Alexis twisted in his embrace and wrapped her arms around his chest. His heart pounded beneath her cheek. Strong. Solid. Reassuring. He held her and let her catch her breath, pressing gentle kisses to the top of her head and rubbing his hands up and down her back and being so fucking perfect that she wanted to melt.
She finally risked a look at his face. “Why did we wait so long?”
“Because we weren’t ready.”
“But you said you’ve wanted this for a long time.”
“I have. Longer than you know.”
“But I kissed you, Noah.”
He sighed wearily and rested his brow on hers. “And if the adrenaline had worn off and you regretted it, it would have fucking gutted me.”
“I shouldn’t have just run out that night. I’m sorry—”
He kissed her and shook his head gently. “No more apologies.”
“I need to get this out. I had a whole speech planned.”
He acquiesced with a resigned sigh. He slid his hands around her waist and gripped her hips. “I’m listening.”
“It was disrespectful of me to not give you a chance to explain things,” she said, heart pounding. “Our friendship deserved better than that.”
He lifted a hand from her hip to her cheek. “Lexa—”
“You’re the best friend I’ve ever had, and that’s the thing that I don’t want to change.”
“It won’t.” He lowered his mouth to hers, his kiss gentle and sweet. “Just promise me you won’t ever go a week without talking to me again, okay? This was the worst week of my life.”
She managed a small smile. “I have a hard time believing that.”
He understood what she meant. “I was numb after my father died. I felt nothing. But I felt every second of you needing space.”
Her voice caught. “I don’t want any more space.”
“Neither do I.”
And then he kissed her.
Another apology. Another promise.
And within minutes the shirt was gone.
* * *
* * *
Alexis woke up the next morning disoriented. Sore, but in the best way.
Then she heard the soft snore behind her, and everything fell into place.
Noah.
His arm was heavy across her waist, his breath warm against her back. Her body hummed with desire but also the burning need to use the bathroom. Alexis stretched and slid out from under his arm.
Noah made a tired sound and tugged her back. “Not yet.”
“But I have to pee.”
He finally released her but told her to hurry back. She did the bathroom thing, tried to twist her hair into something less Medusa-like, and then brushed her teeth. When she returned, she found him awake and splayed on top of the covers, gloriously and confidently naked, legs crossed at the ankles and one arm curled beneath his head as he scrolled through his phone.
He looked over with an eyebrow raised. “Remember last night when you wondered how long it would be until everyone figured it out?”
He handed over his phone. A series of photos had been texted during the night.
Mack and Liv with a thumbs-up.
Malcolm and Del posed together with stupid grins.
Colton sent a video of himself making a kissy face.
Gavin and Thea grinned adorably.
The Russian’s was last. I will stay with Colton.
She set the phone on the table next to the bed. “Looks like we missed a good party.”
“Our party was way better.”
She crawled into bed, and he opened his arms to her. Noah rolled and pressed their clasped hands into the blanket next to her head, bringing their faces inches from each other.
“Good morning,” he murmured.
“Hi,” she whispered.
“I slept really well last night.”
“So did I.”
Things got interesting in the place where her body cradled his, and pretty soon, he was diving for another condom. He sheathed himself and then leaned over her with a sexy smile, his hands on either side of her shoulders to hold himself aloft. Alexis lifted her head to kiss him, but he pulled back just enough so she couldn’t reach him.
His smile teased. “Say the magic word, babe.”
Alexis laughed. “You have to be kidding me.”
Noah nudged the tip of his erection against her, and she tipped her head back.
“Jesus, abracadabra.”
With a loud laugh, he entered her in a single, powerful thrust.
Time stopped.
She gasped.
He groaned.
Alexis lifted her legs around his waist to draw him farther inside her. They moved, rocked, caressed, and kissed.
“Alexis . . . ,” he suddenly groaned. “God, baby. Slow down. I can’t hold . . . I can’t hold back.”
Wanton satisfaction surged through her. She lifted her head and brushed her lips against his ear. “I don’t want you to hold back.”
He tried to pull out of her, but she grabbed his ass and pulled him back in. She was rewarded with a groan and a shudder. But still he hesitated, and she felt him shake his head. “No . . . not until you . . .”
She cupped his perfect, hard-as-rock butt cheeks and squeezed. “I’ve dreamed about this, too, Noah. About making you fall apart in my arms. Driving you crazy. Let me.”
He groaned again, his body moving as if he could no longer stop it. “You feel so good. So fucking good.”
She lifted her right leg and hooked it around his arm, opening herself wide beneath him. The move drove him deep inside her, and they both groaned. The pleasure was so intense he couldn’t help but groan out her name and move again.
“Is that good?” she whispered against his lips, their labored breaths mingling in a rapid pant.
“So fucking good,” he groaned, thrusting harder, faster.
She shifted and arched into him.
He paused. “Wait . . . are you okay?”
