The second the heavy door of Noel's bedroom clicked shut behind us, the rigid, icy composure he held downstairs completely melted.
Before I could even step away from him, Noel closed the distance between us.
His large, heavy arms wrapped tightly around my waist, pulling me hard against his chest. He buried his face straight into my neck.
I froze, my arms hanging at my sides. He was trembling. This massive, untouchable billionaire's grandson was shaking against me.
"Thank you," Noel whispered right into my ear. "Thank you, Eli."
The intense vulnerability of his grip caught me off guard.
Downstairs, the Chairman had called him cold, selfish, and a monster incapable of love.
But right now, holding onto me like a drowning man….It made a strange, aching question knot tightly in my chest. Why did his grandfather call him that? What happened in this house to make everyone see him as a machine?
