Noah's New Plan - 15. Chapter 15

"I'm serious. I'll blow a hole in your head. Noah! Call 911."

Noah scrambled out of bed. Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god. Frantically, he dug through the pile of clothes looking for his phone, which was still in his jeans. Where the heck did Eli throw his pants?

"Yes, Noah. Call 911."

Noah froze. He knew that voice. Shit. He let out a long sigh. Why the hell was Derek here so early on a Monday? Pulling his pants from the pile, he yanked them on, then found his shirt.

He walked out into the hallway to find Derek and Eli having a staring match.

"Noah, please tell your gorilla to put some clothes on."

Ugh. Noah wanted the floor to open and swallow him whole. The situation was completely surreal. This was not how he intended the two men to meet. Heck, he never intended them to meet at all. "Eli, this is my ex, Derek. Derek, this is Eli."

"You want me to shoot him?" Eli asked, his eyes still on Derek.

"Not yet. Go get dressed."

Eli lowered his weapon with a smirk on his face. "Right. I wouldn't want to make him feel bad. Seeing a real man naked is probably bad for his self-esteem." Eli disappeared into the bedroom and Noah couldn't help but take a quick peek at the man's muscular ass.

Derek looked down at Noah with a disapproving look on his face. "It didn't take long for you to find yourself someone to lay under."

Oh hell no! Noah called out towards the bedroom. "Eli, I changed my mind. Shoot him."

"Damn it, Noah. I'm not joking! You brought a stranger into our home."

"Eli is not a stranger. And you don't live here anymore. And how dare you lecture me about moving on when you were cheating on me! And why the hell are you here?" Noah realized that he had raised his voice to a level that was close to screaming. It was completely out of character, but he wasn't sorry either.

"The realtor's out in the car. I left you a message last night. Now I know why you didn't answer. God, it's a good thing I didn't bring her in here. I can't believe you... The sounds coming from that room. Disgusting."

Eli stepped out of the bedroom and leaned against the door frame. He now wore his security uniform and rested a hand just above his holstered gun. Was it wrong that Noah found him really sexy right now?

The hunk of a man watched Derek carefully and let out a scoff. "Why am I not surprised you never heard Noah come before?"

"Oh my god," Noah muttered. His face was blazing hot. Had someone turned the heat up?

Derek glared at Eli with narrowed eyes. The muscle in his jaw twitched, giving Noah a little bit of satisfaction. It wasn't often someone got the better of Derek Pepper. "You got what you wanted. You can leave now."

"I'm not going anywhere until you're gone, buddy."

Derek turned to Noah. "Tell your trick he can go."

"Eli is not a 'trick'. He's my boyfriend."

Eli puffed out his chest and the corner of his mouth turned up in a smirk. Noah immediately knew the declaration was a mistake. He wasn't trying to lead the man on, but he needed to get rid of Derek.

Reaching out, Eli grabbed Noah by the wrist and tugged him close. He wrapped his arms around Noah, pulling him tight against his chest. "That's right, baby. We're dating." He rubbed his nose against Noah's ear, tickling his hot spot with his beard.

Noah let out an involuntary whimper as a shudder ran down his spine.

Derek looked at the two of them, his jaw slack, just stunned. He looked jealous even. Good.

"Come back in an hour," Noah told him. "We'll be gone by then."

"One hour," Derek snapped. He turned and walked out the front door.

Noah let out out a sigh of relief. "Oh my god. What a nightmare!" He tried to pull out of Eli's arms, but the man held him close.

"You were amazing the way you stuck up for yourself."

Noah scrunched his brows together and frowned. "I was? I did?"

"Yup. And it was fucking hot." Eli groaned as he planted a trail of kisses up and down Noah's neck. "So, boyfriends, huh?"

Noah's eyes slipped closed as he leaned his head back against Eli. When Eli did that he couldn't think straight. "Yeah," he easily agreed. "That's us."

Eli spun Noah around and pinned him against the wall. A fire smoldered in his eyes. "Do we got time for a quickie?"

* * * *

Eli walked into the Buckle with a spring in his step. Noah had actually acknowledged their relationship today. The way he yelled at that prick of an ex was so damn sexy. And then he claimed Eli in front of the man.

"What's got you grinning like a Cheshire cat?" Rex asked from behind the bar.

The bar wasn't open yet, so it was dark and quiet inside.

Eli's friend Rex was a big bear of a man. He looked like a surly lumberjack, but he was a gentle giant. A successful local business man, he owned a high-end restaurant in addition to the Buckle.

Rex opened a crate of beer bottles to stock the bar. "Don't tell me," he interjected before Eli could speak. "That nerdy little chaser, right?" He chuckled as he tossed the empty crate aside and opened a new one.

"Yeah," Eli said with a grin. "I think things are starting to get serious between us."

"You sound like a lovestruck teen." Shaking his head, he picked up the empty boxes and walked to the backroom.

When the doors opened for business, Eli took his normal seat at the door checking IDs while watching over the crowd. Monday nights at the Buckle weren't normally crowded and tonight was no exception.

Eli took the ID that was handed to him. As he validated the birthdate, the name struck him as familiar. Derek Pepper. With a groan, he gave the asshole his ID back.

Derek put the card away. "We need to talk."

Eli grunted out an annoyed sigh. "What do you want?"

"I want you to stay away from Noah." Derek reached into his jacket's breast pocket and pulled out a checkbook and pen. "So how much is it going to cost to get rid of you?"