“Oh my God. Can’t you tell?” She tightened her legs around him and met his thrusts with her hips. “Let it happen, Noah.”
That same animalistic growl that had erupted from him earlier emerged again. He braced higher onto his knee and pumped faster and faster until his skin broke out with a sheen of sweat and . . .
Oh, God. Alexis clutched his biceps. The position he was in. He was hitting her in all the right places. How could it happen this fast? Her orgasm hit with a sudden flood of sweet relief that made her stiffen and cry out as much in surprise as pleasure.
Noah let out a sound of guttural male satisfaction and thrust into her again with a final, hard shudder. His entire body quaked above her. Then he groaned her name and collapsed.
Alexis couldn’t help it. Again. She laughed. Again.
Noah rose up to gaze down at her. “Now what are you laughing at? And trust me, my ego really is at stake now.”
Alexis slid her arms up his wide back. “I’m laughing because you do have a magic wand.”
Noah answered with another one of those sexy grins and a twist of his hips. Alexis pulled his head down for a kiss. A noise from the front door made them both still. It sounded like—
Oh shit. The Russian was back.
Noah leaped out of bed and threw the covers over her naked body just as the Russian tiptoed by the open doorway, hands over his eyes. “I am not looking.”
“Christ, dude. Why didn’t you call first?” Noah growled.
“I need to shower. We have brunch.”
Noah slammed the bedroom door. “I forgot about brunch,” he grumbled.
Alexis sat up, holding the sheet over her breasts. “What would you say about getting in my car and just going home together?”
Noah returned to bed. “I’d say thos
e are the best words that have ever been spoken.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Beefcake greeted them with a pouty yowl. Noah gulped as Alexis bent to pick him up. She kissed his hair and turned toward Noah. “He missed us.”
“He missed you,” Noah said, pulling their suitcases to the bottom of the stairs. “He’s going to kill me in my sleep tonight.”
“Maybe he’s jealous,” she said, setting the cat down. Beefcake immediately lifted a leg and started licking his ass.
Noah closed the distance between them, laced their hands together, and backed her against the wall. He kissed her until they were both breathing hard.
“What’s this?” She laughed.
“It’s been too long since I kissed you.”
“Liar. You’re jealous of Beefcake.”
“You’re goddamned right I am. He’s been sleeping next to you for years.”
Her arms wound around his neck. “We’ll just have to make room for you in bed.”
“I’m a little worried about being naked around him. He’ll castrate me while I’m sleeping.”
She dropped a kiss on his chin. “I’ll protect you.”
Noah patted her butt. “Go relax. I’m gonna scrounge something up for dinner.”
“There’s not much,” she sighed. “I haven’t gotten groceries in over a week.”
“I’ll come up with something.”
“You’re a dream come true.”
He kissed her nose. “What’re friends for?”
She pointed to the kitchen. “Feed me.”
He winked. “Yes, ma’am.”
As she disappeared up the stairs, Noah opened the fridge and blinked as he chronicled its meager contents. Eggs. Milk. Water. Half-and-half. Butter. Wine. She wasn’t lying about not having much. The crisper drawers held some carrots that had seen better days and an unopened wedge of Parmesan cheese. He could probably use that.
He opened the cupboards. Jesus. Had she been living on air and caffeine the past week?
He spotted a box of fettuccine noodles. Perfect.
Next, he located her pots and pans, filled a stockpot with water, and set it to boil for the pasta. The water had just started to bubble when he heard her padded footsteps coming down the hall.
“How does fettuccine sound—” His voice died in his throat. She wore one of his old sweatshirts and a pair of flimsy sleep shorts.
She looked down at herself. “I changed. Is that okay?”
“Yep,” he croaked. He cleared his throat. “Is fettuccine alfredo okay?”
She folded her arms on the island and leaned. “I had all the ingredients for that?”
“That and little else,” he said, turning back to the stove. “What the hell have you been eating?”
“Whatever I can grab at the café.”
“Which means what?”
“A lot of coffee and stale scones.”
“You’re going to burn out, babe.”
“Then I guess it’s a good thing I have you to cook for me.”
His heart pinged. He liked the sound of that way too much, and the image that came with it. He’d cook for her every night, if he could.
“Can I help?”
“Nope.”
“How about if I set the table?”
His heart pounded again. The idea of sitting down with her for a simple meal at her homey dining table like a normal couple was almost more than his catapulting emotions could take. He’d wanted this for so long that it seemed impossible this was real.
“Sure,” he finally answered.
She moved around him, her hand casually sliding across his back. When she reached for the plates, his eyes drifted down to where her sweatshirt pulled away from the soft skin of her stomach. His breath vacated his lungs. Her dark gaze met his, and the hunger in her eyes likely matched his own.
After she set the table, Alexis turned on some music in the living room. The twangy, bluesy strains of Mumford & Sons broke the nervous pressure in the room. She returned to his side and opened the cupboard where she stored her wine and glasses.
