Chapter Twenty-Four
NO ONE COULD have prepared Noah for the afterburn of experiencing Rachel’s absolute trust in his bed.
The woman was everything he’d ever dreamed up.
Her touch satisfied him like summer rain falling on sun-dried earth.
He felt renewed, reborn, even. He was used to winning, but nothing felt as good as earning a love so vital that he thought he’d wither from neglect without it. Yes, she’d made him over.
Like fire igniting every fiber in his body, she forged him anew, and he enthusiastically returned the favor with everything he had until love, passion, and something inextricable that linked him to this woman consumed every part of him, branding his heart with one name—Rachel.
Even with his body sated and exhausted, he burned for her.
Noah welcomed the sting and craved the reminder.
What man could resist a flame willing to blaze at his touch?
“Hey,” Rachel groused, her voice still weighted with slumber. She shifted her legs beside his, though she barely moved underneath the coverlet, seeking his heat.
Noah smiled. “Your lady grumble is the sexiest sound I’ve heard ever.”
She lifted one hand in mock surrender. “If that’s the case, then good morning, good-looking.”
He laughed, knowing he’d replay this exchange a thousand times in his head. Some of his best memories were of them trading sexy jabs after lovemaking. The stakes had been high back then, two inexperienced teenagers, one dreaming of small-town life, the other longing for adventure.
“You hungry, sweetheart?” Noah certainly was. They had a lot of loving to catch up on. As if reading his mind, Rachel slid her hand across his chest, caressing his pecs. Yeah, he was hungry for more of that, too.
“Quit teasing, Six.”
She giggled, and then her eyes popped open, the amber clear as gemstones. “I could eat.”
“Good, ’cause I can cook.”
She twisted in his arms until his chest served as her pillow. “That’s even better.”
He glanced down at her. “Don’t tell me all these years away, you still can’t see the joy in cooking.”
“Fine, I won’t tell. And can’t is not a part of my vocabulary. There are choices and consequences. I choose not to cook often because I don’t want to stomach the consequences.”
He pulled her flush on top of him, nestling her slim, taut body between his bare legs. “I love you, funny girl.”
She reared back, her arms folded, lifting her face off his chest. Her gaze bore into his as if he were an aberration. There was nothing cloudy about his confession. He’d tell her a thousand times a day, if it meant she’d stay.
“You’ve changed,” she whispered. “You’re not the same cocky, from-the-window-to-the-wall, win-at-all-costs boy that I remember.”
“It’s still me. Winning is important. Losing you is not an option.”
She kissed his cheek. “Yeah,” she croaked, “I know who you are.”
But did she? If she questioned his commitment, his love for her, then she’d missed the biggest part of him… which included her, in every way possible. “Did you hear what I said?”
“I heard you, Noah.”
Lifting his hand, he brushed his fingers along her cheek. “Do you need to hear it again?”
She swallowed, then nodded her head. “I think it might help. Maybe if you say it enough.” She rolled her eyes heavenward. “This slice of happiness will take up permanent residence in our cabin by the water.”
She shrugged, a wood splinter of doubt burrowed deep in her memory. He’d give them new remembrances to ease away the hurt of the past.
“I love you, Six. Through the years, through the miles, through the silence, I never stopped yearning for you, for your love. You trust me with your body, trust me with your heart, and your soul. I won’t fail you a second time.
” Noah swallowed old fears that he couldn’t be enough, that somehow everyone had one up on him, no matter how hard he tried. “Can you love me back?”
“I love you backward, forward, sideways, up and down, Noah Calvary. There’s never been a time when I didn’t love you.”
“Yeah,” he hollered, peppering her face with wet kisses.
“Noah,” she squawked, swatting at his chest. “Enough. Enough.”
“I’m the happiest man on earth. I’m not stopping. Just give in.”
“Not without nourishment.”
He reared to place one last kiss on her nose. “Got it. Got it. I’ll whip up some grub.”
“I hope it’s better than it sounds.”
“You know I’ll do your body right.” He winked.
Rachel rolled her eyes and then shifted to collapse beside him on the mattress. Noah quickly scooped her up until her legs tangled with his.
“Move in with me today,” he blurted. Real smooth, Calvary. Really eased into that bombshell. Why not tack on a marriage proposal? Maybe ask her to bear his children before coffee?
Rachel’s expression blanked. “Come again?” she stammered.
