“It sounds like everything is going to plan,” she said. She worked up a big smile, but I didn’t buy it. “Now you’re free to go like you want.”
My gut clenched. Is that what I wanted? I remembered Hunter warning me that what I was striving for wasn’t really what I wanted.
“I still have a little more to finish up here. I need to find the access point.”
“Oh. Right.”
“It means I’ll be sticking around for a bit.”
She nodded. “I know your family will like that.”
I frowned. “What about you? Will you like that?”
Her smile was bittersweet. “Yes, of course.”
I stood and reached for her hand, pulling her to me. “If you’ve changed your mind about me—”
“What? No.”
“I meant what I said in Hong Kong. I like you. I want to spend time with you. It’s unclear to me if you want that too.”
She bit her lip. “I do want that. I don’t feel I deserve it.”
“You need to let that go. It’s getting annoying,” I said hoping to push her out of her funk.
“Well, if I’m annoying,” she started as she pulled away.
“You are when you say you want me and then push me away.”
“That’s rich, Noah Strong. You did the very same thing to me in Hong Kong.” Her eyes flared to life.
I cupped her cheek. “Ah, there’s the Andi I know.”
She rolled her eyes.
“I don’t suppose you have any dessert?”
The heat in her eyes now wasn’t from annoyance. It was pure lust, and it made my dick nearly come out of my pants.
“I have a bedroom.”
“Perfect. Show me the way,” I said.
Her room was like the rest of the house, clean and organized. Mostly I noticed the bed, which thankfully was a queen size. I planned to make use of every inch of it now. Later, I’d take her to my place, and we’d use the entirety of my king-sized bed.
We stood next to the bed and pushed her dark hair away from her face. “This is a do-over, Andi. I want you. And if you want me, that’s all we need to know right now.”
“I want you.”
“Now that we have that cleared up, I’m ready for dessert.” I scooped her up and tossed her on the bed. Then I climbed over her. “I’m going to lick every inch of you. You’ll come two or three times. You’re welcome to scream my name when you do.”
“Your arrogance is showing.”
“Confidence isn't arrogance,” I said, and then I prevented her from saying more by kissing her. I meant what I’d said. I was going to take in each inch of her. I wasn’t sure this would last, so I’d sear her body, her sounds, her taste into my brain so it could live in my memory forever.
I got her undressed and began my journey over her body. When I reached her pussy, I settled my shoulders between her thighs, planning to spend a long time there. I pushed her thighs open wider and marveled at her glistening nest of curls.
I blew gently on them, loving how she moaned and her hips rocked.
“Hold on, Andi, I’m starving.” I licked through her pussy lips and her taste was like heaven. Sweet and potent. I used my fingers to open her more so I could devour her.
“Oh God,” she moaned as her fingers gripped my head.
I licked and sucked her clit, then fucked her with my tongue until her body went taut and her sweet juices filling my mouth.
“So fucking good,” I murmured. I brought her down and let her rest for a moment as I kissed her inner thighs, sucking gently to leave a mark.
“Noah,” she gasped and tried to grip my shoulders. “I want you.”
“I’m right here.” I licked through her pussy again. Her hips gyrated in response.
“Inside me. I want you inside me.”
“Like this?” I slipped a finger inside her and gently rubbed the erotic spot. Her body arched.
“No…I want your dick…oh God.”
“My dick wants you. But first, I want to eat you again.” I fucked her with my fingers as I flicked my tongue over her clit.
A low constant moan grew from her as her body rocked beneath me.
“Say my name,” I demanded. It was stupid, but I needed to know that she knew it was me giving her this pleasure. “Say it when you come.”
I wrapped my lips around her clit and sucked hard as my fingers plunged inside.
“Noah!”
Her pussy clasped around my fingers and my dick was jealous, but he’d had to wait. I finger fucked her and sucked her clit until she was boneless underneath me.
“Oh my God,” she chanted in little whimpers.
I rose over her perching my dick at her entrance, only then did I realize I wasn’t wearing a condom.
“Fuck.” I started to roll away, but she grabbed at me. “I need a condom.”
Her eyes fluttered open. “I’m on the pill. And healthy.”
I swallowed hard as I realized what she was saying. My father and later my brothers instilled in me the importance of always wearing a condom. Of course, Carter had broken that rule with Jess, but in the end, it turned out well.
“You trust me?” I asked, because of the two of us, I suspected I was the more promiscuous.
She nodded. “Do you trust me?” Then she turned away. “Maybe you're right…”
I pressed the head of my dick to her pussy. “I want to fuck you bare so bad I can hardly see straight.”
“It's okay. I’m protected.”
At that moment, I didn’t think I gave a shit about that too. In fact, thinking about sinking my seed in her and making a baby was strangely erotic.
“Look at me,” I said.
Our gazes held and I pressed in, and holy fuck, her body was warm and wet and pulled me home.
26
Andi
I wasn't a reckless person. I wasn't one to take a chance with my health or even an unplanned pregnancy, but there was something about being with Noah just now that didn't seem reckless at all. It seemed perfect. He was like a puzzle piece that I didn't know had been missing that snapped perfectly into my life.
