Page 129 of Arctic Titans of Northwood U: Volume 3

I swallowed and swallowed again, licking my lips and catching my breath, still too shaky to stand. Seeing it, Seth came down to one knee and looked into my eyes.

“You gonna propose, Kane?” I asked, voice cracking, throat raw.

He cracked a grin. “Keep on dreaming, Pierce.”

“’Tis a nightmare, boyo,” I said, not totally sure what I was playing at.

He rolled his eyes and shook his head, a smile still stretching those nice, red lips. He leaned in and pressed his mouth against mine. The way he kissed me was everything, focused and intimate and completely dedicated to me.

“I needed that,” he said as he pulled back a little, his brow resting on mine. “Fuck, I needed it.”

“Yeah. I know the feeling,” I said.

He pulled away from me completely and rose again, lifting his underwear and pants. He didn’t have his T-shirt anymore, and I’d lost my shirt somewhere in the basement. It didn’t bother me.

Seth stood a couple of feet away from me, looking a little unsure again.

“First walk of shame?” I asked.

A laugh broke his sudden silence. “At Northwood?”

I lifted my hand. “Actually, I don’t want to know.” But he wrapped his arms around his torso and looked at me.

I glanced around the room and picked up a hoodie from a chair. “Take this.”

He didn’t. “That would be theft.”

“This is Dev’s room. I’ll bring it back to him,” I said.

“Should you ask him, though?” Seth asked, taking the hoodie from me but not putting it on.

“If I know Dev, he’s busy with at least three girls in the basement and possibly a few guys, so I wouldn’t interrupt. It would be rude.”

Seth nodded. “Ruder than just stealing a hoodie. Got it.”

“Precisely. Just do what I say and you’ll be a happy man.” I zipped up my pants and fastened my belt, then reached for the door.

Seth put the hoodie on and nodded.

I opened the door, and we strolled out all casual like we hadn’t just blown each other’s mind in there. Nobody noticed us. Nobody noticed anything in this place. It was heaven and hell, depending on how you looked at it.

“One for the road?” I asked.

“Only if it’s laced with cyanide,” Seth said.

I winked. “I can make that happen.” My heart still danced inside my rib cage, even though I’d come hard enough to shatter it. There was no helping this feeling. There was no getting rid of it. The same old playful death threats and curses made me feel so at ease that a day at the spa seemed like a stressful affair in comparison.

I walked Seth to the kitchen and found the stash of booze under the sink. I poured us two glasses of whatever was nearest and brown and offered him one. “Drain cleaner. Just for you.”

“Thanks very much,” he said, clinking his glass with mine and taking a careful sip. “Gah, that’s awful.”

I wrinkled my nose. “Cheap rum. Someone making cakes in this hellhole?”

Seth drank it anyway, and I downed my glass just to match him.

“Come on. I’ll walk you to your dorm room,” I said.

He shot me a naughty look. “I know my way around, Pierce.”