Noah gave a short laugh. Did she have ADD or some innate knowledge of the way to trip his mind back to reason? “Have you memorized an encyclopedia?”
“The first volume, yes.”
He gaped at her. “What for?”
“When I was a kid, Volume One of a Natural History of the World, A to E was the only book I had for a while.”
“And you can still remember it?”
“Some of it. I’ll tell you a secret. I stole the book from a box outside a used book store. I pushed it inside my coat and hurried away, thinking someone would grab me any second. When I got to the edge of town and no one had stopped me, I carried on along the beach road and found a place in the dunes to sit and read. When I got home, the police were waiting. God, I nearly wet myself.”
“How old were you?”
“Twenty-five.”
Noah laughed.
“Seven. The manager of the shop had seen me. I hadn’t realized he lived a couple of doors away and knew me. My parents paid for the book and told me off in front of the police. Then the moment the door—”
Ash stumbled, and Noah gripped her hand tighter.
“Sure you want a glimpse of my world?” she whispered.
“What happened?”
“The police left and my father took hold of my arm and broke it.” She gave him a little smile.
“Jesus Christ.” Noah looked at her in horror.
“My mother threw the book in the dustbin and they didn’t take me to the hospital until the next morning. I couldn’t sleep because of the pain. I cried but no one came. I was told to say I fell downstairs. When I got home, I snuck out and rescued the book and hid it under a loose board at the bottom of my closet. I was scared shitless they’d find it, but they never did.”
“Are your parents still alive?” Noah wanted to break her father’s arm.
Ash shook her head. “No siblings, no aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents. What about you? Just one brother?”
“Yep. My father’s alive, my mother’s dead. I had a sister who died too. My mother was English, but my father is from Russia.”
“So you’re half-Russian? Do you speak it?”
Noah nodded.
“Are all your relatives in Russia?”
“And Switzerland, Germany and France. They’re coming over soon for my father’s birthday. My brother’s arranged some sort of extravaganza.”
“No fireworks I hope, though you could buy earplugs.”
Noah laughed. He found her infinitely fascinating. He couldn’t think when he’d been this interested in any woman.
Ash pointed at a right turn coming up. “We can walk through the park. I don’t go that way when I’m on my own.”
“You think you’re safe with me?”
She grinned. “I hope not.”
He slung his arm over her shoulder as they went through the park gates.
“You never did say what it was you liked to photograph,” she said.
“Anything that catches my eye. Buildings, naked women, unusual-looking vegetables.”
She sniggered.
“Why don’t you like having your photo taken?” he asked.
“It makes me feel uncomfortable, as though someone’s seeing something I can’t. A loss of control thing, I guess. I’m very…private.”
That was interesting. Most people would have said because they didn’t photograph well or because they don’t like the way they look. Noah wanted to take a full-on face shot of Ash, but he’d find the right moment to ask her.
“Let’s go up the hill.” Ash pulled away from him and ran ahead. “There’s a great view from up there.”
Noah watched her race up the grass. He walked up to join her and every step he took, his desire for her increased. Oh God, I hope she lets me fuck her.
As he reached her side, she grabbed his arm. “See the laser showing the meridian line?” she whispered.
“No.”
“Canary Wharf’s all lit up like a Christmas tree.”
“Is it?”
Noah had his back to the river, his gaze fixed on her.
Ash looked at him and gulped. “Oh God.”
“We need a—”
“Cold shower?”
He smiled. “A tree.”
Ash let him pull her across the grass to a tree at the dark side of the park. “Why do we need a tree?”
“Because we’re less likely to be seen.”
She didn’t want to ask “Doing what?” because she could guess.
As they reached a large horse chestnut, Noah guided her to lean with her back against the trunk and then stood in front of her. He shrugged off his backpack and then took her bag and set the two on the ground. Noah ran his hands down her face as he stared into her eyes and the ache between Ash’s thighs forced a groan through her clenched lips. It was dangerous to want anyone as much as this. The higher he drove her, the further she had to fall. And she would fall because when it came down to it, he wouldn’t want her. No one would.