“You heard me good.” Noah knew he’d unloaded everything he’d been thinking since her return all at once, but this next step, he wanted her to be sure.
The Johnson family land would be hers one day.
She and her father had plans for constructing Rachel’s house there, but he wanted her here in the house he’d promised.
“Noah,” she stammered.
“After last night, can you blame me for not wanting to let you go home?”
She ran her fingers through his hair. “Let me go home—as if you can stop me. Are you trying to start an argument?”
“I’m not. Don’t you dare try it, you know what I mean. We’ve lost years. Why wait when we want to be together?”
“Noah, this… what you’re asking… is happening fast.”
“Not for me. I’ve got plans for us. I always have.”
“Maybe share your plans with your partner who has a job on another coast.”
He ran one hand down her spine. She arched, a soft sigh escaping her parted lips. “Now”—he kissed her—“that”—he kissed her again—“you’re here, you’re all mine, and—”
She kissed him before he could continue. “We can talk about how we’ll make it work, but not before the wedding. I don’t want the heaviness of us deciding our future before my dad and Bethany’s happy day. I’m home to celebrate them.”
She ran a slender finger down his chest. “Making fireworks with you is a bonus.”
Boy, he loved a considerate woman with a quick mind. “You win. I can’t resist these adorable red curls and this mouth.” He reared up, hungry to taste her once more.
“Oh”—she kissed his lips—“you do make it hard on a girl. I need to keep my wits.”
“I’ll admit to being a tiny bit afraid of the little voice telling you there’s more adventure out there”—he pointed out the slider door—“than here… with me. When you run, from now until forever, you run to me. I got your six. You had mine. You don’t have to run anymore. This is your home.”
“Anyone ever tell you you’re over the top?”
“Get used to it, sweetheart. ’Cause this house, me, you, and ClamClam are home.” At the mention of the cat’s name, their fur baby hopped up on the bed, curled into Noah’s other side, circled a few times, sat, and then began to knead at the sheets.
“Really, ClamClam Johnson?” Rachel chided.
“See, even the cat agrees there’s room for you both here.”
“It’s not a question of room, Noah. It’s a question of sound reasoning.”
“Insanity is us apart.”
“Dude, literally, I live next door. You can see me every day… when I’m home.”
“Yeah, about that,” he said. “What happens when the wedding’s over? What options do you have to telework? Because I’m asking you for forever. You’re ready to plan our future adventures here in Service, right?”
Before she could answer, his cell phone rang. It could wait. Seconds later, the cabin’s landline blared, as did his cell phone. It had to be the firehouse. The only time both phones fired up and kept firing had to do with work.
“The truth is, I have a—”
“It’s the job. Hold that thought,” he said, swinging his big body up and dropping his feet to the floor. He reached for the receiver. “Calvary here. What’s up?”
Noah tried to turn away from Rachel, hiding his face, but she angled her head, keeping him in her sights.
The one time he wanted her attention elsewhere, she studied him, a lover who understood him as well as he knew himself.
The longer he listened, the more his mood descended.
She witnessed the moment his facade cracked.
Rachel’s golden eyes flipped a color switch from soft honey to blazing sun looming on the horizon.
“What’s wrong?” she mouthed, her brows pinched in concern for whatever disaster was unfolding on the other end of the phone.
Noah didn’t respond to her; instead, he asked, “What do you mean by a complaint? I’m not fraternizing with her, we’re dating.
” Anonymous complaint? Really? Who called in tips about firefighters getting laid?
Was there a hotline for that? Press 1 if you suspect inappropriate firefighting relations.
“What… who said my judgment is compromised?”
Fire ignited and crackled in Rachel’s gaze, the lightning bolt of disappointment striking at his heart. Talk about bad timing for terrible news.
Distracted by the disturbing conversation, when Rachel placed a hand on Noah’s cheek, he jerked.
“What’s going on?” she whispered.
With her hand on him, and the sincerity in her eyes, he had to give her something. Phone at his ear, he angled the screen and jabbed the mute button with more force than necessary to toss Rachel a bone. “Work stuff related to my committee position.”
As if chewing on the morsel of information, she withdrew her hand, mumbling beneath her breath.
“The redevelopment committee?” she questioned.
Her touch had a calming effect on his riotous thoughts. This turn of events threatened the future he hoped for with Rachel in mind.