by Thayer King
Noah would be coming over in a few minutes to pick her up for the party. She hated parties. She’d much rather spend a quiet evening at home. She never knew what to say and would no doubt end up standing alone awkwardly in a corner at some point. She didn’t want to embarrass Noah.
When Noah came to fetch her, he took one look at her and pulled her into his arms. “My friends are nice and if anyone makes you feel uncomfortable, I will kick their ass.”
Zoe laughed. “I don’t think that will be necessary. I…I just don’t want you to be disappointed with me.”
“Zoe, that’s not going to happen. Just be your normal sweet self and everyone will love you.” He kissed her forehead. “But I’d like to make one small suggestion.”
“What?” she asked worriedly.
“That you wear your hair down.”
Zoe’s hand flew protectively to the bun secured at the back of her neck. “I don’t know….”
“While I feel special being the only one to see you with your hair down—even if I’ve only seen it in braids—you should wear it down. This is a casual party. Your hair is beautiful. Don’t hide your light, Zoe.”
“Okay. Give me a minute.” She hurried back to her bedroom and pulled out the pins holding her hair in place. Using a wide-toothed comb and a healthy dose of hair product, she soothed her curls until they were gleaming and lying over her shoulders. She used a brush to tame any remaining flyaway strands.
“Beautiful,” Noah said, his deep baritone gruff with arousal. He leaned casually in the doorway to her bedroom. It was the closest she’d gotten to having a man in this bedroom. Her room was decorated in her favorite color. Pink was everywhere. Ruffles, lace, pillows. It was probably a man’s worst nightmare, but Noah didn’t seem to notice. His gaze was focused on her.
“Thank you.” She took a deep breath and put the brush down. “I’m ready.”
Noah smiled. “You’re not going to the gallows.”
“Might as well be,” she grumbled as he laced his fingers with hers.
Noah explained on the ride to Ty and Julie’s house that the couple had only recently moved in together after a year of dating. When they arrived at the house, there were only a few cars in the driveway, making Zoe relax somewhat.
Noah glanced at her. “Don’t worry, baby. I’ve got your back.”
He came around to let her out and laced his fingers with hers. He held her hand as they walked up to the door. It was immediately flung open by a petite woman with short, curly light brown hair and bright blue eyes. A tall man walked up behind her and curled his arm around her waist. He also had light brown hair but his eyes were brown. Zoe immediately recognized them as people she’d seen with Noah on multiple occasions.
“Zoe, this is Ty and Julie. Guys, this is Zoe.”
“Nice to meet you,” Julie said with a smile, extending a hand.
“Yeah,” Ty agreed with a wide grin. “I hear you agreed to date this ugly scoundrel. I’m thrilled for him, but you have my sympathies.”
Noah rolled his eyes. “Ignore him. Is Avery here yet?”
“Yeah, Avery and Avery are here. Damn, I hate to say that I hope that doesn’t last long. It’s too cute and too damn annoying,” Ty said. “You guys are the last to arrive.”
Zoe felt her stomach knot. Since they were last, did that mean all eyes would be on them? Her cousin Felicia arrived late on purpose so as to be thrust into the limelight. Zoe usually made a point of being punctual to avoid unwanted attention. As though he could sense her growing stress, Noah’s fingers tightened on hers. He probably did know as her palms were damp with sweat.
They entered the house. Many people called out greetings to him. Noah led her over to a pretty blonde wearing a mini skirt and a tank top. Beside her was a blonde man in a suit. “Avery,” Noah said, and they both looked up at him. He hugged the girl and shook hands with the guy before taking Zoe’s hand again.
The girl Avery glanced at their linked hands and then smiled brightly at her. “This is Avery, obviously,” she said, gesturing to the man behind her as she introduced him. “And this is?” she asked Noah.
“Zoe, this is Avery and Avery.”
“It’s nice to meet you both,” Zoe said with a smile. After that she didn’t have to say much. Noah took control of the conversation. He did his duty, asking the male Avery several questions about his job, his family, and his past relationships. The man sounded pretty clean cut to Zoe. She’d go so far as to say he was downright boring. But he was handsome enough in a boyish way.
