Chapter 26
Chapter Twenty-Six
Noah
I applied a dry rub to the steaks, tossing them and some potatoes on the barbeque while Nellie insisted on making the salad.
I had a dining room table, but I rarely used it.
Instead, we sat at the island and ate our dinner while the woodstove warmed the cabin and the snow fell outside, blanketing the world around us.
“Gosh, it’s so gorgeous,” Nellie said, her gaze yet again going to the sliding door off the dining room that led to the back deck. “It must feel like a vacation living here.”
“Sometimes,” I replied, setting my fork down and wiping my mouth on a napkin. “But since I work at a cottage resort, it usually doesn’t feel like I’m ever in vacation mode. There’s always something to think about or do to make sure other people’s vacations are perfect.”
“Good thing we have no guests right now at the resort.” Nellie shook her head, looking back at me. “How long do you think it’ll take you guys to dig us out tomorrow?”
“Probably a couple of hours, at least. I’ve got a snowblower here to dig us out.
There’s also Damien’s truck with the plow, and at the resort, we’ve got the ATV with a plow, and another two push snowblowers.
Usually for heavy storms like this, we contract Jim at S’no Problem Snow Removal.
He comes out and clears all our roads and driveways, then we can handle the rest.”
“S’no Problem?! Seriously?”
I nodded.
“Every business in this town has a ridiculously adorable name.” She giggled from behind her own napkin.
I smiled, finding her amusement adorable. “I never really noticed before.”
“I wonder if it’s a prerequisite to opening a business here. Like your permits will be denied if your name isn’t adorable or quirky enough.” Nellie smiled, pausing to take a sip of her water.
“I don’t think it’s a prerequisite, but you’re right; a lot of businesses have quirky, cutesy names in town.” I chuckled, standing up to clear our plates. Nellie stood to help. “No, you sit, I’ve got this.”
I took her plate and carried it over to the sink, rinsing it and putting it in the dishwasher. I might live in a cabin in the woods, but I didn’t skimp out on things that’d make my life easier. I had a dishwasher and a washer and dryer—high efficiency, like my furnace.
“Thanks, for dinner. And everything,” Nellie said from the counter, watching as I moved about in my kitchen. “I’m sorry to be crashing your evening.”
I moved to the island, putting my palms on the countertop across from her.
“It’s my pleasure,” I told her sincerely. “In case you haven’t realized it yet, I enjoy being with you, Nell. I’m happy you’re here.”
I couldn’t ignore the little spark of happiness that brightened her eyes. “Well, I’m happy to be here. It beats being stuck on the highway in the snowstorm. Or trying to climb up the stairs to my apartment after all that snow.” Nellie wrinkled her nose.
“You’re welcome to stay here whenever you want,” I told her. I didn’t care if it was ‘too soon’ to make such an offer, the idea of her climbing up the slippery stairs to her apartment in this weather made me feel like locking her in my cabin until winter was over.
“Thanks for the offer, but I like my apartment.” Nellie smiled. “It’s the first thing that’s truly been mine. I mean, I moved out of my parents’ house young, but I always lived with roommates, and the space never really felt like it was mine, you know?”
My possessiveness melted away like ice in the sun.
“I can respect that.” I nodded. “There’s something to be said about having a space that’s all yours.” I hoped that one day Nellie would feel at home here.
“So, your brothers live around here, too, right? And your parents?” she asked.
“Yeah. Everyone’s about a five-minute drive away from each other by ATV or snowmobile.
It’s comforting to know that although I can’t see them, they’re nearby,” I explained.
“Charlotte jokingly referred to it as the family compound when she started dating Damien. My dad loved the term and it ended up sticking, unofficially, anyway.”
“That’s pretty neat, that you guys have that kind of relationship with one another.”
“You’re an only child, right?” I asked. Nellie nodded, smiling almost sadly. “Whenever I’d fight with my brothers, I’d wonder what that’d be like.”
“It’s lonely,” Nellie admitted, lifting her shoulder in a shrug. “I’ve never been able to call a sibling for help or know that my parents are around the corner. Even when I lived with them, they were never really around.”
“I’m sorry, that’s rough.” I leaned forward, taking Nellie’s hands in mine.
