Page 165 of Forever Defiant
I took my shower, crawled into bed, and went straight to sleep.
I was pretty sure I went to sleep with a satisfied smile on my face.
Chapter 36
Dustin
I woke up to someone peppering my face with light kisses.
“That better be you,” I murmured, fingers sliding into her hair, and bringing her mouth to mine. “Or Noah and I are going to have to have a serious talk about boundaries.”
She smiled against my mouth, kissing me softly. She tasted sweet and fresh, and I was immediately aware that I didn’t. I pulled away.
I opened my eyes and looked up at her. Her hair fell over her shoulder, long, thick, and shiny. Whiskey-brown eyes filled with humor looked back, and her mouth curved slowly into a smile.
“Hey,” I greeted.
“Hey, yourself,” she said, dropping another kiss on my mouth. “Time to wake up. We’re plotting.”
“Plotting what?” I yawned, and she sat back, her smile growing. “What?”
“You look cute when you’ve just woken up.”
“Cute?” My eyebrows rose. “Puppies are cute. I’m sexy as fuck.” I showed her my abs. “Remember?”
Hadley groaned and got to her feet. “I must have been confused,” she deadpanned. She walked over to the door. “Up. Your roommates and Savvy are waiting.”
“Waiting?” I dropped my head back on the pillow. “Waiting for what?”
“You.” The door closed behind her, and I sighed. She could have given me maybe five more minutes of her time before she left. I got out of bed, went to the bathroom, did what I needed to, including brushing my teeth again, and then pulled on a pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt.
I came out of my room and took in the sight. Dante, Savvy, and Hadley were huddled around the kitchen island, and Noah sat on a chair by himself, flicking through his phone. I looked between them, and even though Hadley was at the island, looking smoking hot in a pair of jeans and a light sweater, I dropped down beside Noah.
“Hey.”
He looked up. “Hey.” He looked over his shoulder and back at me. “Honeymoon over already?”
“Shut up.” I watched his lips twitch, but he focused back on the phone. “What’s going on with you?” I asked him quietly.
“Nothing.”
“Don’t bullshit me, man,” I scolded him. “We’re friends, right?”
Noah didn’t look up or answer. I jabbed him in the side, making him flinch and glare at me.
“Tell me what you need, and I’ll get it done.” I held his glare. “We’re in this together, I know it’s shit, and I’m sorry for my part in that this morning, but they aren’t beating us. I won’t let them.”
“You won’t?” He huffed out a laugh. “How the fuck do we stop them?”
He looked defeated, and I wasn’t ready for Noah to look ready to give up. I turned to look over my shoulder and saw Savvy and Hadley still talking, but Dante was watching us, and I widened my eyes at him, the international signal for him to come and save my ass.
He came over, tapped Noah’s knee for him to move aside, and Dante dropped onto the edge of the couch.
“You want to quit?” he asked softly.
“Yeah, I do,” Noah said, head down, eyes back on the phone.
“Dust? Do you?” Dante asked me.
