Through the Flames (The Lost Letters #1)

35. Noah

Chapter 35

Noah

E arly morning light filters through the blinds as consciousness tries to invade. I’m not ready to wake up yet, so I wrap my arm around Lilly’s waist and pull her deeper into my chest. Since the break-in, I’ve spent most of my nights at Lilly and Nellie’s house. I can’t stand the idea of having them in the house alone, especially given everything we learned this past week.

Cooper and I are installing security cameras in the house today, but for now, I’m going to enjoy the solitude of an early morning with my girl. Lilly makes a little noise of contentment as she snuggles into me. These moments of peacefulness have been few and far between with Nellie waking us up when she’s ready to start her day.

“What are the chances our daughter’s going to come back in here in the next ten minutes?” I whisper to Lilly. My hands roam over her body, exploring her curves. She rolls her hips against my morning wood, making me groan.

“I give her two more minutes before she comes in asking for breakfast,” Lilly says. I palm her ass, unable to help myself.

Not even thirty seconds later, Nellie comes in asking about breakfast. She jumps on the bed and squishes in between me and Lilly.

The arm that I had wrapped around Lilly is now braced across Nellie’s stomach, my hand resting upon Lilly’s hip.

“It’s time to get up, you two,” Nellie says, snuggling into the bed. “Cooper’s supposed to be here in like an hour.”

“Then we better go get started on breakfast.”

“Can we have blueberry pancakes today?” Nellie asks.

“Absolutely, Baby Bee. Come on, let’s let your mom rest a little bit longer.” Nellie was up late last night, unable to fall asleep. I shouldn’t be surprised that she’s awake as early as she is this morning, but I’d hoped she’d sleep in a little longer.

Nellie bounces off the bed as quickly as she got into it and skips out the door. The three of us sleeping in Lilly’s childhood bedroom isn’t ideal.

We’re cramped, and there’s not even enough closet space for Lilly’s clothes, let alone Nellie’s and mine. The only reason I spend nights away from my girls is because I need more clothes. Not for the first time since I put the offer in on the house do I wish we could move in right away.

My offer was accepted, though, so we’re on the right track. The inspection’s happening next week, and once that is complete, Levi’s going to help me figure out a plan for renovations.

If it’s going to take too long, we might have to live in the chaos for a while. If not, I’ve already made a plan to stay with Mom and Dad until the renovations are finished.

Nellie and I work together to get breakfast made. Flour ends up on the countertop as well as on her nose, but I wouldn’t trade this mess for anything in the world.

We leave the pancakes in the warming drawer while we clean up the kitchen, and a few minutes later, Lilly comes out to join us for breakfast.

I’ve loved spending this extra time with my family, but the best part is seeing Lilly every single morning. Some days, she wakes up as bright as the morning sun, a smile curling her lips when she sees whatever concoction Nellie and I have created for breakfast.

Other mornings, when nights have been hard on Nellie, Lilly comes out with a scowl and her eyebrows furrowed. As much as I hate the times when Lilly is struggling, they’re some of my favorites, too. She tends to hold me close on those mornings when she needs a little extra boost, and coffee just won’t cut it.

“Nellie, will you set the table?” I ask her as I hand a cup of coffee over to Lilly. She takes it with a grateful smile and sips on it.

While Nellie is setting out plates, I grab the breakfast platters and get those on the table, as well.

We talk about the day while we eat, deciding what we want to do once Cooper is done setting up the security cameras. Nellie wants to go to the playground, of course, as she usually does, but Lilly has work she needs to finish up for a client, and Nellie has some school lessons she needs to complete.

Since I’ve been off shift while my shoulder heals, Nellie and I have worked together on most of her lessons. It’s been fun, and I’m happy to be able to help. Lilly has had time to catch up on her web design clients, and I finally feel useful.

I’m supposed to start physical therapy soon now that I’m not in much pain. Despite knowing how important it is for me to rest, it’s not easy having to sit on the sidelines.

By the time we’re done with breakfast and the dishes have been picked up, Cooper’s knocking on the door. He comes in with several boxes tucked under his arms.

“Whoa, that’s a lot of stuff,” Nellie says.

Cooper grins at her as he sets them on the foyer floor. “You got that right, kiddo. I brought everything we need to keep you and your momma as safe as possible.” He starts walking us through the security system he brought. It seems incredibly high-tech, but the best feature is that it comes with a security plan. If something were to happen, the security company would call emergency services at the press of a button.

After going on the call where I dislocated my shoulder, we’ve learned the lesson that a security company can make all the difference.

Cooper and I work together to get the security cameras up. We put two at the front of the house and one in the back, as well as an additional one in the living room.

The panel gets installed by the front door. We’ll have to put in a security code every time we leave or come home, but it’ll be worth the extra effort.

With every device we install, my nerves begin to settle. If something were to happen, I know my family is going to be protected.

It takes Cooper and I over an hour to get through installing everything and getting it programmed. Lilly and I both have the code to get into the house. We even tell Nellie what the code is in the unlikely event she needs to use it. Given her knack for numbers, there’s a good chance she’ll remember it.

If she doesn’t, she can still trigger the security company with just a button on the panel.

Cooper leaves soon after we get the last security camera programmed. It feels like overkill to some degree, but we’re not just putting these up as an extra precaution because we want to. Somebody broke into the house looking for something. What if Lilly and Nellie had been home? What would’ve happened? Not to mention the fact that there’s a potential connection to a mob family. We should’ve set these cameras up after the break-in happened, but now that we know how serious the threat is, we’re not taking any chances.

