Temporary Bliss (Bliss #1)(28)
Author: B.J. Harvey

Let the fun and awkwardness begin.

Walking through the open front door of Noah’s townhouse, I’m struck by how totally unlike him it is. At the hospital, he’s cocky, on the hot side of arrogant, and as Zoolander would say, ‘Really, really, good looking’. He is a great guy when you get past all that, though. I wouldn’t have been sleeping with him for so long otherwise. I mean, we may call him the walking dildo, and the ego definitely matches the size of his one-eyed trouser snake, but there is more to him than his nine inch monster, something that is obvious as I look around his house.

The foyer has a high ceiling and a marble floor with a curved staircase leading up to the second floor. The room is decorated with a walnut side table and a huge mirror facing the door. All in all, it feels like a home. A rather decadent home, but still. I had expected Noah to have a bachelor pad from hell. Clean – yes, but not this Chicago surburbia meets Beverly Hills mansion feel to it. I’m half expecting a butler to show up at any minute.

Daniel sees my wide eyed expression and chuckles, “Mac, it’s just a house.”

I turn to look up at him. “This isn’t a house, Superman. This is a townhouse on steroids. I bet he even has a pool with a waterfall. Maybe even a grotto like Hugh Hefner.”

That makes Daniel snort. “Pfft, he wishes. He may talk the talk, Mac, but Noah is no Hugh Hefner. I’m beginning to wonder how well you know the guy,” he says, quirking his eyebrow.

“I’m starting to wonder that myself. Not that it matters because I’m here with Superman. Hugh Hefner wannabes have nothing on you,” I reply with a grin before standing on my toes to kiss him.

He grabs my hands and wraps them around my back, deepening the kiss and pulling my body hard against his erection that is now digging into my thigh.

When we hear someone clearing their throat, I squeak and pull my body and my hands away. I turn to see Noah leaning against the wall watching us.

“Don’t stop on my account. I was enjoying the show,” he says with a huge shit-eating grin which makes me blush.

“Shut up, Taylor,” Daniel says as he looks down at me and smirks. “It’s not my fault she finds me irresistible.”

“It kinda is, you know.” I look up at him and grin, squealing when he squeezes my ass cheek which is still firmly attached to his hand.

Noah pipes up, “Well, are you two going to stand here all day and make out in my foyer, or are you going to come out back and catch up with everyone else?”

“Sorry, I can’t seem to keep her off me. It’s such a hard life,” Daniel adds, shaking his head in jest.

“Excuse me! I’m right here you know!” I say laughing. “C’mon, let’s go meet your friends so I can dig some dirt about your college days.”

“Shit, didn’t think of that.” he replies, grabbing my hand and entwining my fingers. I look over and see that Noah is still standing there looking at us.

I quickly lean up and kiss Daniel hard on the mouth. “You’re gonna pay for this later, you know,” I say with knowing eyes.

“Looking forward to it.”

“After you, Makenna,” Noah says, gesturing for me to go first. I walk past him, Daniel following close behind.

I hear the guys chatting idly behind me.

“You better not be checking out my ass, Noah,” I say, looking over to my shoulder just in time to see Noah lift his gaze from my ass and Daniel look over, catching him do it.

“Taylor, quit it,” he says as he slaps the back of Noah’s head jokingly.

“But it’s a nice ass,” Noah replies cockily.

“It’s my ass now so eyes off,” I hear Daniel mumble behind me as he walks forward and grabs my hand, walking towards a group of people standing around the swimming pool with – yup, you guessed it – a waterfall.

“See, told you there would be a waterfall,” I say with a smirk.

Noah pipes up, “You can’t have a pool without a water feature, Mac.”

“Apparently,” I reply dryly.

“Dan!”

“Winters.”

“D-bag.” (must remember to ask him about that one later).

A bunch of man hugs ensue, followed by cheek kisses to the partners of the previously mentioned men, all the while never letting go of my hand as much as I try to tactfully wiggle it free.

“This is Mac, my girl…ah, friend,” he says nonchalantly, like he hasn’t just freaked me the f**k out.

Girlfriend? Is that what he was about to say? Why not ‘girl who I’m f**king exclusively’ or ‘the woman I’m not not dating.

I suddenly find myself feeling nervous again. He’s already told me that he hasn’t brought a woman to one of these get-togethers for a long time, and now he’s having trouble even introducing me. This must be harder on him than I thought.

“Hey, nice to meet you all,” I say to the group who are all now looking at me with renewed interest. I knew I should have dragged Kate along to this. At least then I would have known someone other than Walking Dildo who is still watching me like I’m a freak show at the circus.

He hadn’t seen me out of my scrubs until a few weeks ago at the Bears’ game. Scratch that, he’s seen me out of my scrubs A LOT, just not socially like this.

“So, I better introduce everybody. That’s Dave and his wife, Sheree,” Daniel says, pointing to a gorgeous man with his equally gorgeous, and very pregnant wife who are standing to our right. “Sheree is expecting their first son any day now as you can see.”

“That’s so cool, congratulations,” I say to her.

“Thanks, we’re pretty excited,” she replies, rubbing her swollen belly and looking up at Dave adoringly. It’s so cute.

“And this is Gary, who I work with, and his partner, Louise. Then there’s Thomas and Cade who you’ve met already, and that’s Matt, Noah’s younger brother.” My eyes go wide as I realize that Matt is just a younger version of Noah. I mean seriously, a spitting image. It’s like he’s a mini Walking Dildo. Wait, that doesn’t sound quite right, does it? I bet there is nothing mini about any of the males in Noah’s family.

After saying hi to everyone, Daniel wraps his arm around my shoulders and pulls me in to his side, lightly kissing my temple. It’s one of my favorite Daniel-isms. It makes me feel cherished, so I instantly relax.

“So how’s work been, Danny Boy?” Thomas pipes up.