‘No. We are taking this slow. I need you to remember every single second.’
His lips move to my neck, tugging and biting at the skin as I writhe beneath him. He blew my mind the first time he did that in Brussels, but this time it’s even more remarkable. This time we know each other – love each other – and it all feels like it matters. That alone makes every movement he takes so much more intense.
His hand traces back down my body, pulling my underwear down in one quick, effortless swoop. I gasp as his lips return to my neck, but he stops in response, clamping his free hand over my mouth.
‘These walls don’t strike me as particularly soundproof. You’re going to have to keep it down,’ he says.
His eyebrows arch, taunting me with the challenge as he plunges two fingers inside me. I cry out immediately and he catches it in his mouth. His lips pull at mine with a deep ferocity before they move away.
‘That’s not keeping it down.’ He’s teasing me, stalling his movements.
‘I don’t know how I can if you—’
He pushes deeper, knocking the remaining words clean from my brain.
‘Do you want me to stop?’ he asks, a devious smile on his face.
I shake my head, looking up at Noah in an entirely new light.
‘Good, neither do I. Make sure you stay quiet, so I don’t have to.’
He brings his lips back to mine, down my neck and across my chest as his fingers move faster and more purposefully. He nips and sucks as he tries to pull sounds out of me, testing my limits and making me shake as he does. I bite hard onto my bottom lip, breathing as deeply as I can, desperate to keep things silent at risk of this ending early. But he does not make it easy, stroking harder the quieter I stay, pushing my body to new limits. I reach the edge, the tension building too much to do anything but clench around him as I shudder in silence. He pushes his way through the aftershocks, stopping only as I collapse helplessly onto the mattress.
He watches me closely, waiting for my shallow, stilted breaths to deepen into those of contentment. A shiver runs through me as he brings his lips to my ear, a deep chuckle tumbling from his mouth.
‘Impressive. But we’re only just getting started.’
I went to Rome and all I got was...
. . .a new problem
I don’t know if it’s the new country, or the sunshine, or the events that transpired in the train cabin, but I seem to have arrived in Rome with a new lease of life. Everything is brighter, louder, colours more vivid, and Noah and I are better than ever.
We stayed up for the better part of the journey enjoying one dizzying, magical night together. But as the sun rose and the train pulled up at the station, we slipped back into our regular rhythm. Noah threw himself into work, hanging in cafés and hitting gyms, and I’ve managed to fit in a date every single day. In fact, we’ve barely seen each other for the last four days, despite the fact we’re sharing a twin room. I don’tthinkI’ve been avoiding him... But the more I think about it I’m not sure.
‘So, how was last night, then? Giorgino, right?’ Noah asks casually as we walk along the shadeless, cobbled street.
This afternoon, he caught me as I was leaving the room and logged off early to join my evening of gelato and sightseeing. I rushed to make up an excuse as to why he couldn’t, but then I stopped myself in my tracks. He’s Noah. This is normal. Ishouldspend time with him. So we’ve been sweltering in the blistering summer heat ever since.
‘Giorgiowas gorgeous,’ I say.
I pause to lick some stray gelato off my hand, but I’m acutely aware of the eyes that follow me. Noah’s stare lingers on my tongue as it pokes out from my lips. His pupils have dilated. I retract my tongue and look away.
‘Beautifulman.Stunning. But so deeply boring.’ I continue to plod along down the street.
He chuckles loudly and deeply, the sound escaping into the crowds around us, continuing on as if nothing just happened.
‘And . . . Arlo?’ he asks.
‘Aldo,’ I correct him. I swear he gets these names wrong on purpose. ‘He’s been the best of the four so far! Super funny, easy to talk to and even easier on the eye. He took me pasta-making – I was absolutely awful, but he was super sweet about it. He made this one joke actually, where he... what?’
I cut myself off at the sight of Noah’s newly knitted brows.
‘You really like him,’ he says pensively, his pace slowing down. ‘You can’t stop beaming when you talk about him.’
‘I totally can.’
He shakes his head. ‘Nah, your eyes are all bulgy. I haven’t seen them like that since... Well, since my tongue was on your...’
