Total pages in book: 123
Estimated words: 119846 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 599(@200wpm)___ 479(@250wpm)___ 399(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 119846 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 599(@200wpm)___ 479(@250wpm)___ 399(@300wpm)
“I what?” Noelle put a hand to her chest indignantly. Unfortunately, she forgot she was holding the pointy star. She gave herself a nasty scratch and jerked her hand away. “Ouch!”
“Are you hurt?” Bright asked, frowning.
“No, I’m fine,” Noelle said quickly. “Look, maybe you should just put me down.”
“Not until you get that star in the right place. Burn, you’re taller than me,” Bright said, looking up at his best friend. “Hell, you’re taller than anyone on the ship,” he added dryly. “Why don’t you help Noelle place the star?”
“Sure,” the giant Dark Twin rumbled.
And before Noelle quite knew what was happening, he was wrapping his huge hands around her waist and lifting her effortlessly so she could reach the top of the Christmas tree.
She was so startled that, for a moment, she just hung there in his arms. Then, realizing she wasn’t getting down until she placed the star, she reached out with one trembling hand and somehow managed to get the bottom of the sparkly gold decoration into place on the topmost branch sticking up from the top of the tree.
“There,” she said, trying not to sound breathless. “I…I got it. You can put me down now.”
“As you wish,” Burn rumbled and set her with surprising gentleness on her feet.
“Um, thank you.” Noelle was still flushed and panting. Dios, she’d never been so close to the Dark Twin—she could still smell his scent, which was wilder than Bright’s. He had a dark spice that reminded her of warm fur and campfires at night in the forest. Why did both of them smell so good?
“Is there anything else we can do to help you decorate?” Bright asked, smiling down at her. “You know we stayed after class just so we could help—I guess that makes us the ‘teacher’s pets,’ as you humans say.”
“Who said anything about being a pet?” Burn asked, frowning. “I thought we were staying to spend more time with Noelle?” He frowned at Bright. “Even though I told you a beautiful mature Elite probably wouldn’t be fucking interested in two males who can’t Bond with anyone.”
Noelle’s mouth was suddenly dry. What was he saying? When Bright had volunteered the two of them to stay and help with the Christmas decorations in her temporary classroom, she’d thought they were just being polite. But could it be that the two massive warriors were actually interested in her? No—surely not, she told herself. That was crazy—right?
“It’s just a human saying,” Bright murmured, speaking to Burn but never taking his eyes off Noelle. “It doesn’t mean anything. So…is there anything else we can do to help?” he asked her.
Noelle swallowed hard, trying not to feel self-conscious with both sets of male eyes watching her so intently.
“Well, I…I think the tree is all finished now,” she said tentatively.
“What about the mistletoe?” Bright asked. “I thought I saw a sprig of it in your box of decorations. Isn’t it a human Christmas tradition to hang it somewhere for good luck?”
“Oh, well…yes, I guess so.” Noelle nodded. She went back to her desk and got the sprig of mistletoe from the box. It was tied to a long green ribbon with some Sticksall—a strong but easily removable adhesive—on the end of it.
Burn took it from her.
“Where do you want it hung?” he rumbled, raising his eyebrows.
Noelle looked around.
“Well, it’s traditionally hung in doorways, but I wasn’t sure it wouldn’t get caught in the door—since it slides open and shut, you know,” she added.
“I think we can make that work,” Bright said. “Why not hang it on the wall above the classroom door—that way it can’t get caught in the door when it opens or closes.” He nodded at Burn and the Dark Twin nodded.
“Got it.” He walked over to the doorway and reached high above his head to stick the end of the green velvet ribbon to the wall. When he finished, the sprig of mistletoe was dangling just above the entryway but wasn’t in danger of being caught in the sliding door.
“Oh—that’s perfect.” Noelle smiled up at him. “Thanks for your help.”
“Does this mean I’m your pet now, teacher?” Burn asked, his dark eyes going half-lidded again.
“What? No!” She laughed uncertainly. Why were the two of them being so flirty today? Was it because her job was ending soon and they knew she had to go back to Earth?
“It’s not a bad thing to be the teacher’s pet,” Bright murmured. “It’s supposed to get you preferential treatment—isn’t it?”
“What…what kind of treatment do you want from me?” Noelle’s heart was pounding again. The way both of them were looking at her was making her feel nervous but in a good way. She wasn’t sure why at first. Then she realized that it was just because it had been years since a man—or men—looked at her with desire. Her ex, Branson, had made her feel ugly and fat all the time, but Bright and Burn had lazy looks of lust in their eyes.