Chapter 15 #2
“Embarrassed is the last thing I was,” he said mildly. “And Sassy wasn’t asking because she’s nice. More like so she could grill you for information to tease me about mercilessly later.”
“So it’s a good thing I bowed out. Noted,” she said, and the weird vibe vanished. “Maybe next time I’ll go. I’m sure your family would like to hear how you squealed like a little girl when that squirrel ran across your foot.”
“Hey,” he protested, throwing his hands up to ward off the memory. “That thing looked rabid and, man, was he fast. He could have crawled into my pants and taken up residence in no time flat.”
“Oh, poor baby,” she crooned, laughing as he tried to grab her for some punishment he’d yet to define in his head. “Eat first. Mess around later.”
Or now. He’d never wanted to eat less in his life, but he pushed back the urge to yank her into his arms so he could kiss her senseless. Glancing at his watch, he lifted his brows. “So, in like four or five minutes?”
She pushed him playfully. They ate in comfortable silence as the sun sank toward the horizon, painting the sky in impossible colors. Stars winked into existence overhead, impossibly bright against the darkening canvas of twilight.
“If this is you trying to impress me, you might have succeeded.” Sabrina’s voice held a touch of wonder as she stared at the canopy of light appearing above them.
“What?” He scoffed to cover the hitch in his throat at her admission, as if he’d done something meaningful. “You’ve seen the sky at night before.”
She scooted closer, nudging his arm until he lifted it to snuggle her close. “Not like this. It makes you feel the power of the infinite.”
“Like anything is possible.” Noah nuzzled her neck where it most smelled like Sabrina in the wild and then murmured in her ear. “Is it later? I feel like it’s later.”
Slowly, languorously, she let her head fall back against his shoulder as she stared at him, the starlight reflected in her gaze. “It’s later.”
Sabrina’s lips met his. Sweet and searching at first, like she was asking a question. He answered by threading his fingers through her hair, angling her head to deepen the kiss.
She made a sound in the back of her throat that shot straight through him. Her hands found his shoulders, memorizing the muscles there before sliding down his chest. The nip of her fingertips sent sparks racing across his skin.
Gradually, the kiss built into something more. Something that tasted like fire and honey and destiny. This was nothing like their first kiss, the exploratory one meant to see how much chemistry they had. Or the ones since then, tame ones in public, stolen ones when they should have been training.
This kiss exploded with promise. Potential. All of this energy had to go somewhere, or he’d spontaneously combust.
Noah lost himself in the silk of her hair, the sweet curve of her waist under his palms. When she pressed closer, fitting herself against him like she belonged there, his control splintered.
“Noah.” His name on her lips was nearly his undoing. “Take me back to the hotel.”
He didn’t need to be told twice.
After a tense, very careful descent, they packed everything in the car in two minutes flat. Made it to the hotel a few miles away in less than that. Never had Noah been so grateful for his skill behind the wheel, especially when it came to parking sideways.
The hotel room door had barely clicked shut before Sabrina was in his arms again, her mouth finding his with unerring accuracy. Noah caught her close, walking her backward until she hit the wall. She made that sound again—the one that had been driving him crazy—and wound her arms around his neck.
He wanted to go slow. To savor every moment, memorize every touch. But Sabrina was already tugging at his shirt, her hands leaving trails of fire across his skin. When she rocked against him, his control frayed dangerously.
“Wait.” He caught her hands, pressing them against the wall above her head. “Let me look at you.”
She was gorgeous in the low light, all flushed skin and bright eyes.
Her hair had come loose from its stubby ponytail, spilling to her shoulders like pale gold.
But it was the trust in her expression that undid him completely.
The way she let him pin her there, vulnerable and open in a way he’d never seen before.
His heart expanded painfully in his chest.
“You’re incredible.” He brushed his lips across her jaw, down the curve of her throat. “Do you know that?”
“Less talking.” She arched into him, chasing more contact. “More kissing.”
“I like it when you’re demanding.”
He obliged, capturing her mouth again. This kiss was different—deeper, hungrier. Her hands broke free to tangle in his hair, and he let his own roam freely. Learning the dip of her waist, the curve of her hip. The way she shivered when he found sensitive spots.
Everything about her called to him. The soft sounds she made. The way she moved against him. How she gave as good as she got, matching him touch for touch until they were both breathless.
When she finally pulled back, her eyes had gone dark with desire. But there was something else there too. Something that looked a lot like the emotion currently trying to crack his ribs open from the inside.
“Noah.” She traced his face with trembling fingers. Like she was memorizing him by touch.
“I’m here.” Always. Forever. He turned to press a kiss to her palm. “Tell me what you want.”
“You.” The word scraped from her throat. “Just you.”
His heart did something complicated in his chest. Because what was this but a huge step toward something real and lasting? Something she wanted too.
“You have me.” He poured every ounce of feeling into the words. Into the kiss that followed. “All of me.”
And then she took everything he had to give, turned it around and gifted him the same miraculous energy over and over again until he couldn’t breathe with how much he loved this woman.
When neither of them could possibly be any more sated, Sabrina curled against his chest as they lay splayed on the king-sized bed that might not have any sheets or pillows left. His brain had stopped working after the third time she’d rocked his world.
Everything felt like a dream—the climbing, the sunset, the way Sabrina had come alive under his hands.
The way she’d trusted him with pieces of her soul.
Emotion swelled in his chest, too big to contain. She was everything he’d never known he needed, all fire and softness wrapped in one irresistible package. How had he gotten so lucky?
“You’re staring at me again.” Sabrina’s sensually rough voice sent shivers down his spine.
“Can’t help it.” He pressed a kiss to her shoulder, savoring the way she melted against him. “You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me. I’ve completely fallen for you, Sabrina.”
She went still in his arms. Too still.