Noah is surprisingly flexible, but not unexpectedly strong as he moves from pose to pose. When he isn’t quite flexible enough, I show him an alternative posture to get the same results.
When class is finished, I smile and say, “Namaste.”
“Namaste,” they repeat. It takes about ten minutes for everyone to gather their things, chat quickly with one another, and then file out of the room, leaving Noah and me alone.
“You’re fucking incredible,” he says when the door closes behind the last client.
“Why?”
He shakes his head as he climbs to his feet and walks over to the door, turning the deadbolt and locking us inside.
“Don’t get me wrong,” he continues as he turns and slowly walks toward me, his eyes pinned to mine. “I already knew that you were incredible, but watching you here, in your element? Fucking hot as hell.”
I feel the smile spread over my lips. “Is that so?”
“Oh, yeah.” He moves to stand less than two feet in front of me and reaches out to tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. “Your body is strong.”
His eyes roam up and down the length of me, taking in every inch.
“Your voice is soothing,” he continues, and suddenly boosts me up with my back pinned against the floor-to-ceiling mirror behind me. “And I want you. Right now.”
I cock a brow. “This isn’t terribly professional of me.”
“No one’s here.” He kisses my chin and then my lips. Softly at first, and then deeper as if he’s memorizing the shape of my mouth. His fingertips dig into my ass. Every muscle in his body is tight with pure lust.
“Noah,” I whisper when his lips leave mine to make their way down my jawline to my neck. “Jesus, I always want you.”
“Good.” With me propped against the mirror, he leans back and rips my yoga pants down. One of the seams tears. “Why are you wearing panties?”
“I’m at work,” I remind him, and he simply slips his finger under them and tugs them to the side. Just that contact has me writhing. “Ah, Jesus.”
“You make me crazy,” he mutters as he shoves his shorts down his hips, freeing his hard cock. He must have had a condom in his pocket because he slips it on and then plunges inside me, as far as he can possibly go, making us both gasp in pleasure. “Jesus Christ, you’re snug.”
“Feels so good,” I pant, trying to circle my hips and make him move.
“The way you move your body is so damn beautiful.” He growls before biting my neck, just this side of hard enough to leave a mark. The idea of Noah marking me is thrilling. He plants one hand on the mirror, grounding himself, and with the other wrapped around my waist, he fucks me silly, pounding hard as if he’s a man possessed.
My heart thumps, and I’m panting hard, trying to stay relatively quiet in case there’s anyone outside the door.
But man, he makes it hard to stay quiet.
“Go over, Fallon,” he says. I reach between us and press my fingers to my clit and feel myself clamp down on him. “Fucking hell. You’d better come, sweetheart, because I’m about to lose it.”
I couldn’t stop the orgasm if I tried. And, really, who would want to try?
When we’re both spent, gasping for breath and leaning against each other, Noah gingerly sets me on my feet, keeping his hands on my hips to make sure I don’t fall on my face.
“Well, it wasn’t a mattress, but I’ll take it,” I mumble and watch as he turns away to tuck himself in and do something mysterious with the condom.
I don’t want to know.
“The mattress will happen later,” he says confidently. “I’m sorry about your pants.”
“No, you’re not.”
“No, I’m not,” he says with a smile when he turns back to me and cups my cheek.
“It’s a good thing I have a spare pair in my bag.”
“I guess I should have asked before I tore them.”
I laugh and kiss his palm. “It was a fun adventure. Thanks for coming to class.”
“I enjoyed it,” he says, and I can see from the look in his eyes that he enjoyed both the class and the after-class activities.
“Me, too.” I take a deep breath and slowly let it out. “Now I have to get through three more classes today.”
“I guess I should get back to work,” he replies. “Do you need anything?”
I smile. This is Noah, always willing to help me in any way, anytime. It’s something I’ve come to love about him, not because he does things for me, but because of his giving spirit.
He is a kind soul.
