Chapter 32 Noah
Thirty Two
Noah
Ezra slams the glass bottle on the kitchen counter, takes a deep breath, and grabs a wine glass and a spoon.
Tapping the glass lightly, he grabs everyone’s attention. With the bubbling excitement on almost everyone’s face, it’s highly likely that literally everyone except for the woman of the day is aware of the impending marriage proposal.
“Here goes nothing,” he exhales on a nervous chuckle and zeroes in on Kaeli, who is now by his side, looking at him with confusion displayed across her face.
The people chuckle at his obvious distress, but he’s all in now and doesn’t pay attention to anyone except for the woman he loves.
Grabbing her left hand, he begins, “Kaeli, knowing you has been the honor of my life. Before meeting you, I’d been lonely, craving companionship, yet doing absolutely everything in my power to stay away at the barest hint of relationship, and you know why.”
An unsaid understanding passes between them, their eyes talking in a language only they understand, communicating their secrets in a room full of people.
Kaeli’s eyes line with tears, which is a rare sight to see as she squeezes Ezra’s hand, lending him silent support.
He clears his throat and continues, “When you literally collided into me all those years ago…” Kaeli cocks an unimpressed eyebrow at his statement, and he emits a throaty chuckle. “Fine, I collided into you and ruined your shirt and almost cost you your job. Happy?” He rolls his eyes at her.
“Very,” she says, all too pleased that she got him to admit it.
I roll my eyes at them and their banter—their version of foreplay.
“That day, I felt alive for the first time again, Feather,” he confesses, his eyes shining with sincerity.
My eyes instantly find Andie as she stands beside Roman, and I surprise myself when my heart skips a beat, finding her eyes already on me. Ezra’s words made me think back to the first time he introduced us to his sister all those years ago.
That was the day when I first realized there was still some beauty in this world. Years and years and years of suffering and darkness had tunneled my vision.
“And all while we fought and argued with each other, seeming like we hated each other, I was hating myself for wanting you when I couldn’t have you,” Ezra’s words cut through the haze in my mind.
“Well, you got the team policy changed to be with me, didn’t you, darling?” Kaeli marvels at the lengths the man has gone for her.
Ezra releases a string of soft chuckles, shaking his head.
“You didn’t leave me any choice, really,” he says with a shrug of his shoulders, causing the crowd to laugh along.
He heaves a long breath, his eyes staring right into hers.
“You beautiful, stunning, gorgeous, incredibly intelligent, stubborn woman, I’m so fucking glad I belong to you. ”
“Me too,” she whispers, her voice barely audible.
A cloud of darkness and loss falls over Ezra’s face. “When you were sh—” he clears his throat, his head falling between his shoulders. “When you were shot, and I thought I lost you,” he continues, looking back up again.
Even Roman loses himself to those memories and harsh days when his sister was kidnapped and shot by a psycho.
I will never forget the guttural wail Ezra emitted when Kaeli slumped to the ground, giving in to the gravity after being shot, blood gushing out of her body.
He looked so fucking broken. It was horrific, and I can’t imagine experiencing something like that.
“I wanted to die, Feather,” he chokes on a sob, catching himself. But Kaeli doesn’t have that luck as her tears flow uncontrolled, her brother rubbing her back in a show of silent support, or maybe feeling that she’s still standing, still alive.
Not a single pair of eyes is dry in the room. Not even mine, as I feel my gaze go cloudy. I look away for a second and wipe my eyes before tears fall. I’m surprised I still have tears left to cry.
When I look back at them, my eyes snag onto Andie, like a moth to a burning flame. Her eyes are red, emotional from her brother’s confession. I doubt mine looks any different. She gives me a watery smile and turns back to her brother when he continues.
“There’s no me without you, Kaeli. I only ever wanna be by your side, when we’re old and gray and can barely walk, I still want you to love me then.” Ezra clutches her hands like a lifeline, wiping away the tears with the pad of his thumb.
He drops to his knees and looks up at her like she’s her entire world. A gasp flows out of Kaeli’s mouth, her hands covering it, eyes widening in surprise. None of us is, though.
He pulls out a small box from his pocket and opens it for her, showcasing a brilliant ruby embedded in the ring.
