by Zara Cox
“That thing I promised on top of the mountain?”
“Yes,” he croaked, his gaze dropping to the mouth she’d worried until they were now plump and pink. “I remember.”
“I don’t think I can do it...”
Crap. He barely stopped himself from cursing as a healthy percentage of his fantasies evaporated into thin air. “You don’t have to do it if it’s not your thing.”
“No, I didn’t mean that. I meant I’ve never actually...done it before.” The odd inflection in her tone made him pause.
Noah understood nuance. Hell he’d had to learn very quickly when he set up his business and realized dealing with billions of dollars meant catering to egos and personalities that could test even the saintliest temperament. And after fifteen years at the top of his game, he could read the trickiest opponents who thought he could test how far they could push his resolve a mile away.
But he couldn’t grasp the nuance slapping him in the face.
He’d played his fingers thoroughly between her thighs last night, explored her sweet pussy so expertly he could close his eyes and recall exactly how she felt.
Except he’d pulled back before enjoying her as fully as he’d wanted to. “Jesus, sweetheart, please don’t tell me you’re a virgin?” Another soul-destroying dose of erotic images vanished. He clutched the counter harder, the pain of knowing he’d have to walk away almost debilitating.
“No, I’m not.”
His breath rushed out in thankful relief as elation flooded his system. He swallowed down his roar of joy. “Are you sure?”
She frowned. “Is that a serious question?”
“No, I meant are you sure you can’t do it?” Please God, let her be willing to try. He needed at the back of her throat like he needed to breathe.
“I don’t want to mess it up.”
His bark of laughter slammed around the room, a harsh noise that made her flinch. He rounded the counter and grasped her arms. “Sweetheart, I’ve seen you move your body like a siren while I pleasured you. I’ve seen you ski with an innate rhythm that’s almost a part of your DNA. I’m willing to bet you’d be a natural.”
“And if I’m not?”
“Then I’ll teach you.” He kissed her plump mouth and moved away before he gave into the urge to start her lesson straight away. “Let’s eat.”
How he managed to calmly dish out the food and take a seat across from her on the center aisle and actually chew and swallow would forever remain a mystery to him.
Watching her long black nails rip her bagel in chunks before popping them piece by piece into her mouth, was pure fucking torture.
He cleared his throat loudly. “Right. Small talk. You joined the IL trip in Miami so am I right to assume you live there?”
She nodded. “I’ve lived in Florida all my life. But we...I’ve moved around a bit.”
“So where’s home now?”
“Palm Beach.”
She named the exclusive area and he nodded, not even a little surprised. Old Money.
He’d toyed with buying a place there when he relocated from New York two years ago. In the end, he’d resisted Gabriel’s strong arm tactics to buy the mansion next to his and bought a condo on West Palm Beach instead. Noah loved the view of ocean from his penthouse apartment...when he bothered to leave his office long enough to appreciate it.
“You?”
“Condo. West Palm Beach.”
Her wide eyes drifted down his torso. “Fitting.”
“You trying to peg me, sweetheart?”
“I suppose you could fit the surfer profile. If you grew your hair out a little and invested in a bead necklace.
His mouth twitched. “Sorry, I’ve never surfed in my life. Where did you learn to ski so well?”
Her eyes darkened a touch and he sensed he’d lit on a delicate subject. “My dad taught me. He took me skiing from when I was three until he...he died.” Her mouth quivered for a second, then she pressed her lips together and forced a smile. “You?”
“My cousin and I bought a resort in Aspen ten years ago. He runs it. I go whenever I can during the season.”
“You own a resort?”
He nodded. “So you didn’t stop skiing after your dad died?”
“I did for a year. It was too painful. But I got my mom to take me the next year.”
Something in her voice tweaked his radar. “Your mom didn’t like skiing?”