“I think I’m okay,” I reply and lean in to place a kiss over his tender heart. “I hope you have a great day.”
“If the way it started is anything to go by, it’s going to be fucking fantastic.”
He grins and lays a quick, hard kiss on me, then turns to leave.
I take a deep breath before pulling my spare yoga pants out of my bag. I guess I’ll need to keep an extra pair handy, just in case.
I’m not complaining.
* * * *
“Is it a good idea to mix alcohol and painting?” Jillian wonders aloud as she takes another sip of her red wine and stares at the blue canvas in front of her. “I mean, I’m not good at this on a good day with no alcohol.”
“If I couldn’t drink wine,” Cara says thoughtfully, “I wouldn’t be here because I’d be too afraid to try.”
“Exactly,” the instructor, Jael, says with a smile. “A little wine helps to lower your inhibitions.”
“I can’t drink,” Lo reminds us, laughing. “And yet, here I am. The things I do for you.”
“Let’s focus,” Jael says with a laugh of her own. She’s a pretty woman in her early forties, with red hair highlighted with blond. She’s thin with kind, blue eyes. “Now that we have our base, we’re going to add the silhouette of a mountain with trees.”
“Oh, Lord, we’re getting fancy,” Autumn says. “I need more wine.”
She hops up and fills her glass with more white.
I’ve barely had a chance to sip mine, I’m too focused on the painting. I don’t want it to suck.
I’m just not super artistically inclined.
“Wow, look at Fallon’s,” Lo says, looking over my shoulder. “Have you done this before?”
“No,” I reply with a shrug. “And I don’t know if I’ll do it again. I’m totally stressed out.”
“No need to be stressed,” Jael says with a wink. “Any mistakes can be covered up, and none of these are going to look exactly the same. That’s the beauty of art.”
“How long have you been doing this?” I ask, trying to follow her direction for painting a tree. “And why does this look like a penis?”
Cara chokes on her wine and then busts up laughing. “Oh, Lord. We have penis trees.”
Jael patiently shows me how to fix my phallic trees.
“I’ve been teaching these classes for about five years,” she says with a smile. “Since I got divorced, and my daughter went away to college. I wanted something to fill my evenings.”
“You’re an excellent artist,” Jillian says, looking at the other paintings on the walls. “Do you paint for a living?”
“Aside from the sip and paint? No.” She shakes her head. “I’m a nurse.”
“Smart and artistic,” I say with a wink. “You’re a double threat.”
“Not to mention, pretty as can be,” Autumn agrees, making Jael blush.
“If giving you all wine inspires you to compliment me, I’ll take it, but that’s not the goal tonight. Now, we’re going to paint in a full moon.”
My phone pings in my pocket. I take it out and turn the sound off, expecting to see a text from Noah. Instead, it’s a notification from Instagram.
Lacey McCarthy, my mother, started following my yoga page and went through to like every single one of my photos.
“Everything okay?” Autumn asks quietly.
“Yeah,” I sigh. “Hey, let’s take a self
ie.”
“Okay.” Autumn leans her cheek against mine, and I snap the picture. It inspires a whole group shot, as well—all five of us.
“We’ll take another photo of the group when your paintings are done,” Jael says.
“I think that’s code for stop goofing off and get to work,” Jillian says. “Sorry. We don’t get out often.”
“You’re a fun group,” Jael replies.
I send the photos to Noah and tuck my phone back into my pocket and get to work.
An hour later, we’re all sipping wine and looking at our handiwork.
“Not bad,” I concede. “Thanks to Jael, mine isn’t pornographic.”
“Maybe you were just thinking about Noah’s penis, and you transferred that onto the canvas?” Cara suggests.
“Ew,” Lo says, wrinkling her nose. “If that’s the case, Noah has a short, fat dick.”
“He doesn’t,” I assure the room at large. My cheeks are warm from the wine. “I just got too excited about the tip. Of the tree. The top, I mean.”
