Chapter 20
Noah wrapped a towel around his waist and entered his bedroom suite aboard the plane.
He jerked to a stop at the sight of the empty bed. Leia had been fast asleep when he went to shower five minutes ago. Frowning, he started towards the living room, only to stop at the sound of his cellphone ringing.
Since only a handful of people had this number, he didn’t waste time with pleasantries when he grabbed it. “What the hell do you want, Damon?”
He received an unapologetic grunt. “Give me a break, man, I drew the short straw for this phone call. Biting my head off doesn’t help either of us.”
“Speak for yourself. I feel like tearing chunks out of it right about now.” He flicked on the bedside lamp and turned back toward the bed. Its emptiness unsettled him. “And what the fuck are you drawing straws about? I’m beginning to worry that you three have nothing better to do.”
He headed for the sitting room, a part of him thankful that they were on a plane and thus finding her would be easy. A greater part of him was even more thankful he’d had her moved into his suite before they took off from Geneva. He wanted her close.
At Damon’s silence, he paused, apprehension gripping him. “Has something happened?”
“Nah. We called your office. Maddie said you hadn’t been in for a couple of days, so we’re guessing you made the trip after all?”
He resumed walking. “You called me at three in the morning to ask me that?”
His friend sighed. “Don’t jerk my chain, I knew you’d be up. Or are you saying you’ve found a cure for your chronic insomnia?” he asked, sounding hopeful.
Noah strolled into the living room and drew to a halt.
On the oversized sofa, Leia sat with a large pad balanced on her knee, tapping a pencil against her cheek as she frowned at the page.
She was wearing a forest-green slip. From what he could see of her upper half, the design was seriously sexy, cut daringly in places that made his mouth water and his hands itch to explore.
“If you want a blow by blow of what I’m doing right now, you’re out of luck.”
Leia glanced up and her eyes connected with his. Whatever expression he wore—and he had a feeling it was one of bone-deep hunger—made her eyes widen and her lips part.
Christ, just looking at her intoxicated him.
Keeping his gaze pinned on hers, he answered Damon’s question. “If you must know, the experience is proving to be worth it. Why don’t you go and report that to your knitting committee?”
Damon’s laugh held a touch of uneasiness and his nape tightened. “Yeah, sure… I’ll do that.”
The easy agreement and the fact that he wasn’t griping about Noah’s jibe made alarm bells ring harder. He reached the sofa, crouched in front of Leia and slid his hand over her knee. Her smile tugged at his heart.
“Damon, what the hell is going on?”
“Fuck, forget I called. It’s nothing that can’t wait until you get back.”
Noah watched her lips part wider, her need for air growing as he explored the silky flesh of her thighs. This close, he could see her slip was made of the same material as the panties she’d worn in Switzerland. And that the bits covering her breasts were made of decadent lace triangles.
He forced himself to concentrate on the call.
Something wasn’t right, and as much as he loved his childhood friend, Damon had never been good with getting to the point fast. Taking into account the time difference, the day of the week and the music in the background, he said, “It’s Tuesday so you’re at The Sphere. Let me to talk to Gabe.”
“He… uh, he’s not here.”
“Where is he?” he snapped. The pencil dangled from Leia’s fingers. Reaching out, he took it and slowly traced the blunt end over her collarbone. She shuddered and her nipples pearled against the lace.
“Bora Bora, I think.”
“What the hell’s he doing there?”
Damon cleared his throat. “Angela broke things off with him. Or she’s trying to, anyway.
But you know how stubborn they both are.
She’s pissed that he’s refusing to let her dump him and she’s gone into hiding at Savage’s place.
Gabriel hopped on his plane and hightailed it down there first thing this morning.
I’ll have him call you with an update when he gets back…
Hold on a sec,” he interrupted himself. Noah heard heated murmurs, then Damon said in a rush, “I gotta go. So everything’s going great, right? ”
Noah’s eyes trailed the stunning vision staring back at him with a hunger that almost equaled his own, and he swallowed before he could speak. “Yes. It is. And Damon?” He leaned down and drifted his mouth over the soft curve of her shoulder.
“Yeah?”
“Thanks.” No matter the reason behind the call, Noah was thankful his friends were looking out for him, albeit in ways that irritated the hell out of him.
“No problem, buddy.”
He hung up, tossed the phone away.
Leia looked from the phone to his face. “What was that about?”
“Hell if I know. Come here, baby.”
As she melted into his arms, he growled his satisfaction. Bending his head forward, he caught one lace-covered pink nipple in his teeth and bit down hard.
A couple of thousand miles away, Mike stared at his friend for several seconds then he shook his head. “I can’t believe you fucking chickened out.”
Damon shrugged, the back of his neck heating up at the embarrassing truth. Feigning bravado, he quipped, “So shoot me if I don’t see the point in upsetting the balance of things just yet.”
“Things have been unbalanced for a long time. And trust me, he will shoot you when he gets back and realizes we knew and didn’t tell him.”
Damon grimaced. “Then I’ll happily celebrate my stay of execution while the celebrating is good.” He made eye contact with the waitress and held up two fingers.
She brought their drinks a few minutes later and frowned at their somber looks. “What’s up, fellas? Somebody die?”
Mike glanced over at him and smirked. “Not yet but this time next week, I’m sure one of us will.”
Rolling her eyes, she slid their drinks on the table and left.
Damon took a healthy gulp of his neat vodka before he glanced up. “You think I should call him back?” he asked halfheartedly.
Mike eyed him, tapping his finger against his glass. “How did he sound?”
“Good. Great, even. Not his old self but then are any of us our old selves?”
