“Noah—”
He brought his hand up to my neck, tilting my face toward his before he held my gaze. “You are amazing. Let me prove it to you.”
God, how could I say no to that? I swallowed, hard, as Noah’s gaze softened in my favorite way. The type of smile where his dimple popped out and his eyes lit up. “How c-can one prove I am a-amazing?”
“Oh, my sweet Em.” He lifted me from the chair and sat me on his lap, so my thighs were around his and his hands rested on my hips. “Am I making you nervous right now?”
“N-no,” I said, my voice clearly giving me away. “I’m not…nervous.”
“You’re blushing.” He smiled and slid his hand under my shirt, his large fingers covering over half my stomach. He closedhis eyes, breathing in deep as his grip on me tightened. “God, touching your skin is driving me wild, Em.”
“J-just my skin? Come on, Abbott. I thought you could handle more than that,” I fired back, unsure how or where my boldness came from. My moxie had to be the Noah effect. I was never like this with anyone.
“God, I love when you’re mouthy.” He leaned forward, kissing my neck as his arms caged me against his chest. He nipped the spot below my ear, earning a full-body shudder. “Do you like this?” He kissed my neck again, biting me gently as I squirmed on his lap.
“Yes.”
“Is this okay?” he asked, his voice thick and deep. I’d never heard his voice this deep before. “I want to fucking devour you right now. How do you smell so good?”
I giggled, rocking against him and letting my fingers go toward his thick hair. He loved his head being touched—that I remembered from college—and I massaged his scalp as he kissed his way down my jaw. “It’s my perfume.”
“I want to drink it.” He sucked my neck, the hardest he had yet, and I couldn’t stop the moan from coming out. “That sound. Do it again.”
“Earn it,” I whispered, once again surprised at my boldness.
Noah laughed and lifted me from his lap to the table. His chest heaved as he placed a hand on either thigh, his eyes dark and swirling with lust and want. “You want me toearnanother one of those sexy moans? Is that what you said?”
I nodded, unable to stop my smile or my blush. The way he stared at me… no one in my entire life had stared at me like this.
He licked the side of his lip, his nostrils flaring for a beat before he smiled again. “I’d love to earn that sound, Em. I plan to earn that sound.” He stood, gently leaning me back so myback was on the table, on top of the puzzle. “But the question is… how should I?”
I shuddered again as he placed a hand on my neck, his finger brushing the base of my pulse. “Noah,” I pleaded, unsure what I wanted. My body was on fire. We were fully clothed. I was so turned on, and it made no sense.
“Do you like this?” He gently squeezed my neck before releasing it. “Or this?” He bent down and nipped my earlobe. “Or something more like this?”
He dragged his hand from my neck, over my chest so his palm grazed my beaded nipple. The touch alone had me arching off the table. “Oh, you like this?” He did it again, his palm over my clothes and bra, and I moaned. “Yes, give me that sound.”
He leaned back and placed his hands on my waist and, slowly, like torture, lifted my shirt up further and further. He stopped once it got to my bra. He stared at my stomach, jaw tight and eyes wild. Then, he kissed my stomach and dragged his tongue up over my belly toward the lace of my bra. “Em?”
“Hm?” My head fell against the table, the pleasure and lust swirling my thoughts into completely unhinged territory. I wanted him to rip my clothes off. Ravage me. Then and there.
“Can I take your shirt off?”
“Y-you’re asking?” I pushed onto my elbows and found him staring at me with wide eyes. The new expression on his face was one I hadn’t seen before. It was purewant.
“I’m always going to ask.” He swallowed. “Please.Pleaselet me.”
Noah’s hands shook on my waist, like he couldn’t believe this was happening. The thought of him being affected made me hotter, made me shake. I nodded, arching my hips up to touch more of him.
“Words. Tell me. Use my name.”
“Take off my shirt, Noah. Touch me.”
He moaned, resting his forehead against my bare stomach as he took a shuddering breath. “You might kill me. But what a way to go.”
I laughed, but it got stuck in my throat as Noah lifted my shirt higher and higher, lifting my lower back with his free hand. He slid it off my head, tossed it to the side, then smiled at me. “W-what?”
“Your glasses.” He adjusted them on my nose, his lips curving to the side. Then his gaze moved down to my bra, the old purple lace frayed on the sides. It wasn’t super nice, but I couldn’t afford nice or new.