“Stop,” Cara says, giggling hysterically. “Oh, man, I can’t breathe.”
“Zack and Josh have the same dick,” Jillian says and sips her wine. “’Cause they’re identical twins.”
“Have you seen both of them?” Lo asks, mortified.
“No,” Jillian says. “Cara and I just compared notes one time.”
“I don’t need to know what anyone’s dick looks like,” I say, shaking my head, grateful that Jael is in the back cleaning brushes and not privy to this conversation.
“Except Noah’s,” Autumn says with a wink.
“Well, yeah.”
“Oh, Fallon, I meant to ask if you’ve heard from Penny?” Lo asks. “I know you’re friends with her.”
“I have,” I say with a smile, careful not to spill the beans about the super sexy rock star she’s currently banging. “She’s doing great.”
“I’m so happy to hear that,” Lo replies, staring longingly at the wine.
“You can have a glass,” Jillian says. “Just pump and throw the milk away later.”
“It’s too much work,” Lo says, shaking her head. “I’m not wasting the milk. Some women make a ton, but not me.”
I want to ask a million questions about being pregnant and giving birth and breastfeeding, but I keep quiet, just listening to the conversations around me. I know they’d answer my inquiries, but they’d also have questions of their own, and I don’t have answers.
I’m not pregnant, and I’m not even getting married.
I’m just ridiculously curious these days.
My phone vibrates in my pocket.
Noah: You’re stunning. Sharing with Gray, he’ll want to see.
I smile and tuck my phone away.
“Noah is sending our picture to Gray,” I inform Autumn, who gets a happy smile on her pretty face at the mention of Gray’s name.
“Oh, how nice. Will you please send them to me?”
“Send them to all of us,” Lo says with a smile. “And let’s take more.”
We’re goofy, taking photos of ourselves and our paintings, of the wine, of each other, and for the first time since I moved to Cunningham Falls, I feel like not only do I belong in the place, but I also belong with the people.
I have friends and a man. A thriving business.
It feels damn good.
* * * *
“Om shanti shanti.”
My last class of the day is finally done. I’m ready to go home, take a shower, and relax.
“Hey, Fallon,” Jenna says after she rolls up her mat and joins me. “I have good news.”
“Awesome, what’s up?”
“I have a cabin that just came available yesterday. I usually use it as a vacation rental, but I can totally let you stay long-term if you like it.”
“That is good news,” I reply with a smile.
“Would you like to go look at it now? It’s literally down the street.”
“Oh my gosh, yes. Let me just close up here.” I tidy up the room and grab my purse and yoga bag, then lock up behind us. “If it’s up the street, I can walk to work.”
“That’s what I was thinking,” Jenna says. “It’s a small house, but it’s cute, not full of mold, and convenient to town.”
The walk takes us less than ten minutes. It’s a short distance from downtown, less than four blocks in a quiet neighborhood. Jenna wasn’t kidding when she said it was small. The white house is tucked back from the street in some trees. The front porch is inviting.
“I know the yard maintenance is something you didn’t want,” Jenna says, pointing to the grassy front yard. “But I already have a service taking care of it.”
She leads me inside, and I immediately like it.
“Oh, this is cute.”
“I know,” she says, grinning.
I wander through the small living room into a simple kitchen and then check out the two bedrooms and a bathroom. It’s fully furnished, in newer pieces that are both trendy and comfortable. I like the style.
Not to mention, the energy of the space is calm. No ghosts here. The feng shui is perfect.
“You’re right, it’s small,” I say as we step out back onto the patio. “But it’s just me.”
“Are you sure you want to move out of Noah’s house?” Jenna asks.
I frown. “Of course. We’re seeing each other, and I like him a lot, but we’re not living together. Not like that.”
Okay, so I’ve slept in his bed almost every night, and I guess we have been living together as a couple, but we always knew that would come to an end when I found a new place.
