Page 81 of Arctic Titans of Northwood U: Volume 1

“What? What am I doing?” I demanded, a tremor of hopelessness touched my voice.

“Treating me like a child,” he said. “Can’t I make a single mistake in my life? Does every first choice I make have to be the right one?”

I wasn’t sure who he was speaking to. I hadn’t realized I had been pushing him into doing anything like that. All I knew was that I couldn’t watch him leave the bar with that creep.

“What I would really like, for once in my life, is to decide for myself what’s right for me. Just once, I’d like to make a mistake.” He said those things softly and I didn’t know what to say to that.

I looked at him. He looked at me. And time ground to a halt.

The glimmer of the overhead street lamp reflected from those mossy eyes and the redness in his cheeks was only worse with the cool, late February air.

He gazed at me expectantly and I realized that all of me was tense. Every muscle in my face, my limbs, and my torso was taut. And, as I relaxed, I found myself nodding. “You should do that,” I said softly. It was as good as promising to break his heart for the sake of gaining experience, but I did like this messy-haired, stammering, brilliant guy.

I liked him way more than I dared to admit to him or myself. And I definitely liked him more than some beefy brawler with no finesse ever could.

Noah swallowed, a tremor of fear crossing his face, and I realized just how nervous he was. He was barely holding it together against fear. And though mere inches separated our bodies, it felt like jumping from one galaxy to the next. It wasn’t only about learning it. The true leap was in understanding that I needed to help him if either one of us was going to feel good.

And when that piece of the puzzle fell into place in my mind, I pulled my lower lip under my teeth and perked my ears. “Can I kiss you?”

“Fuck yes. Please.” He closed his eyes as he answered me. His chin moved a little up and I leaned in, catching the sweet and citrusy scent of the American pale ale I’d ordered for him. The briefest pause in which my lips hovered over his felt like the longest, most excruciating wait of my life.

Every terrible outcome that had been so clear to me moments ago slipped away from my grasp.

An instant later, the chills of the February night were chased away by the searing heat of Noah’s lips on mine. He was like the core of the Sun. His lips parted a little, as if by instinct, just as mine pressed against them. The sweetness of beer and victory mixed on my lips as I kissed him, my hands touching the sides of his torso, just above his hips. He kissed me back, if a little too eagerly, and our teeth touched for the briefest of moments. But I tilted my head and took control over it, kissing him deeply and savoring the little moan that escaped from his mouth into mine. The corners of my lips stretched as I kissed him more, every little bit of me glimmering and vibrating, just like those electromagnetic forces he’d tried explaining to me. And just like they held atoms together, I held him. My unbreakable hold on him and his clutching of my jacket stranded us in each other’s arms. We kissed softly, softer than I’d ever known to kiss, until the tip of his tongue ventured out in search of something more.

I was all too glad to provide it. My lips parted further and I pushed my tongue just far enough to meet his. And when they touched, the sparks burst to life. It was like all the suppressed lust I had tried shielding Noah from was unleashing. I found myself grappling against my own impulses. I wanted him. I wanted all of him all of the time and just to myself.

My tongue explored his mouth as he moaned over it and clutched my jacket harder. He wasn’t letting me pull back even if such an outrageous thought crossed my mind.

I swirled us around, never letting my lips leave his, and pinned him against the intricately designed scrollwork of the iron post of the street lamp. He gasped, but resumed kissing me back with all the generous eagerness of someone who’d been dreaming of this for way too long.

It nagged me, somewhere deep in the back of my mind, that I was stealing his firsts, but I was so far gone in the passion of this moment that I couldn’t pull myself back.

It just so happened that the virgin had more self-control than the player. He pulled his lower lip between his teeth and let out a small sound from his throat. “We should get warm.”

And though I knew what the invitation was, even the idea of sitting in his room and listening to some new version of punk was too sweet to resist.

Chapter Eight

NOAH

His lips were softer than I expected. All of him was like that. When I’d expected aggressive, I received caring. When I thought he would growl and grunt, he merely sighed. The broody bad boy was a sweetheart in disguise and the thought made my heart leap.

I kept biting my lip against the grins as we walked the rest of the way to my room. My insides were restless, stomach hollow, and groin tingling with excitement. He’d said yes to my invitation. Oh, and he’d kissed me like I’d never been kissed before.

My mind was swirling so fast it was risking escaping my head altogether.

Electrical currents raced through my body as I tried to walk like a normal human being, rather than an overexcited virgin about to punch his V-card.

I desperately wanted to snatch his hand and run off with him. This dating tutor was about to take the lessons to the next level. And when I thought of touching his bare hand with mine, tingles ran up my arm.

We walked in silence that was broken only by our footsteps on the wet and frosty pavement and our quick breaths. My ears were flooded with my speeding heartbeat, too. The heat of our brief but sweet kisses was still running through my body, radiating from me, and threatening to cover me in sweat if we didn’t undress soon.

“Finally,” I muttered, the muscles in my face aching from all the force with which I was preventing goofy expressions. And now, when I glanced at Sawyer, who was keeping his serious face on, too, we let our gazes linger on one another.

He cracked first, his smile beaming with the intensity of a supernova, and I followed a fraction of a second later. Even biting my lip hard wasn’t helping. My most excited smile stretched my mouth wide and I looked down. The tips of my ears heated.

I pushed into the dormitory building, then led the way upstairs to my room. My key was jingling in my hand as I tried and failed to unlock the door.