Page 155 of Best Served Cold

“You think so?” I arched my eyebrow at him. “Cocky much?”

“You tell me.” He bumped his hips up and pressed his half-hard dick against mine.

Chuckling, I laid my head on his chest and listened to his heartbeat. The steady thump was comforting, and I relaxed against him.

“I think I love you,” he mused.

“You do?” I propped my chin on his chest and took in his thoughtful expression.

“I don’t know. I’ve never been in love. I think that’s what I feel.” He gnawed his lip, anxiety replacing his earlier joy. “Or maybe not. I don’t know.”

“Nope.” I shimmied up his body and caged him in with my arms. “You can’t say something like that and take it back.”

“It’s too soon,” he whispered. “And you don’t feel it.”

“I don’t?”

“No?”

I smiled. “I think I do too,” I murmured, looking into his eyes so he could see that I meant it. “I don’t know what love is supposed to feel like, either, but I hope it feels like this. You’re…everything, baby.”

“Even if I’m a mess?”

“You’re not a mess. But because I know your anxiety brain needs to hear this, yes. I love all of you, Noah. I know you think you’re a lot, and you seem to believe you’re a burden, but you’re not. You’re perfect. All of you is perfect.”

“That’s so sweet.” River’s voice came through the wall.

I thumped on the wall with my fist. “Message received. Night.”

“Night!” he called back.

“He can’t sleep with his headphones in,” I explained, dropping my voice. “I’ll get him a white-noise machine.”

“I feel like I should be embarrassed, but I’m not.” Noah glanced at the wall, his eyes bright with laughter.

“Good, don’t be.” I shifted off him. “Let me get a cloth or something. Going bare is amazing, but it’s messy.”

Quietly, and with a fair bit of fumbling, we cleaned up and settled back into bed with Noah behind me as my big spoon.

“How’re you feeling?” I asked quietly, threading my fingers through his as he held me tight.

“Better. It usually takes about a week for it to fully fade. But I feel way better than normal. I think I’ll be okay in a few days.”

“You sure? That seems fast?”

“Well, making love to my boyfriend and having him tell me he loves me for the first time was a hell of a mood booster.” He nuzzled the back of my neck. “I’ve never had anyone take care of me before. I always had to deal with this alone. I think that’s why it took so long to break free.”

“You’ll never have to deal with it alone again,” I said firmly, well, as firmly as I could while whispering. “And no hiding from me, either. If shit is going down, you tell me and we’ll get through it together.”

“How the fuck did I get so lucky?” He hugged me tighter.

“I’m the lucky one.”

“Guess we’re both lucky.”

“Yeah.”

“Your bed sucks. Why do you have a single, anyway?”

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