“What is it about you?” he whispered.
“Coconut shampoo?”
Noah let out a strangled laugh. He unfastened the buttons on her coat and slipped his hands inside to caress her breasts over her shirt. Her nipples hardened as he rubbed his palms over them.
“Cold?” he whispered.
Ash shook her head.
“Good. Take your clothes off.”
Her jaw dropped. “What?”
“Keep your coat on. Take off your shirt and pants.”
Not out here screamed her common sense.
Shut up.
Who said that?
Ash glanced around but there was no one near. It shocked her that she wanted to do this more than she didn’t want to. No one would see if she was careful. She wriggled out of her coat to free her arms, and Noah hooked it back over her shoulders. He stared into her eyes as Ash’s trembling fingers worked at the buttons on her shirt then pulled it off. Noah tucked her shirt inside her bag.
Her pants joined her shirt and she stood in her underwear and shoes, her coat draped over her shoulders. Noah’s Adam’s apple rose and fell. Ash’s heart turned cartwheels and her pulse shot up like a rocket.
“I want you naked,” Noah said.
Ash wondered if he thought she wouldn’t dare. She reached behind to unfasten her bra, pulled it off her arms and held it out to him. His lips quirked in a smile. When she passed him her damp panties, he brought them to his face and inhaled. She should have felt embarrassed, instead she was consumed with lust.
Don’t let this go too far yelled her conscience.
Shut up.
Who said that?
Noah put her underwear with her shirt and pants then stood and unbuttoned his coat. The light wasn’t too low for her to see the hard bulge at his groin. When he moved toward her, Ash put her hand on his chest.
“Am I the only one who’s going to be naked?” she asked.
“For the time being.”
“That doesn’t seem fair.”
“I’ll make it fair.”
He stared at her mouth as he slowly traced the shape with his finger and Ash was lost. The world shrank to just the two of them. Common sense, conscience and brain surrendered to the other voice. Ah, now she knew what it was.
Lust.
Noah dropped his hands onto her hips, stroked the curving bones with his thumbs and kissed her. As he touched his lips lightly to hers, Ash reached inside his coat and around his back to urge him closer. Noah brushed his lips back and forth over her mouth, his breath washing with hers. He teased with his tongue, rubbing it against hers, trailing it over the ridges of her teeth, fluttering it against the top of her mouth. As he angled his head to kiss her deeper, one of his hands slid down her belly and came to rest between her legs. Ash heard his intake of breath when he realized her thighs were soaked with her cream. He rubbed his fingers over her wet flesh.
“God, you are so cute,” he whispered, and landed a flurry of kisses
all over her face before returning to spear her mouth with his tongue.
One long finger explored and stroked her folds, moving in rhythm with his tongue, and Ash stopped breathing. When Noah slid the finger inside her and used his thumb to circle her clit, the breath that had locked in her throat escaped into his mouth as a muffled grunt. OhGodGodGod. If anyone walked by they’d know exactly what they were doing. This was dangerous, but Ash was too turned-on to care.
Noah’s tongue licked from her mouth to her neck, and she gulped air into struggling lungs.
“Hot, hot, hot,” he muttered.
Her veins were rivers of fire, racing around her body, igniting every pulse point. All her senses were heightened. She shivered at the rasp of Noah’s slightly rough chin, at the soft stroke of his fingers, the warm wash of his breath. Ash tried to keep quiet, but as Noah slid his finger in and out of her body, she had to bite her lip to keep from crying out.
His other hand drew slow circles around her aching nipple while he licked and nuzzled and nipped along her collarbone. Everything he did wound her tighter, dragged her faster along a narrowing path of increasing delight. Ash tried to hold back, but it was like running the wrong way up an accelerating escalator—doomed to failure though fun while it lasted. His finger curled inside her and his thumb rubbed faster over her clit as he pressed his mouth to her ear.
