17. Noah
17
NOAH
I t was a first for me, bringing a woman to my condo.
But this wasn’t just any woman, it was Maddy .
My Maddy.
She chattered excitedly about the dinner with her friends as we took the elevator up to the penthouse. I was always interested in what she had to say, but at the moment, all I could think about was how badly I wanted to get her into my bed. I couldn’t stop staring at her the whole night, and after a while I was convinced that her friends could tell. But could they blame me? The woman was incandescent.
“Did you really like them?” Maddy asked, her face hopeful.
The elevator stopped and the doors slid open.
“I did. They’re wonderful.” I stepped back so Maddy could exit first. “Maybe a little intense, but I could take it.”
She giggled. “I warned you. But you did great. They loved you.”
Hearing the word “love” come out of her mouth, even in that context, shook me.
I opened my door and took her hand to lead her in. “Welcome.”
“Noah…” she breathed as she looked around with open-mouthed awe. “Wow.”
I kept the lights off so the panorama of the city outside my window could take center stage. My penthouse walls were two-story high windows that overlooked Miami on one side and the ocean on the other. I wasn’t lucky enough to spend much time here, but I still considered it my sanctuary.
“You like it?”
“It’s amazing! I’ve never seen anything like it.”
I switched on the lights with my phone.
“ Noah !” Maddy exclaimed again. “Your home is beautiful.”
I had to agree. My decorator had understood my directive about serenity, so the place was an oasis of pale wood and sand-colored couches. In here, all of the noise of the world disappeared.
“Drink?” I asked.
“Please,” Maddy said. “Something sophisticated. Like what you forced me to drink on the plane to Fargo.”
“Maddy, I didn’t force you to do anything. You downed it like a cowboy at closing time.”
She laughed. It was now one of my favorite sounds.
“Please, sit,” I gestured to the couch that overlooked the city lights.
Maddy kicked off her shoes and curled her legs beneath her, then rested her head on the back of the couch and watched me as I prepared our drinks. I congratulated myself for my self-control because all I wanted to do was pick her up caveman-style and carry her to my bed. But the torture of waiting worked for me too. I liked the anticipation. It wasn’t often I deprived myself of something I wanted.
“I could barely drink or eat tonight. I was so nervous,” she admitted as I strode toward her.
“Well, it’s done now. Nothing to worry about.” I handed her a glass.
“Fancy ice,” she said, raising her eyebrows at the billiard-ball-sized cube in the snifter.
“Only the best for you. Cheers to a wonderful evening, and new friends.”
We drank in silence for a few minutes.
“Hope said something to me I can’t stop thinking about,” Maddy admitted, looking down and swirling her whisky.
I waited for her to continue since it felt like she was working her courage up.
“She mentioned our age difference,” Maddy said in a quiet voice. “Do you ever think about it?”
Did I?
I had to admit that there were moments when it felt like we were speaking different languages, particularly when it came to social media and pop culture. I did my best to stay up-to-date, but the pace of it was relentless, and it seemed like every day there was a new joke or term that made no sense to me but had her cracking up.
And it wasn’t just that. There was a difference in our outlooks on life. Sometimes Maddy’s excitement and exuberance reminded me that she still had so much to experience. I wouldn’t call myself jaded exactly, but I’d definitely been around the block a few dozen times more than she had. But I liked that about being around her. She had a way of reminding me about the sweetness in life. Her enthusiasm during the Europe trip charmed me. Maddy seemed to think there were new adventures around every corner.
I hadn’t felt that way in a long time.
And I felt like she appreciated my role, too. Yes, I had the experience and the wealth as part of my lifestyle that allowed me to show her things she wouldn’t have found on her own. But I also thought I challenged her to step up her game, to dream bigger, to realize how much more life had to offer her. She was good for me, but I wanted to believe I was good for her, too, that we balanced each other out.
“Do I think about our age difference?” I mused. She deserved honesty. “Yes, sometimes I do.”
Her face fell. “Really? How so?”
I reached over to grab her wrist and pulled her closer to me. She came willingly and draped her legs over mine.
“It would be a mistake to ignore it. We’ve both led very different lives. And we’re in different stages of life as well.”
“Yeah, you think?” she snorted, gesturing around the room.
I smiled. “Sure, that’s part of it. But there’s more. When I hit my fortieth birthday your milestone was being able to legally drink. I have bottles of scotch older than you.”
Maddy frowned at me. “And?”
I shrugged. “And we need to recognize that we might understand things differently. I’m not saying it’s a bad thing. Not at all. But there might be moments where we don’t see eye to eye, and the age aspect might come into play.”
“Can you think of an example where it’s been a problem so far?”
“Well…” I began. “Tonight. Your friends. They saw the gap between us, and it made them uncomfortable. And there’s a chance that some of my friends or associates might question it as well. But as long as we feel secure about being together, then that’s all that matters.”
Maddy seemed to consider it. “I mean… I do. Do you?”
I leaned over to place my now empty snifter on the table in front of us then took her half-full glass from her hands and placed it on the table as well. I drew her closer still, until she was on my lap facing me. I gazed at her beautiful face and found myself smiling despite the worried look on her face. When I brought my hands up to cup her face, she closed her eyes and pressed against my hand.
“Does this answer your question?” I whispered as I gently touched my lips to hers.
She wrapped her arms behind my neck and arched her back into me as we kissed, clearly as hungry for the contact as I was. Her cropped t-shirt left a tantalizing swath of skin exposed just above her jeans, and I slid my fingertips along it. So soft, like satin.
“I’d like a tour of the rest of your place,” she murmured against my mouth. “Specifically, your bedroom.”
Finally.
I stood up still holding her against me and she squealed with laughter.
“I can walk, you know,” she sputtered as I adjusted my grip on her, cupping her ass in my hands.
