9. Lizzy
Chapter 9
Lizzy
I slip the sandals I bought when I was with the girls on my feet as a truck sounds in the driveway. I frown at Mr. Darcy. “This was not the plan.”
Mr. Darcy pauses grooming himself long enough to send me a reproachful glare. He hasn’t been happy with me since I left him with Walt yesterday. I had to give him a can of his favorite premium food today to get back into his good graces.
“Be good for your great grandpa,” I tell my kitty as I give him a quick kiss and grab my cardigan.
I practically skip to the front door, opening it just as Noah saunters up the porch.
“Hey,” I greet him, feeling my cheeks heat the way they always do around him. It’s not my fault I keep thinking about making babies with him. He’s the one who said that’s what he wanted to do with me. “I thought I was meeting you at your place for lunch. Did you leave something here?”
“Yeah, I left my heart.” He presses a quick kiss to my forehead and hands me another bouquet. More daisies again.
“Noah…” I whisper, swooning at just how perfect he is.
“Just needed to see you. I missed you.”
“You saw me yesterday,” I point out before I step inside. I quickly set the flowers in water before I grab my purse and meet him on the porch.
“Every second away from you feels like a lifetime,” Noah explains as he helps me into his truck.
“Then you should have stayed and made out with me.” I pretend to pout, making an exaggerated motion with my lips. Being with Noah is easy. He makes me feel playful, like life is a fun adventure.
He grimaces as he starts the truck. “I couldn’t. I promised my mom I’d help her out at the candle shop.”
Mrs. Maple runs the candle shop in Courage County. She started it after her husband died, and she was left widowed with five kids. There’s Noah and his three brothers, plus a little girl they adopted by the name of Ginger. Although, I guess she’s not little anymore since she’s married and living on the mountain with her own bossy man.
“Your mom is lucky to have you,” I tell him. Before Walt, I didn’t have anyone. He seems to like me, but I’ll mess up. At some point, I’ll ruin it and he’ll send me away. Just like Noah might. The thought puts a lump in my throat unexpectedly.
Noah is quiet for a long moment and when he does speak, his voice is hoarse. “She took me in when no one wanted me.”
My heart hurts for this gruff cowboy beside me. I know what it’s like to spend your whole life unwanted and unloved. “How old were you when you were adopted?”
His throat works. “Fourteen. Think I was around eight when the state took us away. I spent most of that time in foster care until Greer was placed with the Maples. Mama Maple collected all of us one by one.”
“She sounds like an incredible woman,” I whisper.
“I can’t wait for you to meet her,” he tells me before he stops the truck.
He leads me inside. His home is just as tidy and welcoming as it was the last time I was here. The only difference is now the scent of meatloaf and baked potatoes hangs heavy in the air.
“You cooked,” I say softly, watching as he opens the stove to peer at the food.
He nods and reaches for the timer on the counter, adding minutes to it.
“Your favorite,” he says.
I make this meal for Walt at least once a week because I love it so much. Noah must have gotten the recipe from him.
Suddenly, all the years of being the girl no one wanted come rushing back to me. What makes me think this time is going to be any different?
My shoulders slump under the heavy weight of all the ways I’m sure to disappoint Noah. I think about what he said, about me meeting his mom. What if I embarrass him? What if I’m not what she wanted for Noah? “I’ve never been the kind of girl you take back home to meet mom.”
He crosses the kitchen in two long strides and sweeps me into his arms. “You are now. I’m crazy about you. My family, my town—hell, the whole world is going to know it. You’re mine, Lizzy. I’ll claim you for all to know.”
I blink, trying not to let the tears come. “I’m falling in love with you, but I’m scarred and distrusting and a little bit afraid.”
He uses his thumb to catch the tear that managed to escape. “You’re scared because this is forever. But it’s safe to fall because I’ll be right there to catch you.”
Then he lowers his head and brushes his lips against mine. He means for it to be a brief, chaste kiss. But then I whimper, and he deepens it, his tongue sweeping into my mouth. He’s crushing me against his broad chest, making little growls in the back of his throat as he holds me.