“Yes, yes, yes,” he whispered.
Ash shook as pleasure stuttered through her in strengthening bursts until her entire body locked into that breath-stealing moment of exquisite tightness that came before release. Her eyes fluttered closed as she unraveled. She shuddered and gasped and his mouth moved back against hers to swallow her sounds.
“Oh fuck,” he muttered.
Ash thought he’d stop, but he didn’t. He pinched her clit, massaged it between his finger and thumb, and unbelievably, Ash felt herself lurch back to the starting line.
“And again,” Noah whispered.
He thrust two fingers into her hard, and Ash rocked into him. As gentle as he’d been before, now he was forceful. The fading fire inside her reignited, and Ash writhed, fighting for air. She couldn’t come again that fast, couldn’t, couldn’t…could. Ash stiffened and then exhaled as she flew. Oh God. Lights flickered behind her eyes and she clung to Noah’s shoulders as her world fell away.
Noah kissed her back to reality and held up her limp body until she could stand. Ash blinked to focus her eyes and glanced around over his shoulder. She sighed with relief when she saw they had no audience. Did Noah want someone to watch? Was that his kink? So long as he didn’t get off on getting arrested.
She stared into his eyes. “You look smug.”
He grinned. “Yeah, well…”
She laid her hand over the bulge in his pants, squeezed and wiped the smile off his face.
“How brave are you?” she whispered.
Ash flipped open the button of his pants, eased down the zipper and pulled his shaft out over the waistband of his boxers. He felt hot and rigid in her hand, and in the dim light, she could see the crest of his cock glistening with pre-cum.
“Fuck,” Noah groaned.
He put his palms on the tree and dipped his head to her shoulder. She held his cock out in the open between them, sliding her hand up and down, letting soft skin slide over the steel core. The way his jacket hung hid what she was doing and Ash couldn’t resist swiping the crest of his cock with her thumb and then licking it. When she ran her tongue around her lips, Noah’s eyes glazed.
Ash put one hand above the other, and wrapping her fingers around his length, she pumped gently, moving both hands in the same direction. Noah’s breathing grew alarmingly ragged.
“Shit. That feels…good,” he whispered.
But variety was better. Ash used the heel of her palm to press down on his balls and wrapped the other hand around the top of his cock. Using her fingers, she gently pulled the foreskin over the crest before easing it down until her palm pressed on the rounded head. Then did it again.
“Harder,” Noah muttered.
Ash obliged and went faster too.
He lifted his head and kissed her, his lips all over her mouth as he tried to gulp air at the same time. He gripped her hips so tightly, it almost hurt. Noah’s desperation fueled hers. Hers fueled his. They were mad doing this outside, but Ash wanted him inside her.
Now.
She practically climbed up his body, hooking her legs around his waist under his coat to pull him against her. Noah gripped her buttocks and as her coat began to slip from her shoulders, he pressed her back against the tree, tilting her until his cock nestled against the entrance to her body. When the wet tip of his shaft slipped inside her, they both released a shaky breath.
“Can’t wait,” Noah gasped, and thrust deep inside her.
The sensation of the velvety head of his cock pressing into her forced her eyes closed. Soft, hard, wet, long, his cock was a perfect fit, a perfect feel. The muscles of her sex tightened around him and she whimpered. Ash clutched his back and he jammed her hips down, his hips up, over and over.
When she forced open her eyes, Ash saw the pleasure on his face in the curve of his mouth and the darkness of his eyes, and she felt something bloom inside her. Noah pressed her harder against the tree, his hips shunting faster, and tipped her over the brink. A moment later, Ash felt the warm spurt of his seed spray inside her as he shuddered in her arms.
“Oh fuck,” he mumbled, and looked her in the eyes. “No condom.”