Alexis selected a bottle of white and two glasses and carried them to the table. Noah made quick work of tossing the drained pasta and cream sauce in the stockpot.
Alexis filled their glasses as he carried the pot to the table and set it in the center.
“I feel like we should toast to something,” she said.
Noah leaned back in his chair, glass aloft. “You start.”
Her eyes drifted right in thought. Then they came back to his with a glisten. “To coming home.”
His heart officially relocated.
Several minutes later, Alexis collapsed against her chair with her hand over her stomach. “I was starving. Thank you.”
The music switched to a romantic ballad by a band Noah didn’t recognize. Alexis bit her lip and stood, hand outstretched. Noah folded his fingers into hers and let her pull him to his full height. Her smile was coy, her gaze shy.
“What’re you doing?” he rasped.
She tugged his hand as she headed toward the living room. “I want you to dance with me.”
“Honey, there are very few things I suck at, but dancing is one of them.”
She turned to him, arms outstretched. “Then just hold me while I rub my body all over yours in time to the music.”
“That is undeniably the best offer I’ve ever received.”
Her laugh was a sexy combination of lustful and sweet as he walked into her embrace. He gathered her right hand into his left and tucked it against his chest. He settled his other hand low on her back and drew her just close enough for their hips to touch as he led her in a gentle sway.
A pink flush rose on her cheeks. “You’re better than you think.”
He dropped his cheek to hers. “Only with you.”
Their lips found each other naturally, and their dance became more.
Wordlessly, they helped each other shed their shirts, bumping into each other with elbows and chins, laughing and apologizing in heated whispers, and then it was back to kissing, naked chest to naked chest, content for a moment to just enjoy the feel of skin on skin. The coarse hair that covered his taut muscles abraded the soft, tender flesh of her nipples with every labored breath, every shift of his body.
He angled her toward the couch. “Lie down.”
She obeyed, reaching for him as she did. But instead of joining her on the couch, he knelt in front of her. She rose on her elbows.
“What are you—”
He lifted his eyebrows and pulled off her shorts, never losing eye contact with her. Then he hooked one leg over his shoulder, then the other. He saw the moment when she realized his intentions. Her eyes widened. Her hands fisted the couch cushions.
He lowered his mouth between her legs and whispered, “Can I kiss you here?”
“Yes,” she breathed, tilting her head back in anticipation.
He grazed the sensitive skin between her legs, and she moaned. And then her groan became his, because fuck . . . her taste. Sweet. So Alexis. He loved her with his tongue, using the tip to find and circle and massage the swollen nub. She writhed beneath him, and he felt her hand grip the back of his head.
Her breaths came in little pants. Her legs tightened against his shoulders. He already could tell the signs of her coming orgasm, and he increased the pace and the pressure.
“Noah . . . oh my God . . .” She bucked and cried out. He continued to stroke her until her spasms subsided and she sank languidly against the couch.
“Come here,” she whispered, reaching for him.
Noah rose on his knees. His hands shook as he stood and undid his jeans. She helped to free his erection and cover him in a condom, and then she wrapped her legs around his waist as he bent over her.
He could
barely think because the tip of him was already pressed against her opening, and fuck, fuck, he was like a virgin again. He buried his face in her neck and thrust. And the entire fucking world shifted. “Alexis . . .”
She gasped, arching into him.
Nothing had ever felt like this. Nothing.
She held him there, her face pressed into his neck. And that’s when he felt it. The shudder in her chest. He rose up immediately, afraid he was crushing her. But she rolled her face away from him. He watched a tear roll down her cheek.
Fuck. What did he do? “What’s wrong?”
She sucked in another shaky breath, but when she let it out, it came out with a small sob.
He reached up and turned her face back to him. “Talk to me.”
“I’m sorry. I’m just . . .” She caught her breath. “I’m just happy.”
* * *
* * *
Alexis woke up alone the next morning.
She rose on her elbows and tried to get her bearings, but then she heard the clink of dishes in the kitchen.
She pulled on a long T-shirt, padded downstairs, and leaned in the doorway at the end of the hall to study him. He stood at the island with his back to her, a bowl of cereal in one hand and his phone in the other, scrolling absently with his thumb until he set it down to take a bite. He’d showered but hadn’t dried his hair all the way.
“Good morning.”
He turned around and smiled, and in that instant, she never ever wanted him to leave. She wanted to wake up to that smile every day of her life. He set his bowl down as she approached. His hands gripped her hips and tugged her close.
“Morning,” he murmured, dipping his head.
They shared a sweet, brief kiss that sent her heart into overdrive. “You’re awake early.”
“Habit.” He squeezed her hips. “I made you some tea.”
She leaned against the counter and met his coy smile with one of her own as she sipped her tea. “You know last night, what you did, the oral thing?” Her face flamed as she said it.
He lifted a single eyebrow, a sexy smile tugging his lips up at the corners. “Yeah, I remember the oral thing.”
Crazy Stupid Bromance Page 19