She’s completely tuned out from the frenzied world around her, with her punk rock music blaring from her headphones, her eyes softly shut closed. I don’t want to interrupt her, but I eye her stomach with a frown. Has she put on lotion? Without hesitation, I pick up the sunscreen Kate brought and spread it on her tanned stomach.
“What’re you doing?” she murmurs, but her eyes are closed.
“Saving you from skin cancer.” I trace my fingertips around her cute belly-button. Her toes curl in my peripheral vision, and it makes me kiss it. More toe curling. I want more of a reaction.
Greedy, I rest my body on my elbows and lean down to press my lips to hers. Even sucked into her own little bubble, she invited me in and kissed me back. Slow, gentle, loving. I licked her lips and moaned at the leftover taste of vanilla ice cream she’d devoured earlier in the day. Her favorite. I want to know more of her favorites. Favorite athletes, favorite time of day, favorite movie—and everything woven in between.
“What was that for?” she muses, pulling out her headphones. Cobain’s voice abruptly stops when she presses the headphone button.
I smile softly, admiring her pursed lips. Vanilla lips. “Because I love you.”
Slowly but oh so surely, a smirk melts onto her face. “And the award for cheesiest goes to—”
I interrupt her moving mouth with mine. They move, mesh, and smile. I smile. I pull away, humming, complacent, savoring her staring at me when I peek an eye open.
“You,” she whispers, nudging her nose against mine. “You win the award, Noah.” I smile against her lips and capture them in a sweet, long kiss. “You are going to kill me, Noah.”
“With kisses?” I hum, kissing her tenderly. Pulling back, I tuck an errant curl behind her ear. She nods, and I stare at her plump lips. If she doesn’t want me to murder her with my mouth, then she oughta stop licking her lips like that. “I’ll have The Monkeys play at your funeral.” I push my lips against hers and straddle her, our only slice of privacy being the pink umbrella staked in the sand hovering over us.
She giggles beneath me, sucking in a deep, desperate breath. Her eyes meet mine and smile as she says, “They’re called Arctic Monkeys.”
“Does it matter?” I whisper, licking her top lip, nibbling on it softly, gently. I want her so freaking badly, but this is public territory. I would not enjoy spending time in a musty beach cell for being too frisky with my beautiful girlfriend.
“Mmm.” She hums.
“Don’t go to the light.” I kiss her eyelids. Her nose wiggles, and I laugh, enchanted by my sated, glowing girl.
“Too late, I’m already there,” she says breathlessly and opens her brilliant eyes, quirking a smile. “And boy is he a sight.” Her gaze is intent and filled with so much love, my heart stammers, my breathing hard to come by. I drop my head and kiss her chest; she gazes down, never wavering her eyes.
“Stay here. Don’t leave me.” I take her hand in mine, kiss her knuckles.
She smiles softly. “I’m not going anywhere.”
Chapter Fifty
Red
My heart isn’t even an organ anymore; it’s a place to store my love for Noah Wells. It doesn’t beat to keep me alive; it thrums like an electrified wild drum that steals away my breathing. He is going to be the death of me. I wasn’t lying about that. But in a good way. A really, really good way. A blindingly euphoric way.
I’m beaming at him as he attempts to make a sandcastle but fails when the sand crumples beneath his large hands. It’s adorable to say the least. What’s even more adorable is his resilience. With each fall, a pout crosses his face before he goes back to work making his version of a castle.
“What do you think, Red? Is this where we will live out the rest of our lives?” He gestures to his castle. In reality, it’s a lump with two obsidian pebbles shoved in. I’m sure it’s glamorous with marble steps and sparkling fountains in his eyes, but in mine, it resembles a blob named Bob; I don’t say that…I don’t have the heart to squash his grin.
I smile. “I like it; it’s pretty.”
His smile drops, and he rolls his eyes. “You’re lying. Wanna know how I know?” His voice sloshes around, floating in a pool of lust. I manage to look into his eyes without melting like an ice cream cone. “Because you called this piece of shit pretty. And you are pretty, Red. So damn gorgeous…” He has an arm slung around my back as I sit up, absorbing the sun. His lips press gently into my shoulder blade. “Nothing is comparable to your beauty, especially not this lump of crap.”
