” she tells me.
“Technically not originally. I did the new business piece when the practice opened.” Caroline interjects. I learn that Caroline is a journalist and a bit of an adrenaline junkie so she always tries to report on the big events, controversial topics, and basically anything in between that people will talk about.
“Okay, fair, but we didn’t become friends until Syd tried to kill us in our first spin class and we could barely walk out.” Ollie laughs. Caroline and Ollie lean their heads together as they recount that moment and it is clear the love they have for each other.
I don’t hear the initial comment Cole makes but I only assume it’s full of snark based on the shared snarled look they share before Caroline retorts, “I don’t know why you act like you hate this, you know you’re one minute away from falling in love with me.”
I almost spit out my beer, laughing at her remark.
Cole’s face turns so red it matches the color of his ale and he rolls his eyes before looking back at his phone. At this moment I know Caroline is the person Cole has been keeping a secret.
As we start to round 11 p.m., everyone’s getting tired and I'm grateful to be making the short trek back to the house. The time at the bar has solidified my notion that Ollie is exactly where she needs to be. The way she lights up when her friends are talking and how she’s fully invested in listening and caring about what they have to say warms me from the inside out.
