Page 2

NOELLE

T his feels like one of those weird dreams where you stand naked in the middle of a busy street. And then you wonder why you’re naked, how you got here, and which you should cover first—your face or your private parts.

The small LEGO is still sticking at the bottom of my foot, the dildo my best friend and roommate—whom I will kill later—added in the luggage, and my ass in full view. That would have been fine. I don’t have any issues parading naked since I’m confident in my own body.

But…

It’s not just in front of anyone. It’s Adrian. The hottest guy I’ve ever seen. The guy I’ve had a crush on since I was a kid. The subject of all my teenage fantasies. The standard by which every other boy was held. The one I wanted to marry.

It’s been years since I last laid eyes on my brother’s best friend, years since I forced myself to get over the stupid, girlish crush I had on him, years since I was broken-hearted after he got another woman pregnant.

I thought I had grown out of it, moved past the flustered nerves and wide-eyed admiration.

But now, standing here, facing him, and talking to him again?

Yeah. No.

I am still that girl, apparently.

He was always big, always strong, but now?

Now he’s built like a damn door, broad shoulders stretching the fabric of his white shirt, arms thick with muscle.

His black hair is cropped short, but it suits him, drawing attention to the sharp cut of his jaw, to the well-trimmed beard framing his mouth.

I cast him a panicked glance over my shoulder. He turns around but not before his deep brown eyes lingered on me, and wait a damn minute … is that a tent in his pants?

No. No way.

That’s not possible. Adrian used to treat me like I was nothing more than an annoying sibling, but he was always kind.

He had a smile ready for me, and since he knew I liked sweet things, he would bring me a cupcake or something he picked up from the local bakery.

Not to mention, he would help me with my homework when my own brother would just scoff at me.

And yet, there’s no mistaking the brief darkening of his gaze. He walks out without a word, and I’m left in my new bedroom, shame churning in my gut. Shame and something else pooling low in my belly, something warm and pulsing.

It’s my first day, and I’m already messing it up. After everything that happened in the past few weeks, this is the last thing I need.

I miss my old school, my colleagues, my students.

But the job took too much of me. I was running on empty.

One day bled into the next, and I just woke up and realized I was simply going through the motions.

I still loved to teach and help my students, but each time I was called to the principal’s office for not following one of their random, unrealistic rules meant to add unnecessary strain and burden to the teachers, I went home drained. Exhausted.

I love teaching. I love watching their faces light up when something finally clicks, love the chaos of a classroom buzzing with laughter and chatter. But the rules? The endless paperwork? The useless meetings that could’ve been emails? They drain the life out of it.

My students were the only ones who kept me there, but one day, it was no longer enough reason.

So I packed my bags, quit, and went back to our small town. I needed a change of pace, a change of environment, and I wanted to recharge before applying to another school. Somewhere along the way, I lost the spark, and I needed to find the passion to teach again.

That’s how I found myself in Adrian’s house after Peter called me to ask if I wanted an easy job that paid well while I stayed here.

My brother knew it would be a week tops before I got bored and restless and started looking for something to occupy my time.

Besides, I had nothing else to do, and I had enough experience in babysitting.

The big bonus? Accommodations and meals are free too. Apparently, Adrian has his hands full with several big projects. Most days, he comes home late, so he needs someone to look after Tomtom—I mean Thomas—the whole day.

The surprise on his face earlier, however, made me wonder if Peter didn’t mention I was his babysitter.

It would be just like Peter to pull a joke like that on Adrian.

He probably thought it would be funny. Or maybe Adrian was surprised I looked so different from the last time he saw me.

Either way, it was wonderful to knock him off his feet for once.

God knows he’s done that to me too many times already.

Well, there’s nothing funny about my current situation. Less than three hours and Adrian’s already seen me naked. Not front naked, sure, but naked nonetheless. I’m going to have to make up for it. But first, I need to delete that image of his face darkening and his pants tightening.

Based on what Peter has told me, Adrian hasn’t had anyone special in so long, which is understandable. Between Thomas and his business, he probably hardly had time for himself, let alone date. Maybe it’s been a while since he’s seen a naked woman in the flesh. Too bad that woman happens to be me.