The tapping increased in tempo, reflecting his friend’s agitation. The sick feeling churning through Damon’s stomach grew.
“I think we should leave it, let Gabe get back, then draw straws again,” Mike said.
“Crap, are you sure that’s a good idea?”
“Hell no, but like you, I’m not in a hurry to tell my best friend the reason he left New York two years ago has turned up on his doorstep.”
“Who’s the knitting committee?” Leia gasped out the question, stunned she could speak coherently considering every inch of her body was on fire.
Noah’s head reared up from where his tongue was sliding down her inner thigh. “What?”
“Your call. You said something about a knitting committee?”
His mouth curved, and her stomach flipped over at the sheer beauty of his smile. “Yeah. My pain in the ass friends. They’re nosier than a gaggle of high school girls and they’re not ashamed to own it.” He rubbed his stubble over her skin and she shuddered.
“They called to check up on you?” She slid her fingers through his silky hair, making sure her nails grazed his scalp the way he liked it.
He groaned and blew a hot breath over her wet, hungry pussy. “Yeah, at three in the morning. Like I said, they’re a menace to my sanity.”
She thought of her own life, of the absence of friends or any meaningful relationship in her life besides Warren.
Her social life had come crashing to a halt the moment her mother put the gun in her mouth and blew a hole in the back of her head.
By the time Leia surfaced from her own fog of horror, Warren had taken control.
He’d been in control ever since?—
She jerked at the merciless clamp of teeth on her flesh. Gasping, she stared into sexy… suspicious blue eyes.
“Did we not agree that I own your attention completely when we’re together?” he rasped.
“I… Yes.”
“You were drifting just now. Where were you?” he demanded.
“Nowhere important.”
His eyes narrowed.
“Honest,” she insisted.
His nostrils flared. Bending his head, he opened his mouth and dropped a hot, wet kiss at the top of her pussy, right above her clit. Then, keeping his eyes on her, he parted her with his fingers and rotated his chin over her throbbing nub.
She gripped a handful of hair and angled her hips, her heart racing, her whole being centered on achieving maximum friction for that pebble of need.
In one smooth move, he lifted himself off her. Her senses screeching in disbelief, she tried to lunge for him.
He caught her hands and imprisoned them above her head.
Intense blue eyes blazed down at her. “Where were you, Leia?”
“I was thinking about my mom. About her killing herself. She left me alone at a time when I needed her most. I hate that she chose to end her life that way. I’ve tried to forgive her but I don’t think I ever will. Does that make me a horrible person?” she whispered.
His eyes gentled. “It makes you human that you’ve tried. It makes you human that you feel bad about not succeeding. But it doesn’t excuse you from evading my question the first time I asked it. Total honesty at all times, Leia.”
She swallowed and tension raced over her skin. “Are you going to punish me?”
“Do you think you deserve punishment? Or are you just saying that because you think you’ll enjoy the punishment I’ll give you?”
“I’ll do whatever you want, Noah.”
His eyes darkened. “You mean you’ll do whatever it takes for an orgasm.”
She started to deny it, and he leaned down and sucked her lower lip into his mouth. When he released her, his displeasure hadn’t abated. “Were you about to lie to me again, Leia?”
She closed her eyes and shuddered. “Please… I need you.”
“I know. But you’ll have to wait even longer for your orgasm. That’s your punishment.”
He released her and sat back at the end of the sofa. Gloriously naked and carefree despite the huge, proud erection, he leaned back in the seat and picked up her pad.
He thumbed through a few pages. His eyes flicked to her and back to the designs she’d been working on.
A different kind of tension seized her. Besides Warren and a select few on her trusted design and development team, no one had ever seen her designs.
Certainly no one like Noah King, a powerful, shrewd businessman who also knew the female body inside out.
“These are incredible.” Relief burst through her only to short-circuit when he gripped his cock and began stroking it. “Are they all yours?” he asked, his voice low and deep in a way that told her he was extremely aroused.
“Y-yes.” She couldn’t take her eyes off what he was doing, what she yearned to do. His movements were slow, hypnotic. “Noah…” she started, knowing very well she would beg if that was what it took for him to see to her needs.
He ignored her, thumbed through her pad then closed it. He glanced at her and nodded at her slip. “Is that another one of your special designs?” he asked, his hand still moving up and down.
She nodded.
“Vocalize.”
“Yes. It’s one of my favorites.”
“How many do you have with you?” he rasped.
“I brought about a dozen,” she said.
“Get up.”
The weight of her want felt like a physical force pressing down on her, but she managed to stand.
He opened his legs wider, inviting her to stand between them.
The sight of his balls hanging full and heavy had her swallowing.
She licked her lower lip and his nostrils flared.
A part of her was secretly thrilled she did that to him.
“Will you model them for me?”
“Will you make me come if I do?” she whispered.
“I’ll always make you come, sweetheart. Just not at your command. Go.” This time it was less of a request and more of a demand.
She tried to move but couldn’t take her eyes off his lazy strokes, or the bead of pre-cum at the crown of his magnificent cock. Slackening her jaw, she opened her mouth and deliberately curled her tongue so he’d see the diamond stud.
His hand jerked and he swallowed hard. “Are you fucking with me, baby? Because if you are you might want to think about this—for every minute you delay in doing what I ask, you get to wait another half hour to feel my cock pounding that tight little cunt.”
“What? That not fair!” she yelled.
“Then move your ass,” he sizzled back, his voice deeper. She noticed he’d pinched the base of his cock hard and his jaw was clenched, holding back the power of his arousal.
She wanted to shout some more, demand he put them both out of their misery. But she was terrified of the payback.