Of course, I knew that this wasn't necessarily forever. For all I knew it might not even be beyond tonight. But for the moment it was all that I could ever ask for and more. For this moment I felt like I had something that Kellie and Natalie and Jess had; the man I loved loving me back. Perhaps it was silly, but I couldn't really help it. Beyond silly, it was dangerous to think like that, but there was no denying that my heart belonged to him. That it had belonged to him since the day he had rode up to me on his motorcycle and offered me a ride.
“Noah,” his name left my mouth in a floaty sigh as he filled me. He was thick and warm, and mine, I thought as I wrapped my legs around his hips to hold him to me, to pull him deeper.
He looked down on me, his gaze mirroring my sentiment; this was different, special. He leaned down and kissed me, soft and tender, as his dick pulsed inside me. At that moment, I felt a part of him and that he was a part of me. Two souls connected.
His hand slipped under my back while the other caressed down my side, hooking under my thigh and pulling it up and open. He lifted his head, his gaze on mine as he started to move, slow, yet thorough. He withdrew and then slid back in. Each time he sank in, our sighs and groans echoed through the room.
I could have stayed with him like that forever, in that sweet torture of needy bliss. But our bodies had other ideas, and soon he was pumping inside me, faster, harder.
“Andi,” he said on a harsh gasp. “Fuck baby, I’m gonna come.”
“Yes.” My fingers dug into his upper back. I arched as my own pleasure teetered on the edge. My pussy was on fire. I could barely breathe. And then I was there. Like a supernova bursting, my orgasm detonated through my whole body. “Noah!”
“Fuck yes,” he groaned, plunging in and grinding against me before doing it again. Liquid warmth filled my body each time.
We moved together in a
dance I couldn’t remember ever having with anyone else before, until finally he collapsed on me.
"I've never done that before," he said, his eyes intense as they look down at me.
I smirked. "I know for a fact that you've done this before. You've done it with me."
He grinned. "Well, that's true but that's not what I was talking about. I was talking about doing it without a rubber."
I couldn't help but feel like that meant something, even though it was dangerous to attribute his comment to something beyond lust with a little bit of caring thrown in.
But I knew for me that telling him going without a condom was okay because I loved and trusted him. "I haven't either."
"It was fucking awesome.”
I laughed. "You're always one for the understatement, Noah."
He rolled until he was on his back and he tucked me into his side. "You should probably get some rest. There's going to be a lot of work to be done over the next few days and we can’t have jet lagged brains."
I frowned. "Are you going somewhere?"
"I should probably go to visit with my dad. We all like to check in on him and since I've been out of the country, I feel like I should go see him."
"Yes, of course." I knew how close all the brothers were to their father.
"If you wanted to come over to my place tonight, I could make you some dinner."
I arched a brow. "You mean arrange more take out?"
He pressed his hand over his chest and looked like he was in pain. "You cut me, Andi. But for your information, I do know how to cook a few things."
"That is something I would like to see."
"Then be at my place around seven." He leaned over giving me a quick kiss and rolled out of bed. I watched as he found his clothes and began to put them on. All the Strong brothers were handsome and fit, but I felt certain Noah was the handsomest and fittest of them all. I got hot just watching the way his shoulders, his muscles would bunch and lengthen as he put his clothes on.
"You keep looking at me like that, I won’t be able to get out of this place,” he said.
"That would be all right with me."
He grinned and leaned over to give me another kiss. "Let's hope it stays that way."
He winked and left the room. I knew his words were meant as a joke, but if our relationship over the past few years, over the last week even, was any indication. We would be bumping heads again before long.
I told myself not to worry about it and instead focus on the here and now. And right now, after having some pretty spectacular sex, along with a long flight back from Hong Kong, I was exhausted. I set my alarm just in case I was so tired I would sleep through the night because I wanted to take Noah up on his offer of dinner. Then I closed my eyes and fell asleep.
Ringing. My phone was ringing. I startled up to sit. Disoriented, I looked around trying to figure out where I was and when it was. I stumbled out of bed and found my phone in the pile of clothes I shed on my way to having sex with Noah. I picked it up and checked the time. It was still midafternoon. The caller ID indicated it was Jess.
"Hello," I said, hearing the sleepiness in my voice.
"Aunt Andi," Tanner's three-year-old voice came over the line.
"Hey hammer. How are you?" I said, rubbing the sleep from my eyes.
"It’s my birthday almost. Can you come?"
I smiled at how sweet this little boy was. “I'd love to come. When is it?"
"Mommy she's asking me when it is," he said to Jess.
"Hey Andi, it's Jess."
"Well, I hope so, because I'm talking to your son."
She laughed. "Yes. I can’t believe he’s almost four. He's wanting to have a birthday party and was hoping that you might be able to come. It will be here at the pool and he'll have a couple little friends but mostly he wants family and, of course, you."
For some reason, her words reminded me that while I was very close with the Strong family, I wasn't actually family. For the first time I envied Jess, and Kellie and Natalie. I reminded myself that I appreciated how they included me even though I wasn’t a member of the family.
