Page 80 of The Fate Factor

She crests the stairs, her hair pulled up haphazardly, wearing another one of my shirts, and the entire contents of my chestcavity turns to liquid. She’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.

“It’s so cold,” she says, dancing on her toes.

“Come here and get warm.” She throws a knee over my waist, seating herself in my lap. I immediately run my hands up her bare thighs, groaning as my fingers disappear beneath the hem of her shirt. I may not have whatever gift Noel has. I can’tseethe future, but here I feel it settle over me like warm water. Nights downtown. Lazy mornings with her fingers in my hair.

I picture the winter that’s nipping at us, keeping each other warm like this. Waking up with her head on my chest, her leg slung over my waist. Holding her hand under the table at dinner.

I don’t picture her leaving to go back to Connecticut at the end of the year. I don’t even let myself think about it.

“Hey. Where’d you go?” Noel leans forward, slowly pressing her mouth to mine, and I realize I’ve been in my head for more than a polite amount of time.

“Sorry. I’m here.” At the taste of her, I’m sucked right back into the moment. Her hair falls around us, blocking the light from the lamp on her nightstand, and I deepen the kiss. Her lips are pink and bee-stung from my stubble but I can’t make myself stop. “Do you want to come to a thing with me next weekend?”

“Do I have to dress up?”

I snort. “Weird lead off question, but yes, actually. It requires a short dress. Preferably cleavage-bearing.”

She shakes her head. “Fresh.”

“I have to go to Sugarloaf Mountain for a festival. I thought maybe we could stay at the hotel. You could paint while I work if you wanted. The mountain has good views and—”

She presses her fingers to my lips. “Yes.”

“Yeah?”

“Of course I’ll go.”

“Good.” I let out the breath I was holding and sit up to kiss her again. And promptly smack the top of my head on the slanted ceiling. “Shit,” I hiss, falling back onto the pillow. “That’s the third time I’ve done that.”

Noel claps a hand over her mouth. “Are you okay?”

“I don’t know. Better come check.”

She frowns. “You’re too big for my bed.”

“I’ll just stay horizontal. Come sit.”

She quirks an eyebrow, a smile hinting at her lips. “I am sitting.”

“On my face, baby.” I give her hips a tug, and her hand slaps the angled ceiling above my head to keep from tipping over. She giggles but it turns to a moan when I press a kiss between her legs. Soft. Sweet, in case she’s sore from before.

“I thought we were going to bed,” she says. “I’ve been tricked.”

“Do you want me to stop?” I pop my thumb in my mouth, then press it against her, making a slow circle. Her eyes roll back.

“Don’t you dare,” she says, then quieter, “I’m meeting Cara tomorrow morning. About her mural.”

Pride for her distracts me and I stop moving. “Yeah? Are you excited?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t really let myself think about it yet.”

“Why does that not surprise me.”

“What doesn’t surprise you?”

“That you have this amazing opportunity but you’re putting your excitement on ice.” I lift my head and press my tongue flat against her. “Noe. This is awesome.Feelit.”

She mutters a curse under her breath. “Do you always give advice with your head between a woman’s legs?”

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