by M. Malone
Noah understood the art of seduction. Knew how to make her want. Knew the buttons to push to make her scream. Or to bring her so close and hold off just enough so she’d hang on the precipice of need. It was enough to make her crazy. Enough to make her beg for what she needed. She was addicted to him. There was no way this would ever be enough.
He had her just where he wanted her. He had her tank off in seconds, the silky material falling to the floor. They both kicked off their shoes. And then the race was on to see who could get naked the fastest.
Noah of course didn't have to contend with a pesky bra. But obviously he was more than ready and willing to help her with that.
As he slid the lace from her skin, his fingertips grazed her flesh slightly, making her need him, making her want to beg for his mouth on her. She couldn’t help the whimper that escaped.
He picked her up, carrying her to the bed, his lips on hers. But while she was in a hurry, Noah … was not. He was in the mood to tease. He kissed down her sternum, refusing to kiss her just where she needed. Refusing to give her what she wanted.
With a frustrated growl, she narrowed her gaze at him. He chuckled. “Something you need, princess? Because I was in the mind to take my time with you. And we’re just getting started.”
“Damn it, Noah. You know what I want. Why are you torturing me?”
"Don't worry. I'll get there," Noah said with a chuckle. He grazed along the column of her throat even as his hips rocked into hers, pressing gently. Teasing her with the ridge of his erection. "Just so you know, I'm going to use my fingers, I'll slide them inside you and over your flesh. I'll find your G-spot and touch it just right. Just enough to make you come again. I know you'll be sensitive, but it's going to feel so good."
He sped up his movements, his hips rolling into hers. She rose to meet him, arching her back, begging him to rub her where she needed. His lips skimmed over her skin, across her collarbone to her breast. His words alone were driving her nuts. But coupled with his lips, his hands intertwined with hers, she was ready to explode.
His lips brushed her nipple ever so slightly. The motion sent a spear of need directly to her core. Next, he used just his teeth, raking gently. He was careful to keep his full weight off of her. His teeth felt so good and she wondered if it was possible to die from anticipation.
When he laved her distended nipple with his tongue and then wrapped his lips around her, Lucia held on for her life. With tug after deep tug, he sucked on her. It didn't take much, she was so tightly wound. But it was the secondary pleasure when he teased her other nipple with his thumb that sent her over the edge. She came hard and fast, her whole body shaking. "Noah. Oh my God."
"That's one," he announced with a satisfied grin.
He kissed down her thighs and her calves before pulling back to snag a condom out of his wallet. Lucia watched with avid interest as he sheathed himself before settling between her thighs.
"Look at me," he growled.
As if she could look anywhere else. Even though she felt like a limp noodle, she still wanted more.
One hand teasing the hair at his nape, the other tracing his pecs, she canted her hips up. "Noah, hurry."
She could see the tension in him as his arms shook. He was having a hard time with control. Would talking to him drive him as crazy as it drove her? He lined his erection up with her opening and she whispered, "I want to know what this feels like bare. Just you and me, nothing between us. Do you think you'll like that?"
He stared down at her, lips slightly parted. "What?"
"It would be a first. I want to know what it feels like to have you come inside me."
He rocked into her in one deep stroke, her name on his tongue. He cursed low and deep, a long drawn out "Fuuuuck."
Noah slid in and retreated, adjusting their position so she sat on his lap. Oh yes, it was so deep like this. Their movements were a frenzy of skin, lips and hands. There wasn't a part of him he didn't touch her with. Body and soul.
Her second orgasm was stronger than the first but with a slow build. Once the fire took hold, there was no stopping it and she exploded in his arms. Noah was right behind her. His hips bucked as he came, gripping her ass tight as his muscles corded and his teeth clenched. Lucia wrapped her arms around him, holding tight.
He was hers.
chapter thirteen
The next morning, Noah set out everything he needed to cook the perfect birthday breakfast. She hadn’t even seemed angry that he’d forgotten her birthday, but he’d apologized anyway. Despite everything happening, it appalled him that something so monumental could slip his mind. He never wanted to take her for granted or assume that she’d forgive him when he messed up. He’d woken up early and spent a long time just watching Lucia sleep. There in the quiet dark he’d been happier than he knew it was possible to be and it hit him. This was it. This was the dream. He had everything that some men spent their whole lives searching for.
Were things perfect? Not by a long shot. He scowled, remembering that at this very moment ORUS was probably reassigning Lucia’s hit contract to another operative. But with Rafe working on their side, he was confident they could keep her safe until they found a way to neutralize ORUS for good.
It was probably hubris to assume he could handle the situation so easily but he’d done it once before. Everyone had told him that getting out was impossible but he’d done it. Not only had he negotiated release for himself, he’d also managed to finagle Matthias’s freedom in the process. As he knew from that experience it was all about planning and amassing information to use against the powers that be. He’d gathered enough intel to threaten ORUS with exposure, and they’d had little choice but to allow him his freedom.
Somehow, some way, he’d do the same thing for Lucia.
He hummed to himself as the bacon sizzled in the pan next to him while he scrambled the eggs. Cooking wasn’t something he was particularly good at, but this morning he paid extra attention to every step. The last few days hadn’t exactly been the ideal birthday celebration but he was going to make up for that today. Lucia deserved the absolute best.
