by Emma Hart
Reagan stepped in closer to me, wrapping her free hand around my wrist as we walked. I did my best to keep us on the flat path since she was wearing heels, but it wasn’t too long before the sidewalk disappeared and we were on what was, essentially, a dirt road.
“Are you okay?” I looked down at her.
“I’ll be fine,” she answered, right as she almost fell.
I caught her with one sweeping arm. “Do you want to stop to take them off?”
She shook her head. “The path with cut my feet.”
It was pretty rough. “That leaves us with one option, then.”
“Which is?”
“This.” I bent my knees and hauled her up onto my shoulder.
A squeal escaped her, but it quickly turned into a laugh as she grabbed at me to keep hold of me. “Noah!”
I jogged the rest of the path, ignoring the squeaking noises that escaped her, until we reached the top of the dimly-lit path down toward the beach. “Here we go.”
Carefully, I released her. Her body slid down mine, every single curve brushing against my front. My hands found her waist as I moved to steady her, and her feet touched the ground right as her fingertips brushed my chest.
She was right in front of me—right against me. Pressed firmly as if I’d yanked her to me and held her in place. And she didn’t move. The rise and fall of her chest moved with mine, and her throat bobbed as she dragged her gaze up to meet mine.
Her blue eyes were bright, like a beacon in the darkness. I couldn’t look away from her. I was fucking captivated by her, by the way she laughed and the way she looked at me and the way she smiled.
She was fucking magic.
And I wanted to kiss her.
Probably more than I’d ever wanted to kiss anyone else.
Reagan’s tongue darted out and swept across the curve of her full lower lip.
Scratch that.
I definitely wanted to kiss her more than anyone else. The temptation beat across me like a steady drum. It was almost overwhelming. To just cup the back of her neck and press my lips to hers to see if it was as good as I thought it would be.
I just—shit.
I just wanted to kiss her. To see if she tasted like the chocolate fudge cake that was smudged at the corner of her mouth, darkening her lipstick.
I reached up, slowly, and held out my thumb. With my eyes still on hers, still fucking consumed by hers, I gently wiped my thumb over the corner of her lip. I dropped my gaze for all of two seconds to see if I’d gotten it all when she knocked my hand out of the way.
Reagan leaned up and kissed me.
Her lips were soft and full, firm and fucking perfect. Her nails lightly scratched my chest as she grasped my shirt in her fist, pulling me closer to her.
Desire slammed through me. She tasted like that chocolate cake and so much more.
She tasted like temptation and the death of all my self-control.
She tasted like someone who could be the rest of my fucking life.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN – REAGAN
Pucker Up, Bitches
I was kissing Noah.
Here, in the dark. At the top of the old steps that gave access to Creek Falls Cove. I was wrapped in his arms and gripping onto him like my life depended on it. My heart was doing the freaking flamenco inside my chest and there wasn’t a part of me that wasn’t on fire thanks to the heat of his lips.
They moved across mine with all the fervor of someone who’d wanted to kiss me first. I was the one who’d touched my lips to his, and it’d just happened.
He’d looked at me like, well—
He wanted to kiss me.
So I’d done it for him.
I wasn’t a girl who could stand and stare at someone all romantic and shit, so I’d gone in for the kill.
And now I was obsessed.
Obsessed with the feeling of his lips moving against mine. Obsessed with how he held me tight to him. Obsessed with the rush of sensations that flooded my body.
Ob. Freaking. Sessed.
I knew this man was dangerous.
I was afraid I hadn’t realized just how dangerous.
I pulled back and dipped my chin so there was a breath of space between our mouths. “Um,” I breathed.
“Did you just kiss me?” Noah whispered, his voice hoarse.
I blushed. “Little bit.”
“Little bit?” His fingers twitched. “If that was a little kiss, I’d love to see a make out session.”
Laughter burst out of me, and I pressed my face into his muscular chest. His body shook along with mine, and he tightened his arms around me.
Maybe it was because he’d saved my life.
Maybe it was because there was something about him that drew me to him.
Maybe it was just him.
But I’d never felt so safe in someone’s arms.
It was a jarring feeling; unnerving, almost. I wasn’t someone who found comfort in another person, not the way some people did. Yet with Noah, it was almost second nature.
I could stand here in his arms all night.
Literally all night.
I’d fall asleep here given half a chance.
“You still wanna go down?” I asked, shrugging one shoulder toward the beach.
“Can you see anything?”
“Not really.” I hesitated. “But the moon is coming out, and it’s always beautiful in the dark.”
He reached between us and tilted my head up. “Lead the way.”
The smile that stretched across my face was far too wide and far too bright, but I didn’t care in this moment.
It was the epitome of carefree.
I loved it.
I reached down and pulled off my shoes by the heels. I gripped them tightly and turned toward the steps that swept around the hill and lead to the beach. The steps were a mixture of stone and wood, but the wood was so well worn that I wasn’t worried about walking over it barefoot.
Noah fumbled behind me, then a flash of light appeared.
