Page 14 of Overeager (Extra Credit #1)

Noah

N oah could hardly keep himself from literally skipping out from behind the bar when his break came around.

He’d probably been looking like an idiot, grinning widely at nothing as he changed kegs and washed glasses and chopped limes into garnishes, but how else was he supposed to act?

Eli was here .

Out of all the bars in the city he could have gone to, he’d ended up at Noah’s.

Which was a blessed piece of fucking luck, because Noah had been stuck trying to figure out how to get Eli alone.

He’d been ready to give in and go to Eli’s office hours next week, to try to coax him into being unprofessional enough to at least give Noah his number.

But now Eli was here . In a booth Noah had been spying on for the last hour, in the moments he’d been able to spot it through the crowd.

Noah walked straight to that booth now, finding Eli sitting with the striking alpha woman who had to be his sister—the owner of the earthy pheromones that had raised Noah’s hackles earlier, when he’d thought Eli had shown up here on some kind of date.

There was also a pretty, full-figured omega woman who looked to be with the alpha sister, judging from their linked arms and the way she snuggled into her every time she laughed.

Noah wanted to be at that table. He wanted Eli to be snuggling into him like that.

For now, though, he loomed over them, grinning way too broadly. But fuck it, Eli liked his smile. He couldn’t keep his eyes off Noah when he was grinning, and Noah wasn’t afraid to push the advantage.

“Hey.”

“Noah,” Eli greeted, the word almost a squeak. His eyes were wide and kind of panicked, like he hadn’t expected Noah to come over to the table to fetch him.

But how else was he going to get him? And if Eli had just texted Noah like they’d both wanted, they wouldn’t have to have an audience like this, would they?

So Noah wasn’t going to feel too bad about it, even with the way the alpha sister’s eyes were narrowing and darting between them, sharklike and predatory, as if she sensed blood in the water.

“It’s my break now,” Noah announced, giving Eli an out to leave the table and join him without too much more fuss.

But the sister had other ideas.

“Hello,” she all but purred, holding out her hand for a shake. “I’m Faith. And this is Liz.” She raised a dark brow as Noah shook her hand firmly. “And you are …?”

“I’m—”

“I already said his name is Noah,” Eli grumbled, glaring daggers at her.

Faith flashed him a sickeningly sweet smile. Noah had enough siblings to recognize she was goading her brother. “And how do we know dear Noah?”

When Eli only kept glaring, Noah cleared his throat. “Eli and I met in Sedona.”

He hadn’t been sure if their connection in Sedona was something Eli had shared with his sister, but Faith’s reaction was fairly telling.

“Oh, did you?” Her smile grew as she drawled, “How fascinating.”

“Faith,” Eli said, a clear warning in his tone.

Faith held up her hands. “Don’t let us stop you from … reconnecting, Eli.” She and Liz made eye contact, an unspoken message passing between them, and something newly devious entered her gaze. “In fact, Liz and I need to be going.”

“Faith.”

“Sorry,” Faith said, not sounding sorry at all. She didn’t even meet Eli’s eyes, too busy sizing Noah up. “I know we dragged you out. But Noah here can take care of you, can’t he?”

Noah decided right then and there he loved Eli’s sister beyond measure. He would send her a fucking gift basket, if only he knew her address.

“ Faith ,” Eli repeated for the third time, through clenched teeth.

This time Faith did look at him. “ Eli ,” she taunted. The siblings had a stare off, and then Faith nudged her head toward Noah. “Noah’s waiting.”

Noah grinned invitingly. Eli looked to Liz, but the omega only smiled gently at him, not even attempting to come to his rescue. Eli let out a heavy sigh—Noah tried not to be offended by that—and rose from the booth, brushing up against Noah as he did so.

Fuck, he smelled good.

Even with strange pheromones layered over him, he was tart and enticing and perfect.

Noah grabbed Eli’s hand, unable to keep his thumb from sliding over his scent gland. He nodded at the two women, not even trying to contain his shit-eating grin. “Nice meeting you both.”

And then he dragged Eli away.

Noah led him out back, where there was a small break area hidden from the alley by a half wall. It held a dingy metal table with a half-full ashtray and two matching, uncomfortable metal chairs. It wasn’t the most romantic spot Noah could have taken Eli, but at least it was mostly private.

“I’m never going to hear the end of that,” Eli muttered once they’d closed the door to the din of the bar.

“End of what?” Noah asked innocently.

“Oh, please.” Eli narrowed his eyes at him. “As if you don’t know. An absurdly hot alpha whisking me away at the bar? That’s older sister catnip.”

Noah focused on what was important in that statement. “You think I’m absurdly hot?”

