Chapter 22
HOPPER
I chased an exhausted Noel from the kitchen after the dinner party wound down.
“I’ll load another round of dishes. You go get a shower. Crawl into bed. You’ve earned it.”
Maggie and Ed had already gone up to their room, and Noel had done a decent job of cleaning as he went. Everything else could keep until morning.
I hummed to myself while I scraped and rinsed, giving in to Cinnamon’s begging eyes and giving her small bites of leftovers.
Then we both headed upstairs. Cinnamon circled twice, then plopped into the dog bed right outside Ed’s door. She used to sleep by the back door—too much working farm dog in her to be pampered like most pets—but ever since Ed’s heart scare, she’d stayed closer, guarding Ed instead of the door.
It was sweet, if a little sad.
I carried on down the hallway, bypassing Noel’s room, trusting that he’d be in mine. We’d given up on pretending we didn’t want each other every night.
How ironic that I gave up his room to him only for him to move into mine.
I let myself in and stripped down in the dark. The rustle of bedcovers confirmed Noel was right where I wanted him.
I slid between the sheets, pressing up against his hot, smooth skin. “Hey.” I nosed along his neck. “You were amazing tonight.”
“Aren’t you supposed to say that after the sex?”
I chuckled. “Who says we’re going to have sex?”
Noel twisted to look at me over his shoulder. “There’s no need to be mean.”
I kissed the tip of his nose. “You worked all night. If you’re tired, it’s okay with—”
He cut me off with a kiss. “Tonight was nothing. I’ve got stamina for days.”
“Oh? Tell me more.”
Noel turned to face me and braced himself up on one elbow. “I wish I could keep you in bed till Christmas. You have no idea how much I want.”
I met his gaze, heart thumping, wishing like hell that his words meant what I wanted them to mean.
“Me too,” I whispered.
Noel covered my mouth with his, kissing me gently but thoroughly. His tongue slipped along my bottom lip.
Our limbs tangled as we moved together. I pressed my lips under his jaw, and he grabbed a fistful of my hair, making me growl softly against his skin.
“Where do you want me?” I asked.
“Right here.” He urged me down, and I happily traversed the landscape of his collarbones. My lips lingered over his heart, telling him with my body what I was too afraid to voice out loud.
His fingers loosened in my hair, stroking softly, perhaps replying the only way he knew how.
“Don’t stop now,” he murmured.
“Never.” I kissed down the center of his stomach, circling his navel and swerving toward his left hip before tracing my lips along the crease of his groin.
I tested him, waiting for Noel to take charge of me. He didn’t disappoint. He grabbed my jaw in one hand, holding me in place while he fed his cock between my lips.
“Show me how good you can be,” he urged quietly.
I loosened my jaw, flicking my tongue up and down his shaft. I backed up, bathing his cockhead, teasing him with the pleasure just out of reach.
“Take it,” Noel ordered, bucking his hips.
His cock pushed deep, hitting the back of my tongue. I nearly gagged but forced myself to relax and swallow.
He groaned. “Just like that.”
I grasped his thighs tightly enough to bruise but gave him control of my mouth, my throat, my air.
Noel would take care of me.
He slid over my tongue, blocking my airway for precious seconds, before drawing back. “Your mouth is so good. Love feeling your beard between my thighs.”
I shuddered, lust rising as our eyes met.
“Touch yourself,” he said. “Come with me.”
I fumbled a hand beneath me, groaning as he pumped into my mouth, and I matched his pace. His grip tightened on my hair once again, jerking me forward and back, controlling our speed.
I closed my eyes, pleasure sweeping through me. “Yes,” Noel was saying, “Come with me, Hopper. So hot like this.”
Noel came first, cock pulsing on my tongue. He muffled his cry with a fist, body quivering, and that was the end for me.
I fell into my climax, throat convulsing around Noel’s twitching cock, my fist growing slick with my release.
I let him slip from my mouth, dropping my head onto his thigh and gasping for breath.
“So good,” he said, voice slurred with exhaustion. “You’re too good for me.”
“Never,” I said, heart kicking. I raised my head, the words on my tongue.
I had to tell him. I couldn’t let him leave without knowing.
“Noel…”
A soft breath was my only response.
“Noel?”
“Hm?”
I looked at his face, slack with near sleep, and faltered. “I’ll get something to clean up. Back in a minute.”
He mumbled something indecipherable and rolled onto his side, nearly kneeing me in the head.