“What the…”
“I can’t see where I’m going,” he replied, moving past me. “Here, I’ll go first.”
“Why? To catch me if I fall?”
“Depends.”
“On what?”
“On whether you want to make a habit out of me saving your life.”
“Ha ha ha, very funny.” I poked my tongue out at his back. “Honestly, you save a girl’s life one time and it’s like that’s all you can talk about.”
“It was pretty heroic.”
“Did you know there are caves down here? Hardly anyone goes in them.”
“What are you saying?”
“They’re a good place to hide bodies.”
Noah stopped halfway down the steps and looked at me. “Really, Reagan?”
I shrugged. “Bodies have been found there. I was simply sharing some local trivia.”
“Yeah, that’s what you were doing.”
I grinned when he turned back around.
“I know you’re grinning.”
“Shut up,” I muttered, clutching my shoes close to me. A gentle breeze floated past us, and I shivered. I’d never been so thankful for a sweater in my life.
It helped that this one was soft and smelled like Noah.
I wrapped it around me tightly when we reached the bottom of the steps. The sand was cold between my toes, and I let go of another little shiver as one ran down my spine.
The beach was deserted; we were the only people here tonight. That wasn’t unusual—it was too late in the year for late night parties, and only the locals really knew about this beach.
We couldn’t let the tourists have everything, right?
“You cold?” Noah wrapped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me against him.
I wasn’t, but he didn’t need to know that.
So I nodded.
He was a good person to snuggle up against. Tall. Strong. Handsome. I’d been snuggled against worse.
/> What? I’d slept in the same bed as Halley and Ava, and Ava was an absolute mess in the morning.
We walked together for a few minutes. The waves rolled up the shore, the gentle crashing sound soothing to my ears. It was nice to just walk with him without either of us talking.
My lips still tingled from the kiss. It was a feeling I didn’t want to forget. Even if it never happened again, I could probably die happy.
I’d kissed the literal man of my dreams.
We turned and walked back toward the stairs where we went up the way we’d come down. It was completely dark by the time we got back to the truck, and Noah held my door for me while I climbed in.
He got in the other side and put in the key to start the truck. It rumbled to life, and I stole a glance at him.
Sweet baby Jesus, he was handsome.
Men like him were why catfights started.
It was evolution. We women were biologically wired to seek out and find the strongest, most manly man we could so we could procreate and keep up the questionable strength of the human line. Noah fit that to a tee.
He was definitely the kind of person I’d pop a few crotch goblins out with.
His dark hair was the thing of dreams. All I wanted to do was run my fingers through it and stroke it until my fingertips were raw, and I kind of wanted to rub my cheek against his stubbled jaw.
There was just a hint of it. The stubble, not his jaw. It cast a little shadow along the sharp, square shape of his chin.
His eyes were bright. Green and shining and alive. I could stare at them all day if it meant he was the one I was looking at.
“You’re staring at me, Reagan.”
I snapped my head away to stare out of the window. I guess my glance was longer than I’d assumed.
Way longer.
Swallowing, I gripped his sweater. It completely swamped me, but it was a little like wearing sweatpants or an oversized t-shirt. The comfort it brought was crazy.
“So.” Noah turned the truck onto my parents’ street. “Was that better or worse than you thought it would be?”
I fought a smile. “Better.”
“Always a plus.” He glanced over at me with a small smile before he pulled up outside the house. “What do you think my chances of a second date are?”
I unclipped my belt and turned in the cab. “Pretty good.”
“I can take that.” His lips curved to one side and he leaned over, wrapping one hand around the back of my neck.
His lips covered mine. He kissed me slowly and deeply. It was the kind of kiss that held promises of things to come, of things that would go much further than kissing in the front of his truck or near the beach.
Things that shot through my body with the anticipation of something more.
More than this.
Something that was deeper and more carnal than just a kiss in the front of his truck.
But this was the first date.
Did the first date matter when you’d been talking for days already? When you’d had lunch? When you spoke for hours every day? When he’d literally carried you out of a fire?
No.
None of that mattered.
Who cared if it was morally right or wrong? I knew Noah. He wasn’t a stranger. I knew so much about him that I wasn’t sure I’d ever known about my ex boyfriends.
More than anything, I knew that I was comfortable around him. I was happy around him. He made me laugh. He made me smile. He made me fucking happy.
More than anyone else ever had.
And I wanted him.
I wanted to be with him.
I wanted to kiss him against a door. I wanted to run my hands over his shirt and fumble with his buttons. I wanted to fight with his belt. I wanted to strip all his clothes off and climb on top of him like he was a mountain and I was conquering fucking Everest.
I wanted to screw his damn brains out.
Society be damned.
I dragged my teeth over his lower lip and exhaled heavily. “What if I told you I didn’t want to go home yet?”
Noah tilted his head so his nose brushed against mine. “What if I told you I didn’t want to leave you at home?”
“I’d tell you that you’ve stopped at the wrong address and you need to put your foot down,” I whispered.