“Just name the time and place, and if I'm not required to be somewhere else because of Margaret, I'll be there. Also maybe give me an idea of what I can get him for his birthday."
"That's great, I'll text the information right over." There was a slight pause and then she added, "So, did everything with you and Noah turn out all right?"
I lay back on bed and stretched my body feeling like I had just gone through a strenuous workout, but in a good way. "Yes. At least for now."
"Does that mean?"
"Noah and I have a way of sometimes annoying each other. But for right now all is good."
"I think you and Noah annoy each other because you are denying all that explosive chemistry between you two."
I couldn't be sure that that was true, but I couldn't also deny it either.
"Is he there now? Am I taking away some quality time?"
"No. He went to visit his dad."
"I don't think I've ever seen a group of kids as dedicated to their father as they are. I hope someday that Tanner feels the same about us as Carter and his brothers feel about Alex."
"I'm sure he will."
There was something about Alex that was extra special. There were some people who thought that he was weak for not stepping up to be a part of his mother's business or that he'd never completely recovered from the loss of his wife so many years ago. But to me, he seemed like a man of strength and conviction because everything he'd done since the moment he lost his wife was in service to his sons.
He’s succeeded in raising kind, smart, talented men. And while not so long ago I might've said, except for Noah, the truth was, I always knew that Noah was the same. In all honesty, my gripe with Noah was knowing that he wasn't living up to his full potential. Then again, I still wasn't sure about his secret project he'd been working on. All I'd really known about him was how much he liked to ride his motorcycle, womanize, and annoy me.
I couldn't stop wondering how long he would be satisfied with me before he got bored and went back to his old ways. But again, I shoved that away, and decided I would focus just on the here and now.
"Listen Andi, I’d love to stay and talk some more, but I'm not quite sure where Tanner is and that's never a good sign."
"You go find him. And text me that birthday information."
We hung up the phone and I straightened my bed, picked up my clothes and then went to take a shower. This time dressing for a date, I was nervous. I pulled out nearly every dress I owned not quite sure what I should wear. Should I go with casual or something a little more dressed up? Should I go with something sexy or something more subtle? I laughed at myself, as I felt like I was a schoolgirl again with a crush on a boy.
I finally chose a cherry red dress, perfect for the time of year. I wore my hair down because I got the feeling that Noah liked it that way. I put on makeup, but only enough to highlight my assets.
I grabbed my purse and a sweater in case it was cooler out where he was, and started out the door. My phone beeped. I looked down at the notification of an email from Marcus. I stared at it for a minute wondering if I should open it. Before we learned everything about Marcus, I would've absolutely answered it. Any day or night, when business email came in, if I noticed it, I would deal with it. But things were different now that Marcus was the adversary. I knew that Noah's brothers were taking care of what needed to be done to save the business, so I didn't see any reason to open the email. Instead, I put my phone in my purse and headed out to my car to drive out to see Noah. I was excited for what the night might hold, even as I worried this could all still go very badly.
27
Noah
I didn't want to leave Andi's side. Ever. And because of that, I had to leave. I hadn't lied about going to see my father, but the intensity of what had just happened between us terrified me and so I was glad for the excuse to leave. As
much as I wanted to stay, a part of me still hadn't completely gotten over how Andi had been so willing to believe that I would betray my family. Especially on the word of a man like Chen. While my heart was ready to go all in with Andi, common sense was urging me to go slow. I'd never really had my heart broken before and I didn't want to start now. Well, that wasn’t exactly true. I think my heart broke the minute I realized Andi was accusing me of betraying my family.
So, I got myself out of her bed, dressed and on my motorcycle headed out to the beach to visit my father. Nearly a year ago he'd been in a serious car accident, and had to go through major rehabilitation. Now he was nearly as good as new, and had even resumed surfing, his favorite pastime.
When I arrived, I was glad to see that none of my brothers were there. I wanted an opportunity to talk to him alone. I walked through the house and out to the back terrace, where he could almost always be found if it wasn't raining, which didn't happen very often in Southern California.
His eyes lit up when he saw me. "Noah, you’re back." He stood from the table where he'd been enjoying an afternoon glass of wine and came over to hug me.
"Yes, a few hours ago, although it feels like days," I laughed.
"Jet lag will do that to you. I'm glad that you came to see me, but if you'd rather go inside and take a nap, I’d understand."
I shook my head. "It's always better to get through the first day according to the time zone."
"Well come sit down. Would you like a glass of wine?" He sat at the table.
I shook my head and waved my hand. "No, if I'm going to stay awake, I can't have wine."
"According to your grandmother. You saved the day."
"I don't know if I'd go that far. I did what she asked me to do." It was nice to breathe in the sea air and soak up the sun as I sat across from him.
"She told me of the deal she struck with you."
I studied my father what he thought about that. My grandmother had told me been happy that she was letting me go, and he was the type of person that would sacrifice his own feelings to make his kids happy. But it didn't mean that it would make him happy.
Hate to Love You Strong Brothers #4) Page 16