Page 75 of Catching My Dreams

“I can’t tell you,” she replied. She meant to sound stern, but her voice came out breathy thanks to the attention Noah was paying to her sensitive skin. “That would be cheating.”

He groaned against her neck. “Fine.” He drew back, keeping his hands on her waist. “I’ll just have to win you over the hard way.”

Ella didn’t tell him that he’d already won her over, that he’d already earned his place as the best. The arrogant man didn’t need her to make his head any bigger.

“Come on,” she said, tilting her head to her bedroom door. “You need to go kick some ass while I cheer you on from the sidelines.”

Her neck wasn’t quite fully recovered yet, so she wouldn’t be joining in any of the stunts, but she would be there, leading chants and waving her pom poms.

He lifted a brow. “Does that mean you’ll be cheering for me specifically?”

She rolled her eyes. “Of course, number 15. What kind of girlfriend would I be if I didn’t?”

“Still pretty goddamned amazing,” he replied, sparing a second to brush his lips against hers. “Now let’s go, Montgomery. You’re going to make me late.”

Ella pressed her lips together. “Let’s see who’ll be cheering for you now, Warner,” she retorted, spinning on her heel and walking out of the room with her head thrown back in laughter.

As she suspected, Noah wouldn’t have needed her cheering him on for him and the rest of the Hoyas to destroy the Fordham Rams. He was a machine, barely looking winded when he celebrated the win with his teammates, and when he met her eyes across the field, his smile only grew.

Becca and Jasmine were celebrating next to her, their screeches of joy piercing, but they were tuned out as Noah started making his way to her, jogging with his helmet held at his side. Some of his teammates patted his back as he passed, but he ignored them all, his eyes only for Ella.

When he reached her, Noah wrapped his arms around her and lifted her off her feet, putting their faces at the same level. Very aware of the eyes on them, Ella would have looked around to take in people’s reactions, but Noah closed the gap between them before she could.

His lips moved over hers softly at first, in a kiss that was decidedly PG, but when Ella’s hands lifted to sink into his sweat-dampened hair, Noah deepened the kiss. He groaned, his tongue urging her lips to part. Ella complied, shuddering when his tongue swept into her mouth.

She would have quite happily stayed there forever, but Noah slowed the kiss all too quickly, drawing back after one last graze of their lips.

“What was that for?” she asked.

He lowered her until her feet met the ground. “I’ve always wanted to do that after winning a game.”

“Kiss a cheerleader?”

He shook his head. “Kiss you.”

Ella bit back her grin. “You played a good game,” she told him, her arms still looped around his neck.

“Feel like celebrating at your place?” he asked, a mischievous light entering his eyes.

“Isn’t there a party you need to show your face at?”

“If you want to go, we can,” he replied with a shrug of his shoulder. “But I’d rather be with you.”

“I suppose I could give the post-game celebration a miss.”

Jasmine and Becca were going, but based on how they were staring at her and Noah like they’d never seen anything romantic before, they’d probably understand if she missed this one.

“It’s a date then,” he said, starting to walk backward to where his teammates were still lingering on the field. “I’ll see you in a bit.”

“That was ridiculously hot,” Jasmine said once he was out of earshot.

“It’s like all your hatred for each other got converted into sexual magnetism,” their red-haired friend added. “I get it now.”

Her two friends hadn’t been thrilled when she’d told them about her and Noah, given how badly he’d treated her in the past, but she’d done her best to explain everything to them. She’d left out the supernatural elements of the story, but she may as well have told them she was dating an elf or a werewolf, considering their disbelieving reactions.

“Seriously, though, are you happy with him?” Becca asked.

“I know we don’t have a great track record, but he’s really different with me now,” Ella assured them. She thought of the dreamcatcher he’d bought for her and couldn’t keep herself from smiling like a love-sick fool. “He’s kind of perfect, honestly.”

---