“We can go at your pace, D. I don’t want to rush you.”
“No, no.” She looked up. “It’s not like that.” She wanted to do everything with him. To hell with pacing. She was hooked on this man and wanted him now, but a small part of her felt that she should warn him. And so she did. “This probably isn’t the sexiest thing to say, but it’s been a long time for me.”
“I’ll go easy on you,” he said with a grin.
“Please don’t,” Dahlia said in a soft and eager tone. If she had to sum up her sex life in one word over the last twenty years, it would beordinary. And that wasn’t going to cut it anymore. She’d gotten a taste of something she liked, and now her body had a will of its own.
Noah yanked off her sweatshirt and threw it onto the neatly made bed. Taking a step back, he said with a Cheshire cat smile, “This is going to be fun.”
She walked closer to him in her staple white tank top. “My turn.” Dahlia yanked off his dirty work shirt, revealing the chiseled upper body she’d dreamt about touching for the last seven days. Dahlia held her breath, her hands moving toward his pants, only to be met with resistance.
“It’s my turn,” he said confidently, tracing the outline of her breasts with his hand. Despite the layer of clothing between them, the heat from his touch scorched her insides. His gentle stroke awakened her nipples, giving him even more to look at.
He tugged the bottom of her shirt. “God, I want to rip this thing off you.”
“Go for it, McHandy,” she said, feeling another wave of desire bloom between her legs.
He reached for something in his work boot. “I would never, ever hurt you.”
“I totally and completely trust you,” she said with her shoulders back. All the years with Spence were no match for the one week with Noah. He was attentive, reliable, and caring. Spence was selfish, untrustworthy, and incapable of putting her own needs above his.
Noah flipped open a Swiss Army knife with a mischievous smile.
This is where the old Dahlia would have made a joke aboutDatelineand him being the “Army Knife Serial Killer,” but she didn’t. Instead, she stood a little taller, luring him with her eyes. She could feel the swift thud of her heart racing under her shirt.
“You have more of these, right?” Noah asked, reaching for her tank top.
She nodded yes, but she didn’t care, even if that was her last one. All she was trying to do was not faint. The mere idea of himwanting to rip off her shirt terrified her and made her feel reborn at the same time.
His blue eyes were wide and bright. Dahlia leaned into the anticipation coursing through her body as she heard the ripping sound begin. Her whole body buzzed with a kind of frantic yearning. It was like finally breaking free from a cocoon that had kept her flightless and bound for so many years. Being free of a loveless marriage was something she’d longed for on too many days to count. Dahlia imagined the lifeline to her old life being severed by the knife so a new one could grow.
When her shirt was completely torn down the middle, Noah pushed the tattered edges off her shoulders and took a step back. This time, Dahlia didn’t cover herself. She stood there in the dim rainy light, wanting to be admired and touched. She wanted nothing more than to feel his bare skin against hers.
“You are beautiful. God!” He closed the space between them and softly cupped her breasts, pinching her nipples between his thumb and finger. Then his warm mouth covered them. He flicked, sucked, and hummed until her knees thought they’d give out.
Her body felt untamed as she sank deeper into his hold. She couldn’t believe this was what she’d been missing all these years. He tugged down her panties, ignoring that it was her turn. His eyes trailed down to her sex that was now slick with arousal. Again, she just stood there soaking in his admiration.
His mouth met hers in a lust-filled dance, and that only made her dizzier with desire. There was an awakening happening. One that was well earned and deserved.
“I can’t wait another minute to be inside you,” he whispered. With that, he dropped his jeans and briefs to the pine-planked floor. She wanted to laugh at his eagerness, but then spotted his steely length jetting out between his legs.
Dahlia needed a moment to pick her chin off the floor. She’d never seen a man that well-endowed, even when Spence and his friends skinny-dipped in her pool three summers ago. This was thick, veiny, and big.
And with that, he moved their naked bodies to the edge of the bed. He skimmed her collarbone with his lips, tickling her skin with his whiskers. “You smell good, by the way. Like lavender, mint, and honey.”
“I think you already mentioned honey,” she said, suddenly feeling his length against her slick entrance.
“I did, didn’t I?”
Her face flushed.
“Aww. You’re blushing, it’s cute.” He kissed her nose. Then he lowered her onto the fluffy down duvet and climbed his chiseled form on top of her.
Suddenly, she could hear everything. The sound of rain hitting the roof, the sound of sailboat masts swaying in the wet wind, her racing heart, and the sound of his throat when he swallowed. She ran her fingertips across his colorfully etched skin, down his chest, his delicious V, and then to his groin, gripping him in her hand. It’s something she’d wanted to do since seeing it tent through his pants.
“What are you doing to me?” He nestled his head in the crook of her neck as she continued to stroke his hard length. “I … I … have a condom.” His breath hitched. “I can’t wait much longer, D.”
“I’ve been on the pill for a while.” Since Daisy was five and Dahlia got back together with Spence, to be exact, but he didn’t need to know that. It was more for her cycle than anything, since Spence barely ever looked twice at her. Then with the affair, the scarcely became extinct.