So much for stamina. But he’d worked so hard today. All week. Ever since he’d arrived, really. He’d earned some rest.
I snuck into the bathroom across the hall and washed up and brushed my teeth. Most of Noel’s mess went down my throat, but I brought a damp cloth back to the room and swiped between his legs. He barely stirred.
I tossed the cloth onto the bedside table and pulled the comforter over him, then climbed in and curled around his body.
I would tell him when we woke. First thing. Before anything else could get in the way.
I breathed in his scent and wrapped my arms around him. Tomorrow, for better or worse, Noel Grisold would know…
I loved him.
I woke to high-pitched singing. What the fuck?
I grumbled under my breath and flopped onto my back, trying to will the noise away.
The trilling notes grew to a crescendo, making me wince and burrow under the pillows. But it just wouldn’t quit.
I reached for the bedside table, fumbling around, catching the edge of a phone and sending it hurtling under the bed.
Damn it.
It continued to play a high-pitched chipmunk version of “Jingle Bell Rock,” and I wanted to kill the damn thing.
The sleep fog cleared enough for me to realize it was Noel’s phone. I rolled over to tell him, but his side of the bed was empty.
He must have gone back to his room and forgotten the phone. We were still sneaking around so his parents wouldn’t ask questions we couldn’t answer.
The awful Christmas ring stopped. But then the phone started buzzing and rattling against the frame of the bed.
“Yeah, yeah,” I said. “Time to get up. Big things to do today.”
Like tell Noel you love him.
My heart lurched. Damn. That was top of the agenda, wasn’t it?
Buzz rattle buzz.
But first, I had to get his phone out from under the bed. His very annoying, insistent phone.
It occurred to me it could be important, such an early morning call. Like a job offer in Chicago, my traitorous mind whispered. Or Kevin telling him his party was such a success that half the town wanted to make reservations, and Noel would be so thrilled he’d never want to leave.
Wishful thinking? Yes. Absolutely. Wishful thinking was the name of the game today, or else I’d never get the guts to tell Noel all the things that needed to be said.
Things like, I love you.
Things like, I know it’s unfair to ask, but I can’t let you leave without trying to get you to stay. For me. Because I’m a selfish asshole, but I want to be your selfish asshole.
Things like, Please, Noel. I’ll work every day to deserve you.
But before all that, I had to deal with this phone. I threw back the blankets and got down on my knees beside the bed. The door behind me opened just as I picked it up, a text message flashing on the screen.
Griff:
Got a lead on a B&B chain looking for Christmas tree farms to purchase. I thought of our conversation last week.
A name and number followed, along with one last message.
You’ll need to act fast. These guys are aggressive buyers, and if you don’t, they’ll move on to another farm for sale.
My stomach cramped. Who was Griff? Why was he talking to Noel about buyers?
“Well, this is a familiar sight,” Noel said lightly from behind me. The scent of coffee wafted in with him. “I hope you’re not looking for that box of toys again, or I really haven’t been doing my job.”
My throat tightened, and I half turned. “Your phone went off. Fell under the bed. You’ve got new messages.”
“Oh, sorry. Did it wake you? I was hoping to bring you coffee in bed and repay the favor you did me last night.”
My mind raced, barely able to process his words.
This Griff was helping Noel find buyers for the tree farm. Did his parents know? Was I purposely kept out of the loop, or—
No. Ed would never agree, not until he was incapable of walking, at least.
“Was this your plan all along?” I asked.
Noel came over and put the coffee down on the end table. “To keep you in bed for as long as possible? Hell yeah.”
He bent to kiss me, and I dodged him and scrambled to my feet. “I knew you might not stay, but damn, Noel, I thought you cared about me. I thought you—”
My voice broke, and I suddenly felt far too naked. I set the phone on the bedside table and crossed to the dresser to pull out underwear.
“I do care, Hopper,” Noel said, sounding bewildered.
He was a good actor. Had to give him that.
I pulled on my boxer briefs and snatched up jeans and a shirt from the floor.
“I care so much,” Noel continued. “I don’t understand what’s happening right now. Why are you upset?”
I pointed at the phone. “Read your fucking messages. You’ve got a lead on a buyer for the farm. Congrats.”
I couldn’t bear to stay while Noel read those messages and saw that all his problems were solved.
He could sell the farm, give his parents a comfy retirement nest egg, and leave me far behind.
So, I walked out.