Chapter Thirty-Two
AMIRA
T he last pink shades of sunset have long since faded and the sky is littered with stars—so many more out here than I can see from my balcony—as Noah drives us back to his house. It’s closer. And Ella will be at the apartment.
I don’t know how we tore ourselves apart to leave Noah’s office at the winery, but somewhere in our deepest emotions, we knew his desk was not the place for us to reconnect. We’ll get to that fantasy another day. In the car, we sit in silence, Noah focused on the road and me lost in my thoughts. They race through my mind like an old silent movie. A fuzzy black and white montage of our past. Not just the past few months, but every moment before that. From the very first day we met, when Noah was just some hot guy from Sydney, to the day I watched his soul crumble behind his eyes when I asked him to move out, and skipping forward to tonight. When Noah’s face regained all its spark.
When we may not have said the words, but we felt them. Love .
It’s so clear to me that’s what this is. No wonder I was scared shitless, because I’ve never felt anything like this before. I never thought I would.
The winding back country road is dark, but as Noah pulls onto a straight section he reaches across the centre console to rest his hand on my thigh. His touch is light yet searing. Heat flares from under his fingertips, spreading through me and warming me to my core.
This is different to every moment we’ve shared. The anticipation, the excitement. The nerves.
He gives a gentle squeeze before returning his hand to the steering wheel and turning into a quiet street. We’ve reached some place that resembles civilisation. The outer of Melbourne’s outer suburbs. Quaint houses on large blocks are lit by faded streetlights and twinkling Christmas decorations. Inflatable Santas and reindeer sit proudly on rooftops, candy canes are scattered across lawns, twinkling lights draped over eaves and around poles.
It’s pales in comparison to the estate Noah took me to, but it’s stunning all the same. There’s nothing like this where I live. We’re not in the city but sometimes it feels like everyone wants to be. The inflatable Santa on my balcony is festive but out of place. Not like here. Every house on this street is decorated, and I love it.
“If I knew this was where you lived, I never would have asked you to move in with me,” I whisper in awe.
Noah chuckles. “Then I’m glad you didn’t know.”
Rounding a corner, he pulls into the driveway of an old English-style cottage. Picket fence and all. Fairy lights stretch across the white posts, and a rustic wreath is hung on the door.
“If I’d known you were coming, I might have decorated more for you,” he mumbles as we exit the car.
“You didn’t have to decorate just for me.”
He must race around the car to stand by my side as I take in the house. “I know,” he says as he drapes his arm over my shoulders. “But I also know you love the lights anyway. I saw your face light up when we saw them and wanted a little piece of the smile just for me. I’ve had these up ever since, just in case.”
I let him guide me into the house. He kneels in front of me in the entryway, unbuckling my shoes and sliding them off my feet. His hands linger on my calves, his eyes take in every inch of me.
Slowly, he stands, letting his fingers trace a path from my legs up to my waist. My insides are molten lava and my core throbs with need. But I want to savour every second of this moment. Of tonight.
“Noah,” I whisper, our mouths so close my lips brush against his with the words.
“Yeah, Cupcake?”
My pulse hammers, it hurts to breathe, and fear begins to cloud the edges of my vision. I want to say it, but I never have. I never thought I would. The words are caught in my throat, and I’m about to give in and kiss him instead when he shifts his head up to kiss my forehead.
“You don’t have to say it,” he says. “I know.”
I shake my head against his, reaching up to grab the back of his neck and pull his mouth towards mine. “I think I love you.”
“I know I love you,” he replies before sealing the words with a kiss.
What we shared in his office was remarkable. Passionate and tentative and laced with emotion. But this is something else again. There’s nothing holding us back as we mark each other as our own. Lips crash, tongues meet, teeth graze. We explore and unite and fall deeper and deeper.
By the time Noah wraps his arms around my lower half to lift me off the floor, I’m already soaring. I wrap my legs around his waist, never letting go of our kiss, as he carries me through the house. Through the dark I hear Kitch scratching at her pole, skittering off when we walk past whatever room she was occupying. If I had to make my way back out, I wouldn’t know how. I’m too lost in Noah. In us.
He puts me down, and I realise we must be in a bedroom. The mattress is soft underneath me, but Noah’s weight settles over mine as he explores my body. Faint touches, barely there kisses, all sending goosebumps scattering over my skin.
With one hand still reaching up under my top, Noah turns on the lamp beside the bed. In the dim light, his eyes are pitch black and full of wanting. I reach for him, wanting to pull him into me, but my fingers catch on the buttons of his shirt instead. I unbutton them, one by one, until I can push the black fabric back and off his shoulders. He groans when he has to move his fingers off my waist to take the shirt off.
Dark shadows line his muscles, and I drink in the sight. If I have one regret about the time he spent at the apartment, it’s that I didn’t appreciate his body enough. I let my fingers trace over the dusting of hair on his chest, following the v shaped lines on his lower abdomen. Before I can unbuckle his belt, he guides my top over my head, bringing my arms with it.
Every action is like a first dance, slow and sensual and bursting with love. He pulls my breast into his mouth as he tugs at my pants. I lift my hips as he guides the shiny black fabric down my legs, peppering kisses along my body as he goes. His mouth meets the apex of my thighs and I gasp when he grazes his teeth over my clit. Even through the thin fabric of my panties the friction is everything and more.
“I’ve waited a long time for this, Cupcake,” Noah whispers against my core. His breath is warm on the delicate skin of my thighs. I rock my hips into him, moaning as he hooks his thumbs under the thin lace covering my pussy. To his credit, he doesn’t rush as he strips me bare, but as soon as he’s peeled my final layer of clothing past my feet he hones in.
One long stroke with his tongue is all it takes for me to crumble into the mattress. I plant my hands on his shoulders and tip my head back as he circles my clit. Noah takes his fill of me, licking and sucking and nipping at my most sensitive parts. He devours me like this might be his only chance.
“You taste just as sweet as I hoped,” he drawls, barely lifting his mouth away from me. His teeth graze my clit as he speaks, sending fireworks through my veins. I shudder as he pushes two fingers inside me, curling up to stroke my inner walls. And I might die, here on his bed.
Every nerve ending in my body is on fire. My muscles tense, my nose tingles. I gasp, struggling to breathe as Noah devours me in the best possible way. Pleasure rockets through me and I’m grinding into his face. He chuckles against my clit, pumping his fingers into me as I ride through the wave.
When the pounding in my heart begins to ease, Noah sits back. His eyes are dark as he takes in the sight of me, spread out before him.
“Every day,” he growls.
My brow furrows. Instinct has me wanting to snap my legs closed, cover my breasts with my arms. But I fight against it. I don’t need to hide anything from Noah. I don’t want to.
Noah stands at the end of the bed, unbuckling his pants. His cock springs free and as he steps out of his clothes, he fists it. One languid pump, followed by another. And another as he climbs over me.
“I want to appreciate you every day,” he says, kissing his way up my body. “I want to taste you every day. I want to honour you every day.”
His mouth finds mine and our lips crash together. I wrap my fingers around his neck, holding him close. Noah runs his cock along the seam of my pussy, spreading the wetness of my desire over his firm length.
“I want to feel you, wrapped around me. Every. Day.” He pushes his cock into my entrance, stretching me and filling me in the way only he can. Only he ever will.
“I’d like that,” I whisper, lifting my hips to meet his until I’ve taken all of him inside me.
We move in sync, appreciating every second of how well we go together. Until all at once, the room is filled with more stars than the sky outside, and we fly through them together.