“Can’t say I’ve ever donethat before,” I admitted as we parked in Noah’s driveway.
“Well,” Noah said, leaning over the console. He kissed my lips, then cupped my jaw and traced his thumb over my lower lip. “One, you were fucking fantastic. And two, let’s just say it won’t be thelasttime you do that.”
We walked inside and followed our usual routine for coming home with me letting Katie out as he emptied his pocketsinto the bowl on the side table. Rather than go back inside right away, I chose to enjoy the cool fall air, sitting on his back patio, gazing up at the stars above. Katie raced over, dropping a tennis ball into my lap and tossing the ball to her was just the distraction I needed.
I knew saying yes to Noah about moving in was the right thing to do, but it all happened so quickly, I didn’t evenget the chance to ask Benny if it was what he would want. Then I started thinking, I’m the adult, so does he even get a say? It all started to screw with my head. And then I let my brain get too far away from me and wound up right back at my kitchen table from the other morning, talking to Wes about how Noah didn’t even know he was there the night my parents died.
It wasn’t even Noah’s endlessneed for truth and honesty that screamed at me, making me know I had to tell him. It was something from deep inside of me that knew there was no way I could go the rest of my life with this man if I knew the truth and he didn’t.
The rest of my life.
“Whoa,” I said to Katie as she rested her head on my lap.
Noah’s voice calling out from behind me made me jump in my spot, as if he had heard whatI just thought. “Whoa, what?” he asked.
“Oh nothing,” I lied, hoping to dismiss the conversation.
“Replaying your car skills?” he asked, half joking and half serious. “Because I know I am,” he added. Standing behind me, he rubbed my shoulders, kneading out the knots. “You’re all tight. What’s going on?”
The words lingered on the tip of my tongue for the briefest of seconds, but I knew now wasn’tthe time. It just didn’t feel right. So instead of telling him everything I should have, I said, “Just been under a lot of pressure with quitting and whatnot. And then you,” I joked, turning around in my seat, angling my head up to look at him. “You had me all twisted up in that car of yours. Can you blame me for being tight?”
“Well then,” he crooned, letting his hands travel down my chest andover my pecs. “Maybe we should get you inside and take care of you.”
Who was I to argue with an offer like that?
Noah held out his hand, helped me stand from my chair, and pulled me up against his body. “Let’s get you upstairs.” His words promised unspeakable pleasure, and no other words were needed.
Silently, we walked back inside, Katie following right behind us. With our hands still joined,fire crossed over our skin, racing from body to body, igniting a spark of something much hotter, much deeper with each step we ascended.
“Stay here,” he said as we crossed the threshold of his room. He walked me to the bed and gently pushed me down onto the mattress. “I’ll be right back,” he promised, and then he disappeared into the bathroom. As I took off my shoes and socks, I heard the bathwater running. Some smooth, jazzy music played out in the background, its low pulsating rhythm matching the one thrumming in my veins. With each second my anticipation grew. On the verge of not being able to wait any longer, I stood from the bed and started walking toward the bathroom.
He stepped out to greet me just as I was padding toward him. “You really don’t listen to instructions all thatwell, do you?” he joked, waving a finger in my face as if he were actually admonishing me. He’d already taken off his shirt, and I was mesmerized by the sight of his naked skin. The light dusting of hair covering his chest matched the soft red color of his beard. Everything made him all that more desirable. His body, his face, everything about him, made him the pinnacle of masculinity, and my mouthwatered knowing he was all mine.
Shrugging, I reached for his hand as he held it out for me. Rolling his eyes before he shook his head was something most people wouldn’t pay too much attention to. But it affected me in a way I couldn’t quite put my finger on. It was only when I walked into the dimly lit bathroom that I figured it out. His lighthearted joking with me was something that wasn’tthere when we first met. He was the definition of rigid and uptight. Always distracted, his focus was somewhere else. Sure, he wanted me, but it was all too confusing for him to let his guard down, to let the real him show.
And there he was, laughing at me as he sat on the edge of the tub, checking the temperature of the water he’d just run solely for me and my relaxation.
I’d never be ableto figure out how I got so lucky to find a man like Noah, but I didn’t care. He was here, and he was mine.
And there wasn’t a doubt in my mind that I was his.
Entirely.
“Let’s see what we can do to take some of your stress away.” His voice rolled over my skin, setting it ablaze with desire and emotions I couldn’t reel in. Letting myself go to the moment, I closed my eyes as he reached for thehem of my shirt. Gently, he pulled it from the waistband of my pants, lightly grazing his fingers over my torso as he lifted it over my head. “So fucking beautiful,” he said as he took in the sight of my naked chest. “Every. Damn. Inch.” His fingers trailed lightly over my skin, setting loose a river of chills. My head fell back, exposing my neck, an opportunity which he clearly didn’t want tomiss out on. “Damn, Chase,” he spoke against my skin. Using only the tip of his tongue, he licked a hot path from my collarbone, up my neck, over my Adam’s apple, stopping just by my earlobe. “I don’t think I’ll ever get enough of you.”
A million thoughts raced through my head because I knew this lifetime and the next would never be enough for me to have him. But all I could manage was a lowgrowl of approval as I tucked my thumbs into the waistband of his pants, pulling him right up against my body. Even in the limited space between us, he lowered the zipper on my pants and pulled them down my legs, letting me use his body for balance as I stepped out of them entirely. When he did the same with his pants, my semi-hard cock instantly lengthened, jutting straight out from my body. “We’llget to that in a minute,” he promised, lightly running his hand over my dick. “Get in,” he instructed, stepping away from me.
As I lowered myself into the tub, he fumbled through the vanity, pulling out a few jars of something or other before walking back to me. I thought watching his ass as he walked away from me was torture, but now, watching his thick, full cock sway as he approached the tub…that was the definition of torment.
“Lean forward,” he commanded as he slid in behind me.
“Are you always this bossy?” Twisting slightly, I looked at him as he situated himself, wrapping his legs around mine.
He shrugged, saying, “Depends.”
“On?”
“Whether you like it or not,” he answered, pressing his erection into my back. “Because if you don’t,” his voice took on a teasing tone as he leanedforward and pressed his lips to the nape of my neck, “then I could always stop.”
