NORA #3
When I made a sound into his mouth that I didn’t recognize as mine, Theo answered with a rough exhale of his own.
And even though we were already impossibly close, his hand tightened at my waist and pulled me in like he needed me closer anyway. Like he was trying to erase the last edge of space between us.
And the pressure of his body… The way he was angled just right sent cascades of pleasure through me, making my insides melt into molten lava that spiraled low in my stomach.
“Oh my gosh,” I breathed against his lips, my voice shaking. “This feels insane.”
“I know,” he said, voice thick, his breath hot against me. “I thought it would be good.” A pause. “Kissing you like this.” A harder swallow. “But I didn’t know it would feel like this.”
The words hit me like a rush.
If I was hearing him right, he’d just admitted to imagining us doing this very thing before.
And just the thought of him picturing my mouth, my body, and the way we’d fit together made me dizzy with desire. Causing my brain to sprint into questions I shouldn’t be asking.
Like, what else had he imagined?
Had he imagined us doing even more than this?
But no. I needed to stop that train of thought. Because with the way I was feeling right now, it would be all too easy to get completely swept up and try to do everything all in one night.
So, trying to be respectful, I reined in my thoughts and locked them away for another time. Instead of thinking how far I could push the boundaries, I told myself that kissing him was more than good enough for now.
Because before tonight, just kissing this beautiful man was more than I’d ever dreamed was possible.
But even though I tried to keep the kiss within “first kiss” boundaries, the moment our lips brushed again, the harder it was to be careful.
Because it took two people to do that, and when Theo didn’t seem to mind pushing the boundaries a bit more, the little self-control that I had dissolved away the moment our lips touched, instantly making the kiss deeper.
Hotter.
Less careful.
And since his hands had already mapped their way over me, it felt only fair that I got to learn him, too.
So, I slid my fingers under his shirt, my hands finding warm skin and solid muscle.
My palms skimmed his well-defined abs first, then his sculpted chest, then down his chiseled sides. When I reached his back, he inhaled sharply, like my touch hit something in him he wasn’t prepared for.
And then we were moving.
In one smooth shift, he was rolling me onto my back and covering me, his weight braced on his forearms just enough that I could feel him everywhere but without crushing me.
And without thinking too much about it, I pushed my hands up his hips, caught the hem of his shirt, and tugged it up over his head.
It came away easy. And after tossing it somewhere into the dark, I was suddenly able to drink in all the bare skin and hard lines, backlit by the faint moonlight slipping through the window.
“Gosh,” I breathed, my chest rising and falling fast as I stared at him. “You’re so hot.”
A soft laugh rumbled out of him, low and rough before he said, “And there you go objectifying me again.”
I let out a breath that sounded like a laugh. “I can’t help it when you’re literally the hottest man I’ve ever seen.”
“Well, thanks,” he said, his gaze holding mine for a moment. Then with his mouth tipping into the smallest smile, he added, “And just so you know, you’re not just the sexiest nanny I’ve ever had.” His voice dropped. “You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve seen in years.”
My throat tightened, because I’d needed him to say that more than he could know. Hoped that even though he’d initially gotten to know me as his little sister’s best friend, that he’d also be able to see me as a woman worth pursuing on her own.
His mouth found mine again in the darkness, and when his hand slid up my leg, squeezing my outer thigh, we were back to the races.
He kissed my jaw. Then my neck, gently sucking enough for me to get a rush from it, but not enough to leave a mark.
And when he tugged my cami strap down my shoulder and pressed his mouth to the skin there, I knew that if we kept going down this path, we probably wouldn’t be stopping to get some sleep anytime soon.
Did I want that?
Yes?
But did I think it was probably a good idea to take things one step at a time?
Yes… at least, part of me thought so.
The other part really didn’t want to think about what repercussions might come from a night of no restraint.
That would be future Nora and Theo’s job to navigate.
I was just thinking about taking things to the next level when suddenly, Theo pulled back with a gasp.
