by Erika Wilde
“And what’s that?”
Her gaze held his, the vulnerability etching her expression so heartbreakingly real. “My desire for you.” Stepping closer, she placed her hands on his bare chest and rubbed her soft, cool palms over his hot flesh. “What I feel for you is so intense and overwhelming, and I know you’re trying to be a gentleman because of the accident, but right now I crave you, Noah Sommers. I need to feel alive, and I don’t think I could bear it if you turned me down right now.”
In a move that stunned him, she peeled the shirt she wore over her head and dropped it to the floor. Sliding her arms around his neck before he could back away, she aligned their bodies from chest to thighs, and nuzzled her lips against his throat. “Make love to me, Noah,” she whispered huskily.
The blood in Noah’s veins sizzled and his cock thickened against her belly through his sweatpants. Her full, naked breasts and all her smooth bare skin seared him, wreaking havoc with his conscience and personal ethics. He fought his own weakness, but in the end he didn’t have it in him to say no to her sensual plea, not when she needed this physical connection in a way that superseded mere sex. He could give her the intimacy her body and soul yearned for, even knowing he’d be sacrificing his own pleasure for hers.
Without a word, he led her back to the bed, pressed her down onto the mattress and positioned himself so that he was half on top of her. With his chest pinned against her lush breasts, he wedged his knee between her thighs and pushed his fingers through her hair, capturing her lips in a hungry, greedy kiss.
She opened to him with a sigh of abandon, welcoming the thrust of his tongue deep inside and meeting it with her own. Ready and willing. Wild and wanton. It was a kiss as seductive as the night, as electrifying as the attraction they’d resisted for too long.
With his free hand, he began a slow, tentative exploration, seeking all those sensitive feminine places women loved to be stroked and caressed. He trailed his fingers along the silky skin of her neck and shoulders and felt her shiver in response. His hand skimmed lower, until he finally cupped a smooth, firm breast in his palm. He kneaded that generous swell of flesh he’d admired for months now, savored the exquisite feel of her, then rasped his thumb across the pearled tips of her nipples.
She moaned low and deep, and grasping his hair in her fists, she tugged his head down. Knowing instinctively what she wanted, he obeyed her silent command and buried his face between the soft fullness of her breasts. His teeth scraped over one perfect swell, followed by the slow, wet, luxurious lap of his tongue all the way to the tight crest. She gasped in delight, her fingers biting into the muscles of his upper arms as she arched her back, silently begging him for more.
Opening his mouth wide, he suckled her hard and deep, and laved her nipple with the flat of his tongue. Sliding his hand along the curve of her waist and around to her ass, he filled his palm with one delectable cheek. He squeezed gently, then slid his fingers to the crease of her knee, pulled her leg over his hip, and rocked slowly, rhythmically against her.
Their position was as intimate as fucking, his shaft hot and heavy against the juncture of her thighs. Yet judging by her restless movements and the anxious, needy sounds she made deep in her throat, it wasn’t enough. She was on fire, desperate for release, and he sought to give it to her in the most erotic, carnal way possible—for his own pleasure as much as her own.
Moving quickly, he sat up and knelt between her sprawled legs. He looked up the length of her gorgeous body to her face, searching for any signs of apprehension, and found nothing but passion and need. The trust she offered him with her body was humbling. She lay there, seductive as sin itself, her lashes half mast, her lips moist and parted, and her white cotton panties drenched with desire. For him. His nostrils flared as he inhaled her heady, arousing scent. His dick felt huge, hot and throbbing, and he feared he’d come just by looking at her.
“Touch me, Noah,” she said, her voice a low, caressing sound that made him a willing slave to her every desire. “Please.”
Needing a moment to regroup and calm his own racing heart, he lightly strummed his fingers along her flesh through her damp panties, and stopped when he felt her tremble in response. “With my fingers?”
Her breathing deepened, and she nodded. “Yes…”
Grasping the back of her knee, he leaned down and placed hot, damp kisses all the way up her thigh, and stopped short of his ultimate goal. “How about with my mouth?” he asked, breathing hot, moist air on her skin.
