by T. L. Haddix
Sophie looked over his shoulder at the gas pumps, where Owen and Sarah had pulled up. “I knew we were being followed. Need anything?” she asked with a laugh as she touched Noah’s arm.
“Nope. I’m good.” While she went inside, he got out and walked over to his grandmother’s side of the vehicle. “Are you heading straight to the farm?”
“Oh, yes. Your grandfather’s anxious to be home.” She patted Noah’s hand. “How’s Sophie? I didn’t get much of a chance to talk to her, but she looked like she had a happy holiday.”
“She did. I think this did her a world of good.” He glanced over his shoulder toward the building. “We’ll follow you up and help you unload all that bounty. You two made quite the haul.” He inclined his head toward the back of the SUV, which was full of presents.
Sarah laughed. “We did. I don’t know what in the world we’re going to do with it all, but I’ll find a place.”
“Oh, I imagine we’ll have a purge,” Owen said as he got in, his eyes twinkling. “Just like we do every year. Out with the old, in with the new. Here comes your girl.”
Noah straightened. “Be safe. See you two in a little bit.”
“You too, sweetie,” Sarah told him.
He met Sophie at the car. “Ready?”
She nodded. “I’m going to fall over when I get home. I’d forgotten how exhausting big get-togethers could be.” As she got in, she grimaced.
“What’s wrong? Are you hurting?” Noah asked.
For a moment, she paused, then she continued putting on her seat belt. “My hip isn’t too happy with the traveling. But it’s nothing, I promise.”
Noah frowned, carefully pulling back onto the road. Dark clouds were moving in from the northwest, part of the cold front that had prompted most everyone to leave Ben and Ainsley’s early. “Do you need anything?”
“No.” She laughed softly. “Thank you for asking though.”
He grimaced. “I told Grandma we’d come help them unload when we got there. I can go to my place first if you need to go home.”
They’d taken her car to Lexington, but Eli and Haley had dropped him off at her house on their way out of town. The plan was for him to drive home, then Sophie would drive back to her house.
“Noah, I’m fine,” Sophie said, waving. “I’m not an invalid. I’m just a bit uncomfortable. I took something for it, and I should be better by the time we get to the farm.”
“If you’re not, tell me. Okay?”
“I will. But I’m fine.”
He wondered though as a memory from October tickled his brain. It had seemed insignificant at the time but… “Wasn’t your hip bothering you a few months back?” The day of the kiss, he thought, but kept that to himself.
She shifted, letting out a breath of relief. “It was. It’s a leftover from the wreck. I had a lot of muscle trauma—strains and tears and the like—and it acts up from time to time. I usually handle it with exercises and hot baths, but once in a blue moon, it decides to flare.”
“Ouch. And this is a blue moon?”
“Something like that. Cold front plus traveling plus stress—as nice as the holiday was, it wasn’t entirely stress-free—and I’m looking very, very forward to soaking in a deep tub.” She gave a small groan. “As cute as those kittens were, I’m glad Sadie took them all. I don’t know that I’m up to all that energy at the moment.”
“I thought Logan was going to cry.” Noah uncapped his water and took a long drink. “Four kittens. Man. That household is going to be turned upside down over the next few weeks.”
“You guys enjoyed his distress just a little too much, don’t you think?” Sophie asked.
Noah grinned at her. “No such thing. That’s part and parcel of being a Campbell—you have to tease your fellow family members, especially the men, without mercy on any occasion you can get away with it.”
They reached Owen and Sarah’s farm in good time. It didn’t take long to get their SUV unloaded, then Noah and Sophie headed back to his house. They’d just pulled up when his phone rang.
“It’s Mom,” Noah said before answering. “Hello?”
“Hey, sweetie. Are you home?” Zanny asked.
“Just got here. What’s up?”
“Nothing much. The power’s off at our house, and from what we’re hearing, it’s off at Sophie’s too. A main transformer or substation or something blew, and it’ll probably be off until tomorrow sometime. Maybe all weekend.” His parents lived less than a mile from the house Sophie was renting.
Noah frowned. “Are you two okay?” When Sophie gave him a concerned look, he gave her a thumbs-up to let her know it wasn’t anything major. Still, he didn’t get out of the car. Not just yet.
“Oh, sure. We have the fireplace, and since Molly’s staying in Lexington for a few more days, we’re just going to camp out and make a date of it. I wanted to reach you before Sophie left so she’d know what she’s coming home to though. Her phone is going straight to voice mail.”
“She’s here. I’ll tell her. Thanks for calling. Let me know if you need anything, a place to stay or whatever.”
“Will do, sweetie. You’ll take care of Sophie?” There was a hopeful note to his mother’s voice.
“Of course I will. Are you sure the power’s off?” Noah knew his parents well enough to realize they’d take any opportunity to throw him and Sophie together.
“Noah James! What kind of question is that?”
“A prudent one given this family’s tendencies. Love you, Mom. Call if you need me.”
“What’s going on?” Sophie asked as he ended the call.
“Apparently there’s a widespread power outage. Your house is in the dark.”
