Page 4 of Duke of Ruin

“What are you thinking about?” I tease as I watch him dip his spoon into his parfait. His eyes slowly trail to mine as he brings the spoon to his lips. He takes the creamy substance into his mouth, keeping his eyes locked with mine.

“Same thing you are,” he says as he licks the yogurt from his lips. My dick instantly gets hard. Suddenly my sandwich tastes like ash, and I set it on the table. I watch him take another bite of his parfait, leaving behind a little smudge of it on the corner of his lip. I reach out and swipe it with my thumb, but he catches my hand. He pops my thumb into his mouth, and my cock strains against my jeans. He sucks the offending sweetness away and swirls his tongue around my thumb before pulling back.

Before I even realize what’s happened I’ve closed the distance between us and I’m straddling him in his chair, my dick pressed into his stomach. I take his face in my hands and kiss him,hard. He wraps his arms around me, parting his lips to allow me access. His hands slide up the back of my shirt, hot against my skin as he lifts the shirt over my head, knocking his parfait over in the process. It splatters across my chest, the cold yogurt a shock to my fevered skin. Noah looks across my chest with hunger and wipes at it, making a sticky mess. He licks his fingers, then turns to my chest, licking and sucking the mess away. I grind my hips into him, feeling like I’m going to explode into my pants.

His hands move to the button on my jeans, but then we hear the main doors open. I jump back and quickly throw my shirt back on. A look of disappointment crosses Noah’s face, and I’m sure my own matches. His eyes drift down to the bulge in my pants and his breath catches, but he pulls back and starts cleaning up the spilled parfait.

“Listen,” I say, fighting to keep my voice even. “I have a thing tonight. Why don’t you come with me?”

“What kind of thing?” Noah asks without looking at me. My eyes trail down his chest, and I see that he’s just as hard as I am, which sets my blood pumping all over again.

“A family thing at the Dark Angel Lounge,” I say. “It’s a sort of party for my cousin.”

He pauses and looks at me. His eyes tighten as though he’s trying to decipher a code. “Isn’t that kind of exclusive?”

“You’ll come as my guest,” I assure him. “It’s probably going to be incredibly boring, but there’ll be an open bar. If you’re interested.” I add that last part just a bit too quickly.

He tilts his head at me and blinks a couple of times before responding. “Sure,” he finally says, and my heart skips a beat. Don’t get me wrong, few people refuse an invitation from me, especially for events like this, but for some reason his acceptance makes me giddy. “What time?” He turns and takes the soiled paper towels to the trash can.

“Meet me back here at eight,” I say, fighting to keep my expression in check. “I’ll drive. Wear a suit.”

“Okay.” Noah’s lips curl into a smile as he turns back to me. He hesitates like he wants to say something else. “See you then.”

I run my tongue across my bottom lip, and notice his eyes drop to follow the movement. “See you then.”

He nods and leaves the kitchen with me staring after him. One of the brothers, Aaron, walks into the kitchen with a girl I recognize. I think her name is Andrea or Audrey, something like that. She immediately rakes her eyes over me as I nod in greeting. Her eyes linger on the bulge in my pants, but I ignore her. I nod to Aaron before I leave the room.

* * *

Eight o’clock rolls around while I wait in the atrium. I’m wearing a navy pinstripe suit and Italian loafers, all tailored perfectly for me, of course. My curly hair hangs loose around my head and I fight to keep a grin off my face. The doors open and I try to appear nonchalant, but my eyes dart toward them as Noah walks through in a black suit that makes me think of James Bond. He looks a little stiff as he walks across the room, and I rise from my chair. I delight in the fact that he seems nervous. He looks sexy as hell, though. A blood red shirt coupled with a black tie accentuates his skin and eyes, and the suit fits him perfectly. Maybe our worlds aren’t so different after all.

“You ready to go?” I ask with a wave of my hand.

He nods, keeping his eyes on mine. I’m already turned on by this man. His broad shoulders exude strength and masculinity. My lips curl into a smile as I lead him back out the door to the garage.

“A Bentley?” His eyebrows lift as I unlock the doors. I grin without remorse.

“Yes, and it’s worth every penny. You’ll see,” I say as he climbs into the passenger seat. His eyes move all over the cabin as we get ready to leave. He almost seems like he’s afraid to touch anything. “Go ahead—adjust the seat, press the buttons. You can’t hurt anything in here,” I chide.

His lips purse in challenge as he starts messing with the levers and buttons to adjust his seat. Before we’re even on the highway he looks like he’s more comfortable than he’s ever been. “This is something else, a whole new level.”

“You’ve never ridden in a Bentley before?” I ask. His eyes tighten for a split second, but then he just shrugs.

“Nope,” he answers, and my eyes cut to him. He looks loose and comfortable. “My family never could have afforded something like this.”

“Well, it’s not like I haven’t worked for it,” I say, suddenly defensive of my privilege.

“I don’t doubt it,” he says with a dismissive wave. “I understand money, I just don’t have any…yet.”

“Yet?” I lift my eyebrows.

“I have plans. I don’t expect to ever get…you know…rich.” He gestures to the car. “But I’ll get to a point where I’m comfortable.”

“It’s good to have goals…I guess?” I shake my head at how ridiculous I sound. Noah slips into a thoughtful silence.

“It wasn’t easy, growing up the way I did,” Noah finally says. “It felt like I had to fight for every little thing, and I could never let my guard down.”

“You may be surprised to know we have that in common,” I answer with a glance over at him. He tilts his head in response. “Money brings a lot of comforts, but it also comes with its own set of problems…mainly that when you have a lot of it, people try to take it from you.” I take a breath. “It’s hard to tell if the people around you are real.” Noah’s jaw clenches, and I wonder if I’m telling him anything he doesn’t already know.

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