She squirmed and clutched the sheets in her hands. “Oh, yes.”
“What about my tongue?” Moving a bit higher, he delved the tip of his tongue into her navel in lazy, sensuous swirls that made her moan and thrash. “Do you want me to use that, too?”
“Oh, yes…” An impatient sob escaped her. “Noah, stop teasing me, please.”
Knowing he’d tormented her enough, he pulled her panties down her long legs and off, tossed them to the floor, and slid his palms back up the insides of her slender thighs until his thumbs finally grazed the outer folds of her feminine flesh. He looked his fill of her, so plump and pink and glistening. And so uninhibited he knew she’d allow him anything at all.
It was a heady, dizzying thought. He raised his gaze to her face, taking in her flushed cheeks and those unwavering blue eyes waiting for him to make her feel alive, and cherished, and desired. It was a simple task from his perspective, and he separated the slick folds of her pussy with his fingers and stroked her slowly, seductively. A deep, throaty, on-the-edge moan escaped her, and her body undulated for a more explicit touch.
Done toying with her, he settled himself between her spread thighs, slid his hands beneath her hips, and pressed an intimate, openmouthed kiss at the very heart of her. He nibbled her delicate flesh and gently sucked her swollen clitoris while his fingers continued to explore. She was incredibly sweet and tender, so open and responsive, he knew he’d never get enough of her.
At the first heated, silken swirl of his tongue, her entire body bowed and trembled on the precipice of an orgasm. With the second and third strokes she came with a gut-wrenching and very vocal orgasm that rippled through him, as well. He ruthlessly took her over the edge, reveling in her satisfaction, in the ecstasy he alone had given her.
While she floated back down from her release, he leisurely kissed his way back up the length of her, drinking in her pale, moonlit flesh and the tiny quivers still reverberating through her body. Her breathing was erratic, and she slid her fingers into his hair, holding him close as he tugged at a nipple with his teeth and rolled the straining bead against his tongue before moving up to nuzzle her neck.
He’d thought he’d given her enough pleasure to exhaust her for the night—hell, he was drained and he hadn’t had the luxury of coming—yet the provocative, restless way she tried to move over him made him quickly realize that one orgasm had seemingly only whet her appetite for more.
Her mouth landed on his chest, and her teeth scraped across his nipple, distracting him as her palm slipped down his abdomen and beneath the waistband of his sweatpants. In an aggressive move he hadn’t anticipated, she took his hot, rigid shaft in her hand and encircled him in a slow, squeezing stroke that made his entire body shake.
His hips bucked instinctively, and a low, guttural groan hissed out between his clenched teeth. Heeding the warning of his own impending orgasm rushing forth, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her fingers away, determined to regain the upper hand with her and the situation.
She looked up with him, her eyes fever-bright and her features just as wild and untamed. “Noah,” she whimpered, the sound needy and utterly demanding. She twisted and strained toward him, rubbing her sweet curves against his chest, belly, and thighs.
He stretched her arms above her head to maintain control and held her wrists together with one hand. “Shh, baby,” he murmured soothingly in her ear. “I’ll give you whatever you need.”
“I need you,” she said raggedly. “Inside
me.”
He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. Her carnal request seared his senses and came damn close to crippling his fortitude. With a strength that nearly killed him, he said, “I don’t have any condoms to make love to you. Not that way.” They were the hardest words he’d ever spoken, considering he knew he had half a box in the bathroom’s medicine cabinet.
A desperate sound filled the darkened room, and she writhed against his hold. “Please, Noah.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of you.” He cursed himself for being such a gentleman when he ached to drive deep inside of her and assuage his own raging lust. Instead, he dipped his head to slide his tongue along her lower lip. “Just relax and stop fighting me.”
His mouth came down on hers, hot and hard, and the seduction started all over again. While the first time had been a slow, easy buildup, Noah skipped all coaxing preliminaries and opted for a single-minded approach to assuaging her sexual energy.
