Page 103 of Treacherous

"Can't," I breathed. "I have a practical test in biology after lunch. We're dissecting a cow's heart."

"I'll test you," he husked. "I'll give you a practical lesson in human reproduction."

"Noah…"

"And I'll give you an A plus," he teased. "I'm very thorough. All you have to do is bend over and spread your…"

"That's quite enough, Mr. Messina," a stern voice ordered, cutting Noah off mid-sentence. "Put Miss. Connolly down."

Noah growled against my lips before reluctantly placing me on my feet. He kept his hands on my hips and I buried my face in his neck feeling like I was about to die of shame.

While I was contemplating how much trouble we were in for our public display of affection, Coach Johnson said, "In future please refrain from copulating until you're on your own time."

"Sure thing, Coach," Noah replied before looking down at me in confusion.

Coach shook his head and stared at us with a look of total dismay. "I just can't figure kids out nowadays."

"Copulating?" Noah mouthed, looking down at me.

"Mating," I clarified, red-faced.

"Oh goodie. A new fun word," he declared in a sarcastic tone, showing me a side of him I hadn’t seen before. "Sweetheart, would you care to join me in the janitor's closet. I'm feeling a very strong urge to copulate with you."

Humorous Noah…Wow, this was kind of a revelation.

I rose my brows in amusement. "Sweetheart?"

Noah's face broke into a huge smile and my chest tightened. He didn’t smile enough. It was a truly beautiful sight. "Well I'm kinda scared to call youbaby," he told me in a teasing tone. "But I feel like I should have an endearing name for my girl."

For my girl…

Oh Jesus…

Taking his outstretched hand I waved to the girls and followed Noah out of the cafeteria. "Teagan," I told him, forcing my lips not to smile at him as my lungs played havoc with my oxygen supply. His words squeezed something deep inside of me. "You can call me Teegs or Teagan."

"Okay, my little thorn," Noah replied sweetly before pressing a kiss to my nose as we wandered outside into the bitter cold.

I liked the snow here in Colorado. Back home, the closest I'd been to snow was in the form of a can – the horrible sticky kind people sprayed on window panes for Christmas-dynamic purposes. Here snowflakes fell from the sky in abundance and it made me feel all squiggly inside.

"Why do you always say that? That's like the millionth time you've called meThorn," I asked Noah, shuffling closer to his body for warmth from the arctic air.

"I told you," he chuckled, smoothing his thumb over my knuckles as he led me down the snow-covered steps towards his car. "You're my thorn, if you leave me I'll bleed out."

My heart sky rocketed when those words left his mouth and I felt kind of dizzy.

Deep breaths…

"Oh…hey, I told you I have a test after lunch," I reminded Noah when he unlocked his car, opened the passenger door and gestured for me to get in. "I'm not skipping, Noah. I'm in enough trouble because of you as it stands…"

"Relax," he coaxed. "I need a smoke, that's all." He shrugged and smiled lazily at me. "Thought you could keep me company."

"And partake in some secondhand inhalation," I grumbled, watching as Noah walked around to the driver's side. "Wow, Noah, you sure know how to treat a girl."

"Don’t you just know it," he shot back with a smirk before climbing inside.

Didn’t I just…

I sat into the car with him but I pretended it was because I was cold. I was a liar though because I was fairly certain I'd inhale the fumes of a jumbo jet if it meant I could keep him company.

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