The faintest hint of a smile whispered across her lips before her eyes shadowed. “There was a reason we lived in Florida. She hated the cold. It was a choice between Florida or California. My dad was born in New Jersey. Florida was as far as he wanted to go from his childhood home.”
Again he noted the affection in her voice when she spoke about her father and the distinct lack when she touched on her mother.
“What happened to him?”
Pain shrouded her eyes and he kicked himself for letting curiosity get the better of him. She swallowed a mouthful of bagel then answered. “He drowned while he was diving off the Florida Keys. His equipment got entangled in fishing gear and he ran out of oxygen.”
“Hell.”
“It’s okay. I don’t mind talking about him. I had twelve unforgettable years with him.”
“Sounds like he was a great dad.”
She nodded. “The best. He made living with my mom bearable. I miss him every day.”
Noah popped a square cold cut into his mouth and chewed. “What’s it like living with your mom now?”
She dropped the last bite of her bagel and brushed her fingers in a no-nonsense way. But he wasn’t fooled. The very air vibrated with her pain and sadness.
When she looked up and the shadows and ghosts she’d promised wouldn’t come between them loomed large in her eyes. “My mom’s dead too. She shot my stepfather when I was seventeen. Then she shot herself.”
Chapter Fourteen
Seeing the slack-jawed shock on his face rammed home to her unequivocally that she’d said the words. Invited the ghosts to lunch. A shiver slammed through her, followed closely by several more.
She pushed away from the remains of their lunch and strode quickly from the kitchen.
What the hell was wrong with her? She’d ruined what had promised to be a weeklong relief from remembering everything that was wrong in her life. Instead she’d dragged her past kicking and screaming into the present.
Seeing the crackling fire, the rug and the champagne just waiting to launch the scenes she’d been dreaming of since she met Noah King, she froze in the middle of the room.
“Leia.” His voice was steady, strong, betraying none of the repulsion and shock he must surely feel. “Hell, I’m sorry.”
Enough time had passed and the world had longed moved from the horrific events that occurred the summer of her seventeenth birthday but she still recalled the whispers and the looks of horror on peoples’ faces like the images were branded in her brain.
“I’m guessing you want to call the driver?”
Firm hands gripped her arm and turned her around. His gorgeous, heart-stopping face held irritated surprise. “Why the hell would I want to do that?”
“I promised you I wouldn’t let the ghosts in. I’m sorry, I’ve don’t...I’ve never told anyone voluntarily about this.” She shook her head. “I don’t know what came over me. I’ll understand if you want to end this before it gets too—”
“So your past isn’t a goddamn fairy tale. Trust me, sweetheart, mine isn’t a bundle of laughs either. But I’m damned if I’ll let you walk away because you assume I can’t handle what you just said.”
“But I didn’t...I didn’t want you to know.”
“I got that impression when you ran from the room. Why did you run?”
The sound that left her throat couldn’t have been deemed as laughter. “Are you serious?”
His mouth twisted. “Sure, I guess as small talk goes that was a hell of a doozy but I need to remind you again that I’m not very good at doing light
She looked up into his face and realized he meant it. “So this is what you wanted to know about me?”
“I want to know as much of you as you’re willing to share, sweetheart. Nothing you say to me will make me walk away.”
“Don’t to be too sure about that.”
His intense gaze probed in a way that made her skin tingle. The hands on her arms moved up, cupping her shoulders firmly before they caressed higher to her neck. Both hands circled her neck in a bold and possessive hold that fractured her breathing. One thumb tilted her chin up and he stepped closer until his nose almost touched hers.
“Nothing,” he breathed. “Do you hear me?”
This close, the blue of his eyes were so mesmerizing, she couldn’t look away. And she didn’t want to despite the real fear that Noah King could unravel her with the minimum effort. “Yes.”
“Good.” He didn’t move away or release his hold. “So, now we’ve dealt with the small talk, and thrown in a dash of heavy. Tell me what you want to do.”
The heat from his body was warming her, burning away the cold that had invaded her body when she blurted out words she needed to keep locked away.