“I want to fix up my makeup,” Avery interrupted suddenly. “Zoe, will you come with me?”
“Um…” She looked up at Noah. At his nod, she agreed to go though she didn’t have any makeup on herself. She followed Avery into a bedroom where the other woman opened her purse and proceeded to touch up her lipstick.
“I didn’t really need to do this. But I wanted Noah to have a chance to talk to Avery alone. Men will talk more freely when we’re not around to judge them, you know?” Her eyes met Zoe’s in the mirror.
Zoe smoothed a hand over her hair. “I guess.”
“I suppose you know that Noah and I are very good friends? We’ve been together since high school. It’s always been Ty, Noah, and me.” She smiled. “Noah’s a sweet guy, a very reliable friend, but….” She frowned, her eyes scanning Zoe from head to toe. “I don’t know how to say this. No offense, but you don’t seem like his usual type. How did the two of you meet?”
“I’m his neighbor.”
Avery’s eyebrows rose. “Really? I wouldn’t think he’d….” She shook her head and then smiled. She put her lipstick in her purse and pulled out a hairbrush. “So what do you do for a living?”
“I’m an IT Tech at Frederick, Thomas & Zimmer.” Zoe wondered briefly if Avery were interviewing her in the same way that Noah was interrogating the male Avery.
After a few brisk strokes of her brush, Avery put it away. “Don’t you want to refresh your makeup?”
“I’m not wearing any.”
“Really? How old are you?”
“Twenty-five.”
Avery turned to face her. Tilting head to the side, she studied Zoe with a mystified expression.
“Is something wrong?” Zoe finally asked.
“Um, no.” She smiled. “That should be enough time for Noah to get a read on Avery.”
***
Noah accepted the cold beer from Ty and took a sip. Avery strolled up to him and curled her arm around his waist. He put his beer down and glanced over her head. Several people milled about in Ty and Julie’s den, but he didn’t see Zoe. “Where’s Zoe?”
“She had to go to the bathroom.”
“Down, boy,” Ty said with a laugh. “I’m sure she’s perfectly capable of using the bathroom on her own.”
Noah rolled his eyes.
“So what did you think of Avery?”
“He’s a nice guy.” Noah thought he was also a trifle boring, but that he was just the stable sort of guy Avery needed. “I say go for it.”
“Thanks. As for you,” she said, poking him in the side, “I’m surprised at you—trolling your apartment building for sex. Isn’t that going to be messy for you in a couple of weeks?”
Noah shifted away from her, angry that Avery would assume that Zoe was just a fling. “It’s not like that.”
“What do you mean? It’s always like that. Just a couple of weeks ago you were saying-”
He cut her off. “Zoe is my girlfriend.”
“What?!” Avery whipped around to stare at him. Her exclamation was so loud that several people turned to glance their way. Either Avery didn’t notice or she didn’t care. “What? You’ve haven’t had girlfriend since you were a fucking adult. And you said you didn’t want one less than a month ago.”
Noah frowned at her. “Why are you so angry?” he asked, genuinely baffled.
Avery huffed and finally looked around her. “I-I’m not angry. I’m just…well, hurt that you
didn’t say anything to me about this. Did you know about this, Ty?”
Ty appeared distinctly uncomfortable. “Yeah, Avery, I knew.”
Noah glanced between his two friends, feeling like he was missing something. “Is there something I should know?” Neither of them replied. Before he could get an answer he spotted Zoe. He crossed to her and took her hand. “You okay, baby?”
“I’m fine. I was talking with Julie. She was showing me her doll collection.”
“I didn’t know you were interested in dolls.”
“Well, they’re very pretty and-”
“And she dragged you in there and you couldn’t get away,” Ty filled in. He shook his head. “The rest of us have learned to steer clear of that room.”
“Actually, I didn’t mind.”
“So how long have the two of you been seeing each other?” Avery asked.
“Since Wednesday,” Noah said. He still didn’t understand her strange behavior. Before she’d cut him out of her life because of Patrick, they’d talked more because they were both perpetually single. Maybe she missed the time they used to spend together? He’d have to reassure her that he still valued her friendship and that he’d never cut her out of his life. She should know that, but as his mother was always telling him, sometimes women needed the words.
