by KB Alan
“I can see you put a lot of thought and effort in that direction.”
He squeezed his arm around her. “Oh yeah.”
She smiled. The air was heavy with heat and humidity, so they went back inside to play cards some more. He kicked her butt in gin rummy and she returned the favor with double solitaire. It was still warm when they went for a walk, but not as bad as it had been. They climbed up to the tree house and necked.
“Why does this feel naughty?” she asked. It was sort of ridiculous, considering the things they’d been up to all weekend.
He laughed. “It does, doesn’t it?” He backed her up so that her butt was on the little window sill. She wrapped her legs around his hips and sank into the pleasure of him.
When firecrackers sounded again, he ducked his head to look out behind her. “Sun will be down soon, let’s head back.”
They tromped through the trees and back around to the front of the cabin. He stopped her and pointed at the big windows that faced the pond. “See how the sun is reflecting off the windows and you can’t see in?”
She nodded. “We can keep the curtains open as long as the lights are off, and no one will see in. Does that mean I’ll be naked while we watch the fireworks?”
“That’s exactly what it means.”
She pretended to sigh. “If that’s what Sir wants.”
He bit the curve of her shoulder, through her shirt in response.
Despite the teasing, when Noah opened the door to the cabin, he didn’t give Natalie a chance to get naked and kneel. “Help me move the couch.” He went to one end and she went to the other, and they moved it a couple feet closer to the windows.
He went to her, cupping her bottom in his hands to urge her up a bit, then leaning down to meet her for a kiss. She opened for him, as always, so sweet and welcoming. He could lose himself in her. Wanted to lose himself in her. Except, more, he wanted to show her all the pleasures she could endure, and that took concentration.
But now was for simple pleasures. He squeezed his hands on her butt, then moved them up her back, snagging the hem of her shirt and lifting it up. He broke the kiss and pulled the shirt over her head.
He looked at her, not surprised when she blushed. She’d spent most of the weekend naked, but blushed while wearing shorts and a bra. He slipped a finger of each hand under the straps and ran them up and down, watching her chest rise and fall, her lip disappear between her teeth.
The peach bra was lacy and delicate and didn’t really seem like it could support her ample breasts, though the straps were wide. Slight red marks showed where he’d lifted them. He reached behind her and unhooked the clasps, drew the lace down and away from her tempting flesh.
He rubbed lightly at the redness on her shoulders, then more firmly, drawing his thumb under her breasts, where the skin was slightly indented. She reached for his shoulders and drew her hands down his back.
“I get to touch,” she whispered.
“You do,” he agreed. “Let’s see how much I can distract you, though.”
Her mouth went mutinous and he kissed it. She melted under him and he smiled against her lips. Her fingers dug into his biceps. He kept kissing her as he massaged her breasts, thumbing her nipples into tight points.
Her hips pressed into his and her nails drew light scratches down his back. She brought her hands around to his front and worked his belt open. Good to know that his woman could multitask. Seeing her bound for him that afternoon had pleased him very, very much. But so did having her eager and willing hands jerking open his shorts and trying to shove them and his boxers off his hips without breaking their kiss.
Luckily, her shorts were just elastic at the top, so it took little effort to slide them down, along with her panties. They broke their kiss so they could step clear of the clothes. She offered him a wicked grin he’d never seen on her before, and gave him a shove. Not a hard one, he could have resisted, but…why? He went down on the couch and reached for her as she kneeled up onto it, straddling his legs.
She threaded her fingers into his hair and joined their lips again. Nice of her to have parted her legs so neatly. He snuck a hand between them and tested her entrance. Wet and slick. She moaned into his mouth when he eased his finger inside. He broke the kiss and brought his fingers to her lips. She sucked it in eagerly, her eyes bright and needy.
“You make me so fucking hot,” he told her.
Her cheeks flushed in surprise and pleasure and she glanced down at his cock—curving up to hit his stomach—as if to check the evidence for herself. The gleam in her eye warned him he better move fast. He lifted her up and turned, so that they were both laying on their sides, facing the windows, his back against the back of the couch, hers against his chest. She immediately put her top leg up over his and he slid inside her.
She reached behind him and grabbed a handful of his ass. Barking a laugh into her ear, he circled her clit, lightly at first, then more firmly.
The sun had dipped below the tree line, casting the room in deep shadows. But he didn’t need to see anything when he had his arms full of Natalie. She rotated her hips and worked with him, her fingers flexing on his ass in time with his thrusts.
He licked the shell of her ear and she shuddered. “When you’re ready, if you’re ready, I’ll make you come at the club in front of whoever feels like paying attention. I don’t know if you’ll be naked, or fully clothed, but I do know that you’ll come so sweetly, because you do, every time. For now, though, I like knowing that they’re all for me. Only for me to hear the little sounds you make. Definitely I’ll be the only one feeling your nails digging in as you try to hold off from coming.”
“Noah,” she breathed.
“Oh, yeah, that’s a good sound, there.” He nuzzled the hollow behind her ear. “Say it again.”
“Noah!” Her voice was higher this time as his fingers pulsed around her clit.
