“Of course. I’m just feeding Connor; do you need it now?” he asked.Please wait, please wait, please wait,he chanted to himself. If he was going to be in the same room as a naked Melanie, he couldn’t do it with his son chugging a bottle in his arms.
“That’s fine, I can wait,” came her reply. Was he imagining it or did her voice have an aroused, breathy quality to it?
Noah walked back to the couch, and as soon as Connor finished his bottle, he quickly burped, then rocked him for a moment, praying his son would cooperate and fall asleep. Luck was on his side, and Connor’s eyes drooped shut a moment later. Once the baby was safely tucked into his swing again, Noah walked back over to Melanie’s bedroom door. He took a deep breath, trying to get control of himself before he went in. After all, she had only asked for a towel, nothing more.
When he opened the door to her room, the first thing he noticed was the scent. Lilacs. The space was tidy, and feminine. Throw pillows decorated the bed, and photos lined her dresser. He saw her with her parents and grandparents, and another of her and the girls that was obviously taken at Callie and Jake’s wedding. He caught himself before he went too far in his snooping and grabbed the towel that was hanging exactly where she said it would be.
Knocking on the door to her bathroom, he called out to her, “I’ve got the towel. Can I come in?”
He heard the water slosh about a bit, before Mel replied, “Yup, I’m covered.”
This time he was positive her voice was different. There was a sensual quality to it he hadn’t heard before.
He opened the door and was met with a wall of scented steam. His gaze zeroed in on the tub where Mel was unfortunately covered in bubbles. She met his eyes for a second before looking away.
“Thanks, can you ummm, put it on the counter?”
“Sure,” he croaked, unable to look away from her. When she glanced over at him again, he held her eyes captive with his. The heat built between them and he knew from the way his cock was pressing against his zipper that his arousal was evident. But when he saw a flash of indecision in her eyes, Noah knew instantly that he couldn’t let things go any further. She wasn’t ready.
He turned and dropped the towel where she said, then went to leave the bathroom. At the door, he paused.
“Connor’s in his swing. I’m going to take a shower. A cold one.”
As he walked out, he heard her gasp and smirked. At least he wasn’t the only one who was tempted tonight.
Chapter 8
Over the next few days, the spark of heat between them continued to linger and Noah was determined to coax it into a flame. They were still waiting for the home visit which had been postponed by the social worker being out sick. Melanie had decided to trade some of her night shifts at work, so ended up going into the hospital to work. Noah had reminded her that she was meant to have this week off to settle in with the baby, but Mel had tried to laugh it off, saying she was a workaholic. He just hoped she didn’t run into the hospital social worker. He suspected that she was using the hospital as a means of avoiding her attraction to him. Which, of course, made him even more determined to push through her walls and get her to see how good they could be together.
He started taking advantage of any opportunity he had to brush up against her, touch her, be near her, anything he could think of to draw her in. He’d even started spending most of his time shirtless, claiming ‘skin-to-skin contact’ was best for Connor. If she saw through his excuse, she didn’t say anything, and he certainly wasn’t oblivious to the way her eyes lingered on his body more often.
Over a late breakfast on her first day off, Noah and Melanie sat on the couch with a second mug of coffee, while Connor napped in his bassinette in the bedroom. It felt so domestic, so comfortable, it was easy for Noah to imagine they were a real family, and this was their life together. Needing to touch her, he grabbed her feet, pulled them into his lap and began to give her a foot rub. It was something he had done many times before, as her friend, but this time felt different somehow. At least it did to him, and given the way she shifted on the couch, her eyes glancing toward his lap where her feet lay dangerously close to his cock, maybe it felt different to Mel as well.
Affecting a casual voice, Noah decided not to draw any attention to the current of sensual energy running between them. “Any interest in coming with me and Connor to the pub this afternoon for lunch? Ryan and Jake said its okay for me to bring him as long as its early.”
Mel shrugged her shoulders and nodded in agreement, even as her eyes continued to dart toward his lap. He knew she could probably see his erection growing through his thin grey sweatpants.
“Sure, I didn’t have any plans except to do some laundry and maybe get some groceries.”
Noah smiled. She had just given him the perfect opportunity to show her how easy their life together could be. “Awesome, why don’t we do that together?”
She looked at him curiously. “You’re weirdly excited about groceries and laundry, Noah Carlisle. What’s going on?”
“Nothing, I just like spending time with you, Mel. And so does Connor.” He threw in the temptation of the baby, knowing Mel was falling for the little man just as much as he was. Sure enough, her eyes softened, and she smiled.
“Okay, sounds good.”
The peace of the moment was shattered by Noah’s phone ringing. When he picked it up, he felt his heart stop. “It’s my doctor. Maybe he has the paternity test results.”
Mel sat up straight and reached her hand over to grab his. “Well answer it!”
Noah answered the call and listened carefully, despite his heart pounding so loudly he was certain the person on the other end of the phone could hear it. His answers were short, one word, as he tried to contain his emotions until he was off the phone. He could feel Melanie squeezing his hand and could sense her fidgeting nervously in her seat. When at last he hung up, he took in a deep breath, savoring the moment.
“He’s mine, Mel. It’s confirmed, Connor is mine.”
Mel let out a happy whoop and jumped up from the table. Noah let her pull him into her arms and sank into the sensation of her body pressed against his. He wasn’t surprised to feel tears of relief pooling in his eyes and bent his head down to rest on the top of hers as they fell. They stood there for a moment of silence, and he let the warmth and affection between them seep into his bones, as the fears and worries he’d held deep inside for the past week eased with the news.
When Mel pulled back slightly, she looked up at him and he saw tears also tracking down her cheeks. He lifted a hand up and gently used his thumb to brush them away. Then, before he could think about it too much, he bent down and pressed a kiss to her lips. He meant to keep it brief, but after a second, when he felt her arms tighten around him and felt her mouth soften and open, his restraint snapped. He cradled her head in one hand and used his other to draw her in close. He nipped at her lower lip and when her tongue darted out to dance with his, he lost himself in her kiss. Thankfully he wasn’t too far gone, so when he felt her go still in his arms, he knew she needed him to back off. He forced himself to break their embrace, and took a step back, keeping hold of her waist with one hand. She reached her fingers up to touch her lips absently, and he hated that her eyes wouldn’t meet his.
