Chapter 2

Natalie

I stare at Noah, and he gently smiles back at me. I already hate him for giving me butterflies. 

Beautiful people are scary.

"Are we all ready to order?" My dad asks.

"Wait, let me look at the menu again..." Cynthia mumbles, licking her fingers to turn the menu page. "Noah, could you go get us some cutlery and napkins? The waitress forgot to give us some."

"I can help him!" I exclaim.

I grab Noah's hand and pull the man toward the open doors. He seems surprised but allows me to tug him inside of the restaurant. 

Once we are out of our parent's hearing reach, I confront him. He is taller than me and smirks when I glare up at him, but I won't be falling for those bedroom eyes. Not today!

"Did you know about this?" I whisper-yell, motioning at our parent's table as waitresses pass us.

Noah's lips curl by the corners. "Does it matter?"

"Of course it does! I could be pregnant with your baby for all I'm aware, and now our parents are planning on getting married! We will be step-siblings!"

Noah widens his eyes. "Aren't you on birth control?"

"No, I'm not..." I mumble, angry at myself for not remembering much from the night I slept with Noah. The orgasms were groundbreaking—that is the only thing I can recall.

"Oh... I can't remember if we used a condom. I'm sorry. I was too into you to pay attention, and I was also pretty drunk..."

"It's probably fine since you're the first guy I've ever slept with," I mutter, dismissing the conversation. "Nevermind that. All I want to know is that I have your full co-operation. You can't tell anyone about what happened inside my bedroom, okay?"

Noah is blinking at me now, and my stomach flips like a pancake once happiness washes over his features. He is attractive with his crooked smile, but I curse my brain for thinking that at this critical moment.

"Did you lose your virginity to me?" Noah places his hand on my shoulder, seeming to draw delight at the news. "Was I better than you thought I would be? You seemed really into me."

I glare at him, ignoring the blush spreading between my ears. "That's the thing you're focusing on?"

"Well, yeah?" Noah admits, giving me a telltale smirk. "I like that I was your first. Maybe you're also my last?"

My heart races, but I try to ignore it. "You might have been my first, but what happened can NEVER happen again. Capish?"

His lips are trembling with feign sadness. "But you were so sexy!"

"Stop giving me those bedroom eyes! We can't have sex again, especially since we might come to live together. Are you guys moving in?"

Noah tilts his head, looking at me like I've said something hilarious. "I think you guys will move in with us. Haven't your dad said anything about that? My family is pretty loaded, and your dad likes our home."

I narrow my eyes. "What do you mean?"

Noah shrugs. "Your dad has been over a few times for dinner at our mansion. He even had a few beers with me on our yacht. I didn't dot the connection to you, but I figured it out once I read the names on your apartment door."

"Mansion? Yacht?" I gasp in shock, sizing up Noah. "Who the heck are you? How can a quarterback afford a mansion and a yacht? Is your mum a secret billionaire or something?"

"No, I'm the one who inherited everything..."

My heart is thundering in my chest. "Inherited what?"

"I might be a quarterback right now, but I'm preparing to take over Parker Resorts once I've graduated. Right now, my uncle has been in charge since my father passed. I'm the future CEO."

"This... This is a lot to take in..."

Noah finds me a chair from a table, uncaring that people are sitting around it. He pulls it out and helps me sit down. I'm hyperventilating because I don't understand what is happening.

I slept with my soon-to-be stepbrother.

My dad is getting married to a new woman.

The new woman's son is loaded and the future CEO of Parker Resorts—the luxurious hotel chain that exists worldwide.

"Here is your water," Noah offers. "Should I tell our parents that you need a moment? I think they are ordering food right now... Yeah, your dad is looking our way. He seems… Suspicious?"

I swallow thickly. "Promise me you won't tell anyone that we slept with each other, Noah. I can't have anyone know about us."

Noah meets my eyes, seeming to study my face. "I won't tell anyone, but I want something of you in return."

My heart claps, and my voice comes out sorrowful. "Anything."

"Excellent," his lips curl into a charming smile. "I want to keep having sex with you, Natalie."

I choke on my water and spit it out all over the floor. "What?!"

"You heard me. I like you, Natalie. You excite me. The sex is great, and I don't actually hate your company."

"Are you insane?!" I whisper-yell. "What part about 'it can never happen again' didn't you understand?"

Noah laughs. "We will keep our agreement a secret, and I can take you to places where no one will catch us."

He holds out his hand for me to shake. There is an expensive watch around his arm, and his hands are veiny, big, rough, and sexy. Once again, I'm reminded of him fingering me.

It felt good.

Too good.

I lift my eyes to his blue. "What happens if I don't shake your hand?"

Noah grins. "I will announce to the entire school that I slept with Natalie Gracen and that it was the best night of my whole life. I wouldn't even be exaggerating," he winks at me. "You're feisty and adventurous, definitely worth seeing a second time."

I gape at him like a goldfish. "This is blackmailing!"

"Yes, but aren't you excited?" Noah asks. "You get to touch my body again, and you liked that, didn't you, Natalie?"

"I admit nothing!"

Noah chuckles. "So you don't worry about your dad finding out that you slept with your future stepbrother? Because our parents are definitely getting married. I helped your dad buy the diamond ring. I'm a generous man."

"More like the devil."

His teeth show in his smile. "You're the only one who has ever called me that."

"Hard to believe."

He chuckles again. "You're really interesting."

I narrow my eyes and reluctantly take his hand. Noah flashes me a smile that probably would make any woman swoon, but I know his secret: the man is the devil in a gorgeous disguise.

"Do we have a deal, Mrs. Gracen?" Noah asks.

I inhale deeply. "It's not like I have a choice."

"True."

We shake our paws, and afterward, Noah smiles at me with satisfaction written over his features. The worst part is that I find him sexy. 

"From now on, I think you and I will have a lot of fun together," Noah whispers in a husky voice. "Better hope you don't change your mind because I won't ever let go now that you're mine."

I shudder at the possessiveness in Noah's tone, knowing he isn't joking around. What have I gotten myself into?