Page 13 of Unhinged
Noah blinked at him stupidly. “I—” He broke off. Why was he fighting this? He’d been thinking of nothing but Adam since they parted ways hours ago. “Yeah, okay. You win. Let’s go to sleep. Don’t get handsy,” Noah ordered, secretly hoping he would.
Adam grinned, slipping his way under the covers and holding the comforter up for Noah to do the same. Before he could do anything more, Adam slipped his arm behind Noah’s neck, drawing him against him. Noah let himself rest his head on Adam’s chest, noting absently that it was a different shirt than earlier. Beneath his ear, Adam’s heartbeat thudded steadily, luring Noah into a light doze.
“What’s that?” Adam asked.
Noah’s eyes flew open, looking to Adam, who was staring at Noah’s ceiling. He tried wriggling out of Adam’s grip, but he held him in place. “It’s nothing. Just a project.”
Adam’s gaze cut to his. “I know a murder board when I see one.”
Noah glanced up at the ceiling where he’d tacked up numerous pictures, paperwork, articles, and pictures of possible suspects, connecting them all with red string. “I’m not lying. It’s a project.”
“One involving your father?”
Noah looked up at his father’s picture in the center of his ceiling. “Yeah, something like that.”
“You do know I’m not going to stop asking until you tell me, right?” Adam asked.
Noah sighed. “I’ll make you a deal. If we can sleep now, I’ll explain everything tomorrow. I’ve had a long night.”
Noah startled as Adam lifted his hand and stroked Noah’s cheek. “Okay. We talk in the morning. I’ll take you to get breakfast.”
It wasn’t a question, so Noah didn’t take it as such. Adam’s weight shifted and he lifted Noah’s chin, giving him a soft kiss. “Good night.”
“Good night,” Noah echoed, voice raw.
Adam woke with his arms around Noah, his body tucked snuggly against him. He was small compared to Adam’s six foot two, but he fit perfectly, allowing Adam to all but envelop him when they spooned. He liked the idea of people having to go through him to get to Noah. It was a foreign concept. He didn’t know how to describe it. From the moment he’d seen him standing there, holding that gun on him, Adam had just known he wasn’t going to let him go.
Ever.
He nuzzled his nose against Noah’s neck, inhaling deeply. Noah had said he smelled like sweat, which would have been fine with Adam, but it wasn’t true. Noah had his own peculiar scent, something that evoked a sense memory deep in Adam’s lizard brain. Something that made him thinkhome.
“Are you sniffing me?” Noah asked sleepily.
Adam liked Noah’s voice, not too high, not too deep. Everything about Noah was just right. “Yes.”
He felt Noah’s body shake with laughter. “You’re so weird.”
Adam grinned, even though Noah couldn’t see it. “Other people think I’m charming.”
Noah stretched deeply, craning his head around to look at Adam but making no attempt to leave his arms. “But you also said last night that other people don’t know the real you, so...”
Adam let that tumble around in his head for a minute before saying, “So, you think people only find me charming because they don’t know me, but you don’t find me charming because you do?” He didn’t like the idea of Noah not liking him, but he wanted whatever Noah wanted. “Do you want me to be fake charming me or real me?”
Noah sighed, rolling to face Adam, wiggling up until they were all but nose to nose on his pillow. “No. I guess I like how weird you are.”
“I like your face,” Adam said, sweeping his hand over Noah’s freckles. “Your stars are gone.”
“Sorry.”
“Don’t be. I like your freckles. They were the first thing I noticed about you.”
Noah smiled ruefully. “And here I thought it would be the gun in my hand.”
“Nah, I’m used to people pulling guns on me. I’m not used to wanting to kiss those people.”
“You wanted to kiss me?” Noah asked.
Adam stuck his tongue out and licked the tip of Noah’s nose. “I wanted you to walk out of that warehouse alive so that I could eventually kiss you.”