My body temperature rises with every noise. My panties are growing damper by the second. I want to belong to Noah in every way.
As if he heard my thoughts, he lifts his head. “Need to make love to you. Need to claim every inch of your lush body.”
I nod, my lips swollen and my breathing hard. That’s not the only thing that’s hard if that bulge pressed against my hip is any indication. Feeling it fills me with an unexpected wave of nervousness. “I’ve never…I’m…well…”
He stares down at me, frowning. But he doesn’t rush me. If anything, the warmth in his brown eyes gives me an unexpected rush of courage.
“It’s my first time,” I explain quietly.
Possessiveness and pride flicker across his expression. His voice is a low growl when he says, “We’ll go slow.”
His quiet assurance helps ease some of my nervousness. Noah has done everything to take care of me and make me happy. He’ll do the same thing during sex. “OK.”
He steps away from me long enough to turn the stove on warm then takes my hand, threading our fingers together. He leads me down the hall to his bedroom, but he bypasses the massive Alaskan King in the center of the room. Instead, he tugs me toward the bathroom.
His bathroom is huge with a clawfoot tub next to a glass shower stall. Over the tub, a large window lets in the afternoon sunlight, brightening the room. I shiver as I watch him start the water in the big, glass shower stall.
“Fuck you’re beautiful.” He prowls across the bathroom until he’s standing in front of me. He reaches for the hem of my shirt, but he doesn’t try to pull it up. “Before we do this, I have to ask something…about the alopecia.”
My heart pounds, and my mouth goes dry. “What do you want to know?”
“You mentioned your scalp is sensitive.” He pauses, seeming to search for the right words. “It’s just…you don’t have hair there and touching it can be painful for you. Does that mean touch is painful for you anywhere else? Is there anything you need me to do to make this good for you?”
I can’t help smiling at him. He’s so thoughtful, so concerned. “Only my head is sensitive. Please, Noah, I need your hands all over me,”
I don’t have to tell him twice. He pulls my shirt over my head then groans when he sees my lacy pink bra. “Fuck, you’re trying to kill a cowboy, aren’t you?”
The way he’s eyeing my chest makes me feel like the most powerful woman in the world. With a deep breath for courage, I flick open the clasp.
He reaches for the straps, pulling them down slowly to reveal my tits. They feel so much heavier with him staring at them.
He palms them, his thumbs raking across my nipples. “These tits are going to carry milk for my babies soon.”
I arch into his hands, just as turned on by his touch as I am his words. “Noah…”
“I’m going to put a baby in you tonight. Then I’m going to watch as your belly and tits grow bigger. Going to stroke myself every time I see your roundness.”
I press my aching thighs together, desperate for relief.
As if he senses my building need, he drops to his knees on the cold tile. He tugs on my skirt until it’s pooling on the floor.
But it’s the way he’s looking up at me, so much lust shining in his gaze. “I want a taste of this sweet little cherry you’ve been saving for me.”
Without waiting, he buries his face in that little triangle of material between my thighs and inhales. “So fuckin’ sweet.”
Slowly, he peels my panties down my body. I think I should be nervous. I think first times are supposed to be a little bit awkward, but the way he’s staring at my bare pussy doesn’t make me feel like that at all. “You don’t know how many nights I’ve spent thinking about the first time I’d get to lick your cream.”
I groan his name.
“That’s right,” he whispers. “You keep calling my name. You remember who’s going to put a baby in this pretty pussy.”
He spreads my folds with his thumbs and licks my slit. I rock backward from how good it feels, bumping into the wall.
He scoots closer, caging me in and forcing me to take his delicious torment. He works me slowly with his tongue, winding me up more and more.
I wrap my hands around his head, grinding shamelessly against his face. I love the way he makes me feel. I don’t think it can be any better until he runs his tongue around my clit. It’s the slightest feather touch that has me coming apart on the spot. Soft waves of pleasure wash over me, pulling me into a moment of complete bliss.
When I finally open my eyes, he’s staring up at me. Adoration and devotion are etched into every line of his face. His lips glisten with the evidence of my arousal, and his gaze is filled with primal satisfaction. “Time for me to breed my good girl.”