“It isn’t that bad.” I’m breathless.
He smiles and pecks a small kiss then raises an eyebrow at me.
I flush. “Okay, it’s a five-star hotel—”
He drops onto his back, flipping his shades on, covering his gorgeous green eyes. “It’s supposed to be a castle, not a hotel.”
“Oh, come on, baby,” I groan. Baby. The word feels funny falling out of my mouth, but he smiles. He likes it. I’ll call him that from now on. Every day. I need his smile. I crave it. I drop beside him. A contented smile spreads across my lips, and I let out a relieved breath.
I’m finally home. There is enough love and coziness to move in and spend the rest of my life here. The thought steals my breath away with a shock of fright. I’m thinking forever with him. Where do we go from here? Why am I so freaking scared right now? As if sensing my worried thoughts running wild, he taps my shoulder, and I look up into his shining eyes.
“Everything okay, Rossa?” he asks softly. My nerves loosen immediately, and I can breathe easier just knowing how much he cares for me. He is my remedy. My clarity. I see better with him around, breathe easier because of him.
I kiss his hot chest. “Everything is perfect, Noah.” And it’s the truth. It feels like we’re lounging on some Mediterranean beach. The water is crystal blue and glitters with droplets of a collective silver blanket, and the breeze is low and wraps around my body like another reminding me life can be lovely. It’s him, he’s holding me, and he’s my tropical beach—my home.
“I’m gonna kiss you now.” He palms my cheek.
“I’d love that.” I grin.
Smiling a lopsided smile, he leans down, and his soft lips almost touch mine, but he gets distracted by a kid screaming behind us.
“Ew! Mom, look at that horrible sandcastle!” the little shit exclaims.
I whip around to face the little boy; he’s pretty judgmental for a boy wearing thick-ass glasses that wrap around his curly fro. “Fuck you, kid!” I snap, sitting up to chase the little fucker and throw him into the damn ocean, but Noah chuckles apologetically, waving at the kid’s frightened mother, and pulls me back down onto his chest.
“Easy girl.” He rubs my shoulder, kissing my temple.
I growl. “I’m hot.” I’m talking about body heat, but of course his perverted mind thinks of my appearance. I don’t shrink away from his appreciative gaze. I decide to tease him some.
Sighing, I stand and stretch out my arms. “Wanna go for a dip?” I ask him, but he’s not on Earth anymore. He’s orbiting Red world. I laugh at his open stare as I stretch from side to side. I fist my hips before shifting on my heels and bending back, then I slowly, slowly drop to touch my toes. My fingers don’t even pass my knees before he stands and tips me up straight.
“I don’t think you should do that,” he says and licks his lips. His eyes scroll down my long and tanned skin, whistling when his eyes meet mine. “You’re already pushing it with this bikini.” My skin prickles and my heart-rate speeds up incredibly as he trails his fingertips down the side of my body. Dipping into my waist, down my hip, twirling the red strand holding up my bottom. His gaze is intensely hot.
“Maybe I should push it off if you hate it so much.” I decide to tease him in an innocently high voice. I flutter my eyelashes, challenging him, as I latch a finger around the string he’s holding. He grips my hand before I can even pretend to tug at it.
“Don’t,” he whispers, and h
is voice is booming with low authority that’s surprising but so fucking sexy that I do what he says. We stare into each other’s eyes for a long moment, the wind whispering around my bare ankles and loose curls, until he cracks into his Noah-smile, dimpled and bright. “Just for that, I’m taking you away to the bikini bottom, where yours will stay on your body. You hear me?”
“What are you talking about?” I don’t get to finish my question, though, when he scoops me over his shoulder. “Noah!” I squeal in more delight than shock, and the blood rushing down to my head makes his laugh as he begins to run to the ocean sound, flushed and watery.
“Put me down!” I demand in a fluttery laugh.
“Okay,” he says with offhanded finality, I only realize when I’m underwater.
I’m spluttering and wiping the stinging water from my face when I resurface. “Noah!” I scold, watching him clap in amusement. “Oh, you think that’s funny? Wait until I get the drop on you, Noah Wells.” I grab his hands and pull him down to my height, crashing our mouths together.
