Chapter 4
4
KILLIAN
I was glad I went down for breakfast after Eli strongly suggested I meet the family downstairs. I learned more about Noelle during my meal than I did when I asked her point-blank questions.
She made donuts. I remembered her loving sweets and making them for the ski team. But I didn't know that she'd turned that into a business. I packed up a box of donuts and asked Oliver to help me back to my room.
Noelle had disappeared into the kitchen, and I wanted to take pain meds and a shower before I saw her again.
In my condo, Joey ran inside ahead of us, racing around the place, probably looking to see if there were any toys for him to play with. There weren't.
Oliver set the box on the counter. "Carolina is waiting for us downstairs."
"Don't let me keep you," I grumbled as I fell to the sofa and carefully placed the crutches to my right. My knee was throbbing.
Oliver must have noticed, because he grabbed a water bottle and the pain pills, placing them on the coffee table in front of me.
"Thanks," I said as I twisted open the cap, grabbed pills, and washed them down with water. I leaned back and closed my eyes, hoping the pain would dissipate.
Oliver lowered his voice. "You're not being an ass to Noelle, are you?"
I laughed despite the pain coursing through my leg. "Why did you say that?"
"You're grouchy."
"I'm in pain." I gritted my teeth, wondering when the pills would kick in.
Oliver sat on the chair across from me, his elbows resting on his knees. "We're sympathetic to that, but we're protective of Noelle."
I opened my eyes. "If you're so concerned, why would you ask her to babysit me?"
He raised a brow. "She's your assistant. Not your sitter."
"Sure feels like a babysitter." I'd never admit to my brothers that I was starting to enjoy having her around. I had a reputation to uphold.
"We've always taken care of Noelle's family. If you alienate her, we can't help her mother and siblings."
That had me sitting up. "Why would you need to help Noelle and her family?"
"Around the time you left, her mother hurt her back and couldn't work here as a maid anymore. Mom and Dad offered her a position as a supervisor, but she didn't think it was right. She was too proud to admit she needed help. They finally convinced her to take a consulting role, but I suspect she underreports the time she spends working. I have no way of proving that, of course."
I scrubbed a hand over my face. This complicated matters. "You think the Richards need the money?"
Oliver nodded. "Noelle has two younger siblings, and her mother can't work."
I raised a brow. "And you think Noelle's supporting them?"
Oliver gave me a curt nod. "I think that's why she works so hard."
That was commendable. I wondered if that was why she turned down the college scholarship so many years ago. At the time, I couldn't understand why. But I quickly became preoccupied with my school and training.
"Is that why you want to sell her donuts? To help her and her family?" I asked him, needing to understand their dynamic.
"Her donuts are amazing. One of a kind. And Cal's an asshole. He'll undercut her at some point if he hasn't already. We'd love it if the resort sold them exclusively. It would bring more people in and, at the same time, stick it to Cal."
"I had no idea."
"How could you? You haven't been here long enough to know what's going on," Oliver said without any censure in his tone.
For the first time since my injury, I was grateful to be here. To get to know my brothers better and to see how the resort was run. It was always expected I'd return after I retired and continue my family's legacy.
Oliver carefully unfolded a white piece of paper from his pocket. He smoothed it out on the coffee table in front of me. "I almost forgot. Joey made you this."
It was a crayon rendering of a man with his foot propped on a chair surrounded by more stick figures.
"It's supposed to be you surrounded by our family."
"It's great," I said, grateful my voice hadn't cracked from the emotion I felt that I was included in Joey's drawing. I hadn't felt a part of this family in a long time. It was nice to see I had some impact on Joey when I rarely saw him. I should ask him to hang it on the fridge, but I wanted it to be somewhere I could look at it any time. For now, that was the coffee table. I spent most of my time here, mindlessly scrolling through channels, looking for something to watch.
Joey finally ran into the room. "You don't have any toys."
I grinned. "Should I ask Miss Noelle to get you some for when you visit?"
Joey's eyes widened. "Yes." He thought about it for a few seconds. "Can you ask her to get lots of toys and crayons and paper?"
Oliver placed a hand on his shoulder. "You'll be grateful for whatever Noelle gets you, okay?"
I didn't have much for Noelle to do around here, so it was an excuse to keep her busy. My schedule was filled with PT and doctor's appointments. I didn't have any publicity or training. "You know, I don't need Noelle, right?"
Oliver gave me a look. "Did you hear anything I had to say about her?"
She was struggling. She needed the money.
"This is a way for her to test her newest business venture."
The Wildes had always helped Noelle's family. I wouldn't stop now. "But I don't need someone watching over me."
"Riley said you were under strict instructions to take it easy and follow doctor's orders. Who else is going to confirm that happens?"