“Don’t come yet,” he warned her, even though she wasn’t wearing his collar. “Wait for me.”
She tightened around him, moved her hand from his butt to his head, holding on to his hair. He moved the hand that was under her, having just enough leeway to offer his thumb to her lips. She latched on and sucked him in, bit down.
Fuuuuck. He wasn’t sure how much longer he could last. His heart was pounding in his ears like they’d been running a marathon, but he could still hear her moans and gasps. His balls tightened and he had to close his eyes. He pushed into her and held, pinched her clit. “Come now, with me.”
He managed to wait for her muscles to spasm around his, and then the electric currents overtook him and he came, hard.
Two seconds later, the night exploded in color. Natalie gasped as the boom of the fireworks chased the lights. Grinning against her ear, he held her tight as the fireworks show lit up the sky and she giggled.
“Okay, that was impressive, Mr. Tucker.”
“You’re supposed to say explosive.”
She convulsed into laughter.
More and more fireworks burst into the night, their reflections rippling over the pond. The show went on for a good fifteen minutes while they watched. Different explosions sounded in the distance behind them. If they’d been outside, they probably could have stood in a way they could see several shows at once. But this was enough. This was more than enough.
Chapter Nineteen
Natalie had felt sad when, after breakfast, Noah put the magnetic collar on instead of her locking collar. The weekend at the cabin had been amazing and part of her never wanted to leave. She hadn’t loved everything they’d done, but that had been part of the fun, trying new and different things. Maybe they could come back for another long weekend, when they’d settled in on what kind of play they liked to do together. Then again, she hoped there’d always be room for trying new things.
They’d watched a movie last night, after he’d drawn the curtains, with the occasional boom of fireworks continuing long into the night. This whole weekend she’d slept su
rprisingly well for being in a strange bed, and sharing it with someone else. She’d cooked their eggs wearing his cuffs and collar while he started the laundry, then he’d packed all his gear away and they’d cleaned the cabin.
The drive home had been easy and when she’d asked him to swing through a drive-through to get a shake, she’d had the odd sensation of wearing the collar while someone else was talking to him. She’d walked into a club wearing a man’s collar before, but that seemed like a completely different Natalie. A girl who’d had no clue who she was and what she was capable of.
She’d be proud, she decided, to walk into a club wearing Noah’s collar.
She told him she wanted to go to Apex with him, whenever he was ready. The grin of anticipation he shot her made her giddy. When they reached her apartment building, he lucked into a parking space half a block away.
“Hard to believe we left only,” he paused and squinted as he calculated “less than seventy hours ago.”
“I remember wondering if this was weekend was going to be a waste of both our times, and feeling guilty that it might be. That I would quickly decide that my kinky side was just a phase and not anything I wanted to resurrect. Feels so silly now, to have thought that. And I thought, ‘don’t get caught up in Noah, he’s doing you this favor, don’t repay him by hoping for something else’.”
“I thought I was being this magnanimous mentor, donating my time and attention for a good cause. Okay, not really…I thought I’d have a fun weekend of helping you to explore, and that later I’d give you all kinds of advice about who was right for you and who wasn’t.”
She smirked. “I’m sure I would have been happy for your advice.”
He growled. “Oh, I’ll be giving you advice all right. Plenty of it.”
She smacked a kiss on his lips. “It’s a little weird. I’ve never started a relationship with a nearly seventy-hour sex-a-thon before.”
“Think of what we can tell our grandkids,” he teased.
She burst out laughing, then sobered when he put his hand on her neck and fiddled with the collar.
“Even though we’re starting something new, we haven’t really talked about it, or negotiated, and now isn’t the time. Our weekend of you following my orders is over when I take this off, so I’m going to ask this of you as a favor.”
“All right?”
“I want you to keep in mind what happened yesterday morning. You had sub drop. You could get it again this week. And it might feel like that morning, or totally different. If you start feeling sad or confused for no good reason, call me. Doesn’t matter what time. If your brain starts spinning in different directions, call me. If you really don’t want to call me, or text me, call Annalise.”
“Oh. Okay. I can do that.”
“Good. I’ll be in touch, too, but I don’t want to be a creepy stalker.” He leered at her.
She laughed, but it only lasted a minute because he gently pulled the collar off and tucked it into his pocket.
“I’m sorry you have to go to work today,” she said, focusing on the fact that he wasn’t walking away, he would be putting a collar on her again, in the future.
“It’ll be fine. Give me something to concentrate on rather than thoughts of you, naked and willing and ready.”
They got out of the car and he grabbed her bag. He walked her to her apartment and put the bag on her couch, then pulled her into a hug. “Thank you for an amazing weekend.” His voice was rough, his arms tight around her.
“Stupendous,” she said, her throat tight. She didn’t want to let him go. She was afraid it would all turn out to be a really intricate dream and next time she saw him, he’d just be Alec’s best friend who’d give her a friendly smile.
“I’ll call you after I get home tonight.” He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her. “But you promised, so I’ll expect a call or text if you start to feel droppy.”
“Yes, Noah.”
He grinned and left. She locked the door behind him and dropped to the couch. Then she called Annalise.
