Chapter 8 RULE #7 Don’t catch feelings.
Chapter eight
ROMAN
So, this is what heaven feels like. I haven’t slept this good in years; I don’t even want to open my eyes.
The side of my face is smashed into a pillow, and my muscles feel relaxed.
I can breathe better. The room is warm and cozy.
I have a beautiful naked woman in my arms. She smells faintly of perfume and sex.
Fuck…the sex was amazing. We made love—no, we fucked—no, we did both.
Until maybe four this morning. It’s like I can’t get enough of her.
Even now, with her in my arms, I want her again. She turned me into a raging bull.
As I pull her into me, her back presses against my chest. I press my nose into her hair and inhale the sweet vanilla fragrance.
There is a sound of rumbling outside. I choose to ignore it. The rumbling loudens. Noelle stirs in my arms.
“What’s that sound?” Her voice sounds gravelly and soft. Must be because of all that moaning last night.
“I don’t want to know. I just want to stay right here like this,” I reply.
The wool blanket shifts around my shoulders as I feel Noelle move in my arms.
“Good morning.”
Reluctantly, I groan while opening my eyes. “Morning.”
She smiles up at me, and I can’t help it; I move down to kiss her. Only this time, she pulls away.
“What’s wrong?” I ask.
“I don’t want you to smell my morning breath,” she says with her hand blocking her mouth.
I chuckle, moving her hand away. “Your morning breath has little effect on me. Your kisses, however…” I lean down and press my lips against hers, slipping my tongue between her lips, needing to get a taste of her.
I take her hand and press it to my growing erection. “Your kisses have an amazing effect on me.”
Her eyes trace my face, her fingers thread through my hair, and she pulls me down for another kiss.
Her body undulated against mine. It doesn’t take me long to climb on top of her.
Her legs open wide, welcoming me in. I grind my hips, pressing my length hard against her.
I can feel how wet she is. Her hand pulls at my hair, and I pull back.
“Put it in, please. I want it now,” she whispers. I sit up, lifting her leg to my shoulder and lining myself up to enter her.
“They have to be in here.” I hear someone say in the background.
Noelle pulls me down for another kiss, but I can hear someone outside. Just as I was about to say something, I feel Noelle’s fingers wrap around my cock and slide me inside of her. Everything around me goes quiet.
I hold her leg to my chest and kiss her calf. “You’re fucking mine.”
My hips thrust forward, and Noelle arches off the bed. “Fuck me, please.”
“My fucking goodness, Tessa, just go inside.” I hear a voice that sounds distinctively like Tillie. Just as I pull out, Tessa comes through the door, and she screams.
I cover Noelle and half my body. “Get the fuck out!” I shout.
“Oh my God.” Noelle hides deeper into the sheet.
Tessa is standing there, screaming like she was in a horror flick. Her hands clawing at the side of her face.
Tillie pokes her head in. “Tessa, why are you screaming? They are just fucking.”
Tessa looks at Tillie, hiccupping and in tears as she dashes out of the room.
Tillie walks into the room, looking at the table, and takes off her black gloves. “What’s up with all the sardines?”
She sits on the chair and looks at Noelle and me like we are not naked.
“Tillie, what the fuck?” I ask.
Tillie frowns. “No, no, no, you should be like, ‘Tillie, thank you for the rescue. You are the best cousin ever. You saved us.’” She pushes her sunglasses over her head.
“Are they in there?”
I groan when I hear Ollie’s voice.
“Yup, and ungrateful as ever,” Tillie replies as Ollie walks through the door in a white camo ski jacket and pants. He pushes his goggles down to his neck.
“Great, they are alive.” Ollie looks at Tillie and then the table. “Is that sardine in tomato sauce? I love those.”
He hustles to the table and begins his inspection.
I look at the twins in wonder. “Tillie, Ollie, get the fuck out.”
“We’ve got a team with an excavator for you. He is not grateful at all. You’re right,” Ollie says to Tillie as he pockets two tins of sardines.
Tillie shrugs. “I’m telling you.”
I close my eyes and inhale, trying not to get angry. Noelle softly chuckling breaks my anger.
“You find this funny?” I ask.
Still slightly hidden under the sheet, she says, “Yes, I do.”
“Morning, Elle,” Ollie says as he is about to step closer to the bed.
“I will kill you if you make one step closer, Ollie.” I grunt.
Ollie stops mid-step and smiles. He raises his hand in surrender and steps back.
“I’m heading out,” Ollie says as he taps his twin’s shoulder.
Tillie stomps her feet. “Fine.” She stands and dusts her pants leg. “Just so you know, the whole family is outside waiting. Also, they now know while they were worrying, you two were fucking.”