The police weren’t able to find any evidence left behind, but Cooper agreed it seemed like they were looking for something. He also made the assumption that they weren’t able to find whatever it was they were searching for. Every room in the house had been destroyed, and, according to Cooper, that indicates they came up empty-handed.

Lilly didn’t think anything had been stolen either. Everything was either back in its place or had been thrown away because of damage. Nothing seemed to be missing that she could tell.

I hate the idea of sitting around as if nothing happened, but at this point, it’s the only option we have.

We’re still waiting on Dan to figure out if there’s been contact from the Farina family to anyone outside of the prison.

It was incredibly frustrating for me to sit there and listen to this man talk about how he was tasked with protecting Lilly’s family, yet this still happened.

I know he can’t be here every minute of every day, but her family was in protective custody for a reason.

To know that Lilly’s parents were murdered just makes me question everything.

Dwelling on this will only lead to further questions, which becomes a vicious cycle of wondering and worrying.

Instead, I decide to play a math game with Nellie. Being the nerdy kid that I was—and still am—I played a lot of these games growing up.

I have a feeling Nellie will appreciate my efforts.

The movie playing on the TV is a background hum to the noises Lilly is making. My fingers dig into the muscles of her bare back. The tension has slowly ebbed out of her the longer I massage her.

My dick is begging to be released from my sweatpants, but I dutifully ignore it. All it hears are those sweet whimpers, and it thinks it’s time to tag in.

The slick oil makes my thumbs slide sensually down Lilly’s spine. Her face is pressed into the couch while her arms are loose by her sides. As I move down to her lower back, Lilly’s hips shift.

“Am I too heavy? I can scoot down.” With my knees straddling her thighs, I didn’t think I’d put all my weight on her legs, but I might have and just didn’t realize.

Lilly huffs out a laugh. “No, you’re not too heavy. Your hands feel amazing.”

It hits me then what’s happening. I lean forward to whisper in her ear. “Are you turned on, Bumblebee?”

“Mm-hmm,” she moans. Her hips shift back, rocking her ass against me.

“Do you need me to make it all better?”

Lilly nods, and instead of making her use her words, my hands down her slick skin, brushing the sides of her tits. The touch has goose bumps spreading across her skin. I curl my fingers into the waistband of her running shorts, and Lilly lifts her hips to help me pull them down her legs.

“No panties? Dirty, dirty girl,” I tease. I make my way back up her legs, my thumbs digging into her inner thighs. Lilly spreads her legs, telling me exactly where she wants me. The pads of my thumbs swipe across her lower lips, gathering her arousal. “You’re so wet, Bumblebee. What have you been thinking about all this time?”

“Your hands. Please, Noah. I need this.” Lilly’s hips begin to roll against the couch, so I take pity on her. I press against her clit, making her gasp. Using small, slow circles, I build her up until her body is shuddering with the need to come. Then I back off, pressing a finger into her pussy. She clamps around me as if that will keep me where she needs me, but I pull out and tease her clit again.

“Noah,” she moans. “I need you.” Lilly lifts her head to look at me over her shoulder, and I can’t hold back any longer. I yank my sweatpants down, kicking them off to the side of the couch.

Then I guide my straining cock to her entrance and slide my way into her dripping-wet pussy. “Fuck, you feel good,” I whisper once I’m balls deep and my hips are pressing into Lilly’s ass.

I slowly fuck into her, needing this just as much. My thrusts are slow, but I hit that spot deep inside Lilly that makes her gasp every time. It takes all my concentration to keep from blowing right away.

“Slide your hand down to play with your clit, Lilly. I’m not stopping until you’re coming around my cock.”

“God, Noah. I can’t handle it when you talk like that.” She squeezes her arm under her belly, and I know the second she starts touching herself. Her pussy squeezes me even tighter, making it harder to thrust into her.

It doesn’t take her long to fall over the edge after all the teasing I’ve done. She comes with a gasp, pulling me along with her. The orgasm shoots through me, sending tingles down to my toes until I’m panting against Lilly’s back.

Reaching back, I yank a blanket over us so we can keep lying here while we catch our breath.

“I’ve always wanted to fuck you on this couch,” I murmur as I lie against the back of the couch with Lilly tucked against my chest.

She snorts and reaches back to swat me on the hip.

“Mom? Can I watch a movie and cuddle with you guys? I can’t sleep.”

Lilly tenses as Nellie comes walking down the hallway. I make sure the blanket is tucked around us so Nellie can’t see anything and then press my face into Lilly’s back. It’s the only thing I can think of to keep from busting out laughing.

“How about we try to do our sleep exercises first?” Lilly suggests. “Head back to bed and I’ll come do them with you.”

“Okay. 'Night, Dad.”

“Good night, baby,” I respond.

Once Nellie is a good distance away, Lilly sits up and scowls at me. “That was too close.” The laugh I’d been holding back bursts out of me.

“It’s not funny,” Lilly scolds, but she’s trying to hide a smile. She stands to yank her T-shirt over her and bends over to grab her shorts. My eyes catch on the mess the two of us made between Lilly’s legs, and I can’t help but reach out. I scoop it onto my fingers and press it back into Lilly, making her moan.

“Goddamn, that’s hot,” I whisper.

Lilly manages to come to her senses and slaps at my hand. With jerky movements, she pulls her shorts up her legs, ignoring the mess. She shifts her hips a little and murmurs, “So gross. I’m going to get you back for that.” Lilly throws the threat over her shoulder before disappearing down the hallway.

“Can’t wait!” I call out after her.