“Can I marry you, Feather? Will you please let me marry you? I really want to be the man who gets to call you his, and more than that, I want to spend my entire life being known as Kaeli Reed’s husband, the woman who inspired a whole generation of women to chase their dreams no matter how far they seem. ”
I highly doubt there’s anyone who can say no to that. Hell, I’d say yes.
So, it’s no surprise when Kaeli vigorously nods. “Yes…yes…A MILLION TIMES YES!!” She accepts with a teary laugh.
“Thank fuck,” he exhales, his shoulder sagging in instant relief.
The room erupts with congratulations, laughter, and happiness for these two. Somewhere, Irsia snaps photos to preserve this moment. On the other corner of the room, a champagne bottle pops open. The confetti is bursting in the air, getting in places it’s going to be a bitch to take out.
Kaeli drops to her knees, accompanying him on the floor, as both of them kiss the hell out of each other. It’s teary, messy, and raw.
Somewhere between all the crying and the laughing and the kissing, the ring finds its way onto Kaeli’s finger.
Once they’re on their feet again, their siblings hug the crap out of them as everyone waits for their turn to congratulate them.
Ezra loops an arm around Kaeli’s waist and screams at the top of his lungs, hauling her to his chest, “She’s said yes! That’s my wife, motherfuckers!”
A rough chuckle escapes my lips at his enthusiasm, his face brighter than the first time we lifted the Stanley Cup together.
Andie quietly skitters to a corner and leaves the crowd of people as they huddle closer to Ezra and Kaeli. And like a dog, I follow her.
Stepping in behind her as she walks down the corridor, I grab her arm and haul her into a vacant room. Covering her startled gasp, I press her right next to the door, careful not to let the frame above the wall fall and give us away.
Her wide eyes soften, her lips forming a smile beneath my palm, when she sees it’s me. When she instantly relaxes into me, I swear I fucking melt. Because how the fuck this woman finds safety with me is beyond my comprehension.
I remove my hand and place both of mine beside her head on the wall, loving how she looks comfortable staring up at me. “I love our height difference. Love looking at you looking at me,” I whisper, tucking a rogue strand of hair behind her ear.
She heaves a sigh, resting her hands on my waist. “How do you do it?” she asks with a shake of her head, her expression genuinely curious, lips set in a cute pout.
“Do what?” My eyes flit between hers, thumb caressing the apple of her cheek, hating the tear stains. I don’t ever want to see tears in her eyes, except for when they’re in the bedroom.
“Say what I’m thinking,” she stomps, amusing me. “It’s like you can read my mind,” she huffs.
A deep chuckle vibrates in my chest as I rest my forehead against hers. I look right into her eyes. “Your eyes,” I murmur, gently swiping under them, “they tell me everything I need to know.”
Her lips lift in a soft smile, and I love that I put it there. “That’s very romantic of you.”
“You do that to me,” I say, shrugging. “Now, let me do what I’ve been dying to all night.”
Without giving her any time to respond, my lips descend on her soft ones. She exhales as if I breathed oxygen into her lungs.
Because that’s what she does to me.
She makes me want to wake up and leave my bed.
She moans low in her throat, rising on her toes as she pulls me into her, her hot tongue exploring my mouth.
A rumble slips past my lips and hope to fucking God that no one’s outside the door. I nip on her lower lip, wanting to eat that cherry chapstick of hers she always wears.
She lets out an audible gasp, and my hands wander and find her tits, massaging them, loving the weight of them in my hand.
“Stay quiet, Rainbow,” I rasp, my voice hoarse, “we don’t want your brother to find out just how wet I make you in their home now, do we?”
Andie whimpers, and I greedily swallow it, the kiss turning savage. Impatient, I find my hand going south, tracing the curves of her luscious body in its path. Her hands find purchase in my hair, her nails scratching the back of my skull.
“Please, Daddy. Please make me come,” she whispers, her breath ghosting over my ear as she bites the skin.
“Fuck, baby,” A groan vibrates in my chest as a shudder courses through me at the touch. I bend and hike her leg at my waist, desperate to find out if she’s wearing any underwear, and dip my fingers right into her sweet pussy. Desperate to fulfill her desire.
My cock presses into her hot cunt over her dress, ready to tear through my pants and slip right into it.
My hands travel up her thigh, pushing the dress up on its way. As I’m about to touch the forbidden, the door opens, and we freeze.