She stared at him for a minute, then she groaned, letting her head fall back against the headrest. “Really?”
He spread his hands. “If you believe my mother, yes. And it doesn’t sound as though it’ll be back on soon. It could be days.”
“Of course. Now I’m doubly glad I don’t have kittens to worry about. At least there’s that, right?” She sighed. “I guess I’ll see if I can get a hotel room.”
Noah’s scowl was fierce and instantaneous. “A what? I don’t think so. Not when I have a perfectly good bedroom—two of them, in fact—right inside that house.” He pointed. “And if I didn’t have room for you, Grandma and Grandpa would. Stay here.”
She sent him a tired look. “It could be days. And no offense, but I’m not… I want to rest. I can’t handle any more visiting. Please don’t take that personally. I’m just tired.”
Noah picked up her hand and kissed the back. “I’m not taking it personally. I’m tired too. You can have Eli’s room. He won’t be back until Sunday night or maybe Monday, and there’s a huge tub in his bathroom that’s perfect for soaking. I’ll cook for you and bring you chocolate then leave you alone. It’ll be like staying in a B&B. You can even tip me if you want.”
He waited while she considered the offer. A cloud moved in front of the sun, bringing an instant chill to the car.
Sophie shivered. “Are you sure?”
“I wouldn’t have made the offer if I didn’t mean it. Yes, I’m sure.”
She nodded. “Okay then. Thank you.”
“Good. Let’s get you inside.” He started to open his door, then he leaned back over and placed a smacking kiss on her hand.
She gave a reluctant smile. “We’re making a habit of this, you know.”
“I know,” he said softly. “I’m not about to complain though. I’ll take every chance I can get to spend time with you, even if you’re shut away in another room, recuperating from overexposure to Campbells. And I’m really not offended. I need some space to decompress too. I’ll probably go out to the shop and work once you’re settled in, so you’
ll be on your own.”
Noah’d spent years running from her, and now he felt as though he was running toward her, still a step or two behind where he needed to be. But he was heading the right direction now slowly but surely. And he was ready to embrace the journey.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Silky smooth skin that felt too soft to be real. Well-toned, supple muscles that took nothing away from the curves overlying them. And those curves… designed to drive a man completely and utterly out of his mind. Particularly this man, Noah thought as he slid his hands up Sophie’s taut belly toward her breasts. The move was accompanied by her breathy moans and the soft whispers of his name, which ratcheted his arousal up to eleven.
Just as he reached his target, his fingertips brushing the bottom curves of her breasts, he woke up.
“Son of a…” Hands still tingling, his body slick with sweat, Noah sat up in bed, bracing himself on his elbows as he glared at the erection tenting his briefs. With a groan of pure frustration, he fell back, scrubbing his hands over his face.
It took several minutes for his breathing to even out, for his heart to stop pounding. He did his best to ignore the erection, but it wasn’t going anywhere. Not with the knowledge of how close Sophie was taunting him. And she was too close for him to take care of the problem on his own without feeling lecherous.
“She might as well be a thousand miles away for all the good it would do you tonight,” he muttered into the pillow he’d pulled over his head to give himself something to hold on to and muffle his curses. With a vicious flip of his wrist, he tossed the hapless pillow aside and got up.
Closing the zipper of his jeans over his still-throbbing erection took some doing, but he managed it. Moving as quietly as he could so as not to disturb Sophie, who was in Eli’s room below, he got on a shirt then headed downstairs and out the door. He didn’t bother with a coat; as hot as he was, he wouldn’t need one.
He headed for the shop. Even though he’d spent several hours out there earlier, working on switching the space over from a cabinetry setup to ready for more artisan-related jobs, he’d find something to do.
Sophie heard Noah leave. Sitting up, she ran her hands through her hair and blew out a shaky breath. Whether because of their proximity or her body’s perverse sense of humor swamping her system with a wave of lusty hormones, she’d not been able to close her eyes since he’d gone to bed two hours earlier without finding herself in the midst of erotic dreams.
She’d been just about ready to go upstairs to him when she heard him get out of bed. Though she’d been quite sore earlier in the day, the relaxing bath and some rest had done its job. And her imagination was very, very good at teasing her with all the ways she and Noah could spend the rest of the night.
Now though, her mind shifted from arousal to concern. It was almost one o’clock. “Where in the world could he be going?” she asked Fig, who’d commandeered the empty side of the bed. “Bad dream or ghost or what?”
Grabbing her robe, she set out to find him. The air outside was frigid, and she stopped for a moment on the porch to listen. A faint sound came from the woodshop, and she left the porch, huddling into the thick fleece as she hurried toward the building set back from the house. Sure enough, the lights were on, and when she stopped at the door, she heard someone moving around inside. Taking a deep breath, she twisted the doorknob.
Noah was shirtless, his back to the door, and he was pounding the daylights out of a wood pallet with a hammer, breaking it apart.
Sophie slipped inside and closed the door quickly then pressed against it, her hands flat against the cool metal. She watched the play of muscles in his back as he worked. Noah was flat-out gorgeous, hands down, even from the rear. And oh, what a rear it was.