Noelle rolls and groans into the pillow.
“Bye, see you both in a bit.” Tillie skips out of the room and shouts. “They need time to change; both of them are still naked.”
I chuckle because I know Noelle is dying in shame.
“Come, princess. Let’s get dressed,” I say and roll out of bed. I peep through the window, and Tillie was correct; my parents, Liam, and Tessa were all outside.
NOELLE
After our “rescue,” we made it back to the lodge in record time. We then spent two more hours driving back to the house. All the while, I feel so cherished…and loved. Loved? Can a person fall in love after a week and some days? Jesus, what the hell is wrong with me?
Maybe I should just enjoy Roman till the end. I shouldn’t put a label on whatever this is. It would only make things painful in the end.
The house is quiet as everyone is off doing their own thing. I decide to sit in the family room and read a book by E.L. Howard called Anything for You.
“Hey, I was looking for you.” Roman comes into the room.
“Me?” I lean my head back, and as if we have been doing this for years, he bends and kisses my lips.
“What are you doing?” Roman asks as he pushes up his glasses.
“Reading. You?”
Roman looks around the room. “I was coming to whisk you away to our bedroom to—”
“Roman, your dad is looking for you. I think he wants to talk about Liam’s stag party.” Ollie comes into the room. Roman presses his palm into his eye.
“How about after you are finished with your dad, you find me?” I take his hand, look up, and wink.
“Okay.” He bends and kisses me again and runs off with Ollie.
I bite my lip as I watch his perfect butt move away.
“Wipe your drool, sister.”
I turn just in time to see Tillie sitting on an armchair opposite mine.
“I am not drooling,” I reply as I wipe the side of my mouth…just in case I was.
Tillie pulls her ponytail, as is the norm. Even in a relaxed state, she is neat as a pin.
“You’re right, you’re not drooling. You’re just in love.”
My heart skips a beat.
I bend my head, trying to hide my blush. “Love? Tillie, it’s been a week and some days. Plus, you know about us, so…this is not love.”
Tillie folds her arms over her chest. “Every love story has to have a beginning, and this is your beginning.”
I shake my head. “I will not feed into the delusion. I think we enjoy each other’s company.”
Tillie stands. “Call it what you like. I saw you guys today in your full glory, and that look in Rom’s eyes? That was love.”
“No, it was shock,” I cackle.
Tillie stops by my chair. “All I am saying is that if you both decide to stay together, it wouldn’t be a bad thing.”
“Thank you for telling me.”
Tillie raises her eyebrows. “Don’t thank me yet; you will be joining this crazy family. Anyway, going to have some tea. Later.”
“Later,” I reply. Love? I don’t want to lean into the idea, but it’s tempting. To be loved and cherished by Roman Voss would be amazing.
ROMAN
The meeting in my dad’s office took about an hour and a half.
We decide on a bar downtown. Liam came in and changed the plans.
He doesn’t want a stag party; he wants to relax with the family tonight at home.
I couldn’t be happier. I wasn’t in the mood for a bar and noisy people.
My family around me and my girl on my lap sounds like perfection to me. My girl?
After spending time with Noelle, I realize her chaos keeps me on my toes.
She’s honest, intelligent, open, and gorgeous.
I know it’s just been a week and some days, but I don’t know.
That’s why I am on my laptop looking over the contract between Prestige Partners and me.
I like following the rules, but I need to know what the procedure is when you fall in love with a companion.
Shit, wait a minute. Love? Am I in love?
After a week? Is it love or infatuation? How do I even know if it is love?
I don’t hear the knock on the door or see the person walking into the room.
“Hey, can I bother you for a bit?”
I lift my eyes to see Tessa closing the door behind her. I wait for the skip in my heart, the nervous tick. Nothing. I feel nothing. What is she doing here?
“How can I help?” I ask. I stand and walk around my desk. She sits in the leather armchair.
Tessa was my dream years ago. I look at her sitting in the chair, her rich brown hair, slim body. She is beautiful. I wanted to have children with her. Until one day, I found a text of her talking to another man. Boy, I was gutted at the thought that I wasn’t enough for her.
Three years after, I dated but never found anyone to fill the void that she left in my heart. Until Noelle.
She pushes her hand behind her ear, and for the first time, I look at the ring my brother got her. It was a big shiny rock. Exactly what I expected Liam to get her.
“I came because…” She pauses. “Remember when we were kids and we got locked in your grandfather’s closet?”
I nod and chuckle, remembering the hide-and-seek game that went wrong. “We were stuck in there for hours.”