He moved his lips over mine and sighed, his fingers momentarily tightening against my neck. His breath was hot when he pulled back just enough to look into my eyes. “Stop kissing me, then.”
I laughed and sat back, moving away from him. He didn’t even stop to put the blinker on before he put his foot down and pulled away from the curb.
“I don’t usually do this, for the record.”
“Do what?” He glanced over at me.
“Have sex on the first date.”
“Reagan, we’ve had lunch together, we’ve had dinner together, we’ve texted non-stop for more than two weeks, plus I saved your life. I don’t think this really counts as sex on the first date.”
“This is our first date and I’m going to your house to have sex with you. That’s sex on the first date.”
“The first official date.” He pulled up at a red light and looked over at me. “And it doesn’t matter if you do usually have sex on the first date. You’re not hurting anyone by doing that.”
He was right. But still. “I know. I just didn’t want to think that—”
“Think what? That you’re an adult who is capable of making your own decisions?” His lips curved. “Even though I’m pretty sure you’re only coming over so you can escape your family.”
“Aw, shit. You caught me.”
He laughed and pulled into a driveway in front of a new-build house. The development was less than a year old, and I remember there being a huge uproar when the town sold some of the park off to a developer for these houses.
I didn’t know what the problem was. The house was gorgeous—two stories, all exposed brick and white framed windows. I stepped out of the truck and Noah came around to shut the door for me. I followed him to the front door and then inside.
I couldn’t even look at the décor because I was immediately attacked by a tiny creature who jumped around my ankles.
“Poosh,” Noah said firmly. “Bed.”
I knelt down and scratched her behind her one white ear. She was absolutely adorable, and she quickly calmed as I lavished her with attention.
“Well aren’t you beautiful,” I cooed, moving to scratch under her chin.
“Of course. I forgot about the whole ‘YOU HAVE A CHIHUAHUA!’ thing.” Noah waved his hands, but he was smirking. “Would you like to have sex with me or play with my dog?”
“I can do both.” I grinned and stood up. “I can do both, right?”
He laughed. “You can do both. I just have to let her into the yard for a minute. It’s not exactly a seductive lead in to the bedroom.”
I slipped his sweater off and hung it on one of the hooks on the wall. “I don’t know. Being a responsible dog owner is kind of hot.”
Noah wiggled his eyebrows and pouted his lips in a kiss motion.
I pressed my hand against my lips so I didn’t burst out laughing, but it failed, because I snorted instead.
“C’mon, Poosh.” He winked at me. “Make yourself comfortable.”
Poosh ran off ahead of him, and I hesitated in the entryway for a moment. A little yip echoed through the house, and I slowly made my way into next room. A black, L-shaped sofa was tucked into the corner, facing the large TV that was fixed to the wall, and a gray and blue rug stretched across the floor beneath a glass coffee table.
It was every inch the bachelor pad.
I perched on the edge of the sofa. A part of me wanted to explore the entire house, but I also had no business snooping.
Which sucked because I wanted to snoop.
I was a snooper. A big, fat, hairy snooper.
I looked around. The walls were bare, but the floor was littered with dog toys. A black basket sat
beneath the TV, and I could see a flash of pink in there. That was probably the home of the wayward toys.
The sound of a door shutting was followed by claws tapping against the floor. Moments later, Noah came into the living room and stopped when he saw me.
“The sofa won’t bite you, you know.”
I pursed my lips. “What? I can’t perch?”
“No.” He grabbed my hands and pulled me up. He wrapped his arms around me and held me close to him, lowering his head to kiss me. His lips were soft and probing, drawing me deep into the kiss.
I slid my hands up around his neck and moved up onto my toes to meet him fully. It was all too easy to fall right into his kiss and get swept up in the feelings that washed over me.
Desire tingled down my spine and pooled between my legs. As Noah’s tongue flicked against the seam of my lips, I shuddered. It felt so good. All I wanted to do in this moment was climb up his body and wrap my legs around his waist and cling on for dear life.
Seriously. It was a problem.
Mostly because I wasn’t sure exactly how he would react if I actually did it.
I fought a giggle.
“What?” Noah leaned back and looked down at me. “If kissing me is that funny…”
“No. Just something I thought.” I shook my head. “Never mind.”
He half-smiled before he kissed me again. His tongue moved with mine as he explored my mouth, and just when I thought I was going to explode, he released me and dragged me upstairs by the hand.
He pulled me into a room and right back against him. His lips found mine in an urgent kiss, and when I pressed my body against his, I could feel his hard cock pressing against my lower stomach.
I fumbled with his shirt. The buttons were awkward, but a brief break in kissing got them all undone. Noah shrugged the shirt off and tossed it onto the floor, and I dragged my gaze over his body.
Holy shit.
He was built like a marble statue with muscles in all the right places. Strong, broad shoulders. Solid pecs. Abs that would make a blind woman weep.
He looked better than he had in my sex dream.
“What?” Noah’s eyebrows shot up.
“Oh, shit. Did I say that out loud?”
“You dreamed about having sex with me?”