Chasing Noel

by Debra Elise

  “Do you want to know what I’ve been imagining?” He spoke in her ear and nibbled her lobe. She squirmed against him and clutched the counter.

  Noel nodded her head and pushed her body as tight as she could to his, which gave him a better view down the top of her dress where it billowed. She heard him suck in his breath. He’d discovered she hadn’t worn a bra.

  She knew he was getting a full view of her breasts as she felt her nipples hardened, waiting for his attention.

  His hand roamed under her blouse, he cupped his hands under her aching breasts and flicked his thumbs over their rock-hard tips. It was her turn to groan.

  He removed her blouse and turned her around to face him and tipped up her chin to bring her gaze even with his.

  “First, I’m going to suck your nipples until you’re on the verge of coming. They’re so pretty and needy. Just for me. I fucking love that I do that to you, Noel. Next, I’m going to slip my fingers inside your panties.” He followed up his words with action.

  His middle finger entered her and began to lightly stroke her. All the while, he held her gaze.

  “I’m going to bring you so damn close to the edge you’ll think you’re going go mad. Then, I’m going to lean you back onto your table and spread your thighs and sink my tongue into your hot, wet core and make you come, screaming my name.”

  Noel let out a small gasp.

  “Finally, I’m going to enter you. Slow at first. In and out until all you can think about is coming again, around my cock. Then I’m going to—”

  “You know something, TS?” She grabbed his hand to stop his movements so she could think.

  “What’s that, sweetheart?’

  “You talk too much. Shut up. I need you inside me. Now.” She crawled up his body and hooked her legs around his waist and swallowed him whole. Her tongue dueled with his as they fought for dominance.

  He chuckled. “I think I’ve heard that before. And soon. First, I want to taste.”

  She watched as the man she was on the verge of falling in love with, held her aching breasts reverently in his palms once again. He leaned down and took a nipple in his mouth and suckled until she grasped his head and brought his lips to hers in a kiss she never wanted to end.

  He grabbed her hips and aligned her soft form against his hard body. He rubbed his cock against her and lifted her onto the table. He pushed the dishes out of the way and laid her down as if she were the most fragile thing in the world.

  “God, I want you so damn much. I want you to remember every touch of my hand. Every lick of my tongue. You deserve to be well-loved because I’m going to make you hard and fast after you come. So, hang on.”

  Oh. My.

  “Yes. Please, I just need to feel you inside of me.”

  TS nipped her lips and sucked her bottom lip into his mouth, cutting off her plea. His tongue stole into her mouth, consuming her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and lifted her hips and rubbed herself against his erection.

  For a moment, she thought he’d take her just the way she wanted. Fast and hard. His hands traveled up her ribs, skimming her breasts, and captured her arms up above her head.

  She moaned as he broke off their kiss. “Dammit, TS. Please? I—”

  He ignored her once again and did as he pleased. And promised.

  “I want your eyes on mine. I want you to watch as I worship you. I want to see you come undone as I lick you and make you come.”

  Noel almost came from his words. She’d never experienced such an erotic moment in her life.

  “Can you do that for me, sweetheart?”

  She nodded.

  She couldn’t speak. Her skin felt two sizes too tight. She needed relief, and only TS could provide it.

  “Open your eyes, Noel,” TS ordered. His voice, huskier than she’d ever heard, brought her ever closer to the edge.

  “Keep your hands above your head. No touching until I give the okay.”

  She was beyond caring that he was issuing orders. If he was bent on pleasuring her, who was she to argue?

  TS traced his fingers, feather-light, along her neck and collarbone, dipping lower onto the swell of her breast and circled a taut nipple without touching the aching point. He was testing her. Lost in the flurry of emotions he made her feel, she gave herself and her body over.

  He paid attention to every inch of her body, licking and biting, then kissing the sting away. When he reached the top of her thighs, she was ready to implode. No longer could she hold herself still. She wantonly tempted him and opened her legs wider.

