22. Slippery When Wet
TWENTY-TWO
SLIPPERY WHEN WET
? Dress - Taylor Swift
NOAH
Silvery graphite glides smoothly across the paper, forming a line along the bridge of her nose. I run my middle finger over the mark, smudging it lightly to create a shadow. It’s better, but not perfect.
I count the freckles for the hundredth time, making sure I got each of the thirty-six specks that decorate the bridge of her nose and the curve of her cheeks. They’re all there, every last one, so why does it feel like something’s missing?
I stare at the paper, parsing out each line, one by one, analyzing the shadows and the light reflecting off her face.
Finally, I see it. Her smile.
It’s lackluster and lifeless. Not at all like Clio’s.
I flip the page to a blank slate, not daring to question why I’m drawing her in the first place or why I can’t seem to stop until I get it right.
My phone buzzes on the coffee table. Clio’s name lights up the screen, and my pulse quickens in answer to a question that hasn’t been asked.
I toss my sketchbook aside and reach for the phone.
When I tap into our text message thread, I’m assaulted by a mirror selfie, and my mouth goes drier than the Sahara.
She’s wearing a neon sunset silk dress that dips low, showing off her ample breasts and the dip of her waist that I already know fits my hand perfectly. Her hair is parted down the middle and swept back at the sides, leaving the rest down in auburn curls around her shoulders.
And there’s that smile I can’t seem to capture.
Radiant. Captivating.
She has one foot crossed in front of the other and a hand on her hip. Her toes are painted bright pink, and she's wearing strappy high heels.
I’ve had my hands all over that body—her softness beneath my fingertips; it’s the best kind of muscle memory.
God, I’d love to put my mark on her, something colorful and vibrant like the woman in the photograph, but it would be like painting over a masterpiece. Something so perfect should be kept behind glass.
Shortcake: Ignore that. I meant to send it to someone else.
Someone else.
My teeth grind together as I fight a surge of jealousy so potent it threatens to consume me. Don’t do it, Noah. She’s not for you.
I dial her number, and she picks up on the first ring.
“Who?”
“What?”
“Who was the selfie for?”
She exhales into the phone, and I can almost hear the smile in her voice when she says, “If you must know, I have a hot date tonight.”
I open my apartment door and stride across the hallway with only one thought swirling in my head.
Mine.
I bang on her door with a lot more force than I intended.
Too much time passes, and I raise my fist to knock again just as the door swings open to reveal sunset silk, auburn hair, and that megawatt smile that can bring a grown man to heel.
Nothing, not even a mirror selfie, could’ve prepared me for this view.
She’s still holding her phone to her ear. She lowers it ever so slowly, her brow creasing. “Hey.”
I hang up the call and pocket my phone. Without so much as a greeting, I grip her hips and walk her backward into the apartment, kicking the door shut behind me. I don’t stop until she’s trapped between the kitchen island and me.
“Noah.” My name comes out on a soft exhale, and there’s a hollow pounding in my chest as I stare down into her expressive doe eyes.
“Where’s Lexi?”
“Sleepover at the ranch. She’s babysitting the twins.”
That was it. The only thing holding me back, and the universe just gave me the green light. “Tell me to walk away.” The words carry a dangerous edge.
“Why?”
Silk glides beneath my palm as I adjust my grip, sliding my hand to her lower back. “Because we said one time, and I’m about to break my promise.”
I whirl her around. Her palms press into the granite countertop as my hands knead her lush belly, and she rolls her head to the side, baring the delicate slope of her neck and shoulder.
I lower my face until my lips brush against her racing pulse. “Last chance, princess. I need to hear you say it.”
“I want you,” she says airily.
“What do you want? Use your words.”
“I want you to fuck me.”
I have to stifle a groan as the crass word leaves her lips, my dick growing impossibly hard. She was wrong about one thing—I won’t be fucking her out of my system. She’s buried too goddamn deep. I knew one time would never be enough. I can’t offer her a future, but this… this I can do.
I cup her jaw, angling her face so I can take her lips in a passionate kiss. Her tongue tangles with mine in a sensuous rhythm of give and take. I open my eyes, watching her expression shift with each brush of my lips. Twin blotches of pink appear on the apples of her cheeks.
Her arm snakes around my head, fingernails scraping against my scalp as she drives them through my hair. I groan as the sensations roll through me. This woman is going to be my undoing.
I break away from her mouth to trail my lips down her neck and shoulder, following a line of freckles on her creamy skin.
