Chapter 1 #2
He scanned my face, brows furrowed, clearly confused. “Sure.”
I leaned in, pressing an almost chaste kiss to his lips. “Night, Atty.”
What I was not prepared for was him to send my plan to hell, grabbing my jaw and picking the kiss right back up. If assertiveness was something new about him, I was well and truly fucked.
“We should really knock this off,” I managed to get out.
“Why?” He deepened the kiss and shifted until I was pinned with my back against the door. He took up most of the space behind the wheel. I fucking missed that. He was even bigger now. I wanted to run my hands all over him while he held me down and—
“Because my head is starting to get really foggy, and when that happens, my self-control goes bye-bye,” I blurted.
He chuckled against my cheek, dragging his lips to my jaw.
I pulled him back to my mouth, shaking my head. “No, no, no. Don’t start kissing my neck. I’ll fucking lose it.”
Atty licked his lips, then kissed me again. Soft. Slow. One after the other, punctuating the words he whispered against my mouth.
“I really missed doing this.”
Kiss.
“I missed your lips.”
Kiss.
“My head feels really foggy too.”
Kiss. Kiss. Motherfucking perfect kiss.
I practically melted into him. “I missed this too.”
His hands found my waist, drawing me closer. It had always been this—Atty using his strength in the gentlest way possible. It always got to me. I loved how he handled me.
“You’re just too fucking hot, sweetheart. And I don’t want to start this by breaking all the rules.”
His warm breath spilled across my lips, but he didn’t push.
My half-lidded eyes met his pale and steady ones as they scanned my face.
“What?”
Atty shook his head slightly. “Nothing.”
“What?”
He lifted a shoulder, tongue darting over his lower lip. “That’s the second time you’ve called me that tonight.”
I racked my brain, trying to figure out what the hell he meant. “Called you what?”
“Sweetheart,” he whispered.
Heat rushed to my face. “Sorry. I didn’t realize I had.”
He shook his head again. “I don’t mind. It’s just different.”
I wasn’t sure if that was a good different or a bad different. His face gave me nothing.
“Do you hate it? I’ll stop.”
He exhaled and shifted slightly, the heat between us breaking. His eyes drifted away, his lips twisting into something almost pained.
My stomach dropped.
You never fucking learn, Noah.
“You do hate it.”
“It’s not that. It’s just…” He seemed to struggle to find the words.
“Just what, Atty?” I kept my tone gentle, even though something kept pinching at my chest.
He clicked his tongue and shrugged. “Is it something you picked up from someone else?”
A car rushed past, the whoosh of its sound filling the air between us.
Oh.
I reached for his face, stroking my thumb over his cheek. His eyes met mine again.
“No. I’m sure I’ve called you that before tonight,” I said. “I call you that in my head sometimes. I just figured you weren’t into it. Tonight, it just slipped out.”
The tension in his shoulders eased slightly. “Why would you think that?”
I gave him a small smile. “You’ve only ever called me by my name. Noah. No abbreviations. No pet names.”
He nodded slowly. “What, like Noey?”
The second the words left his lips, I laughed. Even the corner of his mouth tugged up.
Atty was like magic. He could take an ugly memory and obliterate it with something so small it would go unnoticed by everyone but me. I would never not notice. Because in these tiny moments—when he said something so offhandedly—he healed a little piece of me I didn’t even realize I needed.
“No, definitely not Noey.” I pressed a kiss to the side of his lips. “I’ll stick to Atty, if that’s what you want.”
“I like the endearment.” His lips curved into a shy smile before adding, “I just thought it was something else. And for me, it doesn’t come as naturally. Plus, your name’s already short; it’s not exactly nickname-prone.”
“There are plenty of things you could call me if you wanted,” I teased. “I wouldn’t object to anything.”
His brow arched. “Really?”
“Really.”
“You want to be one of those couples who call each other baby?”
I pressed my lips together, fighting the grin threatening to break free.
One of those couples.
Atty was back. I had him again. He was kissing me and saying things like one of those couples—referring to us.
My heart could’ve jumped out of my chest.
“I want you to be comfortable. If you’re comfortable calling me Noah, I love that too. I love how my name sounds coming from your lips more than anybody else’s.”
That made his pale eyes sharpen, their intensity cranking up to a thousand.
He leaned in and kissed me, soft but lingering. “I love how you say my name.” His lips were still brushing over mine. “But I’ll take the sweetheart too.”
I was about to smile when his expression shifted, lips curving into a teasing smirk I’d never seen before. Then he backtracked, chuckling and shaking his head.
“What?” I pulled him closer, mesmerized. There were so many new things to learn from him. I wanted to know everything.
Atty’s face was flushed, and he looked so handsome.
“I was going to joke about calling you that, but it’s so fucking embarrassing I can’t even get it out,” he grumbled.
I laughed, breathless. And thank fuck for that. If he actually called me baby, I think my head would explode. Or my dick.
I kissed him once more. “Goodnight, sweetheart.”
“Goodnight, Noah.”
He pulled back, and we shared a smile—a giddy kind of smile that was all nervousness in hyperdrive.
Fuck, this feeling was unreal.
Atty bit his lip, suppressing a grin, and got out of the car.
Before walking inside, he did a double take, glancing back at me, the muscles in his back flexing.
My libido went feral. Heat coiled low in my stomach as Mariah’s voice screamed the lyrics of Fantasy in my head, the perfect soundtrack to the rush of jittery, breathless anticipation sparking through me.
As soon as he was out of sight, I groaned, dropping my forehead to the steering wheel and gripping it hard. “Oh my fucking god.”
My eyes burned—but in the best way possible—as I fought against every bone in my body screaming at me to follow that man upstairs and never leave again.
He’s back.