Chapter 15

CHAPTER 15

GEMMA

N oah undressed me slowly, his gaze following the deft movements of his fingers in the faint light in my room. Silvery moonlight and the soft orange glow from the streetlights outside filtered in through my windows, creating an atmosphere so romantic that what was happening between us felt magical. Transcendent.

Completely caught in the beauty of the moment, all I could do was watch as he removed every article of my clothes almost reverently. Goosebumps bloomed on my skin in the wake of every brush of his fingertips. Our first time together had been amazing, but now that I felt like I was beginning to understand who he really was, it was so much more intense.

Those blue eyes were locked on every part of me he revealed to himself, his jaw held tight and a tremble passing through him every so often. Seeing him like this made a shiver of desire shoot down my spine and it finally snapped me out of the trance I’d been in.

Slowly lifting my hands, I reached for his sweater, tugged down on the zipper, and pushed it off his shoulders once it was free. Noah lowered his own hands to allow me to pull it all the way off. Then his fingers returned to my back and he unhooked my bra, his fingers tickling my spine before he pulled the garment off.

As soon as my nipples were exposed to the air in my room, they hardened to tight little points that were begging for his attention. He sucked in a sharp breath when he noticed, a low groan rumbling in his chest. The sound made moisture pool between my legs, spurring me on to grip the edges of his shirt and push it up over his head.

He lifted his arms dutifully, and I tossed the shirt on the floor. His sculpted chest and abs were good enough to eat. I couldn’t wait to consume him.

He hooked his thumbs into the waistband of my panties and slowly pulled them down. I wiggled my hips to help him along. With a fierce look in his eyes, he lowered himself onto his haunches, crouching in front of me but keeping his gaze on mine.

My heart accelerated and my breathing grew heavier even though he hadn’t touched me yet. He slid my panties to my feet and kissed the insides of my ankles as he lifted each foot to pull the fabric free.

Those eyes remained hooked on my own, his lips parted and a slight furrow on his brow. He brought his hands to my hips, fingers spread apart and gripping me tight when he finally allowed his gaze to drop, slowly raking it across the length of my abdomen before it settled between my legs.

A whoosh of air escaped him and I quivered in response, my breathing suddenly so shallow that I was a little bit embarrassed about it. Noah didn’t even seem to notice, though. All of his attention was focused on his hands where they were moving slowly away from my hips to my legs, his fingers curling around my calves before he let them wander back up.

My nerve endings came alive under his gentle, unhurried touches. Lust coursed through me like lava. A quiet moan escaped me as he spread my thighs apart, leaning forward to blow some air onto my overheated lady bits.

Glancing back up at me, he smirked, then suddenly pushed me back onto the bed. My ass hit the mattress, and before I could even begin to comprehend the change in position, Noah was between my legs. Standing up on his knees, he pushed mine apart and licked a hot swipe though my folds.

So surprised that I cried out, I fell back against the mattress. My fingers dug into the comforter as I shut my eyes and hung on for the ride. Noah’s lips and tongue seemed to be everywhere at the same time. His fingers teased at my entrance as he drove me halfway to insanity before he finally sucked my clit into his mouth.

My hips came right off the bed, moans spilling out of me unabated. I writhed and squirmed, pleasure coiling deep within and my muscles tightening in delicious anticipation. As he slowly worked his fingers into me, spreading me apart and dragging his fingertips over every sensitive inch inside, I whimpered his name, so close that I could almost taste it.

Noah chuckled against my core, the vibrations of the sound bringing me even closer to the edge. The first jolts of pleasure shot through me and he groaned before he gave me that last little bit I’d needed, sending me headfirst into a spectacular orgasm when he pressed his tongue down on my clit.

“Noah!” My eyes screwed shut, toes curling as a blinding white light lit the backs of my eyelids and my body was flung into euphoria.

My brain ceased all operations, my bones like jelly as I started coming down. My Superman had done it again, reducing me to a weak and shaky mess in all the best possible ways. I smiled, using what was left of my energy to pull him to me.

He came willingly, those eyes almost all pupil as he panted, chest rising and falling fast. For a moment, I wondered why he looked almost distressed and then I realized it wasn’t distress, but something much, much more fun.