“Well, this is yours if you want it. You don’t need to start paying rent until October.”
“That’s two months away.”
She smiles. “Yes, and you’ve been amazing and patient with the whole situation. I appreciate it, and am happy to wait until October for rent. Please, it’s the least I can do.”
“Deal,” I reply. Instead of shaking my hand, Jenna tugs me in for a hug.
“I’m so glad you like it.” She pulls away and offers me the keys. “Here you go. You can move in anytime.”
“Might as well be today,” I say with a smile.
Jenna and I walk back to the studio where our vehicles are parked.
“Thanks again,” I call out and wave before driving away toward Noah’s place.
Honestly, I’m torn. It’s a relief to have my own place again. Noah’s house is comfortable, and I feel more than welcome there, but it’s not mine. I’ve stayed there because he’s kind and I needed somewhere to go.
Being close to the studio and back in town will be nice, although I haven’t hated the commute from Noah’s property.
I will have to drive out there to see my eagle, but that’s okay.
I walk into Noah’s farmhouse and take a deep breath. It smells like Noah here, and that’s something I will miss. I’ll miss being able to see him almost anytime I want.
But will that really change? I walk into the bedroom and start filling my bags with my few belongings.
It’s not like Noah and I will stop seeing each other. We can still go on dates or spend the night at each other’s houses. He’s just a short drive away.
The relationship doesn’t have to change.
I carry my things out to the Jeep, then go back in and walk through the house, making sure I don’t forget anything.
The kettle Noah bought is sitting on the counter, next to the coffee pot. I didn’t see a kettle of any kind at Jenna’s.
I’m sure he won’t mind if I borrow this one until I have a chance to go and buy one.
I quickly write him a note, leave it on the counter by the coffee maker, and head out, excited to get settled in my new digs.
Chapter Ten
~Noah~
“Fal?”
It’s been a shit day. We lost an owl to lead poisoning, and one of the other owlets that Fallon and I saved that day on the highway i
s sick. We don’t know why.
It’s damn frustrating.
I’ve been looking forward to coming home and seeing Fallon all day. She’s a balm to my soul and always lifts my mood.
But she’s not here.
I wander into the kitchen to grab a bottle of water and see a note on the counter. Maybe she’s going to be late?
Dear Noah,
Good news! Jenna has a rental for me. I checked it out this afternoon, and it’s perfect. So I’ve moved in. The address is 689 Lookout Ave. Feel free to come by anytime! I hope you had a good day. I’ll see you soon. Oh, and just let me know if I owe you any money for utilities or anything.
XO,
Fal
P.S. I borrowed the electric kettle.
I read the note twice, certain I’m hallucinating. She left?
She fucking left?
No phone call, no text. Just a quick and dirty note on the counter as if she’s been my roommate for the past couple of weeks.
Maybe that’s all it was for her.
I shake my head. Bullshit, it’s more than that for both of us. She’s just too fucking stubborn to admit it.
I crumple the note in my hand, grab my keys, and speed toward town in my truck. I’m not going to have this conversation over the phone. We’re going to do this in person.
Fallon’s Jeep is parked in the driveway, and Jenna’s car is parked at the curb.
Good. Fallon can tell Jenna she’s had a change of heart and won’t need the house after all.
I walk in without knocking and find the pair of them in the bathroom.
“I promise, this leak was not here this morning,” Jenna says with a sigh. “Damn it.”
“It’s a sign,” I say, startling them both. Fallon turns to me with wide, green eyes. “That you’re not supposed to be here.”
“Hey, Noah,” Jenna says with a smile and looks back and forth between Fallon and me. “So, I guess I’ll leave you two alone. I cut off the water to the faucet so it should be okay.” She stops, bites her lip, then waves. “Bye.”
“Bye,” Fallon whispers, watching me. “You’re mad.”
“Oh, fuck yeah, I’m mad.”
“Noah, we both knew that I wasn’t living there permanently.”
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