She follows my gaze. “My Bigfoot?” Her smile expands. “I love him.” A wistful expression moves across her face. “When I was a kid, I loved stuffed animals. It was like an obsession. Even as an adult, my dad would always put a little one in my stocking, for tradition.”
“Noelle.”
“It’s a good thing,” she says. “Remembering, I mean. Some memories are sad. But others… they’re worth hanging onto.”
I think about my dad taking me to his favorite diner, and how that memory brought me to Noelle. “You’re right. They are.”
“Noelle,” I say roughly. I palm the back of her head, tunneling my fingers through her hair. “I’m so damn glad I stopped into the diner that day.”
Her hand comes to my thigh as she leans closer. “I’m so glad you did, too.”
In the moment before I kiss her, I drag my gaze across her face, memorizing everything. The delicate arch of her brows. The sparks of fire in her eyes. The way her lips curve up slightly, like she’s always smiling. That adorable dimple. The fine spray of freckles across her nose and cheeks.
Shit, she’s incredible.
Sam ribbed me the other day after I’d brought Noelle home after the barbecue, teasing, “I never thought I’d see the day Webb Anders would actually settle down with a woman.”
“I didn’t know if I would,” I told him. “But Noelle… She’s special.”
And with that in mind, I kiss her.
My intention is to keep it slow and tender to start. But the instant our lips meet, that all flies out the window.
All I can think about is how badly I want her.
How badly I need to taste her.
So I kiss her hard. And she gives it right back to me.
Nipping. Stroking. Tongues tangling together.
As I devour her, I imagine I’m kissing her in other, more intimate places.
My dick throbs as it thickens, pressing painfully against the zipper of my pants.
Then Noelle climbs onto my lap and straddles me. As my erection notches between her thighs, I can feel her heat seeping into me. Calling to me.
I palm her breast, brushing my thumb across her distended nipple, so taut I can feel it through her shirt.
She makes a low, sultry sound in the back of her throat.
My lungs are burning from lack of air, but I can’t bring myself to pull away.
Noelle shifts on my lap, wiggling her hips so she can rub against me.
Andshit, does it feel amazing.
Primal instincts call to me, demanding I pick up Noelle and take her to the bedroom right now. Strip her bare, kiss her everywhere, make her come several times with my mouth before I even consider sinking deep inside her.
Ah, fuck, do I want her.
I thought I knew what desire felt like. But it was nothing compared to this.
I don’t just want to have sex with Noelle. I want all the other things, too—the cuddling after, making her something to eat, bringing her back to bed and holding her in my arms all night until we wake up in the morning to do it all over again.
But reality intrudes as I realize that if my lungs are straining, Noelle’s must be, too. So I reluctantly break the kiss, then hug her close to my chest. “Shit, Noelle,” I breathe.
She pops her head up, bumping into my chin. “Oh! Sorry!” she blurts. Her brows furrow as she rubs my chin. “Are you okay? Is something wrong?”