“I’m pretty much used to it,” she said, looking down at our hands. “It got a little less lonely when I met Sage. She’s like the sister I never had.”
“Sometimes, family isn’t forged by blood, but circumstance and chance,” I said. “But you can consider yourself an honorary member of the Wood family. Heck, you already were once you became an employee, but now that we’re dating and you’re carrying my baby—”
“Might be carrying your baby,” Nellie interrupted, her lips twitching with a smile that she struggled to hold back.
“Regardless of what that test says, I consider that baby mine, as much as I consider you mine,” I told her, holding her gaze.
Nellie’s mouth opened and closed, like she was searching for something to say. I stroked the back of her hand with my thumb, slowly rubbing it.
“The sooner you accept both those facts, the sooner we can get to the fun part.”
“What’s the fun part?”
“Getting reacquainted with each other physically.” I waggled my eyebrows at her playfully, but I was serious.
Holding Nellie’s hands in mine made me think about how those hands had felt on my body, and it made me crave that again.
Touching her in all the ways I’d thought about over the last few weeks, without the muddled haze of alcohol to dull my senses.
“You’re such a guy.” Nellie rolled her eyes dramatically, pulling her hands away from mine. I let her retreat, knowing she wasn’t going far.
Nellie was skittish, and it was easy to see why.
Aside from Sage, she didn’t have people in her life that fought for her, and as a result she didn’t let many people get close.
We’d talked a few times about her parents, and although I wanted to peel back the layers there, I could tell it was a sore subject.
But I had patience; I could wait as long as it took for her to realize I meant every word of what I said. I could wait for her to realize that I was here to stay, regardless of the results of that DNA test.
I moved around the island with intent, stopping in front of Nellie. Peering down at her, I cupped her chin with my hand, tilting her face up to meet my gaze.
“There’s nothing wrong with admitting your feelings and desires. I have feelings for you—so many feelings—and I desire you.”
Nellie’s eyes widened, and she swallowed. I lowered my face to hers, capturing her lips in a slow kiss, making those intentions known. She kissed me back, her own need sparking with mine.
She stood, never breaking the kiss, her hands going to the back of my neck and embracing me. My hand dropped from her face and I gripped her hips, tugging her against me. She let out a gasp that I swallowed when she felt my erection against her, hot and heavy and hard.
“I want you, too,” Nellie whispered against my lips, her eyes searching mine.
“You have me, however you want me,” I assured her, unable to resist pushing my erection against her to punctuate that point. I wasn’t about to talk her out of anything, but I wanted her to be certain the next move was completely hers.
She went back to kissing me, her hands exploring my trapezius muscles and slowly moving down the back of my arms. She squeezed and tested every hard ridge of me through my clothes, all while she kissed me like she was starving for my taste—like how I kissed her.
I grunted when she slipped her hands under my shirt, her fingers grazing against my Adonis belt.
I broke the kiss long enough to pick her up and set her on the island, then slanted my mouth over hers again.
I kissed her so deeply, I felt her desire turn molten as her thighs spread, making room for me to step between them.
“Tell me what you want, Nell,” I urged her, as I moved to kiss along the side of her neck. The little gasps she made had me jutting toward her, pressing my erection into her centre.
“You, Noah. I want you, now.”
“I’ve got condoms in my room,” I told her, about to lift her and carry her.
“Are you worried I’m going to get pregnant?” she said, a teasing lilt to her voice.
“Uh, no.” She had my brain completely frazzled.
“Well, I’ve been tested recently, and I’m good to go if you are?”
Her questioning gaze and the note of vulnerability had my heart stuttering.
“I am,” I said, my voice gravel and grit. I might have enjoyed my bachelorhood, but I’d always used protection. Or at least, I had until Nellie. But still, despite using protection, I regularly got check-ups. My last one was a few weeks after Nellie, and I’d been given the all-clear.
Nellie nodded, her hands going to tug the hem of my shirt. I allowed her to pull it off me, enjoying the way her eyes heated as she took in my naked torso. I couldn’t help but flex under her gaze.