Eli glared. “ Noah .”

“You like to repeat someone’s name when you’re irritated, did you know that?”

“We can’t—”

Noah pulled out one of the metal chairs, gesturing to it. “Sit.”

Despite his protest, Eli took a seat immediately, as if unable to help himself, and Noah sat in the adjacent chair, scooting closer until their arms and legs were touching.

Something tense and irritable in him finally relaxed for the first time that week.

This was better. Much better.

“It’s good to see you,” Noah said softly, fighting the urge to rub his face in Eli’s hair like a maniac. “You look good.”

He did. It was Noah’s first time seeing Eli in regular clothes, and he looked wonderfully unpretentious in a worn sweatshirt and equally worn jeans, his dark hair messy and falling into his eyes.

Eli looked down at what he was wearing. “I don’t though.” Before Noah could protest, he cocked his head, taking in Noah’s scanter outfit. “Aren’t you cold?”

Noah shrugged. “A little.” It was deep enough winter that even the Arizona nights were chilly, but he hadn’t grabbed his jacket before coming out here.

Mostly because his work tee was tight as hell, and he’d seen the way Eli had eyed his shoulders at the bar.

He wasn’t going to waste an opportunity to remind his omega of their mutual attraction.

He nudged Eli’s knee with his own. “You want to warm me up?”

“ Noah .”

Noah felt like he was in grade school again, trying to tug an omega’s pigtails just so they’d look at him. Not that he’d ever done that, but apparently he was making up for lost time. “Can I scent mark you?” he asked eagerly.

“You already did,” Eli scolded. Clearly he hadn’t missed Noah’s little move inside. But he still held out his wrist for another round.

Fuck that though. They weren’t at school now, and Noah didn’t have to hold back.

He ducked his head and rubbed his face against the crook of Eli’s neck, where the skin of his scent gland was bared by his sweatshirt’s loose collar.

Eli sucked in a sharp breath. “ Oh .”

Oh was right. Noah could have crowed when Eli didn’t pull away.

“So I’ve been thinking …,” he began, taking full advantage and running his nose along Eli’s shoulder, inhaling deeply as he went.

“You have?” Eli asked, his voice wonderfully breathy.

“Mm-hmm. I’ve been thinking a lot, actually. About your TAs.”

“My—” Eli shook his head, as if to clear some fog. “What?”

“Yep.” Noah pulled back with some sort of herculean strength of will.

Too much longer drowning in Eli’s scent and he was going to embarrass himself by sporting a hard-on for the rest of his shift.

“I looked over your syllabus again. You have TAs who do your grading, and lead discussions, and proctor exams. There’s no part of my work or grade you’ll be directly overseeing. ”

“I—”

“So there’s no conflict of interest.” Noah wasn’t usually in the habit of talking over omegas he was trying to woo—not that he’d ever tried to woo an omega before—but he wasn’t going to let Eli talk himself out of this before Noah had his say.

Eli’s brow furrowed as he stared at him. “It’s still not allowed.”

“It’s not a written rule.”

“It’s common sense!” Eli protested. “And I’m up for tenure this year. If we were found out …”

A small pang of guilt had Noah almost hesitating, but in the end, it wasn’t enough to sway him. He wanted this too fucking badly. “We can be discreet,” he argued.

For as long as we need to be was the unspoken end of that. One day Noah wanted to be public. Very public. Eli bitten and claimed as his mate kind of public.

But he could be patient. Probably.

He leaned in close, every word deliberate. “I want you more than I’ve ever wanted anything in my life, Eli.”

Eli shook his head. “You haven’t lived very long. You haven’t known me more than a day.”

This again? Noah cocked his head. “Okay, Mr. Thirteen Years My Senior. Can you honestly say you feel any different?”

Eli’s answer was a hard swallow.

Yeah, that was what Noah had thought.

“Come sit at my bar,” he coaxed, bumping Eli’s leg with his again. “Keep me company. I’m off at one thirty.”

“One thirty in the morning ?”

Noah laughed. “Hey, that’s early. We’re lucky I’m not the closer. Come on.” He grabbed Eli’s hand, tangling their fingers. “Give me something nice to look at. Protect me from the drunk barflies trying to slip me their numbers.”

Eli’s scent sharpened, taking on a bitter note, and wasn’t that all kinds of interesting? Noah should have played the jealousy card sooner. He would have, if he’d known it would be this effective.

Eli nibbled at his lower lip in thought, and Noah waited it out. Finally, Eli nodded slowly. “I’ll stay.” He held up a finger. “Only for a little bit.”

Fuck. Yes.

Eli stayed for more than just a little bit.