by J. H. Croix
He dropped his gaze and glanced around the room. “Nice place.”
She shrugged. “Thanks. I like it.”
She could hardly contain the desire rushing through her in waves. She broke away from his eyes and stepped to the door to hang her jacket on the coat rack. She toed her boots off and turned to find him right behind her, his jacket hooked over his finger. Without a word, she took it and hung it beside hers. In the silence, she tried to think of all the possible things she could say, but all that was in her mind was the tug to get close to him. It was purely visceral. Coasting on the depth of her desire, the flicker of feeling her lion held onto pushed her forward. She took one step and felt the heat of his body against hers. She heard the sharp intake of his breath and didn’t stop to think.
She placed her hand on the center of his chest and stroked up, savoring the beat of his heart under her palm, and slid her hand around the back of his neck, threading into his dark curls. With a soft tug, she leaned up. He met her halfway. The feel of his mouth against hers sent a jolt through her system. On her gasp, he took over, his tongue sweeping into her mouth. They tumbled right back to where they’d been the other afternoon. Only this time, the heat built so rapidly, she shuddered at its intensity. His arms came around her, and he lifted her easily.
She heard two thumps, his boots hitting the floor behind them as he stepped away from the door. His lips never broke from hers as he hooked an arm under her hips and carried her to the sofa. Next thing she knew, she was piled in his lap and she couldn’t get close enough. Their kiss went from a slow, deep exploration to wild and wet. She scrambled over him, straddling his hips, gasping at the feel of his hard shaft against her. Once again, whatever it was between them simply took over and wiped her mind clean. She didn’t worry about what was going to happen next like she usually did. Sensation drove her, spurring her on.
Noah tore his lips from hers in a groan. He pulled back just far enough to meet her eyes. What she saw in his brought a hard tug inside of her. He threaded a hand in her hair, his thumb stroking softly at her nape. Every little touch sent sparks sizzling along her skin. He swore softly and took a shuddering breath before bringing his lips to hers again. A hot, deep kiss and his lips dusted across her cheek to trace her ear. Hot shivers chased in the wake of his touch. He stroked down her back before sliding up under her shirt, the calloused skin of his palms eliciting a groan.
Lily moved restlessly against him, sharp pinwheels of pleasure rolling through her every time she pressed down against his hard cock. She tugged at his shirt, pushing it up his chest. He leaned forward, easily adjusting her weight in his lap, and pulled his shirt up and off in a quick motion. It fell in an arc as he tossed it. His other hand stayed busy, deftly unhooking her bra before sliding both hands up her sides. She followed the motion of his hands as they coasted up her sides and drew her arms up, her shirt following. She sighed in relief when her breasts tumbled out as he tossed her bra to the side. The contrast of his muscled chest and rock-hard abs against the softness of her breasts sent a shudder through her.
Noah pushed her back slightly, his hands curling under her breasts. He met her eyes, his dark with need. Without a word passing between them, Lily knew he wanted her as much as she wanted him. Her mind, so practiced at self-doubt, tried to speak up, but her body knew better in the thick of this moment and ignored it. His eyes tracked over her face and down to her breasts, feeding air to the fire twisting inside of her. Restless, she shifted against him, sliding her hands up his muscled chest.
He thumbed her nipples. A liquid hot shiver rippled through her as she arched into his touch. Desire spun tightly around them. His eyes flicked back up to hers, a question in them. Though her mind had taken a backseat to her body, a flicker of conscience nudged her. She had to tell him she was a virgin. With one hand cupping a breast, toying with her nipple, he slid the other up coasting across her neck and lacing into her hair. His thumb brushed the pulse beat in her neck. His eyes darkened before he fit his mouth over hers in a devouring kiss. Her senses scrambled as she gasped into his mouth. Sensation teemed, desire thundering through her. He drew back, his lips, tongue and teeth traveling down her neck. Tight and achy everywhere, she strained to get closer. Want coiled tighter and tighter inside as he brought his relentless lips to her breasts, drawing first one and then other into his mouth, the moist suction driving her wild.