  “TS.” She whispered. Longing threaded her plea. She watched him as he loved her body, then begged, “Please.”

  TS placed the tip of his tongue on her clit and pressed the swollen bud. The light touch after his methodical attack on the rest of her body did her in. Her orgasm slammed into her. The joy of it brought tears to her eyes as he used his tongue to mimic what his cock would soon be doing.

  This. This is what she’d wanted since their time together at the cabin.

  He was relentless and continued to lick and suckle her until another orgasm crested. She rode the wave for as long as she could. Her limbs loose, Noel absorbed the tiny electrical impulses and cried out his name.

  TS kissed her stomach and trailed his wicked tongue over her belly button. It was too much, it was not enough. She wrapped her legs around his waist. “Oh, God. TS, now, inside me, now!”

  He rolled on a condom and entered her. She could have wept at the contact, and maybe she did as he thrust his cock in and out, slow at first, then fast and hard as promised.

  He held her tight as his strokes went deeper and deeper still. Damn his request, she placed both hands on his shoulders, and she matched his pace and met each thrust.

  He called her name, “Noel. Look at me.”

  When she did, TS’ body shuddered, and with her name on his lips, she watched as he came apart in her arms.

  CHAPTER TEN

  FEBRUARY

  TS’ feelings concerning Noel had been all over the place since Christmas, Hell since they were two gawky teenagers. In the beginning, he was just damn glad she wasn’t looking to him for her own happiness and that her expectations were the same as his. But lately, he’d begun coming up with excuses to see her, and it just wasn’t for sex.

  Tonight was the perfect example. He’d asked her to attend an event with him. He’d told her it would benefit them both professionally. What he hadn’t told her was that he couldn’t imagine going without her.

  He and Grant had just finished a round on the handball court when the team’s lawyer and silent partner stopped and smacked his head.

  “Dammit, I just remembered. It’s date night.”

  TS took a drink from his water bottle. “How the hell do you forget something like that. I must be overworking you.” And why did men have to schedule a date when they were married? Wasn’t it a given?

  “It’s not that. Man, I’m sorry. But she’s ovulating.”

  TS couldn’t have heard him right. “Ova-What-ing?”

  “We’re trying to get pregnant. She was worried it’s been taking a while, so now she takes a test and when it’s the right time, we— “

  “Spare me the details.” TS didn’t need to know everything about his friend. “Go. Join the merry band of baby-makers. Might as well, it’s an epidemic around here.”

  Grant laughed and slapped him on the back as he walked off the court. “Don’t worry, TS. One day you two will be at the mercy of the baby God’s.”

  Watching as Grant whistled his way off the court and down the hall toward the shower rooms, TS shook his head. Poor bastard. He didn’t say anything because hey, the world needed people to operate, but he wouldn’t be one of its procreators. At least that part of the damn article that had been true.

  He’d never hid his feelings about becoming a father, but now that they were out there, he felt…judged. No one had said anything to him directly, but whenever one of his friends s
tarted talking about their kid when he was around, they apologized for boring him. They hadn’t done that before the article. It bothered him. Maybe it was time he told them how he enjoyed all the new additions, and how it had made him begin to think…maybe. Maybe he could have what Mav, Luke, and Blake had found.

  He gathered up his towel and water bottle and headed to the showers. He had a date too. With Noel. He grinned and thought about the last time they’d been together.

  Dinner had been ruined. Noel had been a bit put out, but after he’d returned with takeout, and they’d ate their fill, they then took their time being filled up by each other.

  TS had thought his plan for friends with benefits was foolproof. But he was beginning to think he was the fool. He knew he should end things before…before Noel ended up hurt. He’d never been with a woman this long before. He told himself it was a simple matter of chemistry; they craved each other.