Noah held Zoe gently as he kissed her. He made sure to keep the lower parts of their bodies separated. Zoe was continually surprising him with her response to his kisses. She clung to him as though he were her lifeline. It was hell on his control. His dick was a steel bar in his jeans.
He broke off the kiss well aware that anyone could walk in on them at any moment. The party had moved outside where Ty was grilling burgers. He’d thought Zoe needed a breather. She’d seemed somewhat reserved but otherwise fine. However, he’d wanted to be sure. He hadn’t intended to kiss her, but after one look at her dark, shining eyes and he was a goner.
Zoe opened her mouth over his throat and trailed kisses up to his ear. He growled when she bit his earlobe. He leaned over so that she could reach him better. “Baby, you’re driving me crazy.” He hadn’t gone this long without sex since high school when he was living with his parents. “Tell me why we’re still waiting.” Because it sure as hell wasn’t because she didn’t want him.
“I-I just need to be sure….”
“Sure of what?” he asked, gasping as she stood on tiptoe and circled the shell of his ear with the tip of her tongue.
“Sure that this will work.”
“Oh, it’s going to work,” he said with absolute certainty. He turned his head and captured her mouth with his again. This kiss was far less gentle. He thrust his tongue deep. When she sucked, he backed her into the refrigerator, his hands gripping her hips.
A throat cleared behind them. Noah reluctantly released Zoe. She appeared dazed and her fingers were hopelessly tangled in his hair. Noah removed them and kissed each of her fingers before smoothing down his hair.
“Ty wanted your help on the grill,” Avery said. “And Julie was wondering if Zoe and I could bring out more sodas.”
“We’ll continue this later,” Noah whispered to Zoe before leaving the kitchen to find Ty. “Heard you needed my expertise,” he said as he joined Ty at the grill. Ty was flipping burgers. The smell was mouthwatering.
“I was wondering what you put in that sauce you made for the steaks. I was thinking it might be good on the burgers, too.”
“That’s a Granger secret.”
Ty pointed to a small table loaded with condiments next to the grill. “Then make it yourself.”
Noah grabbed a disposable cup and went to work.
“Are you fucking her yet?”
Noah froze at Ty’s casually asked question. “What the hell?” Though it was easy to figure out what Noah was doing with the women he picked up at clubs and bars, he never discussed the details. He considered it to be disrespectful and his mother didn’t raise him to be that way. So why Ty thought that asking about Zoe, his first adult girlfriend, was appropriate, he couldn’t fathom.
Ty shrugged. “Sorry. I was just wondering.”
“Do I ask you about what you and Julie are doing? I don’t because I don’t give a fuck. That shit is between the two of you. And unless I bring it up, what I do or don’t do with Zoe, is between the two of us.”
Ty held his hands up. “I’m really sorry, man. It’s just….” Ty rolled his eyes and shook his head. “You’ve got to admit that this is strange. It’s throwing me for a loop the way you are around her.”
Noah glanced up to see Zoe coming out with an armload of sodas. One of Ty’s cousins stepped in front of her. She smiled and spoke, but when she tried to continue on toward the cooler, he shifted to block her. Noah’s eyes narrowed. “Is that fucker hitting on Zoe?” he gritted out.
Ty’s glanced up. “Probably. You know how Lloyd is once he gets a couple of beers in him. He’s an ass, but he’s harmless.”
“Yeah, well, Zoe doesn’t know that.” He dropped the cup he hadn’t even begun to fill and started over toward Zoe.
“Where are you going?” Avery asked, linking her arm with his. “You haven’t made that famous Granger sauce yet.”
Noah kept going, dislodging Avery’s hold. “In a minute,” he called over his shoulder. Lloyd was wrapping one of Zoe’s curls around his finger when Noah approached. “Get your hands off her, Lloyd, and get out of her way.” Zoe looked relieved to see him and it made him want to hit the other man for causing her even one moment of grief. Instead, Noah steered her toward the cooler and took the sodas from her. “I thought Avery was going to help with this.”
