Her heart lurched then stuttered, the beats wild as she played his words over in her head. “What should you have done?”
“This.”
He lowered his head and groaned as he kissed her. The kiss wasn’t fast or rushed or desperate. It was slow. Gently coaxing her lips apart before he slipped his tongue inside her mouth.
Then she was tasting him. And God, he tasted good. Whiskey and a hint of mint.
She ran her hands up his chest and around his shoulders. Strong shoulders that, just a few hours ago, had been all that stood between her and a fall that would have hurt her.
She curved her legs around his waist and tugged them closer together. Then she felt him everywhere. In front of her. Around her. Flush against her body.
His hands moved higher, pushing up the sweatshirt. She liked his touch. It made her feel alive and feminine and wanted.
A small gasp escaped her lips when she was lifted off the island. Then they were moving, walking through the house and only stopping inside his bedroom.
Gently, he lay her flat on the bed, his body hovering over hers. Covering her. Warming her.
“Do you want this?” Noah whispered, his words like gravel. “If you don’t, I’ll stop.”
“I want this. I want you. I’ve wanted you for so long.”
A deep growl rumbled from his powerful chest before his head dropped, his mouth latching onto her neck so he could taste her skin.
Oh, God, yes. Yes to him and this and everything he made her feel. She wanted all of it. And she didn’t care if that made her desperate.
She was so absorbed in the feel of his mouth on her neck that she barely felt him grip the edge of her sweatshirt until cool air hit her belly. She lifted her arms to help him before the soft thudof fabric hitting the floor cut through the room. Then she lay there in panties.
“Beautiful,” he whispered, as his sweet kisses trailed down her chest.
When he took one nipple between his lips, she couldn’t breathe. She arched as his teeth grazed her hard bud. Then his tongue ran over it, flicking it back and forth and running in a circle.
It was torture. All of it. This man and the way he made her belly pulse like nothing and no one ever had before.
He sucked hard and she felt it everywhere. It made her writhe and bow her back.
He shifted to her other nipple and started the same slow torment. But this time, he also played with the breast he’d just released. Rolling the bud between his thumb and forefinger, pushing his thumb into the center.
She was drowning in Noah. The desire was wrapping around her lungs, keeping her head beneath water. But she didn’t want to come up for air.
When he lowered his hand between her thighs, she stilled. Then he slid inside her panties.
Her thighs instinctively parted, giving him space to touch her. He took it, swiping across her clit.
A gasp cut from her throat, and she grabbed at his hair, tugging and pulling.
“Every sound you make drives me crazy,” he whispered, before kissing up her chest and taking her lips again.
She kissed him. A deep kiss where their tongues tangled and any world beyond him and what he made her feel just ceased to exist. His thumb continued to move over her core, and she ground into him.
“You have too many clothes on,” she whispered, the words barely leaving her lips before she yanked at the hem of his shirt.
He chuckled and slid to the side so he could remove his shirt and his jeans.
Her heart jumped at the sight of him in just briefs. Every inch of the man was power and strength.
She ran a finger over the scar on his shoulder, then another on his arm. He’d been through so much. And yet he was still here, trying to be better. Trying to overcome all his demons.
Slowly, she lifted her head and kissed the first scar. Then the second.
