Like heat. Like want.
Like the promise of something inevitable.
I licked my lips.
And in that moment, something in the air shifted.
Snapped.
BANISHING GHOSTS
We moved at the same time. His hands found my waist, pulling me to him, and I went willingly, completely, like I’d been waiting for this all day—all week.
Longer.
“What are we—?” But I couldn’t finish because his mouth cut me off. And I didn’t mind because I wasn’t sure I wanted an answer.
Noah’s lips were soft at first, exploring, but hungry underneath. I clutched his shirt, tugging him closer as his fingers pressed into the small of my back.
If this was a mistake, I didn’t care.
“A fling.” Not sure which one of us said it.
Yes. I needed this. A fling. But not with just anyone.
With Noah.
The guy who’d edged his way under my skin since the second we met—and then stayed there.
I’d forgotten a kiss could feel like this.
That it could make you forget everything—that it could feel like falling and flying at the same time, like maybe your body didn’t belong to you anymore, not really, not when he was touching you like this.
His palms traced the curve of my ass as he walked me backward toward the bed.
This was different from the waterfall. This time, we both knew exactly what we wanted.
And, oh, sweet marmalade in heaven, I wanted this man.
“So damn beautiful.” I felt his whisper as much as I heard it.
I could only shake my head.
His mouth left mine. “Right here.” He was skimming a trail along my jaw. Down the side of my neck.
“And here.”
At the base of my throat, nibbling. Licking.
Chasing every ounce of oxygen out of my lungs.
His hand was under my top now, warm and moving higher. Barely breathing, I watched those lashes sweep down as he thumbed my nipple. It was already as hard as a pebble. He gave it a gentle pinch, and I gasped.
“Is this okay?” For once, his eyes were level with mine—so close that I could almost count the gray and blue flecks in his irises.
“Yeah.”
He thumbed it back and forth and then pinched harder.