I smiled against his lips before I rolled us over, pushed him onto his back, and unbuttoned his pants. Noah watched me with his lips parted. A flush spread across the tops of his cheeks once he was finally naked.

As he had done with me earlier, I took my time drinking him in. The broad shoulders and smooth chest. The rippling abs and tensing muscles in his thighs. And then, of course, I finally allowed my gaze to zero in on his cock.

My breath caught when I saw the wetness glistening on his tip, his long shaft fully erect and strangely beautiful in the moment. Too tempted to resist, I bent over, slid my lips over the smooth soft skin, and sucked him as deep into my mouth as I could.

Noah groaned. His hips thrust like he couldn’t help himself as I wrapped my fist around the base of him. I’d never thought of myself as being very good at this, but with my hand and mouth working together, it took almost no time at all before he was panting. Then he swelled between my lips and quickly pulled me off him.

He wordlessly reached for a condom he must’ve put down on the bed while I’d been otherwise occupied earlier. Then he helped me onto his lap and watched me as he opened the wrapper. His eyes never left mine while he tore it open, the soft rip of foil loud in the quiet of the room.

A shiver of anticipation slid down my spine as I watched him right back, my insides already aching to bring him into me. As soon as he was covered, I lifted myself up on my knees and took his offered hands to help me keep my balance.

Positioning myself over him, I slowly lowered down, feeding him into me. As I enveloped him, I reveled the micro-expressions on his face. The slight tightening of his jaw, the flaring of his nostrils, and even the look of concentrated agony that flickered across his handsome features all made me even hotter, sending another gush of heat between my legs.

“Fuck it,” he practically growled, sliding a hand around the nape of my neck and pulling me to him for a hard kiss.

He thrust into me from below and pleasure crashed into me like a dam wall bursting. I moaned into his mouth, my entire body tightening and just about vibrating with the strength of it. Curling my fingers around his shoulders, I kissed him back, my body eagerly meeting every one of his thrusts.

Noah held on to me so tight that I felt him tremble underneath me. Soft groans fell out of him until he finally cussed and let go. The knowledge and sensation of feeling him lose it deep inside me sent me barreling into another mind-numbing orgasm. My limbs were also feeling momentarily numb in the aftermath.

As we collapsed together, Noah tucked me into his side, breathing hard. He pressed a kiss to my forehead. I closed my eyes as I caught my breath, my arm draped over his stomach and my head resting on his shoulder.

A little while later, he left the bed to dispose of the condom, coming back with a warm washcloth and helping me clean up before he crawled back into bed with me. He held me tight as I fell asleep, constantly kissing my forehead and temples and making me feel so loved and precious that I drifted off with a smile on my face.

Noah and I had a slow morning together when we woke up, finally eating breakfast after ten with me only wearing his T-shirt and him only in his boxers. I smiled as I watched him eat his scrambled eggs, and he frowned when he noticed me ogling him.

“What?” he asked once he’d swallowed. “Do I have some on my face?”

“No.”

“Then what?” Slowly, the frown faded into an exasperated smile. “Stop staring at me like that.”

“Don’t wanna,” I teased, but it was also true.

I was really starting to like this guy, and I honestly didn’t know what to do about it. All I knew right then was that he was mostly naked, in my kitchen, after we’d spent another amazing night together, and I really didn’t want to stop staring at him.

He chuckled and lifted his bowl to hide behind it before he peeked out to give me an exaggerated wink. “Fine. Stare, but then it means I get to do the same thing.”

I stood up from the stool I’d been sitting on, turning in a slow circle and pumping my eyebrows once I was facing him again. “Stare away, darlin’. Want me to do another twirl for you?”

“Yes.”

I chuckled. “How about a trade?”

“What did you have in mind?”

“You listen to my ideas for the Christmas party, and then I’ll do a fully naked twirl for you in the shower before I have to head out to my meeting.”

“You have a meeting?” He groaned. “Damn. I only have a day left here before I have to go to Nashville for a concert. I was hoping I’d get to spend that time with you.”

I grimaced. “If I’d known that, I would’ve tried to reschedule, but it’s too late now. I’m free tonight, though. Want to do something then?”

“Yes.”

“Excellent, so how about that trade?”

Something hot burned in his eyes as they met mine when he nodded. “You’ve got yourself a deal, but talk fast. We’re going to need time in that shower and you don’t want to be late for your meeting.”

