Chapter 26
With each floor they climbed, Noah’s fury grew. “Wait a second. Are you saying Ashley’s in Miami ?” He detested the vibrations in his voice but couldn’t stop them.
Gabe grunted. “Yeah. Has been for the three days. You must have missed each other by a few hours.”
Which was just as well. Noah wasn’t sure what he’d have done if she turned up unannounced at his front door. “What the hell does she want?” he rasped.
Beside him, Leia tensed. He looked down at her, but her eyes were averted. He tucked her closer and breathed easier when she slipped her arms around his waist.
“She won’t tell me. I tried to see her before I headed down here. She’ll only talk to you.”
“Fuck that. If she has anything to say, our lawyers can deal with it.” They exited the elevator, and he reluctantly let go of Leia to open the door. As they entered their suite, she started to move away. Catching her to him, he pressed his lips against her temple. She mouthed Shower and he nodded.
“Yeah, I tried that route. She hinted that it wouldn’t be something you wanted on the record.”
Ice cracked down his spine. “What the hell does that mean?”
“Jesus, man, I don’t know.” Gabriel sounded weary. “Hell, I thought this thing was behind you. Don’t think I don’t kick myself every fucking day for ever introducing you two.”
Noah wanted to be generous and reassuring and forgiving, but the fury bubbling in his bloodstream made that impossible. “Whatever the hell she’s after, she’s going to have to cool her heels until I get back. Then she’ll have to deal with my lawyer anyway.”
Gabe paused. “You think that’s wise? Whatever she wants made her leave New York to seek you out. Maybe a face-to-face will?—”
“Like hell that’s going to happen,” he snarled. “I stopped jumping through her fucking hoops a long time ago, Gabe.”
“I know. I’m just saying, we both know the shit she’s capable of. Antagonizing her may not be the best solution.”
“I’ll take that under advisement.”
“Which in your pig-headed way means fuck no .” Gabe sighed again. “I don’t blame you, buddy. If she was my ex I’d probably start mixing Molotov cocktails at the sound of her name, too.”
Noah breathed deep and tried to calm his irate nerves. “How are things going down there with you?” he asked, seeking a distraction to his anger. He glanced toward the bedroom where his perfect distraction was waiting for him.
“Fucking impeccable. My girlfriend is determined to leave me unless I spend time with her. Now I’m here, she won’t talk to me because I’m not ‘committed enough’ to our relationship. Fucking women!”
Noah smiled despite his mood. “I’m sure you’ll rise to the occasion.
For some odd reason, Angie’s nuts about you.
” The two had fallen over each other like a ton of bricks the moment they’d laid eyes on one another.
He’d been too cynical to trust that it would last. He still was, but he wasn’t about to tell his best friend that.
Everyone was entitled to crash and burn their own way. And if by some miracle they didn’t, then kudos to them.
“I’m hoping she remembers that pretty fucking soon. There’s only so much powder-blue sky and sun-kissed sand I can take before I hurl something.”
“You live in Miami. Blue skies and beaches aren’t alien concepts to you. Besides, according to Damon, you’ve been there less than a day.”
“According… I can’t believe that asshole managed to give you the lowdown on my sex life and neglected to mention Ashley, the main reason for his call. He’s picking up the tab for poker night drinks for the rest of the year.”
The reminder of his ex’s name made his stomach roil all over again. He heard the faint sound of a shower, and his fingers tightened on the phone. “Call me if she contacts you again. Or better still, don’t. Deal with your shit. I’ll handle her when I get back.”
He hung up, deleted the texts and blocked Ashley’s number. He threw the phone onto the bar on his way into the bedroom, unable to shake the fury and underlying edginess clawing through him.
Toeing off his shoes, he undressed and entered the bathroom.
She stood between the powerful shower jets, her body coated in fluffy suds and scented steam.
The knot she’d secured her hair into started to slip. She leaned back to fix it. He slid his hands under her arms and cupped her breasts.
Lust-heavy grey eyes met his, and her lips parted. “Hi,” she murmured.
Holy hell, she was stunning. “Hi.”
“Everything okay?”
“No. Most definitely not.” He couldn’t stop the acid bite of his response.
She leaned back further, laid her head on his shoulder and trailed her mouth over his jaw. “Distraction?”
“God, yes.” He plucked at her nipples until they peaked under his touch.
When she curved her arms around his neck, granting him unfettered access to her body, his mood improved greatly.
He squeezed and teased, pinched and bit, drowning in her whimpers and shuddering exhales.
He wanted to absorb everything she was, lose himself in her and forget the bullshit waiting for his return.
“You’re incredible, Leia. Your generosity slays me.”
“I want to give you more.” She jerked and flexed her hips when his fingers slid between her legs.
He increased the pressure. “Why?”
Her breath caught. “Because… you’ve shown me that sex can be ugly and beautiful at the same time,” she whispered. “That I don’t have to be ashamed to give in to the hunger. I want to satisfy yours whichever way I can.”
He kissed her neck and used his teeth on her shoulder. Raising his head, he watched her skin turn red. Satisfaction spiked through him, pushed him further. He caught her clit between his fingers and squeezed. She cried out and her knees buckled.
“I’m greedy and I’m insatiable. I’ll take everything you have to give, and I’ll demand more. What will you do then?”
She twisted and faced him. Then slowly sank down to kneel before him.
“Leia?” he croaked.
Wide grey eyes stared up at him, then dropped to his stiff cock. The flash of innocence and determination fired up his blood. He angled the showerheads toward her lower body so he could see her face properly and caught her chin in his hand.