“I...I don’t want to talk anymore.”
He stilled, then his fingers tightened a touch. “No, baby. We can change the subject but you will talk. I’ll need to hear everything you’re feeling, everything you’re thinking. That the only way this works. Understand?”
Could she do it? She’d spilled enough in the less than twenty-four hours she’d known this man than to anyone else besides Warren. The police who’d investigated the incident at the time didn’t count. Even the psychiatrist Warren initially hired hadn’t been able to coax more than monosyllables from her in the three months she’d seen him. In the end Warren had agreed with her that therapy was a waste of time.
They’d found their own way to heal.
Now, suddenly, the idea of vocalizing her every thought to Noah frightened her. It didn’t take a genius to recognize Noah possessed an innate skill at uncovering things she wanted to remain hidden.
“Leia?” His voice was a sharp blade cutting into her jumbled words. But the arms that came around her, pulled her back into his body were surprisingly gentle.
“Will you return the favor?” she asked before she lost her confidence.
A slow smile spread across his face. “Are you sure you’re ready to hear everything I think of you and your incredible body?”
She raised one eyebrow. “Quid pro quo.”
He laughed and she could’ve sworn she tasted his need on her lips. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you, sweetheart.”
Closing the tiny gap between them, he kissed her. It was hard and unapologetically demanding in a way that promised that there would be no going easy. She reveled in it, desperately in need of anything that would wipe way the memories that washed through her mind as fresh as if they’d happened moments ago.
“Hey, I’m losing you.” He bit her lower lip, pulled it into his mouth.
“I’m here,” she groaned. “Do that again,” she pleaded.
He bit her again. Harder. The shudder of pleasure rocked her to her toes. She leaned into him, eager to feel more of his hot body against hers. Hands gripping a taut bicep, she raised up on her toes and threw herself into the kiss.
His hand tightened harder around her throat, restricting her breathing in a way that made her treasure each breath. Stunned she realized her senses were heightened, her pulse hammering in her head as her world grew hazy with need and desire.
Her fingers tunneled into his hair, holding on to him as pleasure screeched across her senses.
One arm circled her waist and he lifted her high. “Put your legs around me,” he instructed.
Complying brought her heated center flush with his rigid cock. Unable to resist, she rubbed herself against him. He stumbled after a single step and dragged his mouth from hers.
“I’m pretty sure there are condoms somewhere down here but I don’t have time to search. But, sweetheart, we won’t make it upstairs if you keep rubbing that sweet cunt on me like that. So be a good girl and hang on a few minutes, okay?”
“What if I don’t want to be a good girl?” She flexed her hips once more, the heat in his eyes and the urgency of his breathing empowering her in a way she hadn’t felt empowered in a long time.
He took another step toward the stairs. “Then you’ll find yourself ass up, face down in front of the fire getting the slowest, rawest roasting of your life.”
Her breath hitched and her fingers clenched in his hair at the frank, potent image his words evoked.
He stopped and one brow slowly lifted. “Is that what you want?”
Leia wanted him so badly that she almost said yes. But she also had a feeling going slow the first time would drive her insane. “I’ll behave. For now.”
He laughed and carried on walking, swiftly scaling the stairs and turning into a wide hallway with two doors. He entered the right doorway and over his shoulder, Leia saw the room opposite.
She gasped but barely managed to say a word before she was sailing through her air. Her back hit the bed and she bounced once before Noah stayed her with a splayed hand on her belly.
“We’ll explore the rest of the place later. Right now I need to fuck you more than I need to breathe.” He started to lift her top, then paused. “Are you ready?” he asked and she saw questions in his eyes.
Her inadvertent confession about her past still lingered in the air. “I’m fine, Noah. I promise.”
He continued to stare down at her, his nails slowly tracing the skin above her navel, sending goose bumps racing over her body. “Once you’re naked, once I get my mouth on you, I won’t let you go,” he warned.
