I reach for the nightstand, grab another condom, and roll it on with practiced ease. She watches, her breathing quickened, hands roaming my chest.
I slide into her in one fluid motion, both of us gasping at the sensation. There's no teasing this time, no slow build. The need is too urgent, too raw. I set a punishing pace, my hands gripping her hips as she meets each thrust.
"Brian," she chants, a litany of my name mixed with curses and pleas. "God, yes, right there."
I snake a hand between us, find the spot that makes her cry out. Her nails rake down my back, spurring me on. The headboard slams rhythmically against the wall, but I couldn't care less who might hear.
"I'm close," she warns, her inner muscles already beginning to tighten around me.
"Together," I grit out, feeling my release building. "Come with me, Noa."
Her body arches off the bed as she peaks, drags me over the edge with her. I bury my face in her neck, her name a hoarse shout against her skin as I pour myself into her heat.
As we lie there heaving, tangled in sticky flannel, the soft light from the bedside lamp illuminates jam-stained sheets, scattered crumbs, and Noa's flushed face.
“Hey,” I whisper into her neck, pausing to kiss her throat. “Let me get you cleaned up.”
Noa murmurs an affirmative sound and I carry her to the bathroom, cranking on the shower. “Where are the fresh sheets?” I help her step into the warm spray, allowing myself a firm squeeze of her backside as she gestures sleepily, contentedly toward the hall closet.
I quickly change the bedding and hurry to the bathroom to wrap Noa in a fluffy towel as she steps out of the shower. Then we fall into her bed together. Her breathing quickly slows and I love knowing I helped tire her out so thoroughly.
I should get up. Check my phone. Call the car service. Figure out how I'm going to get to New Jersey for at least part of the holidays. My family is expecting me. Rachel will be worried sick.
Instead, I reach over and switch off the lamp, plunge us back into darkness save for the glow of streetlights now shining through the blinds. I nestle against Noa’s back, and her curves fit perfectly against me. The world outside—my responsibilities, my perpetual motion, my carefully constructed solitude—can all wait.
For tonight, I'm exactly where I should be.
Chapter 8
Brian
I've been awake for nearly an hour, just watching Noa breathe, committing to memory the curve of her cheek, the sweep of her eyelashes, the gentle part of her lips.
My phone, retrieved from the living room floor sometime before dawn, vibrates with another message: the rental company. They'll be here in half an hour with a tow truck to collect the dead car and take me to the airport.
I should wake Noa, but I can't bring myself to disturb her peace. Instead, I quietly slip out of bed and head for the kitchen. I quickly braid the bread dough and find a pan to set it on, preheating the oven before I pad to Noa's bathroom.
As I shower, I think about our night together and wince at the pleasant soreness in my muscles I haven't worked quite this hard in ages.
Under the hot spray, reality begins to seep back in. I have meetings this week in Chicago. The week after, in Los Angeles. My mother is expecting me for Hanukkah…my life has a rhythm—constant motion, never settling, always chasing the next deal.
One night of incredible sex doesn't change that.
When I emerge from the bathroom with a towel wrapped around my waist, Noa is sitting up in bed, scrolling through her phone.
"The roads are clear," she says without looking up. "They're saying the worst of the storm passed overnight."
"That's good." I hesitate, unsure of the etiquette here. "The rental company is sending someone. They should be here soon."
She sets down her phone, finally meets my eyes. "Back to your regularly scheduled life, then?" Noa reaches out and strokes the stubble on my cheek with a small smile.
There's no accusation in her tone, just a calm acceptance that tightens my chest.
"I need to get to my family," I say, which is true but feels like an excuse. "For the holiday."
"Of course." She slides out of bed, gloriously naked, and reaches for her robe. "I'll make some coffee while you get dressed."
I watch her walk out of the bedroom, the sway of her hips beneath silk making me want to call the rental company and cancel. To climb back into her bed and forget the outside world exists.