My fingers scrape against her thick thighs as I gather the mass of fabric and drape it over her waist, exposing her round, dimpled ass in a pair of pink strawberry print panties with lace trim. I huff out a laugh. “Fucking strawberries.”
I wonder if she tastes like them, too.
“Don’t laugh. They’re my favorite.” Her voice holds the sweetest glint of amusement as she stares at me over her shoulder.
Fuck, she’s so goddamn sexy when she smiles. All the time, really, but that smile could fuck up even the strongest of men.
The most gorgeous stretch marks decorate her upper thighs and hips as if a master artist painted them there. I want to trace each one with my tongue, but if I don’t taste her pussy soon, I’m going to lose it.
I slide my palm up her back, bending over the island and slipping my foot between hers to kick them apart. “Don’t move a fucking inch.”
Sinking to my knees, I hook my finger in the lace and pull it to the side, then I grip the globes of her ass and spread them apart, exposing two puffy pink lips already glistening with arousal.
“Noah. You don’t have to—”
“I want to. I’ve been waiting months to get my mouth on you.”
I pause for a breath, giving her a chance to deny me. “Can I?”
Please say yes.
“Yes.”
Thank fuck.
I grab her forearm and twist it behind her, setting her hand on her ass. “Hold yourself open for me, baby.”
Her rainbow nails dig into her dimpled flesh—and fuck, what I wouldn’t give to have her hands on me. Around my dick, my throat, anywhere she wants.
I take a deep inhale and swipe my tongue from her clit to her opening, my nose scraping against the perfectly trimmed triangle of hair like an arrow pointing me to a delicious treasure. She gasps at the first swipe, and her knees buckle on the second.
I rest my head against the inside of her thigh and chuckle, kneading her softness in my large palm. My inked hand looks incredible against her ass. “We’re just getting started. You can’t fall apart on me yet.”
I dive back in, circling her clit with my tongue.
“Oh god.”
The first finger enters her slowly, her slick pussy allowing me entry.
I pull back and add a second, crooking them inside of her while I continue to swirl and suck on the sensitive bud.
She clenches around me, something between a moan and a whimper slipping past her lips.
The only downside of this position is not being able to watch her face when she comes apart.
This. This is why once will never be enough. I need to have her every possible way.
“Noah. Oh shit. It feels… I think I’m gonna…” Hearing her say my name in the throes of ecstasy has my cock straining against my jeans.
I add more pressure but keep the same pace as her thighs begin to quake. “That’s it. Come for me, baby.”
I was wholly unprepared for just how hard and fast Clio would fall apart. Her pussy clamps down around my fingers, setting free a gush of liquid sex. I lap it up eagerly, tongue-fucking her through the intense orgasm until she collapses against the counter.
I pull myself to standing and wrap my arms around her, holding her body flush against mine as she catches her breath. Her eyes are glazed over, her lips parted. She looks like a wet dream come to life, only this is so much better than any fantasy my mind could deliver.
“Hoooo my god,” she says on a sigh. “Did I just squirt?”
“Mhm.
“Wow. I didn’t know I could do that.”
“I’m not done with you yet.”
She shivers against me, and I relish the way her body responds. I have her right where I want her, so why does it feel like I’m the one at her mercy?
CLIO
I text Callie to let her know I won’t be able to make it tonight, and I follow Noah to my bedroom, vibrating with nervous energy as I brace myself for what comes next.
Noah sits on the edge of the bed, leaning back on his elbows with his legs spread. His jeans are pulled taut against his thick thighs, causing my heart to skitter as an almost palpable tension crackles in the quiet space between us.
“Strip.” The gruff command intensifies the pulsing between my thighs before reality grabs hold of me in a suffocating grip.
I walk back toward the door and reach for the light switch.
“Don’t. I want to see you.”
My hand trembles as I lower it. This is the moment everything falls apart. “Noah, I can’t.”
His gaze darkens as he strides toward me with purpose; there’s something so confident and determined in his gait. I press my back to the wall, not out of fear, but because I need something—anything—to steady me.
The warmth of his body envelopes me as he takes both of my wrists in one hand and pins them above my head. The other skates down my body from the side of my breast down my hips in one long tantalizing glide. My nipples pebble beneath my clothes as a shiver travels up my spine.
“What are you so afraid of?” His warm breath ghosts over my cheek. “It’s just me.”
I pull in a shaky breath and blow it out. “Nobody’s seen me naked before. Not like this. Not this body, anyway.”