"You?"
"I have Joey and Carolina. Eli has Scarlett. Xander has Tori. You keep forgetting this is about helping Noelle more than it is about you."
That felt like a carefully crafted manipulation. I was still working that out in my head when there was a knock on the door.
Oliver's face lit up. "That's probably her now."
I waved a hand toward the door, and Joey rushed to open it.
Noelle gazed down at Joey. "Joey, I didn't know you were here."
Joey bounced on his toes. "Uncle Kill said that you were buying me toys!"
Noelle's amused expression lifted to meet mine. "Am I now?"
Joey nodded eagerly. "There're no toys for me to play with here."
She ruffled his hair. "We can't have that, now can we?"
Joey nodded again. "I need Legos, drawing stuff?—"
Oliver guided him toward the door. "Whatever you can get will be fine. Something small." Then he called over to me, "You behave."
"I'm not a dog." Or a little brother, for that matter. I was used to people around me treating me like the adult I was. "I don't need supervision."
"Apparently, you do," Oliver said as he opened the door to leave.
Joey ran over to me, and I leaned over to give him a hug.
"I hope you feel better."
"Thanks, bud," I said to his retreating back.
Oliver waved, and then they were gone.
I was sick of being stuck in this condo, resting on the couch. I needed to do something. "I need to take a shower."
Noelle's eyes widened as she approached. "Do you need my help with that?"
"You're not a nurse."
"No," she said dragging out the word. "But I'm supposed to be at your beck and call."
I grabbed the crutches and stood without any assistance. Sweat beaded on my forehead from the effort. "I'll holler if I need anything."
"Do you need me to pick anything up for Joey?" Noelle asked as I turned on the crutches, heading in the direction of my room.
"He wants something to color with, probably white paper and crayons. Maybe a few building toys or trucks. Nothing fancy."
"Do you want me to order them online and have them delivered, or would you prefer to shop at a local toy store?"
It would be easier to have it delivered, but then it wouldn't arrive for a few days. The toy store would give me an errand to run with Noelle. "Wait for me. I'll go with you to the store."
I turned in time to catch her frown. "I thought this was my job. To get the things you need. It's not necessary for you to accompany me."
"I'm getting cabin fever stuck here at the lodge. I need to get out. We can go to my PT appointment, the store, and maybe even grab lunch."
"Are you sure that's not too much?"
"Noelle, you're working for me. I'll let you know when something is too much."
Her face flushed. I wondered if she was more used to working for herself than anyone else. I was used to giving the orders, not the other way around. And right now, I needed to get my way and get out of this condo. I was starting to lose my mind.
She waved a hand. "You're right. I'm sorry."
"No need to apologize. We're both getting used to this arrangement."
Her gaze lowered to the bottle of water on the table. "Did you take your pills?"
I nodded. "They just kicked in so I'd better hurry."
"Would you like me to tidy up while I'm here?"
I had a feeling tidying up wasn't in a personal assistant's job description. I'd always had separate house keepers, and we had them here at the lodge. But I'd told them not to do my room. I'd wanted the privacy. I didn't want to feel like I was living in a hotel. But there was something about Noelle touching my sheets. "Can you make my bed? It's too hard on crutches."
"Of course." She followed me into the bedroom where the blankets were crumpled and my clothes littered the floor. It was hard to bend over and grab things.
I tipped my head toward the open bathroom doorway. "I'll be in there."
Noelle smiled. "I'll be here."
I couldn't tell if she was irritated by my suggestion, but I knew I'd enjoy the thought of her moving around my room while I was in the shower.
I left the door slightly ajar so that I could call out to her if I had any issues. I'd had several slips in the shower recently, and they made me nervous. I didn't want to reinjure myself. I wasn't ready for my career to be over.
I'd worn a T-shirt and sweats to make getting dress and undressed as easy as possible. I threw my clothes on the floor, then turned on the water. I was naked with the door ajar a few feet away. Would Noelle peek inside?
I liked the idea of her wondering about me being naked a few feet away from her. When the water heated, I stepped carefully into the shower, holding onto the walls for support.
I rested most of my weight on my good leg as I quickly soaped up, then washed my hair.
"You want me to fold your clothes? It looks like someone from room service washed them but didn't put them away." Her voice sounded close, as if she'd ducked her head into the doorway.
She wouldn't do that, would she? "You don't have to?—"
"If it would make things easier on you. I don't mind."
"That would be great." My cock was hard. I liked the idea of her walking in here and seeing me naked. But I was in no condition to be thinking about anything sexual with a woman. I was more likely to injure myself than to pleasure anyone.