Ash hadn’t remembered either. She was on the Pill but that didn’t mean she shouldn’t be careful.
“Oh fuck it,” he blurted, and pulled out of her. “I’m sorry. I’ve never… Christ. I really am sorry.”
“It’s okay,” Ash whispered.
He tucked himself back in his pants. “It’s not fucking okay,” he snapped. “Christ Almighty.”
Ash flinched. The second time they’d done this and the second time he’d lost his temper. Maybe he wasn’t a guy she could help. She pulled away from him and wriggled her arms back into her coat. Her fingers fumbled with the buttons.
“How could we have been so stupid?” he ranted. “I mean I’ve got a fucking condom in my… Oh bloody hell.”
The pleasure of the last few minutes began to dissolve.
“I’m not… I don’t have any diseases… Ah shit.” Noah fastened himself up.
Ash wanted to run away but made herself stand firm. “You’ve nothing to fear from me. The guys I’ve been with all used condoms and I’m on the Pill. I don’t want children. Ever.”
She bent to pick up her bag, turned away from him and walked down the hill. She wanted him to follow but accepted he might not. Maybe it would be better if she went home alone. Nothing new in that.
Chapter Eleven
It took Noah a moment to realize he’d compounded one mistake with another. Shit. He grabbed his backpack and ran.
“Ash, stop. I’m sorry.”
After he caught up and walked by her side, he mentally crossed his fingers and took her hand. When she didn’t pull away or increase her pace, he gave an audible sigh.
“I’m the idiot, not you,” he said. “It was my fault. I wanted you so much, and I couldn’t think of anything but that. You felt so fantastic, hot and wet and tight, and all I wanted to do was get deeper and deeper inside your body and fuck you as fast and hard as I could. Even if I’d remembered the bloody condom, I don’t think I could have stopped. I’m so sorry.”
Her fingers tightened around his. “There were two of us who could have remembered.” Ash glanced at him. “You felt fantastic as well. I wanted you to fuck me hard.” She paused. “Not fast though. It was over rather quickly.”
Noah caught the glimmer of a smile on her face. “You little monkey.”
Ash laughed, tugged her hand free and darted away.
“Three seconds and then I’m coming,” Noah called.
“Yep, I don’t think it was much longer than that.”
He howled, ran after her and caught her before she reached the bottom of the hill. Noah spun her into his arms, pressed his face into her throat and licked his way to her lips.
“You evil creature,” he muttered into her mouth.
“You have something to prove now,” Ash whispered before his mouth covered hers and shut her up.
By the time Noah lifted his head, his cock was raring to go again. How long would this need for her last? Her hand slipped under his jacket and onto the bulge in his pants.
“How far to your house?” he asked in a choked voice.
“Not far.”
Ash pulled her hand free and nudged him toward the path. There were several joggers, guys walking dogs, dogs walking guys, couples strolling. Christ, where had all these people come from? He thought about Ash naked under her coat and groaned.
“You okay?” she asked.
“A bit stiff.”
She laughed. God, he loved making her laugh.
“And I’m a bit wet.” She lowered her voice. “You’re dribbling down my thighs.”
Noah groaned. “Stop talking to me.”
“I’m thinking—do we need to bother with condoms? If we’re both…okay and I’m on the Pill?”
The strangled noise that emerged from his mouth made them both jump. Noah was fairly sure he was incapable of coherent speech. He was barely capable of walking in a straight line.
He grasped her elbow and moved faster, relieved when Ash guided him through the gate of a three-story mid-terrace Georgian house.
“My room’s on the top floor,” she said, and unlocked the door.
A broad-shouldered guy with untidy brown hair appeared in the hallway. He looked so belligerent, Noah tensed.
“Hi, Mike,” Ash said. “This is Noah. Noah meet Mike.”
“There’s a man bleeding in the living room who claims he’s your boyfriend,” Mike snapped.
Noah bristled.
“What?” she gasped.
An Ordinary Girl Page 12