He instantly grabs my ass, and I walk backward, carrying him further into the ocean. The kiss is all a girl could wish for: passionate, deep, and filled with peace. Too bad I only have revenge on my mind. I stop us when we’re waist-high in. Grabbing his shoulders, I turn around so he’s facing out into the ocean and, pulling away, I wink and push him in.
But he’s too reflexive and drags me in with him.
My shocked scream is barely audible when I’m dragged under the calm waves. One crashes above me, and I spin, and he presses himself against me. His smile is even more annoying when I open my eyes. I surface with him, laughing like a maniac.
“That isn’t funny!” I slap his chest even though I was the one who pushed him.
He loops an arm around my waist, his smile amused. “Oh, I think it was a little funny.” His nose wrinkles, and he squints an eye. “Just a little, hmm?” He hums and bounces his shoulders.
I cave in; I can never withstand his adorable smile. “Whatever.” I roll my eyes in annoyance, and he smiles and kisses my lips. I know what he’s going to do before he even does, but I play nice girlfriend and let him plot his little revenge. I just make sure to appreciate his sweet, savory taste. I memorize his solid but gentle hold on me. I savor the low hum in the base of his throat as he kisses me deeply.
This is how I want to die and be resurrected. A vicious circle of euphoria so strong it blinds me and consumes me. He has me bewitched. And I’d like to believe I have him bewitched as well.
I’m falling before I know it, but I pull the same move he did a moment ago. I grab his hand. He smashes into the water, and I try not to laugh. But I smile through the blurriness and the sting in my eyes.
We resurface and stay in for what feels like years. He picks me up and dives in, we swim, splash, laugh, and kiss, and I swear my heart is in puddles, flowing with the water. I’m liquid in his hands; I’m everything and nothing standing here as he kisses me with everything he has.
Noah Wells is a man with a playful, child-like heart: so pure and soft and welcoming. I stare at his muscular back as he leads us back to shore, warding off the sexual thoughts like the plague. I want to bask in his innocence for a tad longer. At our spot, we pack up and tell his brother and his girlfriend that we’re headed home—I’m so freaking exhausted. That’s what happens to a girl after a day at the beach, I guess.
Before walking back to his car, we wash off in the open showerhead near the underway of the boardwalk. It’s far from washing the sand from every crevice possible and the griminess from being in the ocean, but it’s enough to make me feel a little better. We dry off using our towels on the way to the parking lot.
“Are you hungry?” he asks and lets go of my hand to open the passenger door of his car.
“Starved,” I answer dramatically, and he laughs. I dip into the car and click on my seatbelt. He jogs around, and when he’s near, I’m able to blast the heat. He slides into the driver seat next to me and puts the car to life with his foot.
“What do you feel like?” He looks over at me with raised brows.
I look at him. “You.”
His dimple reins me in. “I’m being serious.”
“Fine, since we have dessert in place—you—” I wink, and he chuckles. I bite my lip and sit back as he begins to pull out of the lot. “I guess I could go for some french fries. Oooh, and a milkshake. That sounds mouth-watering.” I moan with my eyes closed, imagining sinking my teeth into salty fries and slurping on a strawberry shake.
“Hmmm, okay.” He hums, and the car slows to a stop.
I crack open an eye. He’s texting on his phone. “Why’d we stop?” I ask.
“Huh?” he mumbles and looks up, then at me. Wide-eyed, he grins and shoots a wary look out of the dashboard window. “A kid and a woman were passing by,” he says and takes off, but when I look into the side-mirror, I don’t see anyone.
Weird…
I don’t comment on his odd behavior, just shrug and lean back in the warm seat. I hold his college sweatshirt he lent me to my nose and fall into a peaceful nap. The ride is smooth and rocks me gently with every languid twist and curve. I wake up when I realize we should have reached home already. That and he’s oddly quiet. He’s never quiet.