  But … dammit, why’d there always have to be a but? Because he knew she wasn’t the one he needed to worry about being hurt. It was him. He wasn’t ready to label his feelings for Noel as love, but what he felt for her was more profound than any other woman he’d been with.

  He didn’t trust love. But he was quickly beginning to trust Noel with more than just his physical needs.

  ***

  Noel smiled as she listened to TS softly snore. They hadn’t lasted long at the charity event. TS made some lame excuse to the organizer then practically dragged her out of the building. When they walked through her front door, he took her in his arms and carried her up the stairs.

  They didn’t make it halfway. It was the first time she’d ever had sex on a staircase. The rug burns were worth it.

  She’d wondered throughout the short time they were at the party he had brought her. It had been the closest they’d come to being a couple in public. He introduced her as his “close friend,” but to her, it was a start. She didn’t want to get her hopes up, but she’d already sort of had. And she knew better. Had learned often enough during her mother’s cancer journey and her father’s abandonment that hope was a fickle friend.

  Whatever their ending was, TS had outdone every lover she knew. Not that there were many, but she was now good and truly ruined for anyone else. They devoured each other. And every time they were together, she thought it couldn’t possibly get better. And every time she was proved wrong. She worried that the growing attachment she felt was the Big L. Because, in the beginning, it was all about the orgasms. And to prove her point as she stretched and let out a low moan when her over-sensitized flesh rubbed against the bedding. Yup, ruined.

  Dammit, dammit, dammit. Who was she kidding? Could she really claim it was because the sex was great? If only. Because then she could blame the hours she spent with him on something else, anything instead of her own choice, and need for him.

  There she said it. Well thought it anyway. She looked over at TS’s profile. In the early dawn, his face was bathed in partial shadow, his brow line and lashes highlighted by the rising sun. Her fingers itched to touch his stubbled cheeks and rub her thumb along his lips. Lips that had brought her immeasurable pleasure.

  No, she wasn’t ready to voice her true feelings out loud. She’d given TS a part of herself she’d never given another man. Her vulnerability.

  How was she going to dial it back in when the full light of day appeared and highlighted the real her, the one she kept closely guarded not just from him, but her closest friends?

  How would she keep herself from begging him to become a part of his life for as long as he wanted her?

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Noel rolled over and found herself alone. She squinted at the bedside clock. Five-thirty. So much for pillow talk. She curled up and shut her eyes. Maybe she could fall back asleep, get another forty minutes, and worry later about TS sneaking out of her bed.

  A rumble in her stomach was the first sign something wasn’t right. She took in a deep breath to settle the sudden nausea, but her system wasn’t having it. She bolted out of bed and barely made it to the toilet bowl.

  Fifteen minutes later, she stood at the bathroom sink splashing water on her face and taking small sips of the cool liquid. She felt her forward. She wasn’t hot, but to be sure she searched for a thermometer. The last thing she needed was the flu. There wasn’t any room in her schedule to miss even one day of work.

  Later after her shower, she felt a bit better. She made some toast, skipped the jam, and downed some coffee. She was going to be late if she didn’t kick it into gear. But at least the nausea had left. She dressed in record time and made it to her office just as her assistant pulled up.

  The day was full of phone calls and a visit to a new client’s home, but no word from TS. Not that she expected him to call or text. They weren’t dating; she reminded herself. They were, benefitting

  A memory from last night made her smile. He’d been so sweet to her at the party. He genuinely wanted her to have a good time. And didn’t that just add to her newly admitted messy feelings.

  Her cell rang, and her heart rate went up. She looked at the screen. It was Kelsey. Dang, it was silly to get all excited every time her phone went off.

  “Hey. What’s up?”

  “Just making sure you’re going to be at The Club by seven. Girls night, remember.”

  “Yes, Mom. I remember. I’m just finishing up a meeting with the paint contractor. I’ll be there.”

  “Good. If you need a ride, call me. I’m designated driver tonight.”

  “That doesn’t seem fair. What happened to cabbing it?”