“You should probably tell me to stop,” he said, pressing his forehead to mine, his voice rough in the dark, “before I lose what little control I have left and take this too far.”
My pulse kicked hard.
“Do you want to stop?” I whispered back.
“No.” His answer came out as a quiet laugh.
And the raw honesty in that one word made my throat tighten.
He dragged a slow breath in, then exhaled like he was forcing his body to listen to his brain. Like he was grabbing the steering wheel before we went off the road.
“But I don’t want our first time,” he said, voice rough, “to be because we got carried away.”
That hit me right in the chest.
Not because I didn’t want to get carried away. I absolutely did.
But because he was being Theo. Careful with me, even while I was basically on fire.
“So…” I swallowed, my voice barely there. “We should stop.”
“I think that’s probably best,” he said, and even in the dark I could feel him looking at me. Steady. Holding on. “At least for tonight.”
“Okay,” I breathed, the word coming out like a protest anyway.
A soft chuckle rumbled out of him, like he heard it.
Then his mouth brushed mine again. Quick. Gentle. A kiss that felt less like an ending and more like a promise he was putting in my pocket.
“We’ve got time,” he murmured, lips still close.
“I suppose that’s true,” I whispered, my skin prickling at the way he said it. At the promise of more to come.
Theo rolled onto his back. I just lay there for a second, staring into the dark, heart racing, lips swollen, thoughts completely wiped clean.
Theo turned his head toward me again. And while I couldn’t see his eyes clearly in the dark, I could feel the weight of his focus as he watched me.
“What are you thinking?” he asked after a beat.
I let out a breathy laugh. “Do you really want to know?”
“Is it bad?”
“It depends on what you think.” I shrugged.
“Okay.”
And then, since we were all about being vulnerable and honest about our feelings tonight, I said, “I’m just thinking that it’s too bad that you have so much self-control.”
A low chuckle left him. “Believe me,” he said, voice rough, “it was almost nonexistent for a second there.”
“Mm.” I shifted under the covers, letting my tone turn playful even though my pulse was still sprinting. “So maybe we should test it a little more?”
That earned another quiet, helpless chuckle from him.
But deciding to play nice since I knew his chivalry was his way of trying to protect me, I sighed dramatically and said, “Fine. I’ll turn away so I don’t tempt you anymore.”
Then I rolled onto my side, facing away—mostly because if I looked at him again, I was going to do something reckless.
The mattress dipped behind me. And even though I fully expected Theo to put a stack of pillows between us, instead of doing that, I felt his body slide closer to mine.
Then, without using words, he carefully slid his arm around my waist.
Not roaming or teasing. Just holding.
His chest pressed to my back, solid and steady, and somehow the simple gesture of holding me like this was the thing that made me feel the most undone.
“We’re just going to sleep now, okay?” he murmured, his breath brushing lightly against my ear.
And it wasn’t a command, but a promise. A boundary. A lifeline.
His hand found mine under the covers and laced our fingers together, squeezing once. And my throat tightened because this man was just too sweet.
Too good.
So wholesome.
And even though he was holding me lightly, like he was giving me the chance to pull away if I wanted, I tucked my hand tighter into his and let my body relax into his warmth.
For a while, we just lay there like that, the ocean somewhere beyond the walls, the ceiling fan turning slowly overhead, the night settling into the room.
His breathing started to even out first, deep and steady against my back.
Mine tried.
It really tried.
But every time his thumb brushed over my knuckles, my brain lit back up like it had forgotten we were supposed to be sleeping.
I closed my eyes anyway.
Because this was safe.
This was good.
And tomorrow… tomorrow was waiting.
Whatever it brought.
Whatever Theo decided he was ready for.
Whatever I was going to pretend I could handle like a normal person.
I let out a soft breath and finally, the dark took me—Theo’s arm still around me, his hand still holding mine, and my heart already bracing for the moment the sun came up and we had to figure out what we were going to do with what we’d started.