“Oh. My. God,” she began when her friend answered. And gave her a highly edited version of events. Annalise teased her about having been right about Natalie and Noah all along, and she could only grin into the phone.
When she finally hung up, she looked around her apartment, feeling a little out of touch with the life she’d led before getting in his car. Not only was she now a woman with a kinky side, she was a woman starting a new relationship. It had been a while.
The apartment felt stuffy from being closed up, so she opened all the windows, put an audio book on and her earbuds in, and started to clean. When she took a break for lunch, she sent Noah a text with the number one and a smiley face. He responded with a thumbs up and a kissy face.
When she finished with the bathroom, she unpacked and dropped onto the couch, falling into a nap almost instantly. She dreamt that she and Noah were on the public swings on the Lawn on D. The public park had installed giant adult-sized swings, wide circles that lit up at night and could fit more than one person at a time. She was naked and Noah was making love to her while other—fully clothed—people went about their evening, paying them no attention.
She woke up with a start when her phone rang.
“Sonya and Alec are at the hospital,” Annalise told her when she answered. “She’s in labor, but it’s probably going to be a while.”
“Do they want people there, or do they want privacy?”
“They don’t mind if we come by, but only her mom will be in the room with them once things progress. There’s a restaurant across the street. We were thinking of going to the hospital for a quick hello, then going to dinner to get out of the way, but still be close if it goes faster than they expect. I’ll pick you up in fifteen?”
“I’ll be ready.”
She loved that it was assumed she would be there. But that if she had a reason not to be, that would be understood, as well. After her dad had died and her aunt and uncle had moved away, it had just been her mom and her grandparents. It was fine, she’d been loved, in a quiet sort of way. It had taken time to get used to the boisterous and insistent version of love and family in the Weber-Crawford clan.
Annalise was grinning from ear to ear when Natalie hopped into her car. “I’m gonna be an auntie!”
Natalie laughed. “You are, it’s going to be awesome.”
They chatted on the way to the hospital, Annalise practically bouncing with her excitement. They stuck their heads into Sonya’s room and were waved inside.
Sonya looked tired but excited. Alec looked excited but nervous.
“The nurses say it will be several hours at least,” Alec said. “I hear you guys are going out to dinner.” He kept talking as Sonya started a contraction. She gripped his hand, and he rubbed her shoulder and kissed her temple.
“I’m jealous,” Sonya panted. “I don’t get to eat. Doesn’t seem fair.”
“Can we sneak you in something?” Annalise asked. Her eyes were wide and she looked a little green.
The contraction ended and Annalise relaxed and grinned. “No, I’m just whining. I have an endless supply of ice chips, I’ll be fine. But when it’s over, I’d really love something sweet. And chocolate.”
“Ooh, have you tried the pastries from that new place?” Annalise grabbed her phone and pulled up the website to show her sister-in-law.
Alec pulled Natalie to the side and scrutinized her face. “You had a good weekend?”
She smiled, loving that he cared. “Yes, it was awesome.” She hesitated. She wasn’t sure if Noah had said anything to Alec yet. It had only been a few hours, and he might want to be the one to tell his best friend that they were starting something together.
Alec’s lips quirked. “Noah’s needed someone like you for a long time. I’m glad he recognized that.”
“Someone like me?” she teased.
“Someone kind and giving but with plenty of backbone.”
Curious, she coc
ked her head. “And how do you know I have that?”
“Who waded in and got Uncle Harvey to back down from fighting that umpire at his son’s baseball game? And who convinced Grandma that giving up her driver’s license meant she would get to see her grandkids and great grandkids more, not less, ending the battle that had raged for two weeks? I could go on.”
“Huh.”
He laughed and slung an arm around her shoulders, dragging her back to the bed to hold Sonya’s hand through the next contraction.
“Are you sure it’s going to be hours?” Natalie asked. “Maybe we should stay at the hospital, the contractions are a lot.”
“Apparently this is nothing and it’s going to get a lot worse.” Sonya grimaced then patted her husband’s arm when sweat popped out on his forehead. “It will be worth it, though.”
“Suddenly adoption seems like a really worthy goal,” Annalise muttered. Natalie couldn’t disagree.
Sonya’s mom came back, so Natalie and Annalise headed out to grab chocolate pastries from the bakery, then over to the restaurant. The family already had a table and they squeezed in, Natalie ending up next to Ophelia, Alec and Annalise’s mom. She was beaming and chattering with excitement. Although she had grand nieces and nephews, this would be her first grandbaby.
“And what about you, my lovely?” she asked Natalie as they gathered up their leftovers. “When are you going to give me more babies to spoil?”
Nat laughed. “You haven’t even had a chance to spoil this one yet. Wait, that’s not true, I’ve seen the nursery.”
“There will be plenty to go around. Cousins are a blessing, and this one will—” She broke off, then wrapped Natalie in a hug. “Oh, sweetheart, I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. Cousins are important, and I hope I’ll add to the brood. Nothing would make me happier than for my children to grow up part of this family.”
Ophelia kissed her forehead. “You know, in this day and age, you don’t even really need a man if you want to get started now.”