Chapter 68: Interesting
Chapter 67
Nolan
It is, in fact, a horrible idea.
The worst.
I may have underestimated... everything. The heat of his mouth, the weight of his hand on my jaw, the way my body betrayed me by kissing him back before my brain could catch up.
I don’t tell him that, of course. I force my voice steady, paint on something cool, dismissive.
"See? Physical," I say flatly.
A lie.
One so thin I can barely stand under it. And the worst part? I know he knows. Jack Crowe sees through me too easily, those damn eyes always stripping me down.
For a heartbeat I think he’ll push, corner me again, force me to admit what’s already written all over my face. My chest thunders as he studies me, silence stretching, the kitchen thick with the smell of soap and lemon cleaner, the faint drip of water from the faucet loud in the stillness.
Then his hand slips away from my face. He steps back, his expression smoothing into something unreadable.
"Goodnight, doggy," he says, soft and final.
And then he turns, casual like nothing happened, like he didn’t just shatter me in half with a kiss, and walks out.
The sound of his retreating footsteps echoes, each one hammering in my ribs.
The moment the kitchen door swings shut behind him, my knees buckle. I sink to the cold tile floor, breath leaving me in a rush I didn’t know I was holding.
I fall forward, elbows braced against my thighs, scrubbing my hands down my face.
***
Ciel
They are bickering again, only this time, they don’t bother to hide the sexual undercurrent.
This is... new.
Interesting.
I tilt my head, baring my neck, giving Jack more access as he presses lazy kisses against my skin. He’s shameless—always has been—but the way he does it now feels deliberate. A provocation.
"There are two bedrooms in this house," Nolan snaps, voice clipped, sharp as a knife. "Do you have to do that in my presence?"
Jack doesn’t miss a beat. "Not bothering to hide the jealousy now, doggy," he murmurs against my neck, lips brushing heat into my pulse.
Then—like he’s begging for death—he adds, "We all know you like to watch."
My eyes fly wide.
I can’t believe he said that out loud.
I turn my head to look at Nolan.
His eye twitches. His jaw is clenched so tightly I’m half-convinced his molars will snap. His fists curl, the veins in his arms standing out sharp beneath the rolled sleeves of his tank top. He looks ready to launch himself across the table, strangle Jack with his bare hands, and maybe toss his body out into the ocean for good measure.
And me? I have to physically turn away before Nolan sees how hard I’m fighting to keep my lips from twitching. If I laugh right now, I’ll actually choke to death.
Then—salvation.
Lanny wails from his crib, the sound slicing through the tension like lightning splitting a tree.
Nolan shoots to his feet instantly, like a soldier called to battle. He storms across the room with stiff shoulders and scoops up the baby, cradling him to his chest. He doesn’t even look back, doesn’t trust himself to, and honestly? That’s probably for the best.
Jack sighs into my neck, blissfully unaware that his life has just been spared.
"Go easy on him," I murmur softly, closing my eyes as I card my fingers lazily through his hair.
He presses closer, lips dragging against my skin with unhurried affection. Sometimes, I swear, he wants to crawl under my skin and live there. He never knows when to stop.
"I thought this is what you wanted, hmm?" he murmurs, voice dropping low, curling heat straight into my stomach.
I scoff, tugging his hair hard enough to make him flinch. "I didn’t say tease him."
His grin widens against my jaw, unbothered, as he presses another kiss higher, just under my ear. "But he has the best reactions, sunshine."
"Jack—" I start, a warning on my tongue.
"Now, don’t think of another man in my presence," he interrupts smoothly, his tone edged with that possessive growl that both exasperates me and makes my pulse skip. He punctuates it by kissing the sharp line of my cheekbone.
I roll my eyes. "It’s Nollie."
He clicks his tongue like that explains everything, like Nolan’s name itself is enough reason to behave the way he does.
"Exactly," he says, and then, before I can argue, his lips cover mine.
It’s a firm, claiming kiss, his hand cupping the side of my jaw as if daring me to think about anyone but him.
As if I could?
Only—I am.
The thought sneaks in unbidden, traitorous. Nolan.
Occasionally, I think about Nolan in that way. Not often, but enough that I know the shape of it. How his kiss is different from Jack’s whose kisses are full of affection, adoration and possession, sometimes hungry in contrast Nolan’s kiss feels like it’s the last kiss of his life, like he’ll never get that chance again.
Both intoxicating.
Both dangerous.
I wonder—
A sudden bite on my lower lip pulls me back, sharp enough to make me gasp.
My eyes fly open, and Jack’s dark gaze pins me, heavy and unyielding.
"Are you bored, hmm?" he murmurs against my lips, his tone smug, edged with something darker.
My pulse kicks hard in my throat. "No."
That one word sounds shaky, almost guilty, but Jack doesn’t give me a chance to dwell on it.
He kisses me deeper, swallowing any errant thought, dragging me under until there’s no space left for any thoughts.
I clutch his shirt, pulling him closer. His weight presses into me, steady and immovable, and suddenly the only thing that exists is this: his lips, his heat, his breath filling mine.
There’s no room for wandering thoughts, no room for doubt.
Just Jack.
And the dangerous, consuming way he makes me forget everything else.