Pleasure streaked through her when he groaned against her, his teeth closing around her nipple in a sharp bite. Desperate for more, she pushed her hips back and tore at the buttons of his jeans. Noah lips went still, and he slowly pulled back. In the quiet, the air fairly sizzled between them. His eyes were like hot embers. He traced lazy circles around her nipples as he beheld her.
“What do you want?” he asked, his words rough and raw.
Lily flushed, but held his gaze. “You. This.”
He nodded slowly. “I saw you today.”
She knew he spoke of when he saw her in the woods. She recalled the moment she noticed him waiting in the trees. Her mountain lion didn’t doubt what she felt between them. The thread between them vibrated when she locked eyes with him in the forest. The part of her beyond thought and reason knew he was to be hers, and she to be his in that flicker.
Noah’s hand tightened in her hair though he remained silent. She knew he was waiting for her.
“I saw you too.” Her words fell in a raw whisper. The intimacy between them was almost too much. She’d never experienced this, but somehow she couldn’t turn from it. Her emotions tossed like a kite in the wind. Her very being strained for him while the weak voice of reason reminded her it was only fair to tell him she was a virgin. No matter the power of connection she felt, no matter that she’d known the look she saw in his lion’s eyes when he stared at her through the snowy trees, branding her with his look, she couldn’t go into this without being honest. The self-doubt that had created worn paths in her mind reared its ugly head, reminding her Noah likely thought she was a wild, sexy shifter who’d had plenty of experience with men. She didn’t want to let him down, didn’t want him to pull away.
Her eyes fell, landing on his chest, a sight to behold. Most mountain lion shifters were incredible physical specimens. Noah was no exception, unless one counted that he’d adhered to rigorous training standards for the Marines Special Forces. He was all muscle, coiled and conditioned. She took a shuddering breath and gathered her courage. When she met his eyes, her words came out like a shot. “I’m a virgin.”
His eyes widened, but he didn’t move. His hand stayed laced in her hair, his thumb kept up its idle strokes on the soft skin under her ear and neck, brushing back and forth over her pulse. Her heart beat wildly, but she managed to keep her chin up. After a long moment, he spoke. “Wouldn’t have guessed that.” He fell silent again, his eyes considering.
Pressure built within her, the need to explain, to make sense of it. She somehow felt apologetic. It was inconvenient and added a layer of complication. She didn’t know what Noah wanted. “I thought I should say something. I ended up this way because…” She paused and shrugged, feeling somewhat ridiculous given that she was half naked and could still feel the heated length of him against her core, which was drenched with want. “Because I’m not so good at the casual, fun thing. I’m not a prude about sex or anything. It wasn’t like I was saving myself. It just…”
“You don’t have to explain, Lily.”
She took a breath. Her mind was distracted from its tendency toward rumination with the soft strokes of his thumb and the burn of his amber eyes.
“Does that change anything for you?” he asked.
She knew what he meant. She couldn’t quite believe it, but when he watched her in the woods, she knew he meant to claim her. It was as simple as that—a primal knowledge supported solely by feelings only her mountain lion side could have convinced her to be true. Conflicted though she may be at times by her shared self—lion and human—it was who she
was. She shook her head. “Does it change anything for you?”
His mouth curled into the slightest smile when he shook his head. His gaze sobered. “It only makes me want you more. It wouldn’t have mattered either way, but I won’t pretend it doesn’t feel good knowing no one else knows you that way.” He paused and held her eyes. The air around them felt alive. She could barely breathe as desire pulsed through her. “Maybe we should slow down though.”
“No!” She shook her head forcefully, determined not to let what was unfolding stop. She’d finally gotten the courage to kick her anxiety to the curb long enough to get through the worst of it. She wasn’t about to deny herself what she wanted.
She moved abruptly, pushing back to tear his jeans open. He started to say something, but his words ended in a groan when she curled her hands around his cock. The warm velvety skin pulsed against her hands as she stroked up and down. Noah’s breath hissed through his teeth before he caught her hands in his and lifted her in his arms as he stood suddenly. He glanced around before his eyes landed on her again. “Bedroom?” His voice was ragged, his features taut.
