Then his hands move higher, lower, tracing my sides, pausing at my waist before sliding back up again.
Every brush of his mouth leaves warmth behind, and my skin feels hypersensitive, alive in a way I’ve never quite experienced before.
By the time he kneels between my legs, I’m completely naked.
And he’s still fully dressed.
I push myself up onto my elbows, suddenly very aware of the position I’m in—spread out across his bed, completely exposed beneath the steady, heated gaze of Noah Walker.
He’s staring at me.
Not casually.
Not like a man who just got lucky.
His intense blue eyes move slowly over my body, like his gaze itself is a touch.
Reverent.
Hungry.
My breath catches.
“Noah?”
Even to my own ears, my voice sounds uncertain.Soft.
There’s a question in it.
A hundred questions, really.
I’ve had sex before.
I’m not inexperienced.
But Noah… Noah is something else entirely.
He’s larger than life in every way.Bigger emotions.Bigger presence.Bigger energy.
And suddenly the thought hits me like a wave—what if I’ve made a mistake?
What if this moment shatters the careful control I’ve worked so hard to keep over my life?
Because if he stands up right now?
If he changes his mind?
If he just walks away?
I think it might actually destroy me.
But he doesn’t move away.
Not even a little.
Instead, his gaze lifts to meet mine, and something in his expression softens.
“Chiara,” he says quietly.
