No longer a pushover (Noelle and Cedric) novel Chapter 846

Cedric's eyes darkened. Instead of pressing for an answer, he captured Noelle's lips in a firm kiss. If she didn't want to talk, he wouldn't push it—not with words, anyway. Ever since she made the first move last night, he'd felt less and less inclined to wait or hold back.

Noelle tried to say something, but his kiss deepened, relentless and consuming, until all resistance melted away. The kiss lasted a while. At some point, Cedric had lifted her onto the edge of the desk.

He stopped and tried to straighten her clothes, but she smacked his hand away with force.

Cedric chuckled. "You're mad? After all the kissing... and touching?"

Noelle didn't answer. She just kept her head down, tugging her clothes back into place. Seeing how her cheeks were flushed with anger and embarrassment, he softened his tone.

"Alright, seriously—what's wrong?"

She pressed her lips into a tight line. "I heard your mom's sick... Is it because of stress?"

When Cedric heard that, he understood why Noelle had been acting distant. She was thinking about the time Anastasia had fallen critically ill and how complicated things had gotten back then.

Cedric bent down slightly, trapping her between his arms. "It's just a rumor. My mom's fine."

"Are you sure?"

"If something really were wrong with her health, do you think I'd still be in the mood for all this?"

Noelle looked at him carefully, realizing Cedric had no reason to lie about something like that. She finally relaxed, letting out a sigh of relief.

"You're not mad anymore?" Cedric reached out, trying to brush her lips with his fingers, but she slapped his hand away again.

Still, he wasn't annoyed. He leaned in and gently took her hand in his. "If hitting me helps you feel better, then go ahead."

Noelle narrowed her eyes at how close his face was getting again. "If I really hit you, you'd probably be too bruised to show your face in public for a while."

She had trained in boxing, and he knew exactly how strong she was.

Cedric grinned, placing her hand against his cheek. "Doesn't matter. I'll just say my girlfriend did it."

Since she was already here, she might as well make sure everything was running smoothly.

Cedric's eyes followed her. "Dinner tonight? I'll pick you up."

"We'll see." She didn't say yes, but she didn't say no either.

Cedric watched her slip away again, then grabbed the cold coffee next to him and downed it in one go. Still unsatisfied, he made a mental note to switch to chamomile tea next time.

After Noelle left the office, she couldn't help but smile a little as he thought about Cedric's antics. She really did go to the tech department, where she personally ran through system diagnostics and checked various data. Since she was already there, she figured she might as well fix the outstanding issues herself.

Just as she was finishing up, her phone rang. It was Grace. "Noelle, something's wrong—Mia's in trouble."

Noelle shot to her feet. "Slow down. What happened?"

If Mia was in trouble, she wondered if it could be related to Donovan.