She looked up again and slowly circled her lips with her tongue. “I’ll learn ways to give you more. Teach me, Noah.”
God .
“Put your hands on my thighs.”
She obeyed immediately, her nails lightly grazing his skin.
He shuddered and eyed the bench a few feet away.
If this went the way he intended it to go, he’d lose his mind and possibly the power of his legs before this was over.
But right then, shifting even an inch from where he stood felt impossible.
So he planted his feet more firmly. “Open your mouth. Wider. Eyes on me.”
He slid in slowly, giving her time to get used to his thickness. Her mouth started to close over his head, the warm suction tugging at him. “No, don’t suck. Not yet. I want to feel that stud.”
She opened again. He pushed in further, scraping against her teeth and sliding over her tongue.
Her jaw lowered as she struggled to accommodate him.
He pulled out just before he hit the back of her throat, savoring the moment, torturing himself.
He fucked her mouth, groaning each time his cock emerged glistening with her saliva.
After a few strokes, she began to curve her tongue around him, applying subtle pressure to the underside of his shaft.
Fast learner.
“Do you want to suck me off, sweetheart?”
“Hmm,” she mumbled, her eyes affirming her answer.
“You have my permission,” he said.
Her mouth closed over him in a greedy gulp, pulling him as deep as she could take. She barely reached halfway. “You need to flatten your tongue, baby. I need to be deeper inside you.” He pushed in another inch, scraped his cock over her diamond stud, and stars exploded across his vision.
Fuck .
It wasn’t enough. He slid his fingers into her hair and tightened his grip. “Suck harder. Make my cock hurt.”
She hollowed her cheeks. He slammed into her mouth, hit the back of her throat. “God, yes!”
A smug look entered her eyes and she quickly established a rhythm, sucking him deep and hard. Sensation exploded all over his body. He began to shake. His balls tightened, and he gripped her harder.
Her nails dug in deeper, and he knew he was about to lose it. Not yet. Fuck no, not yet. “Hands behind your back and open your legs,” he barked. That she managed to obey without losing her rhythm blew his mind.
He retreated a half step, forcing her to lean forward, arch her back. He looked down at her ass, at the clear spank marks marring her skin, and his cock swelled thicker. She gagged and he cursed.
Quickly locating the button he needed, he pressed it. The powerful jet hit her pussy in a hot spray. She jerked wildly, and his cock slipped out of her mouth. Making a sound of distress, she twisted her head and caught him back with a sloppy, greedy pull, then doubled the pressure of her suction.
His free hand slammed against the wall. “ Jesus . I’m so fucking grateful you’ve never done this to any other guy. Otherwise I’d have to hunt him down and destroy him.”
She sucked him relentlessly, eagerly, until he lost the ability to think straight.
With a thick, guttural shout, he jerked into her mouth.
Hot, thick and endless, he came like a damned freight train.
And she took it all. Dear God, she swallowed every drop of semen like a champ.
All without once taking her eyes off him.
He released her hair, noticed his hands—hell, his whole body—were shaking. He caressed her cheek, her neck, anywhere he could touch without moving too far and losing the balance in his kitten-weak legs.
“Leia. Jesus, you’re so damned near perfect.” He couldn’t speak above a croak.
She started to answer, then moaned, her hips moving in a series of helpless rolls. Watching her with her hands behind her back, legs wide open to the powerful spray of water, struggling not to come, re-energized him. Cracked the door to his fantasies wider.
He grabbed her arms and hauled her up. She was so close her whole body trembled.
He contemplated just fucking her right there against the wall.
But he wanted to make it good for her. And yes, he also wanted to test her boundaries a little bit more.
Make her crazy with need the way she drove him over the edge with desire.
He carried her over to the smooth wooden bench and placed her in front of it. “Bend over. Lay your cheek against the seat. Hands behind your back.”
Another wild tremble, followed by compliance. He trailed his hand down her back to her ass, then lower to her crease. She was soaking wet, slick, silky and hot. He smacked her pussy and she cried out.
“Does that hurt?” he demanded.
“Y… yes.”
“Do you want me to stop?”
“No.”
“What do you want?”
“More. I want more, please.” He gave her more until her cries smashed into one another, her legs shaking as she struggled to stay upright.
Then he sank down and kissed her raging-hot sex, soothing her with his tongue. He pushed his tongue inside her, and she clenched hard around him.
“Don’t come.”
“I can’t… hold it.”
“Yes, you can.”
He crouched next to her and looked into her flushed, beautiful face. Her mouth was open, gasping in desperate breaths. He trailed his fingers down her cheek. “Do you trust me? Not with everything outside this time and place, but right here, right now. Do you trust me to take care of you?”
“Yes.”
His chest tightened, and his jaw clenched against an emotion he hadn’t been aware of as it trawled through him. Doubt. He’d been afraid he would fail, that she would reject him if he took things too far.
“Noah?”
He blinked. “Yeah.”
“I need you. Don’t let her get in your head.”
He surged to his feet and stumbled back a step. For a second he wondered whether it was wise to feel this visceral connection with another human being.
Opening up to Ashley about his needs had nearly brought him undone.
She’d twisted him inside out and nearly ruined his life in the process.
He’d had to seek therapy; therapy , for God’s sake.
He’d allowed someone else in his head, someone who’d reassured him he wasn’t crazy, even while she eye-fucked him and then spread her legs for a taste of what he was capable of.
He looked down at Leia, perfectly laid out for him, waiting, trusting. She was getting under his skin. Fuck, who the hell was he kidding? She was already there, wedged deep.
She could be everything he needed.
Yeah, but for how long?
He pushed the voice away. “Don’t move. I’ll be right back.”