She grabbed the bottom of her top and slid it over her head, baring herself from the waist upwards.
His fierce growl echoed around the room. “Fuck, baby, you won the race fair and square. But please don’t drive me over the edge before I get the chance to pleasure you a little.”
In answer, she hooked her thumbs into her leggings, ready to tug them off. He stopped her with a hard grip.
“Leia!”
“Yes?”
“Slow the fuck down.”
Her eyes dropped to the hard, thick bulge between his legs and she squirmed on the bed. “But I want you now.”
Bending forward, he kissed her. Slowly, teasing his mouth over hers, then catching her lower lip between his teeth, making her squirm harder.
“When we fuck, I will pull your hair and grab your throat. I will dig my fingers into you and use my teeth. And that will be for starters. What comes after that will depend on how close you are to screaming. Because I won’t stop until I make you scream. And even then, Leia, I may not stop. I may be so fucking lost in your hypnotic beauty that I may go too far. If you think you can’t handle that or you’re not ready for that then walk away now. Don’t give me hope. Don’t take me to the edge and leave me there. I’ve had that happen before. It fucking tore me apart. So think very, very carefully before any more clothes come off.”
His thumbs replaced hers and he started to slide her leggings off. When he paused mid-thigh, she groaned.
“You need to learn a little patience, sweetheart. Trust that I’ll give you what you need.” He planted a hard kiss on her mouth and sat back on his heels. When she started to rise, he stopped her with a look.
“Stay.”
Swallowing, Leia relaxed against the pillows and watched him lift her feet to plant them on his chest. She flexed her toes, dug them into his pecs. A hard smile twisted his lips.
“Looks like I’m going to have a tough time taming you, my little rebel.”
“You can do whatever you want to me. I just need this...first time to be quick. Please.”
He froze. “Why?”
She shook her head, supremely conscious that she’d let yet another important piece of her brokenness through. What was it about Noah King that made her lose her senses to the point of spilling her guts?
“Answer me, Leia. Or this ends now.”
She took a deep breath and scrambled to find the appropriate words that wouldn’t make him recoil from her. “The last time I did this, it wasn’t very...satisfying. I need new memories. Please.”
Chapter Eighteen
She waited, her heart in her throat, praying he wouldn’t probe deeper. Needing to distract him, she slid her feet down his chest to the rock hard plate of his abdomen.
To her relief he nodded and resumed his task of removing her clothing. “I’m all for making new memories, sweetheart. Trust me, I know a little bit about unsatisfactory sex.”
Her incredulous laugh earned her a bite just above her ankle once he’d freed her of the restrictive leggings.
“You don’t believe me?”
“You’re gorgeous. And more than adequate in the endowment area. I find it hard to believe you have bad sex.”
His fingers drifted down her inner calf, messing with her breathing some more. “Like most things in life, all it takes for bad sex to happen is a lack of proper communication. Which is why I need to hear you, loud and clear, at all times.” He planted a kiss in the crease behind her knee but his eyes were locked on hers. “And if I do something you don’t like, Stop is all you need to say. Try it now.”
She shook her head. “I don’t need to—”
“Say it, Leia.”
“Stop.”
His fingers dug into her upper thigh and he sucked in a breath. “Louder.”
“Stop!”
It was only as he exhaled that she realized how tense he’d grown. A thread of concern slithered down her spine, erasing a layer of excitement. Bitter experience had taught her that monsters came in different shapes and sizes. It was why she’d learn to rely on her instinct first and foremost. They were still calm where Noah was concerned but it didn’t make the concern disappear.
“Why do you need to hear it, Noah?” she asked, her pulse accelerating again when his grip eased and he began trailing his fingers down her inner thigh.
Eyes so unbelievably blue they seemed unreal darkened before his eyelids swept down. “Because I have ghosts too. Ghosts that scream very loud at times like these. I want to make sure I hear you above their noise.”
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