  Kelsey let out a snort. “I’m still breastfeeding. One drink for me otherwise I’ll have to pump and dump, which I don’t want to do. The guilt is bad enough, but Aunt Flo is in town and my breasts can’t take the misery of the breast pump. So, no worries, you can drink for me.”

  Oh, the joys of being a woman. Noel’s own breasts twinged at the thought. One positive aspect of never having kids was she would never have to go through that particular scenario. Her periods were tough enough as it was and… Oh, shit.

  Kelsey changed the subject, but all Noel could do was respond with a couple ‘uh-huhs. Her mind raced. What day was it? When was her last period? Damn, damn, damn. She was late. She was never late.

  She ended the call with another promise to be on time and stood staring at her shoes. The poor contractor walked off after he repeated his question twice, and all she could do was manage an, “I’ll call you tomorrow.”

  After the man left, she fast-walked out to her SUV. She got in but didn’t start the engine. It had been what two months since her last period, two weeks before… Christmas. Why hadn’t she noticed before now?

  She softly banged her head against her steering wheel and played out her days since her last period. What the Hell was she going to do? Maybe it was stress. Yeah, she’d heard stress could mess with your cycle, except perhaps… it wasn’t.

  Her tires screeched as she pulled out of the parking and headed for the closest pharmacy. She bought five pregnancy tests and a bag of chocolate. She avoided eye contact with the cashier.

  She debated texting Kelsey or Lara. They’d know how it felt to be pregnant. But then she’d have to tell them why she was asking, and she wasn’t ready. This could not be happening. Was the universe playing games with her?

  Her friends were forever making fun of her whenever she made a vision board to help her plan out major events or goals in her life. Like a remodel and design for a client, a wedding, or when she’d organized the joint baby shower last year for Kelsey and Lara.

  Then there had been the one she’d done when she was working on the initial bid for the condo project. The job she wanted more than anything, but TS had given to someone else … then she ended up with him, just as he had hoped. As she had wanted. Shit, it had worked.

  Dammit, if this was the Universe messing with her plans, it was so not funny. She’d been a bridesmaid—twice. Kelsey and Lara had zoomed past her into gro
wnup-land; got married and knocked-upped all in the span of a year. Then Caris had eloped with Blake and adopted the most adorable baby girl ever.

  If she wasn’t careful, she’d have an anxiety attack along with nausea. She was just a block from home, she could do this. She repeated that thought as she parked in the garage. She took in some deep breaths hoping it would settle her stomach and her racing thoughts.

  She wasn’t pregnant. They’d used protection. She was currently the proud owner of an entire box of condoms in her night-stand. He had condoms at the cabin too. Every damn time.

  Noel went into her kitchen and made some tea. Tea would settle her nausea. It’d go away, and she wouldn’t feel like puking her guts out.

  Crackers, she needed crackers.

  She turned to the cupboard where she kept them and whoa. Too fast. She leaned to one side and caught herself on the wall.

  Nope, not pregnant. Just stress.

  She waited for the water to boil and took her cup to the table and sat down. She blew on the hot liquid and nibbled on a cracker.

  Much better. See, she didn’t need to take the five tests that were still in the shopping bag on the far end of the counter, mocking her. The tea was doing its magic, and she felt much better.

  Noel desperately searched her memory. She knew she had a period in January, she must have. Never in her adult life had she missed one—ever.

  Sure, her life had been crazy, but to forget the monthly cramps and PMS induced chocolate binges? There was no way she’d just breeze through a month without either of the two happening.

  Lord, she missed her mom. This was one of the few times in her life she could have used a good cry in her mother’s arms, and a dose of Loretta Snow’s no holds barred opinion.

  Noel smiled. Her mother had never been a shrinking violet. She wore her emotions openly, and if you weren’t clear on how she really felt, she’d tell you. Tears welled again. She grabbed a tissue and wiped off her ruined eyeliner.