I tried to warn him when I reached the edge, but he looked up at me and did not retreat.
Release struck hard and fast.
My body locked, his name tearing from my throat as pleasure overwhelmed every attempt at restraint. He stayed with me, one hand steady against my hip, until the last shudder passed.
I collapsed against the chair.
The ceiling of the workshop seemed impossibly distant.
Noah wiped his mouth with his thumb and smiled.
“Are you alive?”
“Barely. I have also forfeited all professional authority.”
“You locked the door.”
“A rare display of foresight.”
He stood with care.
I rose to meet him, and our arms went around each other.
For a moment, I could not tell which of us was supporting the other.
Perhaps neither of us needed to.
Perhaps the point was that we could lean at the same time.
Noah buried his face against my neck.
“I wasn’t scared.”
I tightened my arms.
“Not at all?”
“No.”
“Any regret?”
“None.”
His voice softened.
“I thought fear would always be hiding behind pleasure. Waiting to punish me for relaxing.”
“It might return sometimes.”
“I know.”
“But it wasn’t here today.”
“No.” His lips touched the side of my throat. “Not today.”
We stood in silence until his breathing settled.
“I asked Maeve which positions would protect my hip,” he confessed.