His free hand slipped between her thighs, and he finessed her with sleek caresses before slipping one finger, then two, deep inside of her. He pushed his thumb against her softly swollen flesh, and she groaned and tried to tug her arms free, but he refused to let her go. He kissed her rapaciously, making love to her not only with his mouth but his hand, as well. His fingers thrust into her in a slow, thick rhythm, and his thumb added to the friction.
He felt her inner muscles contract around his fingers and knew she was on the verge of another orgasm. He lifted his mouth from hers just as she reached the peak, because this time he wanted to watch her face as she came for him. Her legs clamped tight around his hand, and her hips surged upward, seeking and taking what he offered.
Her eyes fluttered closed and her head rolled back on the pillow as her body convulsed with a hard, all-consuming release that made her shudder and cry out. He didn’t stop after the first wave, but ruthlessly pushed her higher, wringing every last bit of tension from her with yet another slow, sinuous orgasm that left her limp and sated. As he gradually brought her back down with tender caresses and soft kisses, she whispered his name, and it was the sweetest sound he’d ever heard.
He released her hands, and she opened her eyes and glanced up at him with a dreamy smile that told him he’d satisfied her plenty…for tonight, anyway. The woman was utterly insatiable, as though it had been years since she’d allowed herself such sexual freedom and she was making up for lost time.
With a soft, replete sigh, she snuggled up to his side. Wrapping an arm over his stomach, she rested her head on his shoulder and promptly fell asleep, leaving him reeling from the entire episode…and battling with the fiercest erection of his entire life.
He thought about heading to the bathroom to give his body some badly needed relief from the throbbing pressure, but Natalie was draped over him and he didn’t want to disturb her or, Lord forbid, wake her up and have the provocative cycle start all over again. He’d never survive another round.
He inhaled a calming breath and willed himself to relax and focus on what lay ahead for him and Natalie—mainly, to discover the key to her past and the threat looming over her. There was still so much he didn’t know about her, so much he didn’t understand. Despite all that, there was one thing he knew for absolute certain. He cared for Natalie, and that knowledge shook him up in a way nothing ever had.
The feelings crowding his chest had been completely foreign to him until Natalie. He was falling hard and fast for her, rushing headlong into emotions he’d never before allowed with a woman. He’d always been the one to pull back in a relationship, to withhold, because it was easier and smarter to keep his distance than to get sentimentally involved and get hurt.
Maintaining a light, flirtatious demeanor had come easily to him, and he was beginning to suspect he’d just never come across the right woman to inspire anything deeper, to make him want to take a leap beyond a superficial relationship and take a chance with his emotions.
Natalie, quite possibly, could be that woman. Because for the first time in his adult life he instinctively wanted to give to another person, as well as keep her safe from harm.
He’d never taken care of another person before, had never taken on such a huge responsibility as she presented—not in such a personal, soul-stirring way. Being the strong one in their family, the protector, had always been Cole’s job—a huge obligation thrust upon him at such a young age, and one Cole had taken very seriously. It had allowed Noah to adopt a carefree facade that hid a deeper pain and an inner fear of getting too attached to any one person.
His parents’ nasty divorce had shaken the foundation of his stable young life, and he’d spent years wondering why a mother who’d claimed to love her children hadn’t fought for custody of her two oldest boys, but instead had chosen to rip their sister, Joelle, from their lives as a way of hurting their father. Her selfish actions had not only pained Noah, but caused him to question what he’d done wrong to make his mother shun him.
In an attempt to make up for that feeling of inadequacy, he’d driven himself to please his father, a man with a heart of gold who made sure all his children knew his affection was unconditional. Noah had thrived on the security and stability of his dad’s love and had been so devastated by his death he still felt the loss.
And now fresh misgivings were rearing their ugly head, because he knew when everything was said and done with Natalie and she regained the memory of her old life, he stood to lose yet another person who’d affected him in such a profound way. A woman who made him realize just how empty and lonely his life had been without her in it.