The idea of Noelle falling to her knees in front of me and asking if she could help me with my aching dick only had me growing harder. I couldn't take care of it because the door was open between us. If I groaned, she might think something was wrong and check on me.
I willed my dick to go down, but my mind kept coming back to the image of her lips stretched around my cock. Would she let me take control, fucking her face, or would she prefer to tease me?
This wasn't working.
"Are you okay in there?" Noelle finally called out to me.
"Yes." I was pleased my voice didn't sound strained. I finally turned off the water, opened the glass door, and reached for a towel. I reached for the rack, and I cried out. I stumbled against the wall, naked, wet, and in searing pain. I'd tried to put weight on my bad knee.
Before I knew it, Noelle was standing in front of me, her gaze running over every inch of naked skin. "Are you okay?"
"I tweaked my knee." My voice was strained.
Noelle frowned. "You're naked."
"I was in the shower." What did she expect? "Can you help me grab a towel?"
The only available towels were behind me. "Sure."
Her hand rested on my shoulder as she guided me away from the wall. My dick bobbed between us. He wanted her attention, and he was about to get it.
She finally pulled the towel off the rack, and her eyes drifted downward. "Oh." Her cheeks reddened, and she backed away from me. "If you don't need any more assistance."
I wanted her to scrub me down and take me in her mouth, but she'd left the room. I wanted so many things, but I was stuck here dripping wet in the bathroom with a bum knee, and I couldn't run after her.
I was bored, and Noelle was here. It didn't have to mean anything. But I wouldn't disrespect her like that.
I balanced myself on one knee while I tried to dry off as best I could. I pulled on the same clothes without underwear. I wasn't sure if Noelle was still in my bedroom, and I didn't want to walk out of the bathroom naked even though she'd probably already seen everything there was to see.
Would it be awkward now that she'd seen me hard for her? Or would she assume it was just a normal bodily reaction to being naked around any woman. That would be a mistake on her part, because I'd never reacted to Riley being in my apartment when I showered. I couldn't have cared less what she was doing or how she would look on her knees.
Just the thought turned my stomach. My relationship with Riley was purely professional. But Noelle was different, and I couldn't put my finger on why that was.
By the time I made it to the bedroom, the bed was made, and my clothes were gone. Everything had been put away, and Noelle wasn't here. I dropped onto the bed, sweating from the exertion.
Noelle came to the doorway. "Do you need more pain pills?"
"Can you get me the other kind? I can stagger them." I was just taking over-the-counter meds as needed. It wasn't as good as the prescription stuff, but I didn't want to feel tired or loopy. We had errands to run.
She returned with a glass of water and pills. "Are you okay?"
I nodded as I shakily grabbed the glass and downed the pills. "I twisted it slightly. It happens."
Noelle frowned. "I'm supposed to be keeping an eye on you."
I raised a brow. "In the shower?"
Her cheeks flushed, and I enjoyed that a bit too much. "Well, no. But still. If you've reinjured yourself?—"
"It's not your fault."
She chewed her lip. "If you say so. Do you want to take a nap? I can reschedule your appointment."
"No. I want to go." The words came out harsher than I intended, when I just wanted to spend more time with her.
"Okay." Noelle's gaze traveled over my body, as if she was cataloging any areas of concern. "We'll see how it goes."
I rubbed my knee. "Joey needs toys."
Her gaze tracked my movement, then lifted to meet mine. "He's important to you."
I nodded. "He's my only nephew."
A crease appeared between her brows. "You're good with him."
"I don't know about that. I barely know him." It didn't bother me until now. I thought my agent, Jeremy, sending me home was a prison sentence, but now I wanted to spend more time with my family. I'd missed out on a lot, especially when it came to Joey and Dakota’s life. It also gave me a chance to reconnect with Noelle. How we left things never sat right with me. We were friends, and then after that kiss, I never spoke to her again. I was busy, but I wondered about her and how she was doing. Especially when I learned she wasn't attending school.
"I saw the picture he drew for you on the coffee table. He obviously adores you."
I chuckled. "I'm not sure how that's possible. I'm the absentee uncle. The one who never spends any time with him."
"Mmm. But you're also a famous snowboarder. He's heard the stories, seen the magazine covers. You're a hero to him."
I wasn't sure how I felt about that. I used to get satisfaction from being on magazine covers and splashed across TV screens. But now, it didn't hold the same appeal. I worked and trained so hard and for what? A few medals? Accolades?
Women who wanted to say they slept with me? I'd never seen a woman react so honestly to something as Noelle had to seeing my dick in the bathroom. It was real. Something I didn't see enough of anymore. Her genuineness was intriguing.
She glanced at her phone. "We'd better get going. We don't want to be late."