With the preamble over, we went back to our heated makeout session and desperate touches. Nellie’s fingers felt like fire against my skin—the best kind of burn. I continued kissing her as I unbuttoned her blouse, aware of her panting breaths.
When her blouse fell open revealing the white lace of her bra, I let out a tortured groan, my cock pulsing in response. I could feel the moisture beading at my tip and knew I wouldn’t be able to last long.
I pushed the blouse off her shoulders, and she let it fall to the countertop in a pool of material. I palmed her breast, my thumb circling her nipple over the lace, and Nellie arched her back in response, letting out a delicious moan that made my cock press painfully against the zipper of my jeans.
I lowered my mouth to her breast, kissing the cleavage that spilled out over top of the lace, pulling back and tugging the material down, revealing her pretty pink nipple. I blew air on it, watching it tighten as if transfixed, then brought my mouth to her nipple, sucking it into my mouth.
Nellie whimpered as my teeth gently scraped against the sensitive bud, her hands going to my head, her fingers tangling in my hair and tugging me tighter to her. I didn’t mind the pull against the strands of my hair. I invited it, relishing in her subtle cues for more.
As my tongue toyed with her nipple, my hand slipped around her waist, moving up against her spine to find the clasp of her bra and releasing it.
The straps fell down her shoulder, and I pulled away long enough to toss it over my shoulder.
I moved to her other breast, giving that nipple the attention it deserved while I went back to gently squeezing the first.
My cock was so hard, I could feel my tip weeping with the need to bury myself in her. Nellie let out a choked sound, her hands going to the button of my jeans and struggling to pop it open.
I smiled around her nipple, helping her out. I unzipped my pants, letting them fall around my ankles, and barely had a moment to breathe before Nellie’s soft hand was sliding down my abdomen into my boxer briefs and wrapping around my cock. She squeezed it, pumping me.
“I need you. Now, Noah.” Nellie’s voice was breathless, but there was an underlying determination.
“I need…” I paused, my muscles all straining when she pumped me again. “I need to get you out of those pants, first.”
Nellie was still dressed from the waist down.
She released me long enough to unbutton her own pants and lift her hips.
I helped her, grabbing hold of the material and pulling them over her thighs and down her legs.
Then I ran my hands back up her legs, slowly touching her inner thighs.
She parted them for me, revealing a matching pair of lacy underwear that I could see were damp with her need.
I let out a groan, running my thumb over the seam of her, feeling how drenched she was through the lace.
“I want a taste,” I said, my voice rumbling. Before she could argue, I was moving aside the material and bringing my mouth to her heated core.
My tongue swept along her entrance, lapping up the desire leaking from her. She tasted like the sweetest nectar, and I knew I could get drunk off the taste of her. Another pass of my tongue had Nellie arching her hips to meet me.
“Please, Noah!”
Not wanting to make her wait a moment longer, I forced myself to rise, pushing my boxers down as I did so. My cock jutted out, and Nellie’s eyes darkened as she took it in. She bit her lower lip, then shimmied out of her underwear.
Having her bare and spread out before me was the most captivating of visions. I fisted my cock, pumping it slowly while I took her in. “You sure you want this, Nell?”
“Yes,” she nodded eagerly, letting her thighs fall open in welcome. I stepped toward her, rubbing my thick tip against her soaked entrance, coating myself in her juices. “Hurry!” she pleaded, sliding closer to the edge of the counter.
I pushed in slowly, feeling her stretch over every inch of me. Nellie’s fingers gripped the edge of the counter for dear life, and she let out a deep moan I felt in my bones.
“God, you feel amazing, Nellie,” I murmured when I was fully in her.
“So do you. Now fuck me, Noah.” she panted.
I smiled, then I delivered exactly what she asked for.
I pounded into her like I’d been thinking about doing since seeing her again at the grocery store.
With each thrust, I claimed her. It wasn’t long until her thighs were trembling against me.
I held them for her, not slowing even when I felt my own orgasm building.
I fucked her through her release, feeling her walls clench around me and her orgasm seeping out against my balls.
“Holy shit, Nell.” I grunted, feeling her cum again. I rotated my hips, drawing it out, and then lost control, pumping into her with shaky thrusts as my own orgasm blew through me like a freight train.