The guys are all making an effort to get along, although the energy is still a little stiff between them. The tension is morefrom treading lightly than any sort of hesitation or reservedness, though. For that, I’m grateful.
I’ve almost finished my third glass of wine when Noah rises from the table and takes my plate as well as his own to the sink.
I shift my chair back to help clean up, but he hits me with a stern glare. “I’ve got it.”
With a sigh, I settle back into my seat, grinning.
“Did you get enough to eat?” Mercer asks Tytus.
“Yeah. Thanks, prof.” Ty pats his taut stomach over his shirt. “I’m going to have to start watching again soon. But that was great. It really hit the spot.”
The warmth from my cheeks blooms throughout my entire body. I don’t even bother trying to hide my grin.
I’m practically giddy. They may not be best friends, but they’re getting along. That’s as much as I can ask for. The wine has loosened me up, probably causing me to make dopey, lovesick faces at the guys all night. At this point, I’m sitting on my hands to tamp down my excitement, but I can’t help but bounce in my seat.
Ty smirks, amusement etched on his face, and tucks a loose tendril of hair behind my ear. “You love this, don’t you?”
I side-eye him, my lips twitching. “I really do.” Giggling, I reach out and lace my fingers with his.
He leans in, licking his lips, but between one heartbeat and the next, his expression flattens, his gaze ricocheting from my face to my neck and back again.
He tilts my head to the side, exposing more of my jawline and neck, and brushes the pad of his thumb over a tender spot. “What is this?”
I wince at the slight sting, then pull my phone out and open up the camera, then reverse the lens so I can see for myself.
Instantly, heat floods my cheeks, neck, and chest.
Ty shifts back in his chair and crosses his arms over his chest. “Is it a hickey?”
I press my lips together, then bring my fingertips to my blistering hot skin.
I’m mortified.
“Is that from last night?” he presses.
Mercer picks up the almost empty bowl of pasta from the center of the table, eyeing me salaciously, then hisses. “That looks like it stings, sweetheart. Hopefully it was worth it. It looks more like beard burn than a hickey to me.”
Ty reaches for me again, but before he makes contact, he pulls his hand back like he’s been burned.
He’s clean-shaven. Mercer’s sporting a dark five o’ clock shadow, but he doesn’t have enough facial hair to create beard burn.
It only takes Ty a moment to figure out the identity of the person who gifted me the lovely blemish.
“That’s from him?” Tytus looks from me to Noah then back to me again. “From when? Today?”
The questions are accusations, each demand rooted in envy and laced with bitterness.
Through gritted teeth, he says, “You let him mark you?”
“Easy now,” Noah says from his place at the sink, his tone calm and low. He turns off the water and dries his hands.
I hold up one hand, holding him off.
He didn’t do anything wrong. Neither of us did.
I eye the jealous man beside me, one brow cocked. “You don’t have the monopoly on my pleasure, Ty.”
He jerks his head from side to side, causing his neck to pop. “Don’t I know it.”