The revelation caused his heart to thump hard in his chest. Turning his head, he buried his nose in Natalie’s hair, breathing deeply and losing himself in her scent. He resigned himself to the fact that he had no choice but to take things one day at a time with her and hope that she didn’t resent him when her memory returned. He also prayed that when that day of reckoning came, she’d understand that he’d used her genuine desire and trust as a way to protect her.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Noah groaned deep in his throat as soft, warm lips nestled against his neck, smooth hands caressed his chest, and long, slender limbs tangled around his legs. The dream filtering through his mind and arousing his body was so erotically intense, like his fondest, most carnal fantasy come to life. He fought the consciousness that beckoned, somehow knowing if he allowed himself to wake up, the provocative dream would dissipate, and he wanted to enjoy the inviting sensations rippling through him. Wanted to let the fantasy continue and see where it led.
His mind filled with images of Natalie, putting her in the starring role of temptress. A damp, ravishing mouth traveled lower, spreading sensuous kisses across his collarbone and down his chest to his nipples. A wet tongue stroked, laved, and he groaned as teeth scraped across the rigid tip.
Finely textured sweeps of her hair tickled his belly, heightening his need as her hot, moist breath sizzled across his skin, along with more luxurious, biting kisses. Slender fingers fluttered lower, pushing the waistband of his sweatpants down and out of the way so she could fondle the heavy sac between his thighs. She squeezed it gently before curling her fingers around his thick, straining erection and then measured his length with a slow, delicious stroke that made his hips buck upward and his hands clench the cool sheets at his sides.
Soft lips enveloped his dick, surrounding him in a seductive warmth and a sleek wetness that felt so incredibly real. Her wicked tongue swirled gently, maddeningly, over the sensitive head of his cock, and then she took him deep inside her mouth and sucked. The strong, pulling sensation and slick, hot friction made him impossibly harder. His breathing grew fast, shallow, as sheer primal lust rose swiftly to the surface. The muscles in his abdomen flexed, rippled, and his groin tightened in prelude to the release he needed so damn badly.
A shudder ripped through his body, and he instinctively reached down to wrap his aching shaft in his own fist to take himself to completion. Instead, he encount
ered soft, silky strands of hair. Struggling between waking up and the drugging fantasy seducing him, he cupped the back of her head in his palm and rode with the pleasurable rhythm of her mouth and hands drawing him closer and closer to the edge.
Natalie…
The name ricocheted through his head, penetrating the fog of desire clouding his brain with the jolting realization that this was no figment of his imagination, but reality in its purest, most erotic form. His eyes opened with a start, and he found Natalie sucking his cock, confirming what his subconscious had been trying to tell him.
With an explicit curse, he tangled his fingers in her hair, pulled her mouth away, and hauled her back up the length of the bed so that they were face-to-face. He stared down at her, seeing her features through the pale light of dawn seeping into the room. Her eyes were wide and startled by his abrupt move, but she looked completely lucid. And so damn sexy and beautiful he wanted to take her right then and there. Hard and fast and mindlessly.
But his personal ethics wouldn’t allow it to happen, despite that she was still completely naked from last night and didn’t seem inclined to refuse him anything.
“What are you doing?” he asked, his voice raw and hoarse. Stupid question considering he was still throbbing from her talented mouth, but it was the only thing he could bring himself to ask at the moment.
A sensual smile curved her lips, which were still wet from pleasuring him. “I was just returning the favor from last night.” She reached down, took him in her palm and stroked his length again.
He sucked in a swift breath as his dick surged with the threat of exploding. Grabbing her wrist, he pinned her arm at the side of her head, knowing he was one caress away from shooting off in her hand, which wasn’t at all what he’d envisioned for his first time with her.
“Did I ask you to?” he asked gruffly.
The eager light in her eyes faded a few degrees as she searched his expression. “No,” she said softly, a quiver of hurt in her voice. “I wanted to. I still do, if you’ll let me.”