“But I can walk faster .”
She traced kisses down the side of my neck and teased me until I was rock hard. When we finally reached the bedroom, I let her slide down my body slowly.
“Ooh, that gives me an idea,” she said, grinning mischievously. She looked around the room then pointed to a chair by the window. “Sit.”
“Maddy, what are you?—”
She gave me a little shove. “Trust me. Sit.”
“What kind of game are you playing?” I laughed as I fell into the chair. Because it did feel like we were playing a game. Maybe, after the frank relationship conversation we’d just had, she wanted to focus on the part of us being together that was simple.
“Turn on some music. Something sexy.”
I fumbled with my phone until she took it from my hands. “Let me.”
I checked my wallet to make sure I had a condom at hand while she scrolled through the app. Within seconds Beyoncé poured out of the speakers, a song about her man’s big “ego.”
“Ready?” she asked in a low voice, her eyes fixed on mine.
I nodded and it was as if someone took control of her body. Sweet Maddy was transformed into a siren, moving like liquid just a few feet away. She ran her hands down her body and swiveled her hips slowly.
“Um…” I swallowed and adjusted myself as my dick pressed against my zipper.
“You like what you see?” she asked, her voice husky as she slipped her hand beneath her shirt to fondle her breasts. I wanted to burst as she caressed herself, keeping her eyes locked on mine. She gave me a sexy, devastatingly confident smile, aware that I could only see the shadow of her hands as she played with her nipples.
I could only nod because Maddy had turned around and was bending over slowly, still keeping her focus on me over her shoulder. I reached out to touch her ass, but she slapped my hand away.
“Don’t, they’ll kick you out,” she warned. “No touching.”
Oh fuck. We were role playing stripper and customer?
“Okay,” I said hoarsely then leaned back to enjoy the show.
By the end of the song, she’d gracefully peeled off her jeans and was between my legs in just her black panties and cropped t-shirt. I kept my hands on my knees as she pressed her ass to my bulge and started undulating against me.
Torture. The sweetest torture.
She let her head loll back against my shoulder. “You can touch me now,” she whispered in my ear. “No one is watching.”
I slid my hands under her shirt and cupped her breasts. Maddy caught her breath as I found her nipples and ran my thumbs over them.
“I want you,” she purred in my ear as she turned around to straddle me.
I pulled her shirt up and leaned forward to take her nipple into my mouth, getting a moan of pleasure from her in response.
“Take your damn clothes off,” she managed.
I finally found the strength to stop touching her and stood up once she scooted off my lap. Maddy peeled off her t-shirt and panties, watching me hungrily as I rushed to undress. She eyed my cock as I pulled my briefs down before kicking them away. She waited only long enough for me to put on the condom, then she took my hand and headed for the bed.
“No.” I pulled her back to me and pointed at the chair. “Here.”
Maddy’s eyes widened for a second, but then she gave me a wicked smile.
I sat down and she immediately straddled me, pausing just above my hardness. I took advantage of the moment and cupped her heat, groaning, then made insistent circles on her nub. Pressing against her clit harder while watching her arousal rise. Her thighs started shaking as I slipped my finger inside of her.
“You’ve been waiting for this, haven’t you?” I increased my pressure and tempo. Maddy bit her lip.
“Answer me,” I demanded. I stilled my hands, holding her in place when she tried to squirm against me, and Maddy made an anguished noise.
“ Yes .” It was a shuddery whisper. “Please don’t stop.”
“Do you like it when I touch you? Hm?” I slid my thumb along her nub, applying enough pressure to keep her quivering on the edge but not enough to bring her to orgasm. My cock was inches away, throbbing in time to her quivers, but I forced myself not to plunge inside of her.
Not yet.
Maddy inhaled sharply and pushed against my hand, but I didn’t move. I liked the game I was playing with her.
“I don’t hear you,” I scolded. I eased the pressure of my fingertips even more until it was a feather’s touch against her. “Tell me how much you like this. How much you need it.”
“I… I need you,” she panted. “I’m dying for you.”
“Good.”
I moved my hands to her hips and pulled her down on my cock, putting us both out of our misery. I closed my eyes and took a few seconds to savor the sensation of finally being buried inside of her.
“Fuck, you feel so good,” I whispered.
Maddy didn’t answer. Her eyes were closed, and I could tell that she was seconds from orgasm, so I slid my hand down to coax her over the edge. I started moving against her and she immediately picked up my rhythm and rocked in time with my thrusts. Lifting her torso and dropping back down with each of my upward thrusts, she rolled her pelvis, tightening her muscles around my cock until stars danced across my vision from how damn good it felt.
Then her moans started. Soft at first, but then louder with each brush of my fingertips and lift of my pelvis. It took all of my strength to keep going because her noises drove me wild.
“Noah…” Maddy whispered in between her moans. “ Harder .”
It was a mix between a prayer and a plea. I picked up my pace and gave her what she asked for, thrusting deep and fast. I watched as Maddy finally surrendered to the pleasure, throwing her head back and letting out a cry that echoed around the room.
I couldn’t wait any longer. I ground against her, one hand gripping her hip and the other clasped on her shoulder, holding her tightly to me as the climax shuddered through my body.
When I finally opened my eyes, Maddy was gazing down at me, a dreamy smile on her face. I rubbed my hands along her thighs. “Amazing.”
“Always.”
She dropped down so her head rested on my chest. I slid my arms around her and held her close. I felt satisfied in a way I’d never experienced before. It wasn’t just sexual. There was a layer to it that I couldn’t quite define. As my heartbeat slowed, I tried to focus on the serenity of the moment and not the loud, confusing clash of emotions in my brain.
Maddy Malone was doing something to me that felt unlike anything I’d ever known, and I had no idea what to do about it.