The words echo in my mind like a mantra I’m going to have on repeat for the rest of my life.
How have two simple words unravelled me like this? And why don’t I care?
All thoughts of the kitchen counter and the dinner preparations for tomorrow vanish from my mind as I focus solely on Noelle. She is all that matters in this moment – the way her body fits perfectly against mine, the taste of her kisses like the finest chocolate, rich and addicting. The thought of pulling away from her is unimaginable.
My hands slide up her back, feeling the soft fabric of her borrowed sweatshirt beneath my fingers. Noelle’s hands tangle in my hair, pulling me impossibly closer as our kiss deepens. I part my lips, inviting her in, and she accepts the invitation eagerly, her tongue sliding against mine like she’s done this a million times before. Like she knows my body intimately and knows just how to coax out each groan and spasm of pleasure that shoots down my spine.
Her free hand dips under the hem of my sweatshirt, her fingers tracing the contours of my back, leaving a trail of fire in their wake.
‘Alex.’
She moans my name against my mouth like it’s something to savour. Something torevere.
I want her to say it again. I want to commit the sight of her lips forming each syllable to memory.
I pull back slightly, gasping for air as our lips finally part. My eyes find hers, dark, desperate, and filled with heat. She looks as lost in this moment as I feel, her pupils dilated and her breath coming out in quick, sharp pants.
Her lips quirk into a half-smile, and I can’t help but smile back, despite the overwhelming surge of desire that still ripples beneath my skin.
‘Alex,’ she says again, her voice barely above a whisper.
I don’t even acknowledge my own name. I reach down and cup her face in my hands, bringing her lips back to mine.Now I’ve had a taste, I don’t know how she expects me to ever give this up.
Kissing her like this? It feels like my entire life depends on it. Like if we break away, everything is going to crumble to pieces around me. I can feel every contour of her face beneath my fingers, the warmth and passion in the way her lips part against mine.
Our first kiss was electric, but this feels cataclysmic in the best kind of way.
The kitchen is spinning around me and yet I don’t think I’ve ever felt more grounded in my entire life.
My hands slide down her back and she lets out a pleased-sounding whimper as I slide further south and squeeze her ass experimentally. It’s a very nice ass. Soft and pliable, even beneath the thick fabric of my sweatpants.
‘Al-ex.’
I don’t think I’m ever going to get tired of hearing her say my name like that.
I walk us backwards towards the table in the centre of the room without breaking the kiss. She lets out a tinyahas her back brushes against the edge of the table but, before she can dwell on it, I’m lifting her up and her legs are wrapping around my waist as she goes. Her braids cascade over the edge of the table, a waterfall of brown silk I’m aching to drown in.
Noelle bites down on my lip and I let out a hiss ofpleasure. She chuckles against my lips, and then does it again. Bites and then runs her tongue along over the spot as if she’s trying to soothe the prick of pain that appears.
Her lips trail along my jaw, her tongue leaving a trail of fire in its wake. She nips at the soft skin, sending shivers down my spine. Her thighs squeeze my waist and she bucks into me.
For the first time in three days, I’m hot.
Too hot.
Noelle seems to read my mind and she tugs at the hem of my sweatshirt. I don’t need to be told twice, and lift it up over my head, taking the T-shirt I have on underneath with it too.
Noelle doesn’t even hesitate. Her hands slide over my bare chest, her fingers running over my nipples in a way that sends shockwaves shooting through me.
While she explores my chest, I grab her hips, lifting her higher, nearly right up off the table. She lets out a soft moan, her eyes fluttering shut.
I press my lips to her neck, trailing my tongue along the delicate curves of her throat. She lets out a soft gasp, her body arching up into mine. My hands explore her body, running up and down her spine, tracing every curve and dip, and she melts into my touch.
‘Put me down,’ Noelle moans. ‘Put me down and—’
Within seconds of dropping her gently back down onto the table, my hands are tugging at the hem of her sweatshirt.She lets me pull it up over her head and I toss it mindlessly into a nearby corner, too entranced by the sight of her heaving breasts spilling out of a black lacy bra to care where it lands. She gives me precisely three seconds to admire her body before she’s pulling me back into a searing kiss while I fumble with the clasp of her bra.
My heart stops for a brief moment the second the fabric falls away. The curve of her hips, the fullness of her breasts, the way they sway slightly as she breathes.
