Page 28 of Saved By Two

His eyes glance at the TV.

“Marvel fan?” he asks before taking another bite of his sandwich.

“Yeah, but Curtis was a DC fan.”

I quickly take another small bite of my food. I have no idea why I even told him that.

“Nah, Marvel for the win,” he says good-naturedly, and I notice he’s already eaten half his sandwich, and I’ve barely taken two bites of mine.

He grabs a packet of crisps off the tray and rips open the packet, adds some to his plate, and holds up the bag towards me.

I shake my head. “I’m okay with just this, thank you,” I say with the sandwich clutched between my fingers.

He falls silent for a beat as we both eat; the only sounds are of his crisps crunching or me chewing. It probably feels like it sounds louder than what it is.

He’s finished quickly, and I can barely manage to finish half of mine.

“If you’ve had enough, you can leave that, don’t worry. It won’t go to waste. If you’re worried about that, I’ll eat it.”

“Thank you,” I say, passing him the plate as he hands me the glass of juice from the bedside table.

“Nice photo.”

I can’t stop the small smile that curves my lips. “It was a good day,” I reply, reaching out for Lotte and placing it beside my pillow, but not before he sees it. He says nothing as he picks up the rest of my sandwich and finishes it in less than three bites.

“Hollow legs,” he says with a shrug. Where Caleb is filled out, with broad shoulders and thick thighs, Noah is the leaner of the two.

When I realise I’ve been staring, I glance back at the TV.

“Want to press play on Captain Marvel? I’ll watch it with you for a bit before I go back to work.”

Without answering, I grab the remote and select the film. When it begins to play, the subtitles pop up and he says nothing, but I do turn the volume up a couple of notches.

An unusual sense of calm washes over me, his quiet presence a welcome support.

ChapterFourteen

CALEB

I arrived home later than I would have liked under the circumstances. I know Jessica is fine with Noah, but still, I didn’t like leaving her. So much has happened in the last twenty-four hours.

Just as I undo my tie and the top button of my shirt, Noah emerges from Jessica’s room, quietly closing the door behind him. He sees me and smiles, holding his finger to his lips before he leans in to give me a chaste kiss. Then he angles his head towards the hall, and I follow him to our room.

“How is she?” I ask, pulling off my tie and wrapping it around my knuckles before leaving it on the dresser.

“She’s sleeping. I made her lunch, she didn’t eat much, but it was better than nothing. I sat with her and watched some Marvel before giving her more painkillers, knocking her for six.” His fingers find the buttons of my shirt as he begins to undo them.

I cover his hands with mine. “Any news from Elliot?”

Noah looks at my bare chest through the gap in my shirt. “No, but he’s on it, and he said he’d let us know as soon as he finds out anything, no matter how small.”

I start walking him back towards the bed, and as the back of his thighs touch the frame, he sits down, moving his hands to the waist of my trousers, where he begins to unbuckle my belt.

Placing my hands on his shoulders, I push him back until he’s lying down and then bring a knee up as I bracket my hands on either side of his head, rubbing my nose against his.

“And what else did he say?” I can’t help asking. I’m strung so damn tight right now.

His jaw tenses. Noah is patient with me for the most part, but he’s also still only human. He arches a brow. “Really, Caleb?”

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