“Her boyfriend had to leave for some emergency and so she walked him out.”
“Noah, this is a pretty little thing you got yourself here. Can I have her next week?”
“She’s my girlfriend,” Noah growled at Lloyd. “And even if she hadn’t been, I’m not some fucking pimp.”
“Whoa, dude. I didn’t know.”
Noah wrapped his arm around Zoe’s waist and pulled her away. “I’m sorry about that, baby. He’s drunk.”
“It’s okay. It seems that everyone I’ve spoken to seems shocked that I’m your girlfriend.”
“They’re shocked that I have a girlfriend period,” he stated. “They’ll get used to it.”
***
“So what is it that you need to be sure?” Noah asked. He linked his fingers with hers and held them up by her head as he backed her up against her apartment door, caging her in with his big body. “I’ll give you anything you need.”
It was late. They were amongst the last people to leave Ty and Julie’s party because they had stayed to help with the clean-up. Then they’d needed to give Avery a ride home since she’d come with her boyfriend.
“I just need a little more time.”
He groaned and buried his face in her neck. “You’re sure there’s nothing I can do?”
Zoe smiled. “You’re already doing everything right.”
“I must not be. I’m developing carpal tunnel syndrome in my right hand.”
She laughed. “You’re so silly.”
He sighed and stepped back. “I see you’re determined not to take me seriously. You’ll see. My mother is not going to like you when you’ve caused her son to have a gnarled hook for a hand.”
She bit her lip, a wicked idea taking hold. Before she could change her mind, she tugged him toward her den. “Come with me.”
“Why?” he asked, smiling at her indulgently as he let her lead him.
She positioned him in the middle of her couch and pushed on his shoulders until he sat down. Hiking up her long skirt, Zoe climbed on top of him and began unbuttoning his short-sleeved black shirt. The cotton stretched over his shoulders and broad chest. She’d been admiring him in it since he picked her up for the party.
“What are you doing?” Noah covered her hands, stopping her at the last button. “I was kidding, you know. I’m willing to wait for as long as y
ou need.”
“I know. I just thought we’d give your hand a night off.” She undid the final button and ran her hands over his pecs and down his abs. His eyelids drooped to half-mast and a low groan rumbled from his chest. Unable to resist his lips, she leaned over and kissed him, tasting the seam of his lips before sliding her tongue into his mouth. Noah angled his head and suckled her tongue. His large palms warmed her hips as he gripped them.
Zoe lost herself in his kiss as she always did with him. She had to force herself to pull back before she forgot her goal. She sat back on his thighs and reached for his belt.
“Wait,” he said faintly. “You don’t have to do this.”
“Noah, I want to do this.” Holding his gaze, she undid his belt and unfastened his jeans. She ran her palm over the blatant bulge beneath the denim. Noah groaned. Licking her lips, she lowered the tab on his zipper. Black briefs molded to his hard length. There was a wet sticky spot at the top. Zoe gripped him through his underwear and ran her thumb firmly over the tip.
“Don’t tease me.” He shoved down his briefs so that his shaft sprang free.
“Wow,” Zoe gasped. “It’s….” It was bigger than she’d expected. It was thick and long, beautiful really. Just huge. She frowned, concerned as to how he was going to fit…well, anywhere. She wrapped her fingers around him and squeezed.
“Zoe,” Noah groaned, lifting his hips fractionally.
Zoe slid off his lap and onto the floor. She pushed his knees apart. His eyes burned into hers as she leaned forward and licked him from base to tip. She swirled her tongue around the swollen head, lapping up his pre-cum. She licked him several more times before working him into her mouth. Noah groaned like a wounded animal when she sucked. His hands curled into fists at his sides.
“Baby,” he gasped.
She shifted closer to take him deeper. She used her fist for what she couldn’t fit inside her mouth. Noah’s groans came steadily, but he held himself rigidly as though he were afraid he was going to hurt her. Hoping to push him over the edge, Zoe sucked harder and faster. Growling, his head fell back onto the couch and finally he began thrusting into her mouth.