If she’d been turned on before from only imagining? She was positively on fire from seeing the man in the flesh.
She watched him work for a little bit without making a peep of sound. For now, looking was enough. Looking and imagining and reconciling the reality of adult Noah with the young man she’d fallen in love with all those years ago. She’d adored him then. Now? The sheer notion of him destroyed her.
Even though she didn’t make a sound, something gave her away. As she watched, he stiffened then looked over his shoulder at her with a scowl.
“What’s wrong?” He turned, the hammer still in hand, and took two steps in her direction.
Sophie shook her head. Words were beyond her capabilities at the moment. Oh, dear God, the front of the man… long, lanky muscles. Honest-to-God washboard abs. On his chest, a light dusting of dark hair that narrowed into a very happy trail of temptation pointing her straight in the direction she wanted to go.
“Are you okay?” he asked, his voice rough. “Because if you are, you need to go back in the house.”
Again, she shook her head. “No. I don’t think so.” She tore her eyes away from his chest to focus on his face, and for the first time, a frisson of unease skirted across her skin. He looked angry, truly angry. “Are you okay?”
He didn’t answer, closing the space between them instead, and he didn’t stop until he was a handsbreadth away. “No. What do you want?”
Up close, she saw his uneven breaths, the turmoil in his eyes as he glared at her, the ruddy flush that colored his cheeks as tension built between them. A similar flush covered her body when she realized what that meant—he wanted her too.
Deciding the only way to resolve the situation was to simply go for what she wanted, she raised up on her tiptoes, her hands going to his chest.
“What do I want? This.” Then she kissed him.
The hammer hit the floor with a clang as Noah’s hands came up to her face, moving her back. He stared at her with shock. But that only lasted for a moment, then he was kissing her back, pushing her against the door with his whole body.
Sophie slid her hands up to his shoulders, across his damp muscles, and dragged them into his hair to hold on tight. The kiss wasn’t smooth or soft or loving but full of raw need and desperate longing. Years and years of built-up longing. It was violent even, with each of them nipping at the other.
Twisting her head to the side, she gulped in air, nearly sobbing as his mouth went straight to the curve where her neck met her collarbone and sucked hard. She struggled to get her hands between them to undo his jeans.
“Please. Noah, please,” she begged, pressing her hand against him.
He thrust into the contact and pulled his face back, staring at her with heavy eyes. “But you’re… you can’t.”
She nodded. “I’m fine. Please.” She moved her hands to the belt of her robe and undid it.
“I won’t hurt you?” His hands moved to his jeans to finish undoing them. As he moved the zipper down, his heavy arousal sprang free, full and thick and more than ready.
“Oh, God no. Only if you don’t touch me.” She shoved the robe down her arms, letting it fall, then whisked her nightgown over her head. All that was left to do was shuck her panties.
Noah helped with that, sliding his hand between her legs to press hard against where she ached. She cried out, surging against him. Just that touch was almost enough—almost. Sophie didn’t even care about the cold metal at her back, she was focused so intently on him. She wrapped her hand around his erection and squeezed.
“Please,” she said against the skin of his shoulder, then she bit down. Not enough to draw blood or break the skin, but enough that he grunted. She looked at him with satisfaction. “Now, please.”
He caught her mouth again with his. “Yes, ma’am,” he whispered as he lifted her.
When she wrapped her legs around his hips, the tip of him brushed against her dampness, and they both moaned. All rational thought fled her mind as he took three steps over to the table sitting beside the door. With every move, he inched inside her just
enough to drive her mad.
“Noah, please,” she cried, her hands tightening. Her fingernails dug into the skin of his back, but that small violence only drove their mutual need higher.
“I know.”
He sat her on the edge of the table, and as he laid her backward, he slid into her, not stopping until every inch of him was seated exactly where she wanted him.
She was so full it almost hurt, but that hot, heavy fullness was what she needed, and she clenched around him, coming apart so intensely it took away her breath. All she could do was hold on to Noah and let her body ride it out. Each frantic movement of his hips made the climax echo through her in waves so strong they scared her. When he came inside her, she fell apart again. The pleasure was unlike anything she’d ever felt, and she sobbed with the strength of it.
It was several minutes before she could think anything even approaching a fully formed thought.
Noah’s breath was just as ragged as hers. “Are you real?” He lifted his head to look at her with an expression akin to desperation.
“Yes,” she whispered.
“I’m not dreaming?”
Sophie laughed softly, lifting her hands to brush back his hair. “No.”
He glanced at their bodies, which were still joined. “I thought I was dreaming.”
When he brought his hand up to cup her breast, she realized how warm he was… and how cold the air was in the shop. Her nipples beaded, both from arousal and from the chill.
“Um, not to interrupt things, but do you think we could go inside?” she asked.
Noah nodded and glanced over his shoulder. “I’ll grab your clothes.”
The emptiness he left behind when he pulled out was startling, but at the same time, it was a bit of a relief. The hard table wasn’t the most ideal location for intimacy, and Noah… well, she’d just say he was gifted in more than one area and leave it at that. Plus it had been a while since she’d been with anyone.