Page 68 of Forever Relentless

I gulped. “You never said that?” I glanced over my shoulder at him, my knees weakening when I saw the way he was looking at me, and I hastily turned to face the door again.

“When I punched the assistant coach, I told him that he insinuated a sexual relationship between us. Is that why you’re mad? You think I don’t want to fuck you?”

“Wh-what?” My head spun. I felt him move closer. “You can’t . . .” I took a deep breath. “You can’t say things like that, Matthews.”

“Why?”

His breath was warm and moved my hair slightly at my ear. All I could think was thank God my hair was down and hiding most of me. That hot breath on my ear? I’d be in danger of making a fool of myself.

“Noah . . .”

Fingers skimmed from my left shoulder to my wrist, and I felt my body’s response to his touch.

“I like the way you say my name,” he murmured behind me, fingertips lightly tracing the palm of my hand.

“This isn’t right.” I turned, God knows why, and now my back was against the door, with him so close. So very close. He reached past me, his large hand flat against the door as he looked down at me, a whisper of breath between us. “You were right earlier. I’m staff, and you’re not. And I . . . I’m not interested in you like that.”

Those dark eyes dipped to my chest, where my nipples were practically saluting him. He dragged his gaze slowly upward, lingering on my lips before meeting my gaze one more time. The slight curl of a smile tugged at his upper lip, and I had the deeply inconvenient urge to reach up and find out what it tasted like.

“You’re not interested?” he asked me, and I felt my knees tremble as the low timbre of his voice did something to my heart rate that I had no answer for.

“Nope.”

“Mmhmm.” His head dipped slightly, and I was sure he was going to close the distance and kiss me.

Cold air rushed between us as Noah stepped back. “Leave the door open when you leave, yeah?”

My head continued spinning. “Leave the door open?”

He sat back down again, his legs stretched out as if nothing had happened. “Yeah, so Savvy knows I’m here.”

I blinked rapidly to clear my thoughts. “Um . . . you’re really meeting her?”

He was on his phone, flicking through the screen. “Huh, would you look at that?” He stood up, grabbed his backpack, and grinned at me. “She had to cancel.”

I stood there like an idiot as he walked past me, reached out, opened the door, and left me wondering whether I’d just been played or whether he’d been given the gift of a turnover and had run with it right to the end zone.

Either way, that had not been my best moment. That hadn’t even been a passable defense.

“Why are you falling for this?” I grumbled as I marched down the library stairs. “So he’s big and handsome. There are plenty of guys who look like him.”

Were there?

“And he’s got all that attitude. It’s annoying.”

Was it?

“And he’s right,” I told myself firmly. “I work here, he is a student. He’s probably got zero experience in the real world. Or anywhere else,” I added with a smirk.

I needed another coffee before I returned to work. I opened my phone to check the time.

“No experience? Is that what you think?”

I yelped like an idiot. Turning, I glared at him. “Who’s the stalker now, Matthews?”

“I’m standing at the door to the library. You walked past me, talking to yourself. About me. I can show you my experience if you want?” he added with a wink.

“Do not do that.” I shook my finger at him, and I could only imagine how absurd I looked. “Do not wink at me.”