Euphoria crested inside as she realized he likely wasn’t putting the brakes on this just because she was a virgin. She gestured to the door to one side of the circular room, and he strode quickly over. Though she was short, she had generous curves, but he held her with ease, juggling his hold on her when he needed to open the door. Her bed was piled high with pillows and a luxurious down quilt.
Noah headed straight for the bed. He set her down on it and stood. She moved to kneel, but he moved swiftly. He stretched atop her, his elbows bracketing her face. He leaned up briefly to flick on the single lamp beside her bed, his weight settling against her again. The feel of him above her amped the desire thrumming through her. “If we’re doing this, you’re following my lead.” His words were gruff, his gaze heated.
She nodded wordlessly. He didn’t wait and brought his mouth to hers. In seconds, she spiraled back to the place she’d been—the place where nothing but feeling reigned. His kisses drove her mad—slow, hot, wet, and drugging. By the time he tore his lips away, she was panting, her body on fire. His lips made their way down her neck to her breasts. The moments that followed spun her tighter and tighter in the grip of desire. Broken gasps fell from her lips. Sweet pressure gathered inside as she chased after the ecstasy his touch promised. He mapped her body with his mouth and hands, his touch everywhere at once. He traced her navel with his tongue, dusting kisses over the soft curve of her abdomen as he deftly unbuttoned her jeans and dragged them down. She lifted her hips, frantic for more.
She was slick with desire and wanted to feel him inside of her. Now. But he wasn’t to be hurried. Her hoarse pleas were answered with his hands and mouth. He left her panties on, a scrap of blue silk, as his lips made their way down her legs. He trailed his fingers along the inside of her thighs and behind the soft skin of her knees. After her jeans were tossed aside, he made his way back up. By the time he cupped his palm over her mound, she was awash in a tumult of sensation, spun so tight with desire, she was near out of her mind.
He stroked across the wet silk between her thighs. She arched into him, desperate for more. Only after excruciating moments of teasing, stroking her slowly, coasting over her clit through the silk, did he finally hook his finger over the edge of her panties and yank them down. He moved on to dragging his fingers back and forth through her slick folds, teasing her to near madness before finally sliding a finger inside her channel. She was so close to orgasm, her channel throbbed around him. He stroked in and out of her slowly, adding another finger and then his mouth. Liquid heat suffused her as she careened into sensation. With a deep surge of his fingers, he drew her clit into his mouth, and sharp pleasure burst through her as she shuddered around him. He didn’t stop until her hips stilled. His lips retraced the path they’d taken down her body, making their way up in a leisurely manner. His warmth left her. Dazed, she opened her eyes to see him kicking his jeans off.
Seeing him bare took her breath away. He was hard, honed muscle from head to toe. She’d gotten a sense of it, but the size of him sobered her. She wasn’t quite so sure how he’d manage to fit inside of her. Her desire for Noah went so far beyond anything she’d experienced, she couldn’t even contemplate stopping, but a flicker of anxiety coursed through her. His dark eyes locked on her as he rolled a condom on. In a smooth movement, he stretched across her, his elbows again bracketing her face. His expression was tight, as if he was exerting great control. She felt the head of his cock nudge at her entrance. On the heels of the single most intense orgasm she’d ever experienced, desire pricked at her, that heavy, wet ache between her legs arching toward him.
His eyes coasted over her face as if he was searching for something. He brushed her tangled hair away before bringing his lips to hers again. Noah’s kisses stole her senses, stirred her thoughts away and narrowed the world to only the feeling of him—the hard planes of his body against hers. She dragged her hands down his back, savoring the corded muscles under her hands. He nudged against her entrance, the tease of his touch notching her higher and higher. Once again, he brought her closer and closer to ecstasy. She arched her hips into his, gasping when he nipped her neck. In a swift move, he surged deeply inside of her. For a split second, pain sliced through her. He held completely still, but didn’t pull back. She opened her eyes to find his trained on hers. Just as quickly, the pain started to dissipate as her body adjusted to his fullness. Her breath came back and the tension eased from her.