Our lips still attached to each other’s as I see Andie’s eyes flaring open, as horror and panic wash over her face. I instantly cover her leg and hide her body with mine, not caring if it’s her brother. No one will see Andie like this.
My blood roars at the thought.
The cockblock reveals itself. “Fuck…shit…I’m sorry,” Seb’s voice is laced with panic.
And when I turn to glare at him, my body still shielding Andie as she tremors in my arms, his eyes widen in distress as they fall on the woman in my arms. “I’ll…
I’ll go,” he stutters, banging the door shut on his way.
Once I’m sure he’s gone, I pull back and lock the door lest someone else barges in. We got lucky it wasn’t her brother. Next time, we might not be.
When I turn back to Andie, I find her pacing the bedroom, and with the condition in which it is, it’s most likely a guest bedroom.
“Oh my God, he saw us. PEANUT BUTTER SANDWICH, HE SAW US!” She starts panicking, scaring herself with the what-ifs. “Oh no! What if he tells somebody? What if he tells Ezra!? He’ll go ballistic!” Her wide eyes flare, turning to me.
My heart—the organ I thought died long ago—twists painfully at her obvious distress. My feet move toward her before my mind commands, and I haul her to my chest, hugging her, hoping to comfort her.
“It’s okay, Andie. Seb won’t tell a soul,” I try my level best, hoping my words get to her.
“You don’t know that!” she whisper-yells, panic bleeding into her voice, and I hate every second of it. I hate feeling this helpless. Suddenly, a flash of an old memory—me being powerless to help my mother.
Andie’s hands, clenching my shirt, pierce through the painful memory. “I do, baby,” I say, cupping her face and making her see the truth in my eyes. When her worries still don’t ease, I grab my phone from my pocket.
“What are you doing?” she asks, clueless about my action.
“Attempting to put your mind at ease,” I say, the device the only source of light in the room. “There, I sent a text to Sebastian asking him to keep his mouth shut.” I flip the screen at her, showing her the text that instantly shows ‘read’.
Andie’s shoulders drop, a little bit of stress relieving her body. I pocket my phone back, and her body sags against mine, arms wrapping around me. “Thank you,” she whispers in the fabric of my shirt.
“You don’t ever have to thank me, baby.” I rest my chin on her head, crushing her as close as I can, inhaling her honey and lavender scent, loving how heady it makes me.
I don’t know how long it has been, but we stay like that, touching from top to bottom, our hearts beating in tandem with each other—soft and comforting.
When she continues to nibble on her lower lip, I ask, “What is it, Rainbow?”
“You should…know,” she begins hesitantly, and my hackles rise, “that umm….I umm…”
“You what, baby?”
She squeezes her eyes shut, and the words rush out of her in a single breath, “I told Aurelia about you!”
“And?” I pull back, looking at her, confused, trying to understand why that’s a problem.
Her eyes flare wide. “You’re not angry?”
My molars grind at her ridiculous assumption. “If I’m ever angry at you, Rainbow, I demand you to kick my ass and string me up by my balls.”
An unbidden giggle falls from her lips. “That’s some visual.”
My features relax at her smile, but I make it my mission to drive the point home. She needs to understand that nobody has any fucking right to make her feel bad about anything she does. “I’m serious, Andie. Abandon my pathetic ass the second I’m a jackass to you.”
She sobers up at the conviction in my voice. Sighing, she agrees, “Okay.”
“Promise?”
Giving me a blinding smile, she says, “I promise.” Her fingers gently play with the rogue hair falling on my forehead.
“Good girl.” Then I haul her back into the cavity of my chest.
I gently rub her back, releasing the lingering tension. She sighs into me, snuggling into my chest. “I don’t ever wanna come between you and your friendship with my brother,” she confesses, lightly in the dark.
God! This woman keeps pulling me right to the cliff with no safety net.
She’s still thinking about others, not caring how their relationship would be affected when he finds out.
Because he will.
Andie is not my dirty secret, and I’ll never keep her as one. And so we’ll tell her brother, but only when she’s ready. Not a second early.
I pull back and whisper against her lips, “It’s never a choice with you, Andie. I only ever want to be by your side.”
Then I kiss her soft lips because I can’t not.
She’s my lifeline. And each of her breaths my oxygen.