There’s no way Adrian will ever look at me like that. That was just a one-time thing. It could have been any woman, and he would have reacted the same way.

After changing into a pair of pajamas—flannel pants and long sleeves for good measure—I gingerly walk downstairs and stand behind the sofa. Adrian is sitting with a beer bottle perched on his lap, his eyes trained on the television.

HGTV. Huh. That makes sense since he builds homes for a living. But I never would have guessed he enjoyed reality TV.

Wringing my hands together, I clear my throat. “Adrian? Listen. I’m sorry?—”

He twists at the waist to face me, his forehead furrowed.

“No, Noelle. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have barged into your room like that.

I thought something happened, and you were injured or something.

” Adrian purses his lips. “Not that it’s a valid reason, but I’m sorry.

I acted on instinct because that’s what I usually do when I hear Tomtom yelp. ”

Warmth spreads on my cheeks, and while I’ve been looking forward to this job and living under the same roof as my longtime crush, I don’t want him to feel weird in his own house. “Did I just make things uncomfortable for you? I can totally just leave and?—”

“No!” He stands abruptly, the bottle dropping to the carpeted floor with a thud. “You’re staying … well, unless you don’t want to anymore.”

The intensity of his response shocks me.

When he stands to his full height while I’m barefoot, I have to tip my head back to look him in the eye.

He was always handsome to me when I was a teenager, but from the eyes of a grown woman, Adrian is a walking daydream.

Unlike before, he’s now rough around the edges, but that only adds to his allure.

The more I look at him, the more I feel tendrils of warmth weaving through my legs up, up, up to the apex between my thighs. My God, he’s only become hotter, and I’m supposed to live with him and pretend he doesn’t affect me the way he does.

My body throbs with raw need as his gaze drops very briefly to my chest. For the record, I did not plan to seduce him. It’s just that I don’t wear a bra ever. Outside, I wear pasties, but once I’m inside my house, I don’t bother. I like to set the girls free, and bras are suffocating to me.

Unfortunately, that’s where Adrian zeroes in, and he sucks in a sharp breath, pinching the bridge of his nose. He lifts his gaze to the ceiling and scrubs his face furiously.

That’s when I notice, for the second time tonight, the tent in his pants. So I guess I wasn’t imagining it earlier, huh? He sees me watching his crotch but doesn’t move to cover it.

“I-I’m sorry, Noelle. It’s been a while.” His voice is low, with something that sounds like … sadness?

I still don’t take my eyes off the tent. “How long?”

He spins on his heel. His back is to me, and I can’t help but admire the thick muscles of his shoulders and arms stretching the fabric.

“Five years.”

Wait, what? “Five? You haven’t been with anyone for five years?”

He looks at me over his shoulder. “Being a full-time father and businessman kept me busy.”

I may be overstepping a bit, but the need to know overrides logic. Actually, his proximity makes me lose my mind. “Thomas’s mother?”

Adrian turns back to me and shrugs those broad shoulders. “She bailed out on him when he was eight weeks old.”

My heart breaks for both him and Thomas. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. It was the best thing she ever did.”

“Why?”

“She said she could never stay in one place.”

Even for her own child? Wow. “She doesn’t get in touch with you?”

“No.”

“And you never have…?”

His face reddens, and he looks away. “No. So I’m sorry. If you feel uncomfortable or unsafe around me, I understand.”

I’m shaking my head even before he finishes the sentence. “I don’t.”

“It’s fine, Noelle. Really. I’ll tell Peter I found someone else. You don’t have to be here if you don’t want to.”

I hear him just fine, but I tune him out because all I can focus right now is the way his pants mold around his cock. And what a big, lengthy cock that is. I pulse with need, my head foggy with desire. I don’t care about anything but the need to make him relieve the terrible, empty ache within me.

I need Adrian to see me as a woman worthy of his attention, affection, and more. I’m not that doe-eyed kid anymore. I’ve worked on myself so that one day, when we meet again, he’ll look at me differently.

Jutting my chin at his erection, I smirk. “Want me to take care of that?”