“Where are we going?” I begin to yawn, but the car is slowing down anyway. I yawn big time, stretching as much as I can in the confined space. My eyes are blurry from my little nap, but they are clear as day when I flitter them to find him grinning at me. His smile tickles a giggle out of me. “What is it, weirdo? Do I have drool on my chin or something?” I wipe my skin tiredly even though I don’t feel anything there.
“Don’t freak out,” he instructs, inching over to me. I frown, watching him pop open the glove compartment in front of my pretzel-styled legs. His hands bring out a silky black blindfold. “But I have to blindfold you.”
“Christian? Did I wake up in a nightmare? Are you gonna spank me over the hood of the car?” I mumble and rub my forehead.
“What?” he laughs.
“I don’t know, I’m exhausted. You’ve exhausted me with your playfulness, Noah.” I chuckle, rubbing my mouth, and stop with one glance at the cloth hanging over his palm. I flick my eyes to his, bite my lip. “Not totally opposed to the spanking, though…”
His cheeks flood with pink, and he glances down. “Good to know. But for now, mind turning for me?”
I stare at the cloth skeptically but sigh and nod. I turn, give him my back, my trust. This man can’t ever disappoint me. I’m usually the one doing the disappointing; he does the perfect tango, and I keep screwing up, but he doesn’t ever hesitate to scoop me up against his agile body and keep swirling us around the ballroom of passion and love.
Once the fold is on my eyes and I’m blind to the world, I hear his door pop open. A few seconds pass and then I hear my door open. I sense him before he touches my shoulder. I suck in a shuddering breath as he trails his long fingers down to meet mine, gently tugging me out of the car.
Then we’re walking. Some more walking. A little bit more, and my heart is going wild with each blind step. It’s comforting, insane, and humorous to think a few months ago I trusted no one and thought I was complete, utter, unredeemable garbage. But in stepped the gorgeous, hilarious, and soft-hearted boy named Noah Wells, and here I am letting him guide me to a place unknown to me, letting him devour my trust with the grip of his palm.
“We’re here,” he announces and begins to undo the blindfold. I blink rapidly and let them close to comprehend sight once again. But when I open my eyes and see his father’s airplane, I’m confused more than ever.
I look up at him, brows furrowed at his smile. “And here is?”
His grin is contagious. “You said you felt like french fries, so…” He runs up to the long, steep steps, facing me with wide open arms. “Let’s go to France and get you some.” My eyes decide to become gelatin at that moment, and I take a staggering step back.
“Really?” He scratches his head, and I chuckle without air. I think I just choked. He shrugs and waves my correction away with a flick of his hand. “Who cares? We can stop by Belgium first then.”
“Noah,” I say breathlessly. This is too much.
His brows drop into a frown, and he rushes down and cups my shoulders, rubbing them gently. “What’s wrong, babe?”
“This.” I bite my lip and glance behind him. “You treat me too great.”
He pouts and laughs incredulously. “How is that a bad thing?”
“It’s not. It’s a great thing, a perfect thing. And Noah…” I bite down on my tongue, wishing I could will the truthfulness behind the words, but I can’t. Eventually I taste hints of blood and let my lip go, let the words flow. “I am not perfect for you. I’ve betrayed you, lied to you—I’m literally the worst person for you.”
His face is set in stone, tainted with a painstakingly serious expression as he cups my face. But his touch is soft to the touch, so much so I rub my cheeks against his palms, and he smiles, breaking that stone I despise. I live for this dimpled boy and his dimpled heart.
“Red, you are the best thing that has ever happened to me. You came to me when I was lost and lonely. You came to me when I didn’t think I needed anyone, but the second I got you, I knew I never wanted anything but you. You’ve shown me how to be carefree and passionate and how to run away from security guards.” He laughs, and I do too, tearing up and sucking in a breath as his thumbs caress my cheeks. But it isn’t enough. He bends down to my height and kisses on top of my shut eyelids, then under, then my nose, then my lips…
“I have never wanted anything more in my life. You are everything I want and need…be mine? Now? Tomorrow? For…forever?”
My heart jumps, and I smile. “I am yours, Noah.” My eyes flutter open, but I take in his scent of home before peeling my head back to look into his eyes. “I always have been, always will be.”
Red: Fiery Finale (Spectrum Series Book 8) Page 36