My mouth dried up under all that heat smoldering in his gaze, all the moisture in my body seemingly gathering between my legs instead. “If you want me to talk any sense at all, you’re going to have to stop looking at me like that.”

In response, he closed his eyes. “Is this better?”

I giggled. “Much. You know, you never told me how many people we’re talking about for the party.”

“Around two hundred,” he said, cracking open just one eye to look at me. “Is that okay?”

“That’s perfect,” I said before I shared some of my ideas with him.

Although he seemed to love them all, neither of us were as focused on the party as we were on each other. In the end, I didn’t even get halfway through before he was dragging me to my bathroom. I laughed, following willingly and desperately wishing that we’d had more time together.

Much too soon, I was dressed for my meeting and Noah and I had to go our separate ways. A car was waiting for him when we left my house, but he circled his fingers around my wrist, tugging me back to him right there on my porch.

Apparently unconcerned about the fact that at the very least his driver could see us, he spun me into him, wrapping his free hand around the nape of my neck as his mouth descended to mine. He kissed me deeply, his tongue caressing mine in a passionate tango that left me breathless.

He smiled against my lips. “I’ll see you tonight, darlin’.”

“Darlin’?”

“Well, you said it earlier. I thought I’d borrow it. Unless you don’t like nicknames, that is.”

I didn’t even have to think about it. “No, I like it. I’ll see you tonight. Don’t miss me too much.”

He chuckled. “I don’t make promises I can’t keep.”

Finally straightening to his full height, he blew me a kiss, then spun around and jogged to the waiting car. Still breathless, flushed, and already wishing away the time between now and when I’d see him again, I stuck my hand into my purse and rummaged around for my keys.

The meeting I had to get to was for a local event Dave and some others were throwing. He was in the fashion industry and they were hosting a workshop for some design students. It wouldn’t take us too much time to get through the planning for it, which meant I might even be able to see Noah as soon as this afternoon.

If I was lucky.

As soon as I walked into the meeting though, I knew that lady luck wasn’t on my side. Dave was in an awful mood, snapping like an angry turtle at the people around the conference table. He looked up as I shut the door behind me.

“You’re late.”

I frowned as I checked my watch. “I’m five minutes early, actually.”

“That’s as good as late,” he snapped, his face turning red. He went back to issuing orders to the others around the table.

Once everyone had their tasks assigned to them, he dismissed the rest of the team and glanced at me. “I covered everything we discussed the other day, right?”

“You did,” I said slowly. “However, if you’re going to keep being snappy and rude, this is the last meeting I’ll be attending. You either need to change your attitude, or find a different company to put on this event for you.”

Dave scowled, but I held his gaze steadily until the stick in his ass seemed to vanish. His shoulders hunched and his face fell. “I’m sorry. Rob and I had a big fight this morning and I took it out on you.”

“You’re still with Rob?” I asked, genuinely surprised. “I didn’t want to ask where he was at Thanksgiving because I didn’t want to put a damper on the day, but I kind of figured if he wasn’t with you, you two had broken up.”

He shook his head, his lips and eyes downturned. “We’re still together. For now. We’re just going through a rough patch.”

Sympathy coursed through me as I leaned back in my chair, needing to be there for him as a friend no matter how badly I wanted to run out, call Noah, and tell him I was done for the day. “Do you want to talk about it?”

He sighed. “Can we do it while I buy you a ‘sorry for being a douche bag’ lunch?”

I chuckled. “Of course, but you’re already forgiven. As long as you don’t do it again.”

“Thanks, Gem. You’re the best. I really am sorry for being a douche bag, though. This is all just really starting to get to me.”

“As long as you’re buying me a sub from The Palace while we’re at it, I’d be happy to listen to your woes. Who knows? I may even be able to help you figure some stuff out.”

“You might just,” he agreed, packing up his things.

We headed to a sub shop just down the block from his offices. Ultimately, even though I desperately wanted to spend all the time I could get with Noah, Dave had been a part of my life for much longer—and considering who Noah was and how unlikely it was that he and I would be together forever, I had to prioritize my friend.

Soon enough, I was sure he was going to be the one picking up the pieces while I fell apart, and I would want him to prioritize me then. I was going to need him to. Because the day I lost Noah was a day I was going to need all the help and support I could get.