Only then did he begin to move in slow strokes. His eyes fell closed again, hers following. Everything narrowed to the feel of him surging inside her. The burn of his entrance faded, and she arched into him, meeting his strokes. A different pleasure built, this one deeper, hungrier. Her nails scored his back as she danced along the delicious edge. Her climax unfurled slowly this time, the sweet pressure starting in her channel as she throbbed around him, and then spiking when he slid his hand between them, his thumb circling over her clit. She tumbled over, savoring the fullness inside her as she clenched him. His hips drummed against hers rapidly before he cried out and fell against her.
He brought his weight to the side, so he didn’t crush her. Their ragged breathing slowed in unison. Lily finally opened her eyes and rolled her head to the side. Noah opened his eyes when she turned. His head rested on his elbow in the pillows while his other hand had landed under the curve of her breast. He lifted his hand and brushed her hair out of her face. It was a wild tangle. She giggled and was rewarded with a smile from him.
They lay like that for a while, quiet. She considered how she felt, but for once in her life, she managed not to let her mind climb on its hamster wheel of worry and wondering. He stroked his hand down her arm and finally lifted his hips, slowly pulling out of her. She started to protest, but he shook his head.
“You’re cold. I’ll be right back.”
He stood and stepped into the bathroom adjacent to her bedroom. She heard water running before he returned. He’d disposed of his condom and had a warm washcloth in hand. She flushed all over when he carefully wiped her before tossing the washcloth in the sink. Her body was a mix of lethargy and humming energy. Noah chuckled when he tried to tug the quilt from underneath her. After a temporary tug of war, he lifted the quilt high, the rush of air a contrast to the furnace of his body when he climbed in bed beside her.
His gaze sobered as he tucked her against his side. “So…”
She eyed him. “Don’t make me talk. Can we just enjoy the moment?” She didn’t have it in her to try to process what happened aloud. She didn’t know if it was possible, but she didn’t want to let the wheels in her brain start turning too fast.
A dark brow arched up. After a brief silence, he shrugged. “Sure. I can stay for a little bit, but I have to go home to check on my mom.”
Her heart clenched. He’d gone and blown her mind tonight. She was so stirred up physically and emotionally,
she could hardly think clearly, and he had to go and remind her why he was so much more than just handsome and sexy as hell. She nodded. “Of course. If you need to go now…”
He cut her off and shook his head sharply. “She’s asleep and probably has been for hours, but I don’t like her waking up alone. Sometimes she has bad coughing fits. She has a nebulizer, but she might need help if it gets bad, so I like to be there.”
He said this matter-of-factly, but she sensed the pain underneath his words. It was strange to have just been so intimate with him and yet still be getting to know him.
“Okay.” She pondered what else to say—that she was sorry he had to see his mother sick and face her mortality. But she sensed now wasn’t the time. His chest rose and fell with a deep breath. In seconds, his breathing evened out. She lay beside him, her legs tangled with his and his chest warm under her palm. An immense relief lay within her. She’d finally ditched her virginity. Now, a different anxiety threaded through her. Noah wasn’t just a fling. The moment in the woods today had made that clear, and he’d hammered the point home tonight. The cat in her nearly purred at the thought, but the rational, human side of her wasn’t sure how to make sense of it. Her body was drained and sleep stole over her.
She woke hours later when Noah’s lips met hers in the dark. She opened her eyes to find him standing by the bed dressed and ready to go. “Gotta go,” he whispered into the quiet night.
“Hmm, ‘kay.”
Another kiss and he left, his footfall muted. She felt the rush of cool air drift in when he opened and closed the door.
Chapter 7
Noah woke to the sound of his mother coughing, a sound that had become painfully familiar. It tore him up inside every time because it reminded him she was sick and might not get better. He started to kick the covers off, but then he heard a pause and the distinct sound of her nebulizer humming. The coughing stopped. He lay still in the bed. His mother tended to get frustrated if he hovered too much, so when it seemed like she had things in hand, he tried to give her space. The wispy winter light of dawn was visible outside his window. He’d forgotten to close the curtains when he got home early this morning. He rolled his head to the side and stared out. The sun’s rays were reaching up into the sky above the trees. Balsam firs were dusted with fresh snow that had fallen during the night. A cardinal flew to the feeder behind the house, a cheery red spark in the white landscape.