“Look at the little man, making breakfast for the lady of the house.”
Noah startled at the sound of Rafe’s voice behind him. “What the fuck? How the hell did you get in here?”
Matthias appeared behind him looking like he’d seen a ghost. He glanced between Noah and Rafe with trepidation. “I don’t know what happened. He didn’t show up on any of the cameras.”
Noah hissed when he noticed the eggs had burned slightly. With a flick of his wrist, he turned off the burner. Hopefully he could just discard the edges and wouldn’t have to start over.
“It’s fine Matthias. I’m pretty convinced at this point that Rafe is actually a ghost sent here to torment us for our many sins.”
The kid left muttering something about firewalls, and Noah turned his attention back to breakfast. He kept Rafe in the periphery of his vision at all times. It was Rafe and at one time he’d trusted him with his life, but a lot had happened since he’d been gone. For years, Noah had trusted no one. It was hard to change six years of habit.
“I’m making breakfast for Lucia. Her birthday celebration got a little fucked by all this stuff, and she deserves better. She deserves everything. And we’re all going to make sure she gets it.” Hopefully his pointed look conveyed the message that Rafe had better not do anything to interfere with Lucia’s happiness.
For a long moment the two men stared each other down, each gauging the other’s sincerity and intentions, until finally Rafe grinned.
“I always knew you had a thing for her.”
It was so unexpected to see that smile after so long that Noah turned away and cleared his throat. Fuck, he’d missed the bastard.
“You wouldn’t rather see her with someone else? Someone … better than me?”
Noah would probably later be annoyed that he’d asked the question. The last thing he wanted to do was telegraph his i
nsecurity to Rafe. If you’d asked him a few days ago whether he thought Rafe would have approved, he wouldn’t have thought he cared so much. But it mattered … a hell of a lot.
Rafe shrugged. “What, like an accountant or something? Some guy with good benefits who’ll come home by six o’clock every night?”
“Yeah, someone like that.”
“The kind of guy who won’t understand what she’s been through, who’ll have a mid-life crisis at forty and cheat on her with some bitch who works in his office? A guy who can’t protect her if we can’t get this shit with ORUS settled?”
Noah swallowed. “I guess there’s no normal for her after all this. She deserves so much more.”
“She deserves a guy who’d kill for her.”
Noah looked up in surprise at the approval in Rafe’s voice.
“Don’t look so surprised. I trained you; I’m a little biased. Besides, I don’t have to worry about a mid-life crisis with you. Guys like us have been in crisis our whole lives. We’ve already learned how to deal with our shit.”
Noah chuckled as he arranged a plate for them to share. Lots of eggs, four strips of bacon, fruit on the side. He poured a cup of coffee and then after a moment of hesitation poured another one for Rafe. When he slid it across the counter, the other man took it gratefully. They weren’t one big happy family quite yet but it was a start.
“I’ll go wake her up and then let her know you’re here. She’ll be really happy.” Noah picked up the tray and walked down the hall toward the bedroom. He’d planned to keep her in bed all morning but seeing her brother would be the best birthday present she could ask for.
He set the tray next to her on the bed and then peppered her face with soft kisses. She rolled over and then blinked sleepily. Once she woke up, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down until he fell laughing on top of her.
After several slow, teasing kisses, Lucia glanced over at the tray on the other side of the bed. “You made me breakfast? That’s so sweet.”
“Well, things didn’t go as planned yesterday so I wanted a do-over. Happy birthday, princess.”
She giggled and reached over to snag a piece of bacon. “I like do-overs. And I love bacon. But even I don’t think I can eat all of this.”
“Oh, don’t worry. I plan to help you.” He took a bite of the bacon she held out to him. His soft laughter warmed her all over.
After they’d worked their way through most of the plate, he put the tray on the night table.
“We’re going to Nonna’s later for dinner but right now, I have a surprise for you. So you’ll need to get dressed, which makes me wonder why I’m giving you this gift since I’d prefer you take clothes off instead of put them on.”
Lucia squealed and shot off the bed. He watched in amusement as she struggled to get into the jeans she’d discarded beside the bed the night before. She turned in a circle looking for a shirt before giving up and getting one from the dresser.
“I’m ready. Let’s go!”
Noah chuckled. “I forgot how much you love surprises. You’re like a little kid at Christmas.”
“Hurry up!” Lucia yanked at his hand playfully before racing out the door. He knew the exact moment when she found her brother because she squealed again.
When he found them in the living room, Lucia was wrapped up in Rafe’s arms. Their eyes met over her brother’s shoulder and even from across the room he could read the words she mouthed.
Thank you.
Lucia glanced over at her brother for the millionth time and smiled. She looked away before he caught her staring again. He was so different now, hard and remote in a lot of ways but underneath all that, she could still feel her Rafe, the one who’d make silly faces to make her smile or take her to Coney Island to cheer her up.
She hadn’t really believed it before; it had seemed like a dangerous thing to trust that her brother was really back in her life. But he was here, standing in the living room with all her nearest and dearest looking like he belonged. Even Oskar had stopped giving him the hairy eyeball, although he did rub his shoulder absently every time Rafe was near.
