“You don’t have to say anything. I know what this is, Noah.”
But did she? Didhe? He’d never felt like this before—like she was some vital part of himself that existed outside of his body, a part that he’d gotten so very good at pretending didn’t exist. But standing there with her in his arms, he didn’t want to pretend anymore.
“I just…” She sighed, turning in his arms to face him. “I don’t want to be lonely tonight.”
He swallowed down the words he was dying to say—words likeI won’t let you be lonely,andI want the same things you want,andI think I love you. Words it wouldn’t be fair to say. They’d agreed to this time together, to a lie that had somehow begun to feel more real than anything else in his life, and in a few days it would all be over. Even the thought of that impending deadline pressed on the landmine in his chest, reminding him just how easily she could blow up his life and leave him with nothing but rubble and ash.
Noah kissed her, a slow brush of his lips against hers, like he could deactivate the explosive beneath his skin if he moved slowly enough. Callie wound her hands around his neck, pulling his face down to hers and deepening the kiss, gentleness giving way to urgency, to hunger and need. He kissed her as though it could make up for the things he wouldn’t say, as though a kiss alone could scour away the old hurts and give them a new start. She pulled his bottom lip between her teeth, and he growled at the sting, fumbling with the tie of her dress.
Her dress fell open, and he pushed the fabric down off her shoulders, leaving her bare except for her cotton panties. Noah allowed himself a minute to take her in, to let his gaze linger on the swell of her belly, the curve of her waist, the tight furls of her nipples. Taking her breasts in his hands, he kissed her again, plumping and caressing her until she shivered beneath his touch.
“You are so beautiful,” he groaned against her lips. “Tell me what you want, Calico.”
“Take off your clothes,” she whispered.
He was more than happy to oblige, sparks skittering along his skin under her hungry gaze as he unbuttoned his shirt and tossed it aside. He worked his belt open, his cock straining against his zipper before he’d even gotten his pants unbuttoned. How could he not be hard as stone with Callie looking at him like he was a fantasy come to life? His pants and boxer briefs hit the floor and Callie sucked in an audible breath, her eyes locked on his cock. As she watched, he gave himself a firm stroke, drawing it out just to enjoy the sensation of her eyes on him.
“Come here,” he said, his voice rough and low.
Callie came to him, her eyes flicking back and forth between his gaze and where he continued to stroke himself in long, lazy movements. When she was close enough, he wrapped her in his arms and tossed her onto the bed. She landed on the mattress with a yelp of surprise that turned to breathless laughter, the sparkle returning to her eyes. He settled himself over her, kissing her until he could hardly breathe and grinding his erection against her cotton-covered mound.
When was the last time he’d enjoyed kissing so much? He could kiss Callie all day, rock against her like they were teenagers, and never be bored. There was so much to discover, so many little reactions to learn.
“Noah,” she whined, shifting her hips beneath him.
He grinned against her lips. “Something you need, love?”
She huffed out a frustrated breath, pressing her pelvis against him in a wordless plea. He chuckled and dragged his lips over her neck, down the slope of her breast, pausing to softly bite her nipple, before settling between her thighs and dragging her panties down her legs. He lifted her legs over his shoulders, tracing her folds with a single finger. His finger dropped lower, gently pressing on the jeweled end of the toy in her back entrance.
“Fuck, I like you wearing my plug.”
She canted her hips into his touch. “So do I.”
“Yeah?” He pressed against the toy a little harder.
“Yeah.”
He dropped his mouth to her clit, working her until she arched and moaned beneath him, each little whimper making him harder. He could live his life between her thighs, getting high off the taste of her, the throaty cries that grew louder the faster he licked her. She came on his tongue, her hips rocking against his face, her pleasure thick on his lips as her thighs quivered. When she fell back against the bed, he reached for the small shopping bag he’d returned with earlier, producing a package of condoms.
Callie stilled his hand. “I’m okay without… If you are.”
He blinked, struggling to process her half sentence. “You don’t want to use a condom?”
She blushed, the pink glow spreading over her cheeks and chest. “I’m on the pill and I haven’t been with anyone since I was last tested.”
“Me either. But… I’ve never done this without a condom.”
“I haven’t either. I just thought… We don’t have to,” she hurried to say, “If you don’t want to.”
Noah captured her lips with his, kissing her soundly, his heart swelling with the enormity of her trust. He pressed his forehead to hers. “Of course, I want to, love. Tell me again. Tell me what you want. I need to hear you say the words.”
She nipped at his lower lip, a mischievous tilt to her smile. “I want you to fuck me bare.”
He groaned, his mouth crashing over hers as the box of condoms fell from his hands. Noah slid a hand between them, his fingers sliding through her wet slit just as her hand closed around the base of his cock. She pumped her hand over his erection, gathering the precum that leaked from his tip and spreading it along the distended length. He focused on slowing the pounding of his heart even as he rocked into her touch, loving her tight grip around him. He throbbed into that grip, growing so hard it was almost painful.
“You’re going to let me inside you like this?” he growled, two fingers sinking into her. “With nothing between us?”
“Yes,” she gasped.