It was going to take time, she thought. They wouldn’t adjust to the new way of things overnight, but she was starting to believe that she could really have it all. Noah, her friends and Rafe, all a part of her life. It was almost like things were going back to the way they would have been if that horrible day six years ago had never happened.
Then she thought about the destruction at Noah’s old office, being terrorized in her apartment and poor Brent, who’d never done anything but be a nice guy. No, she could never forget about everything that had happened but maybe they could finally start fresh.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. This was the first day of her new life and she didn’t want to waste a moment.
“Happy Birthday to You! Happy Birthday to You!”
Lucia turned to find the entire group standing around Noah in a loose semi-circle while he held a cake blazing with candles. JJ appeared at her side looking harried but gorgeous as always in skinny jeans and stilettos that looked sharp enough to cut glass.
“Sorry I’m late! Noah just told me we were celebrating this morning.”
Lucia hugged her close. “It’s no problem. Help me blow out the candles?”
After everyone finished the song, they leaned over together and blew out all the candles amid the cheers and shouts of the group. Noah kissed her on the forehead.
“Did you make your wish?” The husky, intimate tone of his voice made her wish she’d taken him up on his offer of staying in bed this morning.
“I don’t need wishes. I already have everything I want,” she murmured back.
“God, you two need to get a room,” JJ interrupted but she was smiling when she said it. It still made Lucia blush though.
“Sorry about her, Boss,” Jonas said, coming to stand next to Noah. “I would have left her in the hallway but I didn’t want the neighbors to complain about the barking.”
JJ swiped at him, but he moved so her fist just barely glanced off his back. He retreated to the kitchen and JJ crossed her arms, probably trying to restrain the urge to chase him down and punch him again. Noah tried to stifle his laughter but the twinkle in his eye gave him away.
“Behave,” Lucia whispered before turning to JJ. “Thanks for coming. If I’m getting a do-over, I can’t do it without my best friend.”
JJ poked out her tongue. “That’s what I told Captain America over there when he tried to make me wait until you guys were done singing ‘Happy Birthday.’”
Jonas scowled at JJ, even though Lucia had no idea how he’d heard their conversation from where he was standing. Unless he could read lips. Although he would have to be watching them pretty closely for that. She looked between the two of them as the idea took root.
“Jonas seems to annoy you a lot lately, huh?”
“Not really. He just thinks he knows everything. All those steroids are impacting his brain.”
Lucia decided to save her suspicions for later. Although the sparks coming from the two weren’t easy to ignore, she knew better than anyone that when a man annoyed and excited you like that, it was something you had to figure out on your own.
While Noah cut pieces of cake for everyone, Rafe approached.
“Um, I’ll just go see if Noah needs any help.” JJ beat a hasty retreat. Lucia wouldn’t have been surprised to see skid marks where she’d been standing.
“You make my friends nervous.”
“I make everyone nervous. Occupational hazard,” Rafe replied easily.
He seemed so at ease with what his life had become but Lucia couldn’t help wondering how he’d come to terms with it. Had he ever wanted something different? Perhaps he’d once had dreams of being a chef or an artist. Or maybe opening a flower shop. The idea of her ultra masculine brother surrounded by delicate blooms made her smile.
Rafe tipped his head. “What?”
�
�Just wondering if you ever wished your life could have been different. Everyone seems so focused on making sure that I’m safe and happy, but what about you? I want you to be happy, too.”
He turned and looked at the crowd of people in the kitchen. Oskar and Jonas were stuffing their faces with cake. Matthias stood in the background observing them all like he expected the cake to blow up at any moment. Noah and JJ were deep in conversation about something. Lucia wasn’t sure what Rafe saw when looking at them but she saw safety, happiness and love. Did he have those things in his life?
“From the moment our parents died, our life was set to go down a certain path. Poor, young and with limited resources, there weren’t too many ways my life could have gone. I knew that eventually I would have to turn to a life of crime to earn enough money to keep you and Nonna safe in our neighborhood. I never expected to have anything more than that.”
His answer made her sad. “You deserve to be happy, Rafe.”
“I am. My time in ORUS was fucked up, but I’ll never regret the way it happened. They gave me skills I couldn’t have learned anywhere else. They gave me the skills to protect the only people that mattered to me.”
“I wish I could take care of you, too.”
He drew in a breath and Lucia was surprised to see something that looked like tenderness in his eyes. “You do take care of me, Lu. If it wasn’t for you, I would have gone down an entirely different path. And I think you do the same for Noah.”
“You’re really okay about … you know, about us being together?” No matter how old she got, Lucia would never be blasé talking about sex to her big brother.
Rafe pulled her close. “He’s been in love with you almost since the moment I brought him home.”
Lucia pulled back in surprise. “What? He didn’t even know I was alive back then. I had such a crush on him. I would have known if he felt the same way.”
Rafe chuckled. “He didn’t want you to know. Men like us are afraid to believe in good things. He loved you then, and he loves you now. Plus, I know he’ll take care of you. Promise me something.”